Can't get my head around car finance issue

Psyclist

Hi everyone,

I'm probably just being a bit thick but I've been mulling over this for weeks now and just can't get my head around it.

I bought a car two years ago and took the finance over 4 years. I still have £2200 outstanding to settle the loan which is how the finance was issued. It's a personal loan through some branch of Barclays Finance organised by Arnold Clark when I purchased the car.

Basically, I should have handed the car straight back as soon as I bought it because it had a load of problems the minute I drove it off the forecourt. To their credit, they sorted most of them, but it's been one thing after another ever since.

It's recently started giving indications that the clutch is on it's way out and I've had a quotation to get this fixed and it's a 10 hour job with expensive parts, so I'm looking at best part of a £1,000 just to replace the clutch and DMF.

It's money I simply don't have lying around but I live in a rural area so need a car to get to work and pick the kids up on a daily basis.

I've been advised by three different garages to get rid of the car while it can still be driven and before anything else goes wrong with it (no air con, boot lid pops all the time, electronics inside the car have a mind of their own, and now the clutch) but I can't sell it privately in that condition so I called down to Arnold Clark and put it to them yesterday and they said it was no problem to use the car as a trade in against a newer car.

I currently pay £129 per month for it, and really can't afford to pay any more a month. What makes me laugh is the lad asked what my upper limit was and I said £129 really coz I'm already struggling to keep up with my money, but if I needed to go a little higher I would consider it. Everything he suggested after that was £150 per month... If he can do it for £150 per month then why can't they suggest something for £129 per month?!

Anyway, basically I'm trying to figure out how this is going to work out. He said I can hand my car back to them, hopefully they'll cover the outstanding finance on the car and anything left over will go down as a deposit, and then I can choose a different car.

The only way I can see it is that I'm basically going to end up paying full price for a car with no discount for part ex. Is that right? So even though I've been paying £129 for the last couple of years, I'm not going to get anything back for it.

Also, this may sound completely random, but am I in any way tied into dealing with Arnold Clark or could I trade the car in with any dealer as long as they'll cover the cost of the personal loan?

All I want is a car that does what it's supposed to do. The car I had before was a high mileage Mondeo which was costing me a fortune on a monthly basis in repairs, but I only paid a £1k for it, whereas I've paid over £4k for this one and granted it hasn't cost me that much on a monthly basis, but only because I haven't actually fixed the things that have gone wrong with them being mainly cosmetic.

I hate cars!

Can anyone make any suggestions as to what is the best thing to do?

Cheers

Kristian

DantheMan

Bring it to WBAC (WeBuyAnyCar) and they'll cover the finance left on it, you may not have much left afterwards but it will get it out of your hair.

What's the car? What's the mileage when bought and the mileage now? Clutches can go dependant on how it's driven and it's a disposable piece, you will have to replace it!

In terms of the Finance, there's plenty of deals out there for new cars, eg I think the new Volkswagen Polo is £149 deposit and £149 a month after that, many other cars have similar deals, haven't looked into it in great detail so there'll probably be more to it than that.

Before buying a new car, check the history of the vehicle, check reviews about it, check for potential problems, this should hopefully mean you don't buy another wreck!

colino

Is the anonymous car worth what you still owe?

plane_boy2000

I imagine that AC will probably give you a rubbish part ex and then rap anything due on the finance up into a new finance package, so in effect I bet you end up owing more than the car is worth.

Perhaps if you told us what it was, age, mileage etc then we might be able to give you an idea what you could get for it

forgotmyname

Its a personal loan you cant hand it back and walk away.

You can sell it and pay the finance off, But as already mentioned is it actually worth what you owe?

AC may give you half of whats left on the finance. Leaving you to settle the rest or add it onto the new car. Which is not a good idea. Paying interest on interest.

Psyclist

Car is a 06 plate Citroen C4 VTR 1.6HDI Coupe. Bought with 55k on it, now has about 85k on it.

I was suspicious with how keen the bloke in AC was and to be honest after my previous experience with them, I'd prefer to steer well clear if I can.

I appreciate that clutches are replaceable parts, but as I said, I simply don't have access to the amount of money I need to have the work done since it's such a pig of a job to do.

Spotted the VW offer too, but it's a £2500 deposit with a £1000 contribution from VW and then it's £145 per month. Can't see any other offers on them.

Appreciate your help so far anyway!

Psyclist

Oh and I checked with WBAC and their offer was £1k less than I need to pay the finance off.

gilbert_and_sullivan

As a rule the car you alreday have is your most economical option.

A 2006 C4 Coupe isn't exactly the dog end of motoring and this car should only be half way through its useful life.

If it were mine i'd change the clutch myself, but shopping around should find you a decent price, either way i'd get the clutch changed and keep this car.
However running any car on a shoestring, especially a modern high tech car is asking for expensive trouble, they need regular maintenance or they'll bite you in the bum.

You're half way through a finace deal, would make sense to me to finish paying this one off and then never have another car loan as long as you live, easy credit from sharp suited salesmen is easy to get and a long time hanging round your neck.

Psyclist

Considering it's being quoted as an 8-10 hour job for a mechanic who has all the tools and equipment to carry out, I don't really rate the chances of me being able to be able to drop the engine out of the car to split the gearbox off with my limited tool kit.

Since I absolutely hate buying cars, I'd much prefer to keep this one and not have any problems with it, but £900+/- is ridiculous for replacing something which has already been pointed out is a replaceable part.

The fact that 3 completely seperate mechanics have all advised me not to fix it and to get rid of it just strikes me as a little alarming.

I wouldn't know where to start replacing the clutch and DMF (if it has one).

forgotmyname

Unless you buy an auto or a brand new car a clutch is just one of those things.

Its going to need one sooner or later. Unless you dont use the car of course.

john_white

try mr clutch

they have an instant quote on the website. Get quotes for both the clutch and dmf.