Usually, you can only get car loans when you are a citizen or permanent resident of Australia. A 457 Visa is one of the few exceptions to this rule, and this is based on the fact that the visa terms are usually four years and the 457 visas are based on a work sponsorship arrangement for that visa term, which gives a higher level of job stability whilst in Australia.
There are some guidelines regarding the visa holders, and each lender may be slightly different from their policies.
Loan Term
The loan would have to expire within the expiry date of the visa period. Some financiers may request the loan term to expire within 3 months of the visa expiry, and others may go right up until the date.
Balloon Or Residual Payment
As the financiers would want the car to be paid out in full before the visa expires, the option for a balloon or residual in most cases would not be available to 457 visa holders.
Deposit
As a rule of thumb, most financiers will want at least 20% of the car’s purchase price as a deposit as the borrower would not usually have any borrowing history in Australia. In some lenders and other cases where the deposit could be less dependent on their job title, the deposit requirement can be waived.
Summary
All other standard lending criteria would apply, such as affordability calculations or clean credit files. It is usually the loan term that may prevent this from happening, as if a 457 holder is 2 years into their 4-year visa, they can only take the loan over 24 months as a maximum, which can increase the repayments and prevent meeting the affordability calculations as set out by each financier.
It would be good to get professional help on applying for a car loan on a 457 visa, as each lender reviews these applications quite differently.