Some players in the motor vehicle financing sector may be falling short of their legal obligations to help customers make an informed decision, the Commerce Commission says.
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It has done a report into the sector's behaviour during the sales and lending process, looking at what may cause harm.
It also looked at add-on products sold alongside vehicles that were bought on finance.
Commission chair Anna Rawlings said the majority of consumers it spoke to did not raise concerns, but some did not understand the product they purchased, could not recall buying it or bought things that were unsuitable.
"We really want lenders to make sure that they understand their obligations to help their customers to make informed choices when they're taking out loans to buy cars and when they're buying insurance products that are associated with the loans.
"And if lenders are using car dealers or other agents to sell those products, then they need to make really sure that the agents are doing what's needed to help the lender comply with their obligations."
Rawlings said lenders cannot avoid the obligations by simply asking someone else to deal with the borrower.
The commission will be meeting with lenders and insurers who participated in the review to discuss its observations.
It would also meet with key industry stakeholders and the consumer advisory sector to share the information about add-on products and how they're sold.