Help needed car to be taken away

Suffolkman_2

Hi first post

I missed payments on my 54 Audi A4 which was on a payment plan with VW. The debt has been passed to another company. I have caught up with the payments but now (from September) owe the £5k balloon payment.

I am £50k in in debt and can't raise the £5k.

I the meantime the car went wrong last December and has been off the road in alocal garage since then. The car has been back to a main dealer who said it would cost £5k to replace the engine and charged me £200 for storage. The car is back with local garage and I have borrowed £3k from family member to have it repaired. It is still at the garage.

I don't want to give it back to the finance company as it is worth about £7k on the open market and I will be left with £5k balloon debt and £3k family debt.

Can I sell it or is it not mine to sell. I don't know what to do and have not heard from the finance people for a couple of weeks.

Please help if you can

Quentin

You may be able to sell it (if it's a viable proposition to the buyer) - get a settlement figure from the finance company and the buyer settles the outstanding finance direct with the lender and pays you the balance.

Anihilator

Do you really think your going to get market value for a five year old Audi which has needed major work.

Premier_2

Suffolkman wrote: »

...I have caught up with the payments but now (from September) owe the £5k balloon payment.

...I don't want to give it back to the finance company as it is worth about £7k on the open market and I will be left with £5k balloon debt and £3k family debt....

I don't follow.

Most of these types of vehicle finance schemes either allow you to return the vehicle and owe nothing or keep the vehicle by paying the final settlement (balloon) figure.

Even if that is not the case here, if the finance company repossess the car you will not owe them the full £5k. The car will be sold, usually through auction, and the proceeds used towards the settlement (plus costs).
If it raises more than you owe, you'll even get that balance refunded.
Only if it raises less, will you still owe the finance company money.

Forget the £3k - you spent that on running/repair costs. It's gone. (but you still owe it to your family)

Suffolkman_2

Thanks for the replies. Being able to sell it is the big issue so this is positive. I guess, even if I do not get full market value, anything towards the outstanding debt would be better than handing it back.and being left with an £8k debt.

Thanks again

SM

terryya

As Premier said, surely if you hand the car back you don't have to pay the £5k payment!?

Photo_Stylus

pay £3k for repairs and £5k final payment for a car you say is worth £7k?

Maybe my calculator needs new batteries but doesnt make sense to me.

If a major part had expired & it was still within the finance deal arranged i thought there was some form of cover? You should expect the vehicle to last longer than the finance deal. Especially on a 5 year old car.

You should check what the car is actually fetching on the open market, Just because you see them advertised at those prices doesnt mean they actually get that much.
Pop along to a garage & ask them for a price to buy it. You might be shocked. Quick look on the parkers website shows resale values from approx 5 - 8k yet the part exchange price doesnt really vary, They will give you much the same figure for a 3l quattro or a 1.8 petrol.

I presume because the bigger engined models are more of a risk if they dont sell it on quickly.

Suffolkman_2

Thanks. I think I need to talk to the garage and see how much or if they will take it back. If that doesn't work I will talk to the finance company and see if I can hand it back without having to pay anymore.

Much better position than I thought I was in this morning.

Thanks

harveybobbles

but even if you hand it back to the finance company - they normally want it to be roadworthy...?

Suffolkman_2

The car is roadworthy now as I have had to spend £3k on a new engine which has a warranty from Audi.

Anihilator

Therefore normally you can send it back.

If you send it back the terms are normally a maximum mileage and good condition. If its over or damaged/poor condition they will be penalised.

Someone like yourself should simply do this as the costs and riskss of buying it and trying to sell it are high.