Voluntarily Termination of HP but car damaged

garveym

Hi,

First post on here and I am looking for some advice if possible...

I have a HP agreement with First Response Finance with around 6 months/ £1,000 outstanding at present. I am buying a new car on Saturday (deposit paid etc) from a local dealer funded by a bank loan.

I was under the assupmtion that I could VT my car but was unaware that the car must be in reasonable condition. I know, very stupid of me! Unfortunately, around 3 months ago a van backed into my car leaving a deep gouge on the rear drivers side panel. There was no CCTV in the car park and of course the offender did not leave any details!

With only £1000 outstanding on my HP I thought the car would still be worth enough to cover the outsatnding finance but have now been informed otherwise and that even if it was they would still bill me for the damage.

I am looking for opinions on where I stand with VTing the car with a nasty deep gouge on it.

I don not want to claim through my insurance as I would lose no claims binus and would feel cheated as to how the incident happened anyway.

The dealer I am buying the car from have said to bring my car with me on Saturday and they will quote approximate cost to fix but would not be interested in a part exchange due to the cars age (2002) and mileage (150k) and the damage stated. FYI it is a Renault Laguna 1.9dci Privelege model and I have spent over £2k on repairs on it in the last 3 years so am sick of throwing money at it!

Sorry for the long first post but any ideas?

Hintza

Why did you not just carry on until you paid it off?

This is madness, you need to sort he damage if you want to terminate early but it will hardly be worth it.

Inactive

You may be better off paying the £1000 settlement and the try to sell the car as is.

Hoof_Hearted

Given the age, mileage and damage, it is probably worth very little. In reasonable condition with no damage you would only get £750-£1,000 px. I guess the damage wipes this out. You would be better off keeping it until you have settled the HP, but, failing that, you need to find a way to pay off the balance. I don't think the quality is there with French cars, so not surprised the bills are growing.

ilovebanksMCMLXXXI

You are aware that if you VT the car it will register on your credit file because you are breaking your finance agreement?

The car needs to be in fair condition

motorguy

ilovebanksMCMLXXXI wrote: »

You are aware that if you VT the car it will register on your credit file because you are breaking your finance agreement?

The car needs to be in fair condition

Under a VT whereby you've paid 50% of the total amount, which we would have to assume the O/P has given they've had it 3 years, then you are NOT breaking the terms of the finance agreement. Its a legal clause in there that you can exercise if you chose to.

I did a VT several years ago and when complete the finance company sent me a thank you letter and asked them to give them a call when buying my next car as they wanted the opportunity to quote.

missile

Sorry but I do understand why you put a deposit on a car before checking how you would terminate the finance deal.

A bit late for you, but a.n.others may like to make note. You cannot sell the car with outstanding finance and it is not worth £1,000. I doubt it will save you much, but have you asked for an early settlement on the finance?

Seems like you have little alternative but to continue payments on the plus side your neighbours will think you are a two car family!

garveym

Thanks for the replies and advice.

As is quite usual for me I got a bit carried away and jumped in with two feet! Luckily the payments on the new car dont start until January so I will try to pay off the remainder before then and try to avoid paying for two cars.

Thanks again

missile

I hope you enjoy your new wheels.

LandyAndy

pgilc1 wrote: »

Under a VT whereby you've paid 50% of the total amount, which we would have to assume the O/P has given they've had it 3 years, then you are NOT breaking the terms of the finance agreement. Its a legal clause in there that you can exercise if you chose to.

I did a VT several years ago and when complete the finance company sent me a thank you letter and asked them to give them a call when buying my next car as they wanted the opportunity to quote.

I agree. I've also done one. Had no effect on the finance company offering me another agreement immediately.