DIB Car Loan Kenya (2026): Deposit, Tenor, Requirements and Cost

DIB Bank Kenya's Auto Finance pays up to 80% of the purchase price of a new vehicle and 70% of a used one, with used cars capped at seven years from the date of manufacture. You apply by walking into one of its branches, where the relationship team completes the Auto Finance application form with you, and the bank promises feedback within four days. You must deposit your own share before the bank releases funds. DIB does not print its profit rate, tenor, documentation fee or the Shari'ah contract on the auto pages; its August 2026 tariff refers all financing pricing to the Central Bank's total cost of credit site. Motor cover can be financed through DIB's Takaful Premium Financing, which only accepts policies from a Shari'ah-compliant operator such as Takaful Insurance of Africa.

What DIB publishes about Auto Finance, and what it does not

DIB Bank Kenya is the Kenyan subsidiary of Dubai Islamic Bank, regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya, with its contact centre on 0709 913 000, a WhatsApp line on 0716 626 262 and contactus@dibkenya.co.ke. Its personal banking page describes Auto Finance in a single line as enabling individuals to acquire motor vehicles for personal use. The detail lives in the FAQ: the product is for personal use or for sole proprietors' business use, both new and pre-owned vehicles are financed, the maximum age for a pre-owned vehicle is seven years from manufacture, and the bank finances up to 80% of the price of a new vehicle and 70% of a pre-owned one. The business FAQ adds that for asset finance generally DIB funds up to 80% of the price of motor vehicles and 50% of machinery, for anything identifiable by registration or serial number.

What is missing is just as important. No maximum amount, no maximum tenor, no minimum income, no documentation fee and no profit rate are printed for Auto Finance. The personal finance FAQ gives a documentation fee of 2% on facilities up to KES 1 million and 1% above, with a KES 4 million cap and 60-month tenor, but those figures belong to the unsecured personal finance product, not the car facility. The August 2026 tariff guide, under its debit card section, says that for the total cost of credit on financing products you should visit www.costofcredit.co.ke, and separately notes that 20% excise duty is chargeable on all service fees. The wider bank, its accounts and its history are covered in our DIB Bank Kenya guide.

Which Shari'ah contract DIB uses for a car

DIB's auto pages do not name the contract. The bank's general Islamic banking page explains that an Islamic bank's customer is a partner with the bank or an owner of goods or assets rather than a borrower, and its Shari'a FAQ confirms that DIB operates under a Fatwa and Shari'a Supervisory Board, that account holders bear losses in proportion to their investment on Mudharaba accounts, and that takaful is the Islamic form of insurance. For a vehicle, the two structures used in Kenya are a Murabaha, where the bank buys the car and sells it to you at a disclosed mark-up payable in instalments, and a Diminishing Musharaka, where you and the bank co-own the car and you buy out the bank's share monthly while paying for use of its portion. Gulf African Bank and KCB Sahl both print Diminishing Musharaka on their vehicle pages; DIB prints neither.

Ask the branch which one you are signing, because the answer changes three things: when the logbook transfers to you, how early settlement is priced, and what happens if the car is written off. Our Diminishing Musharakah explainer sets out the ownership mechanics, and KCB's own worked example on its Musharakah page shows that insurance proceeds in a Musharaka are shared by ownership ratio rather than taken first by the bank, which can leave the customer better off than under a loan.

Eligibility, deposit and the application route

Eligibility is salaried individuals and sole proprietors. There is no printed minimum salary and no stated requirement to route your salary through DIB for Auto Finance, although the personal finance product does require it, so expect the branch to prefer it. The deposit is your 20% on a new car or 30% on a used one, paid before the bank funds the balance; on a KES 2 million used car that is KES 600,000 up front. Vehicle age is counted from the date of manufacture, not registration, so a 2019 import registered in Kenya in 2024 is a 2019 car for DIB's purposes.

• Choose the vehicle and obtain a proforma invoice or sale agreement, plus a copy of the logbook if the car is used.
• Visit a DIB branch (eight across Nairobi and Mombasa, including Banda Street, Eastleigh, Bondeni and South C) and complete the Auto Finance application form with the relationship team.
• Submit the form with KYC: national ID or passport, KRA PIN certificate, recent payslips or business statements, and a CRB check; the branch will confirm the exact list.
• Receive feedback within four working days, as the bank states, with an offer letter that should name the contract, the profit rate, the tenor and all fees.
• Pay your 20% or 30% share into your DIB account, after which the bank releases its portion to the seller.
• Arrange motor cover, which DIB can finance over up to ten months through Takaful Premium Financing if the policy comes from a Shari'ah-compliant operator.

The document list above is assembled from DIB's personal finance requirements and its Takaful Premium Financing documentation, because the auto page prints none of its own; treat it as the minimum and let the branch add to it. Valuation of a used car, tracking device installation and security registration will be charged separately and are not on the published tariff.

The questions to ask, since pricing is quote-only

Because DIB directs you to the Central Bank's cost of credit tool rather than printing a rate, the offer letter is the only document that will tell you what the car costs. Go into the branch with this list and do not sign until every line has a shilling figure or a percentage against it.

• The contract type (Murabaha or Diminishing Musharaka) and whether the profit rate is fixed for the term or variable against a benchmark.
• The annual profit rate, the total profit in shillings over the full term and the monthly instalment.
• The documentation or processing fee, and whether the 20% excise duty on service fees is included in the figure quoted.
• Valuation, tracking, logbook transfer and security registration costs, and who pays each.
• The early settlement rule: whether unearned profit is waived in full, in part or not at all, and whether there is a settlement fee.
• What happens on total loss: how takaful proceeds are split between you and the bank under the contract you are signing.
• Whether salary must be channelled through DIB, and what the consequence is if you change employer during the term.

The 20% excise duty line matters more than it looks. A KES 40,000 documentation fee becomes KES 48,000 with excise, and the bank's tariff is explicit that the duty applies to all service fees. The car financing hub explains how to compare an all-in halal quote against a conventional loan's total cost of credit.

Takaful: what DIB requires and whether TIA is accepted

DIB's Takaful page states that as a fully Shari'ah-compliant bank it only finances takaful policies issued by a fully Shari'ah-compliant takaful operator such as Takaful Insurance of Africa, covering policies with up to 12 months' validity including motor and medical. Takaful Premium Financing is open to personal, business and corporate customers, has a limit of up to KES 10 million, runs for up to ten months in equal monthly instalments and is in shillings only. Published DIB financing rates apply at the time the facility is granted and a documentation fee applies per the tariff, so this too is quote-only. Documents are a tripartite agreement signed by you, the insurer and the bank, KYC, a CRB check, the insurer's debit note or quotation, post-dated cheques and payment of the first two instalments.

The bank's Shari'a FAQ adds a nuance: where no takaful operator exists, Islamic banks are permitted to use conventional cover to protect depositors' funds. In Kenya a motor takaful operator does exist, so expect DIB to require a TIA motor policy on the financed car rather than conventional comprehensive cover. Our motor takaful versus car insurance comparison sets out what TIA's motor product costs and covers, and the takaful versus insurance hub explains the contract difference.

DIB against Gulf African, Absa La Riba and KCB Sahl

The four Islamic vehicle finance options that publish terms differ most on financing percentage, tenor and how much they tell you before you walk in. Gulf African Bank's Personal Auto Finance is a Diminishing Musharaka financing up to 95% of a new car and up to 80% of a used one aged one to seven years, over a maximum of five years, with approval promised in 48 hours and insurance premium financing available. Absa La Riba asset finance goes to 85% new and 75% used for personal customers (90% and 80% on Premier and Prestige tiers), with a maximum of KES 10 million new and KES 6 million used, tenors of 72 months new and 48 months used, used cars no older than seven years, repayment from your own account rather than check-off, and KES or USD. KCB Sahl's Asset Based Finance is a Diminishing Musharaka with a minimum 20% deposit, monthly instalments of capital plus profit, and ownership passing automatically on the final payment.

On the published terms DIB asks for the largest deposit of the four on a new car and ties with the lowest on a used one, prints the least about the contract, and is the only one that does not state a tenor. Its strengths are elsewhere: the global DIB Shari'ah governance, a Takaful Premium Financing product built around TIA, and a stated four-day decision. The full market, including the SACCOs and the smaller windows, is in our halal car financing comparison.

Our view

Choose DIB Auto Finance if you already bank with DIB or want to, you are buying new or nearly new with 20% to 30% in hand, and you value a bank whose Shari'ah governance is binding at group level and whose takaful route is pre-built. Go in with the question list above, insist the offer letter names the contract, and compare the all-in figure, including excise on fees, with a Gulf African quote on the same car, since Gulf African prints Diminishing Musharaka, a higher financing percentage and a faster decision.

Look elsewhere if you need more than 70% on a used car, a tenor beyond five years, financing in dollars, or a printed rate before you commit; Absa La Riba's 72-month new-car tenor and KES 10 million cap suit larger purchases, and Taqwa SACCO prints a 10% reducing rate for members. Facts checked against dibkenya.co.ke, gulfafricanbank.com, absabank.co.ke and kcbgroup.com on 13 September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much deposit does DIB require for a car loan?

DIB finances up to 80% of the purchase price of a new vehicle and 70% of a pre-owned one, so your deposit is at least 20% on a new car and 30% on a used car. The bank's FAQ states you must deposit your portion before it releases financing. On a KES 3 million new car that is KES 600,000; on a KES 2 million used car it is KES 600,000.

What is the maximum age of a used car DIB will finance?

Seven years from the date of manufacture, according to DIB's Auto Finance FAQ. The bank finances both new and pre-owned vehicles. Age is measured from manufacture rather than Kenyan registration, so check the chassis year on an import before applying. Gulf African Bank and Absa La Riba apply the same seven-year limit on used cars.

What profit rate does DIB charge on auto finance?

DIB does not print a profit rate for Auto Finance. Its August 2026 tariff directs customers to the Central Bank's total cost of credit website, www.costofcredit.co.ke, for financing pricing, and notes that 20% excise duty applies to all service fees. The rate, tenor and documentation fee appear only in your offer letter, so ask for the total profit in shillings and the monthly instalment before signing.

How do I apply for DIB auto finance?

Walk into any DIB branch; the relationship team helps you complete the Auto Finance application form. Return it with your documents, typically ID or passport, KRA PIN, income evidence, the proforma invoice or sale agreement and the logbook copy for a used car, and the bank states you will have feedback within four days. The contact centre on 0709 913 000 and the WhatsApp line on 0716 626 262 can direct you to the nearest of its eight branches.

Does DIB accept Takaful Insurance of Africa cover on a financed car?

Yes. DIB's Takaful page says it only finances takaful policies issued by a fully Shari'ah-compliant operator such as Takaful Insurance of Africa, for policies of up to 12 months including motor. Its Takaful Premium Financing spreads the contribution over up to ten equal monthly instalments, up to KES 10 million, in shillings, with a tripartite agreement, post-dated cheques and the first two instalments paid up front.

Is DIB car finance cheaper than Gulf African or Absa La Riba?

Nobody can say from the published pages, because all three banks keep their profit rates quote-only. What is comparable is structure: DIB finances 80% new and 70% used with a four-day decision; Gulf African finances up to 95% new and 80% used under Diminishing Musharaka over five years with a 48-hour decision; Absa La Riba goes to 85% new and 75% used over 72 and 48 months. Get written quotes on the same car and compare total profit plus fees.