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Ever had a car on finance?

5K views 38 replies 24 participants last post by  sijac09 
#1 ·
Well have been promoted at work and my wages have been upped so im thinking of getting an S3 on finance.

Have been looking at s3's around the 15k mark but ive never had a car on finance or anything and would just like to hear some of your stories. I.e do finance companies take the mick? Any bad experiences etc? Also is it only dealerships who offer finance? Little garages? etc etc.

Would just like some info as it could happen within the next few months.

All advice much appreciated.

Peter
 
#3 ·
Ive never had any experience with them myself being 20, but my aunty recently bought a BMW (forgot the model) from a garage for 6k and got finance on it which the garage sorted.

i dont know the full story but basically the car had 130k miles on it, garage had clocked it back to 95k as the finance company didnt finance cars done over 100k. Just outside the warranty the garage offered the ecu failed, along with other things coil packs etc etc. Garage wouldnt do anything. Finance company wouldnt do anything as they classed the finance as void due to it having 130k and they provided no help at all to my aunty basically just said talk to the garage. (They were supposed to offer 12 months guarantee type of thing and do all the leg work with the garage etc however they did nothing)

Off topic now but they ended up threatening the garage with court action and they did eventually replace the ecu so all worked out in end but they have vowed never to use finance again.

Suppose its like most things there will be some good ones and bad ones but if your looking at cars at a dealership im sure youd have a lot more faith in them.
 
#5 ·
Had a few myself. Sometimes you can get a better rate from your bank or credit card company. It pays to shop around. Most garages will offer finance in some form you just need to check the interest rates.

Also if you change you car quite often the settlement figures can shaft you! As a rule of thumb if you pay a minimum deposit you need to be half way through the length of the loan before you owe less than the car is worth.

If you do end up in negative equity and the car is on hire purchase you can legally hand the car back to the finance company and walk away without penalty if you have paid more than 50% of the payments - called a voluntary termination
 
#6 ·
Mosts car dealers - big or small - offer finance.

Rates will vary hugely - so just make sure you know how much you are paying in total.

Large dealerships can generally offer better deals on new vehicles rather than used - many deals will include Manufacturer support, and even their stocking finance have an effect on the deal. Also, they can offer products such as PCP, which can work out to a much lower monthly figure, although you will be restricted as to how many miles you can do.

High mileage used cars, as has already been mentioned, are the hardest items to finance.

You might wanna think about a bank loan as an alternative - could well be cheaper - but again - check the figures.[:-*]
 
#7 ·
Nice one for getting a promotion

Never liked the idea of finance though because you never know what could happen in the next few years...

As a general rule I'd say just stick with a car you can afford - if the **** hits the fan at least you can sell it and not be left with a massive debt!
 
#9 ·
To be honest my car is starting to feel its age and something new and solid with some poke and some prescence is what im after.

What im unsure of is what if i loose my job a year say into payments and i can no longer afford to pay it. Will i be able to give the car back and call it quits or will i have to sell the car and carry on paying the car off wether its mine or not?

All these little complications that im unsure of.

Is a 15k s3 viable at say £400 a month or are we talking stupid money?

Thanks for everyones input its helping very much.

Peter
 
#10 ·
Ok well, I dont have a car on finance but I did buy a bike on finance. I bought it outright with the cash as a personal loan. DO NOT BUY HIRE PURCHASE.

Being 19 at the time with a new job I thought ohh i'd get myself my dream bike. even though i live by myself i went straight through the credit check with no guarantees needed.

the bike was £6995 but with options it came to more like £9.2k. Finance total was just over £10,000. Over 5 years this is about £205 a month with a £500 deposit.(think that's what it was)

my finance company is black horse and they're ok..only issue is they will spam you out with faceless letters, and they messed up my repayments so it came to be about £800 in one month when i went ballistic.

i did come into payment difficulties when i lost my job, with no hassle they pushed it back a month giving me enough time to find a job.

If you buy the car with a personal loan you are entitled to sell it as it is yours. i have done that with my beloved triumph. if you HPI it, it'll say bought with finance but showing as a personal loan rather than hire purchase which provided no issue as i sold mine within a week.

The only thing is that unless you're lucky you will almost always be paying finance after you have sold the vehicle. i have 4 more years left to pay off my finance...which is humbling.

there's no denying if you want something a bit flash, finance is the way to get it but think carefully whether you are in a good position at work, as in not likely to get fired and as long as you can afford it, by all means go ahead and enjoy it. you only live once.
 
#12 ·
taking finance is fine as long as you plan for the long term. You dont want to end up in negative equity on a car that you can't sell if you situation changes.

I know someone who bought a 350Z on finance, all was great until his missus got pregnant, he needed to get rid of the car but it was worth a LOT less than the outstanding finance, Things were not helped by the fact that it was a niche car with limited market which makes selling on more difficult. Same thing may well apply to an S3 especially if it has been modified.

Whilst I'm in full on negative old man moaning mode, don't forget that running costs on an S3 are going to add a lot on top of your finance payments each month. I'm guessing tyres alone will cost a fortune [;)]
 
#13 ·
?400 a month could soonspruce up your golf, full leather interior, r32 trims, dials. It would look sick. I know what you mean about a new car though. I nearly went for a seat leon. Another advantage is that if you have finance you HAVE to pay the ?400 each month regardless of your income where as modding your golf is variable in that if you have a crap pay one month you knly spend a bit on the car then next month spend more.
 
#15 ·
Unfortunately Dan it's not always practical, as much as I agree with your sentiments.

Unless you got given a large chunk of money at some point or save up for 10 years at a time, you will never be able to buy a decent car £10k+ upwards outright. ;(
 
#16 ·
Unfortunately Dan it's not always practical, as much as I agree with your sentiments.

Unless you got given a large chunk of money at some point or save up for 10 years at a time, you will never be able to buy a decent car £10k+ upwards outright. ;(
Why not? Thats the whole point of what I said - save up until you can afford it - or buy a car more affordable. Plenty of cars for 5-8k at the moment which make for some fantastic bargains.

Dan
 
#17 ·
Sometimes, especially being younger, you have your heart set on something and you only want that. Especially when, if you wait 5 or 10 years, you'll likely have a wife and kids..it's a bit now or never.
 
#18 ·
Unfortunately Dan it's not always practical, as much as I agree with your sentiments.

Unless you got given a large chunk of money at some point or save up for 10 years at a time, you will never be able to buy a decent car £10k+ upwards outright. ;(
I ahve that very problem!

I bought my first car (the golf) on Finance. It worked well as i didn't have 7k as I'm not really very good at saving. I think I paid something like £240 a month over 5 years for it @ 12.9% apr.

As far as I'm aware, the rates are normally quite good on car loans (which you can also get from you bank I beleive) because they are secured against your car. So if you do miss payments regularly they can take your car away [cry]

I know what you mean about the car showing it's age now. I really need a new car because mine is definately getting old now and needs bits replacing all the time. I only have £400 saved up (which i cant really buy anything decent with) and my Wife wont let me get finance [:mad:]
 
#21 ·
I dunno where you lot get your money from - I was 30+ until I could afford to buy a car outright ( admittedly, I then went a little mad but..)
Like!

I wanted to buy a new Fabia VRS, but the wife wont let me get finance for £15k, so i'm never getting a new car!

I need to start saving now for my RS4 ready for my mid-life crisis! Looks like i'll just have to keep repairing this one til then!
 
#23 ·
bought my first car on finance, got a good rate and all was fine. it was new though, dont think id be prepared to go the finance route for a 2nd hand car. any problems i had, ford were more than happy to deal with them for 3 years though i couldnt see them being as easy to deal with regarding a 2nd hand car.

how secure is your job? £400 a month is a big commitment for 3-4 years, look into payment protection as well. like dan said, id wait for a while before buying a beefy petrol car, they are only going to get drastically cheaper over the next year as people start panic selling.

alot can be had for 8k ish at the moment as well, you dont need to spend 15k to get a quality car, a friend just bought a fully loaded a8 on a 59 plate for the better side of £20,000 so they are out there
 
#25 ·
Well have been promoted at work and my wages have been upped so im thinking of getting an S3 on finance.

Have been looking at s3's around the 15k mark but ive never had a car on finance or anything and would just like to hear some of your stories. I.e do finance companies take the mick? Any bad experiences etc? Also is it only dealerships who offer finance? Little garages? etc etc.

Would just like some info as it could happen within the next few months.

All advice much appreciated.

Peter
Congrats on the promotion

I've had 2 cars on Finance an Audi and a Merc - Audi offered best deal in terms of interest 5% and no Balloon payment 10K over 2 years. Merc deal more complicated. Also if you have to give the car up for any reason you need to make sure that you are at least 1/3 of the way through the finance term otherwise there maybe early redemption charges. As ALWAYS check the small print very very carefully
 
#26 ·
I couldnt agree more with Joel4motion . you can get something with serious pace for that price these days. i tell you if i was looking to spend that much i would be looking for a used porsche cayman not an audi s3 [:p] allthough i guess not everyone wants the same thing out of a car as me. Also dont forget depreciation.

Regarding finance. dont keep telling yourself you can afford £xxx per month if you go easy on your spending. finance is a LONG TERM commitment. if you agree to pay more per month than you can afford you will quickly get angry everytime you glance at youre carr. - i say this because i very nearly made this mistake, but luckily realised that i would rather wait to sell my golf for a bigger deposit before i splashed out saving myself a significant amount on monthly payments.

i guess what im trying to say is; finance is ok, but don't let the excitement of getting a new car lul you into committing to being skint (or worse) for the next few years. dont forget to budget for running costs etc. the last thing you want to have to do is back out of your finance after 14 months because its ruining you - you will lose out big time!
 
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