URGENT please help, husband left me & I want to cancel car contract

Nearly_Old

Have you thought about using a hire car short term to give you a little bit of breathing space?

I've just checked using www.carhire3000.com (a car hire search engine) and for Leeds (just used that as an example) a Corsa or an Astra is £117 per week (Mon to Sun).

Car financing arrangements can be quite complex and as you have so much else going on you might miss something quite important and once signed these agreements can be very difficult / expense to cancel. Will you have to have the car serviced at the dealer as this can be expensive? Is there a mileage limit? There are so many things that you really do need to know and understand it might be better if you could bring the paperwork away so you can look through it carefully.

I know that the manager, etc will appear to be very helpful but please remember that it is their job to sell cars and it is the month end on Monday so they might be concentrating on that and not on what is best for you.

Nearly_Old

newincognito wrote: »

Hi again

i was speaking to my parents early and they did offer me £40 a month towards a car which would help a lot. I am considering this. I have looked at leasing on a 3 year deal, brand new mercedes A class for £169 a month with britannia leasing so the same price as the car I was going to get has anyone heard of them?

As far as I know (and that's not a lot according to some people ) Britannia Leasing are effectively a finance house. They purchase new vehicles from main dealers and put together leasing (finance) packages based on what each customer requires.

Just looking very quickly on their website then the A160SE at £139 (excl VAT) appears to be their base rate; i.e. 10,000 miles per year, no car tax, no maintenance, etc, etc. So on top of the leasing payments you would still have all the other costs and if you exceed the mileage the excess charges can be very high. Also the A160 will have to serviced at a Mercedes dealer (labour £120/hr + VAT at our local dealer) as usually the lease will not allow you to use any other garage.

spiro

I would suggest being able to cancel after 2 years is not going to help because I would GUESS that the next 3/6/12 months will be difficult while you adjust your finances, agree child support payments with your ex etc. Things like gas, elec etc are unlikely to reduce in cost but there will only be your income paying not 2 incomes.

I would suggest you buy a cheap car that has just had a new MOT to get you over the next 12 months, could you afford to do that?

newincognito

Nearly_Old wrote: »

Have you thought about using a hire car short term to give you a little bit of breathing space?

I've just checked using (a car hire search engine) and for Leeds (just used that as an example) a Corsa or an Astra is £117 per week (Mon to Sun).

Car financing arrangements can be quite complex and as you have so much else going on you might miss something quite important and once signed these agreements can be very difficult / expense to cancel. Will you have to have the car serviced at the dealer as this can be expensive? Is there a mileage limit? There are so many things that you really do need to know and understand it might be better if you could bring the paperwork away so you can look through it carefully.

I know that the manager, etc will appear to be very helpful but please remember that it is their job to sell cars and it is the month end on Monday so they might be concentrating on that and not on what is best for you.

Thanks for your help. This is what i was worried about, that i missed something in the paperwork but I hunted for ages to find a good dealer and i haven't heard any negative reviews about FOW which is why I went with them. But I still need a car. I still have to have the car serviced not at the dealer though, there is no mileage limit either.

I may just like you say have to get a hire car for this week just to sort myself out

WIth the merc, do they all have to be serviced by a merc dealer?
When i called britannia yesterday he did say tax is included.

newincognito

spiro wrote: »

I would suggest being able to cancel after 2 years is not going to help because I would GUESS that the next 3/6/12 months will be difficult while you adjust your finances, agree child support payments with your ex etc. Things like gas, elec etc are unlikely to reduce in cost but there will only be your income paying not 2 incomes.

I would suggest you buy a cheap car that has just had a new MOT to get you over the next 12 months, could you afford to do that?

Thanks, Yes it will be difficult but I really need a car in the next 10 days or so and can't afford to buy a cheap runaround which is why i wanted to finance or lease. And also i think i just wanted peace of mind with buying a newish or new car ( i know all cars can give problems) rather than a runaround especially with children and I work 30 mins away from home with the route being on country lanes so I just wanted something reliable.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

can you afford the maintenance on a merc!!!! servecing and high dealer prices if it fails? im not trying to discourage you but you do seem to be jumping headlong into anything your offered.

yes your offered a deal by your parents but extra £40 will just cover weekly fuel costs not extra charges and maintenance tax mot insurance and finance.

i think your better off with holding off getting any finance utill your in a stronger position to do so. we all have periods in our lives where we struggle with transport, and sometime there really is no alternative but to use the bus and ask friends from work to give us lifts in from the bus station or from home, yes you need a car for practicality but when financial practicalitys wont allow us we have to make do with whats around us. yes it will be tough, but at the end of the day youll have food on the table electricity and food without having to struggle on the poverty line if you enroll in something you cant afford. sorry sounds harsh but as your in a tizz about everything i dount your thinking clearly to see whats really going to happen and the struggles you could face

spiro

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

can you afford the maintenance on a merc!!!! servecing and high dealer prices if it fails? im not trying to discourage you but you do seem to be jumping headlong into anything your offered.

I am inclined to agree, the minor service will cost about £250 and the major £350 and I would expect the lease may require this to be done by a dealer. Also if you wanted to hand it back after 2 years then the car is going to need to be in something like showroom condition otherwise you have to pay for everything to be put right which can run into serious money because if you dont rectify before they collect they get it done and you have no option but to pay their prices. A scratch on the door from the keys or your handbag could easily set you back £200-300 to have the door resprayed.

newincognito

Thanks guys

Ok merc out of the question, i am in a tizz though as i need to get to work. Bus or train is not an option as i work in the sticks. The bus would only take 40 mins and I would gladly commute by bus but the buses are 3 times a day and the train would take 2 hours, so not an option. Also I have asked around and no one can lend me a car or drop me off. I had to hire a car last night so I could get to work this morning, obviously i can't do that long term but I need to sort something out asap.

A mechanic that my dad uses mentioned a car 3 months ago, a KA 35000 miles for £800 I called him today and said that it is now £1k with full 12 months MOT but he would have to charge the battery as he hasn't driven it in 9 months.

Life really does throw some things at you, I just need to sort something so that I can get to work.

fivetide

spiro wrote: »

I am inclined to agree, the minor service will cost about £250 and the major £350 and I would expect the lease may require this to be done by a dealer. Also if you wanted to hand it back after 2 years then the car is going to need to be in something like showroom condition otherwise you have to pay for everything to be put right which can run into serious money because if you dont rectify before they collect they get it done and you have no option but to pay their prices. A scratch on the door from the keys or your handbag could easily set you back £200-300 to have the door resprayed.

This... with two small kids it is goign to take a battering and they will bill you like crazy for the slightest mark.

Nothing wrong with a decent 5 year old Toyota or something, it'll still have a good ncvap rating and be reliable. Also, new cars (even used ones actually) from a dealer don't just arrive on the doorstep so you'd still need to wait. Could your dad have a look about for a good one for you? Got any friends looking to shift a car on? etc etc?

You could also go back to FOW and see if they have taken anything in part ex recently. They might have a Focus or somethingthat they can only send to the auction and they might be prepared to sell it to you on the cheap.

5t.

marlot

newincognito wrote: »

A mechanic that my dad uses mentioned a car 3 months ago, a KA 35000 miles for £800 I called him today and said that it is now £1k with full 12 months MOT but he would have to charge the battery as he hasn't driven it in 9 months.

This might be OK, but KAs have a huge tendency to rust. And sitting around for 9 months is not good.

But you need to get mobile. I'd suggest trying to find a win:win. I'd suggest to him that you rent it for a month for £200 to see how reliable it is. and that if it works out to be a good little car you'll buy (either for the full £1000, or with some discount for the rent money paid - maybe £800 or £900).