Car loan EMI calculator (Bahrain)

What CBB's rules say about car loans

A car loan is consumer finance under the Central Bank of Bahrain's Rulebook, for conventional and Islamic banks alike. The same rules apply to Bahrainis and expatriates.

• How long: Instalment consumer finance (personal and car loans) runs at most 7 years, restructuring included; the term may be extended at most twice.
• Down payment and rate: CBB sets no minimum down payment and no maximum rate for a car loan — both come from your bank's offer. Banks must not charge interest using a monthly flat rate: they must use an effective rate on the reducing balance (since October 2019). The APR incl. fees (CBB method) is the yearly rate at which your payments repay what you actually receive — the loan minus the fees and their VAT — compounded over the year as in CBB's APR formula, so it can be compared with the APR a bank must show.
• Fees: Processing fees on a car loan (new or used car): at most BHD 100 in total; no fee on a top-up. Bank fees carry 10% VAT — arrangement and processing fees and other bank charges such as early-termination (early-settlement) and late-payment fees; the interest (or Islamic profit) itself is VAT-exempt.
• Paying off early: Paying off a consumer loan early, fully or partly: at most 1% of the outstanding amount or BHD 100, whichever is lower (plus 10% VAT on the fee). Islamic banks, and CBB-licensed financing companies on Sharia-compliant financing: on early repayment the profit is limited to one month's profit — that of the month in which you repay (since 1 October 2011).
• Insurance: If a bank asks for insurance on a loan, you may bring your own policy; if the bank arranges it, it may charge only the actual cost.

CBB's limits come from its Rulebook (Volume 1 for conventional banks, Volume 2 for Islamic banks, chapter CM-5 Consumer Finance, June 2022, and the fee caps in Appendix BC-7 / BC-8). Your bank's offer and its own credit review are what count.

Car registration in Bahrain: transfer and insurance

• Every year: Yearly vehicle registration goes by empty weight: BHD 15 up to 2.5 tonnes (BHD 30 for 2.5–5 tonnes). Technical inspection, when required: BHD 5 at the Directorate, BHD 15 external.
• A new car from a dealer: First registration of a new car through a dealer: the yearly fee by weight plus BHD 5 to open the file and BHD 6 for the ownership certificate. One-off: BHD 5 file + BHD 6 ownership certificate (dealer registration card) + BHD 3.500 plate (plate fee from the Traffic import-registration card) — our sum: BHD 14.500, plus the year's registration.
• A used car: Transferring a car's ownership: BHD 16; a financed car needs the lender's clearance certificate first.
• An imported used car: Registering an imported private car more than 5 years old: BHD 1,000 to open the file (BHD 5 if not older than 5 years). The ownership certificate (BHD 6) and the plate (BHD 3.500) come on top. Importing goods: total taxes 15% — 5% customs duty and 10% VAT (Bahrain Customs). VAT on an imported car is charged on the customs value plus the customs duty (VAT Law Art. 21) — 5% duty and then 10% VAT make about 15.5% of the customs value; Bahrain Customs' FAQ rounds this to "total taxes 15%". The calculator does not compute import taxes — enter the price you pay with them.
• Third-party insurance: CBB's maximum yearly third-party premium for a private car: BHD 53 up to 1,400 cc, BHD 59 for 1,401–2,200 cc, BHD 71 for 2,201–3,650 cc, BHD 83 above; insurers may go above it only on the conditions of CBB Resolution 2/2005. CBB publishes a maximum premium only for third-party cover. Your premium is your own figure in the calculator.

A dealer's price in Bahrain normally already includes 10% VAT; the calculator adds none to the price. The calculator counts registration and insurance for every year the loan runs (a part year as a full year).

Related: zero down payment car loan · 0% finance or the cash discount? · personal loan calculator · how much can I borrow? · paying off early · guides: loan limits: the 50% rule · loan fees CBB allows.

CBB's 50% rule in one minute

• The limit: all your monthly repayments on consumer finance — personal loans, car loans, credit cards, overdrafts — at most 50% of your monthly gross income (before deductions). Only regular income counts; a spouse's income only on a joint loan.
• Cards: each credit card counts at 5% of its limit, whether you use it or not — a BHD 2,000 limit uses BHD 100.000 of your monthly room.
• Your home loan is separate: A loan secured by a first charge on the home you live in (or will live in) is not "consumer finance": its instalment is outside the 50% consumer-finance limit. Banks must still look at housing costs in their own review.
• Above BHD 3,000 a month: For people earning more than BHD 3,000 a month the 50% limit may be relaxed after the bank's review — a higher figure is not a right.
• The same for everyone: CBB's rule makes no difference between Bahrainis and expatriates, or salaried and retired borrowers. The bank must still review your finances in detail and may keep repayments well below 50%; housing costs get particular attention, and what is left must support you and your dependants.