Every car fanatic worth their salt has that one dream car. The car always niggling in the back of your mind that you’ll happily spend hours researching until you know the exact spec you’d go for - down to the stitching. For some, it’s a vintage Mini Cooper or a classic Mustang. For Brian, that car was the Volkswagen Scirocco.

Brian spent a couple of months working in the US where he was able to build up his savings with a view to, among other things, upgrading his car when he got home. Brian explains: “When I got home from America I had money saved for the car, but I realised that if I put a bit of extra money to my savings then I would have been able to get the car that I’d wanted for the last couple of years – a Volkswagen Scirocco.”

Having weighed up his options, he decided to top up the savings by getting a car loan from AIB and take a punt on his dream car. It was his first ever loan and he was a little unsure of the process. He notes: “I was a bit wary of it because I’ve never had a loan before but Terri from AIB laid out my options for me and the loan I went for in the end means that if I want to pay it off early, I can. So there’s a bit of flexibility there.”

Buying a used car means that you need to be able to act quickly to pounce on a bargain and with AIB, loan approval can take just three hours. Brian says: “It was so handy because when you’re trying to get a second-hand car and you stall, they’re snapped up. And I was quite particular about the type of car I wanted so when ‘the one’ was available, it was handy to progress the loan within a day and I was able to secure it.”

Once the car loan was approved it was time for the fun part - picking out his new set of wheels. Brian remembers: “It was really exciting. It was something that I didn’t think would have happened and then suddenly, I was shopping for it! It was really exciting picking out the colours and spec!” Brian’s new car has even inspired a more altruistic side, he laughs: “I’m always offering people lifts now or suggesting I’ll drive.”

With Terri’s assistance, Brian found the process very simple and straightforward.

He had just started a new job and didn’t have much time to drop into the branch. But it wasn’t a problem, he notes: “A lot of the details she sent to me via text because I couldn’t actually get out of work at the time to talk in person. So I was able to do a lot of it whenever suited me.”

AIB offer car loans from as little as €1,000 with approval in just three hours.* So you can get on with the main job – picking out your new car.

*3 hour loan decision applies to fully completed new personal loan applications processed within 3 hours 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri excl. bank holidays. Loans from €1,000-€30,000. Excludes applications: to restructure or clear existing AIB credit facilities; received through Branch and referred to a lender for review, from customers in financial difficulty; for Student and First loans; applications through Business Centres; or where total borrowings exceed €100,000 (excluding Home Loan debt up to €600,000).

Customer featured received a gratuity.

Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Copyright Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. 1995.