Car loans in Kenya compared (2026): bank, asset finance or logbook loan for an Uber car

Most cars on Uber and Bolt in Kenya are bought on credit, and the loan decides more of the profit than the car does. The same KSh 1 million borrowed for four years costs about KSh 320,000 in interest at a bank at 14.4% a year — and close to KSh 1 million in interest and fees at a lender charging 2.5% a month plus typical fees. Here is how the options compare, using the rates lenders and the Central Bank published in 2026.

The two kinds of lender

Banks: a yearly rate

Banks quote an annual rate, priced off their general lending. The Central Bank of Kenya's average commercial bank lending rate was 14.39% a year in July 2026, with the Central Bank Rate at 8.75%. Each bank's average differs; the Central Bank's August 2026 figures put Stanbic at 11.93%, Absa at 13.64%, NCBA at 14.64%, KCB at 14.79% and Equity at 14.83% — those are their averages across all lending, not car-loan quotes, but they show who tends to be cheaper.

Banks are cheaper, and slower and stricter: payslips or audited business accounts, bank statements, and often a large deposit.

Asset finance and logbook lenders: a monthly rate plus fees

These lenders quote by the month, and add fees:

They are quicker and accept M-Pesa statements instead of payslips, which suits owners whose income is the car itself. They are also much dearer.

What the difference looks like

Borrowing KSh 1,015,000 (a KSh 1.45 million car with 30% down) for 48 months:

• At a bank at 14.4% a year: about KSh 28,000 a month.
• At 2.5% a month with typical finance-company fees: about KSh 39,000 a month, plus over KSh 120,000 in upfront fees.

That gap — over KSh 11,000 a month — has to come out of the car's daily amount. On 26 working days that is about KSh 430 a day before you have made anything. Run your own numbers in the car loan calculator.

How to choose

• If a bank will lend to you, start there. Ask two or three, and compare the total cost of the loan (interest plus every fee), not the headline rate.
• Use a finance company for speed, not for the long term. If you must, borrow less and for a shorter term, and refinance with a bank once you can show a year of the car's income.
• Match the term to the car's working life. A loan that runs past the year the car ages off Uber's list is a loan on a car that can no longer earn. In 2026 Uber Chapchap takes cars up to 10 years old.
• Check the daily amount can carry it. Put the repayment into the daily amount calculator before you sign.
• Read the late-payment terms. Mogo's published late fee is 1% a day of the overdue instalment.

The car that pays the loan

Every month's instalment is paid out of the days your driver actually pays. Gariboss shows you every evening which car has paid and which is behind, so a slow week is caught before it becomes a missed instalment.