IVA car finance and car finance with a CCJ: why the two are not the same
An individual voluntary arrangement and a county court judgment are different problems. One is a live agreement with an insolvency practitioner who has to consent; the other is a mark on a register that fades with time.
- agreements cover almost every financed car in the UK
- 3
- to withdraw from a regulated credit agreement, Consumer Credit Act 1974 s.66A
- 14 days
- of the total price is the voluntary termination ceiling, Consumer Credit Act 1974 s.100
- 50%
Figures in this panel are the statutory rights that attach to a regulated motor finance agreement, quoted from the Consumer Credit Act 1974 itself and linked in the sources below. KnownVehicle is not authorised for credit broking and introduces no lender: nothing on these pages is a quote, an application or a recommendation.
- 2 vendor product pages verifiedevery figure matched verbatim to the vendor's page
- Quoted and dated, never estimatedlast verification pass 2026-08-26
- 2 check types coveredeach with measured search demand behind it
CCJ car finance and car finance with IVA: why the two differ
- An IVA is a live arrangement, so ask the practitioner first. While an IVA is running, taking new credit above a small limit generally needs the supervisor's agreement, and taking it without asking can put the arrangement itself at risk. A lender that says yes does not cure that: the permission is a separate question from the approval, and it comes first.
- A CCJ is priced by age and by whether it is satisfied. GOV.UK states that records of judgments are kept for 6 years unless the full amount is paid within a month, in which case the record is removed. Pay later and the judgment is marked satisfied but stays on the register for the rest of that period. A lender reads a recent unsatisfied judgment very differently from an old satisfied one, so the facts that matter are the date and the status.
- Defaults tell the lender about the last twelve months. A default on another credit account is the strongest short-term signal there is, because it says the most recent agreement did not run. Lenders in this part of the market look hardest at the last year: a default that has been followed by twelve months of clean payments prices very differently from one still accruing.
- What actually moves the decision. A deposit, a cheaper car and a shorter term all cut the amount the lender has at risk, and all three are available to you immediately. Waiting for the mark to age is the other lever, and on a recent judgment it is often the cheaper one.
Common questions
- Can I get car finance with an IVA still running?
- Sometimes, but the arrangement usually requires the supervisor's consent for new credit over a threshold set in the terms. Ask them before applying: an approval you are not permitted to accept is worse than a decline.
- How long after an IVA can I get car finance?
- An IVA is reported on your credit file for years after it starts, normally outlasting the arrangement itself. Lenders in this part of the market will usually consider an application before it drops off, priced against how long ago the arrangement completed.
- Car finance for CCJ: does a satisfied CCJ still count?
- Paying in full within a month of the judgment removes the record altogether, which GOV.UK sets out. Paying afterwards leaves it on the register for the 6 years but marks it satisfied, and that marking is the difference between an unresolved judgment and a closed one.
- Will a specialist lender cost more?
- Yes. Lenders who take impaired files price the additional risk into the rate, so compare the total amount payable rather than the monthly figure, and revisit the agreement once the marks have aged.
- Car finance with defaults: how much does one default matter?
- A default on another credit account is the strongest short-term signal there is, because it says the most recent agreement did not run. Lenders in this part of the market look hardest at the last year, so a default followed by twelve months of clean payments prices very differently from one still accruing. Age and conduct since are what move it, not the number of markers.
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Sources
Cite or embed this figure
The median advertised price of a single full car check in the GB car check market was £14.99 in August 2026, across 2 verified vendor product pages recorded in KnownVehicle Car Check Price Index.
Cite as: "KnownVehicle Car Check Price Index", updated 2026-08-26, https://knownvehicle.com/finance/ccj-and-iva-car-finance/.