Can I do this?

katesmommy

Hubby and I can't afford to buy a new car (who can?) but desperately need one as ours has bit the dust.

Rather than spend a grand on another crap used car, we are thinking of going to somewhere like carcraft and getting a newish car on finance. We can afford to pay up to 300 per month.

Can we get the finance in my dad's name? If so, would we be able to drive it still?

The reason I ask is that we've just taken out a mortgage and a home improvement loan, so our credit scores aren't the best (not the worst either) and we want a good rate. Dad is happy to do this, and there's no problem with the repayments as at the end of the month we usually have at least £500 spare

Chopper_Read

You can in theory.

Will the finance company allow you Dad to have the finance and you be the registered keeper? That is the question you need to ask.

If you are not the registered keeper will your insurance company cover you?

gilbert_and_sullivan

no no no no no no no and no.

Avoid shark infested waters unless you don't mind getting badly mauled.

Lots of good cars around in the £1000 range, but look for something unfashionable preferably owned by someone mature who looked after it.

Don't pile interest and debt on yourselves, truly bad times are coming we ain't seen anything yet.

Whats your present car and whats wrong with it?

knightstyle

If your dad has good credit he can get a 0% credit card deal. shop around and get several thousands for a 3% fee for over a year, much cheaper that one of the rip off car loans, if you need to do it again a year later and carry on till the loan is paid back. I did this for DD a few years ago.

JQ.

Carcraft sell overpriced cars with overpriced finance. I'd steer well clear.

There are plenty of good cheap cars out there. £1,000 would get you a Nissan Micra, which is cheap to run and generally bullet proof. Then put away your £500 per month and after 12 months you can buy a £6,000 car for cash with the Micra taken in px.

EdGasket

If you can't afford it, don't buy it!
I have never spent more than £1,000 on a car in my entire driving life (40 years) and never had any real problems with the cars I've owned. Look after them and they will look after you.

thenudeone

katesmommy wrote: »

Can we get the finance in my dad's name? If so, would we be able to drive it still?

No. That would be fraud.

He can get finance but then both of you have to make sure that both the finance house and the insurance company are happy with the arrangements.

If you lie to either about who is the main user, who the keeper is, or where it's kept, you could be in massive trouble if there is ever an accident (even if its not you fault).

Best advice is - Don't buy a more expensive car than you can afford or need.

Strider590

katesmommy wrote: »

Rather than spend a grand on another crap used car, we are thinking of going to somewhere like carcraft and getting a newish car on finance. We can afford to pay up to 300 per month.

It's a really REALLY bad idea, for a start the above mentioned charge approx £3000 over book price for a car, get you trapped into an expensive finance deal, sell you an expensive useless warranty, don't let you leave and think about your purchase (they get quite aggressive).

A 6k car will set you back probably 10-12k by the time it's paid off.

The thing to do, is buy a medium/large family car, avoid small cars because they're over priced and rarely looked after properly, avoid diesels because they cost a fortune in repairs once they get to around years old.

Pont

Strider590 wrote: »

It's a really REALLY bad idea, for a start the above mentioned charge approx £3000 over book price for a car, get you trapped into an expensive finance deal, sell you an expensive useless warranty, don't let you leave and think about your purchase (they get quite aggressive).

A 6k car will set you back probably 10-12k by the time it's paid off.

The thing to do, is buy a medium/large family car, avoid small cars because they're over priced and rarely looked after properly, avoid diesels because they cost a fortune in repairs once they get to around years old.

I would totally agree with everything you've posted - except the last paragraph.

I've a small, diesel car which is now 10 years old. One careful owner, FSH, cost £1500 last year. I've had it for a year, no problems at all! 70mpg, £30 road tax.

Brilliant - except it's a very unfashionable 'Fusion' :-(

OP - give something similar a whirl for a year or so, save your money to upgrade if you want to afterwards. But...avoid above mentioned garage like the plague, and avoid payment plans too if possible.

forgotmyname

Sister bought a car from carcraft and oh dear... After the heavy sales and spending about 4 hours there.. She finally buys a car.. They have to pop it into the workshop for their PDI they say.

Comes out with several bulbs not working, One tyre that looks fairly flat and the wrong paperwork.

A £5000 car will be £7000 on their forecourt and then the finance. Another £3000+ So £10,000 to pay for a car thats only worth £5000.

And it may not be any more reliable than a £1000 car.

Can you afford to pay for repairs and servicing as well as the loan payments?