Getting out of car finance

mccormick90

Hi there,

7 months ago I stupidly bought a 1.8 Astra on 5 years finance. I needed a new car as my previous car was nackered, so I felt rushed into this. I now regret this as the mpg of the car is far too low and struggling to run it with all the miles I do. I am looking to get a more economical car, perhaps a new corsa, on 0% finance. Was just wondering if anybody had any advice on getting the car swapped without taking too much of a financial hit?

Of course, the car is in negative equity. About £3000.

Is there anything I can do or am I pretty much trapped with this car?

Any input greatly appreciated, cheers

Rain_Shadow

Did you buy it brand new? If not how old is it?
Is it on HP? And if not what sort of finance is it?
What are the monthly repayments?
Does the finance have a final 'balloon' payment?
Have you asked the finance company for a settlement figure?
What mpg are you getting?
How many miles do you do?
What sort of driving is it (short or long distance)?

worried_jim

Look at how much the cost to change is (many £K's I suspect). If your next car achieves 15mpg more work out how many miles you need to cover to break even. It's probably 10 years motoring so you may be best sticking with what you have- you really do need to sit down and work this out before making another financial commitment. Good luck.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Yes its going to cost you a lot more to get out of this, and spending even more to save a few pounds on fuel isn't going to help.

Modifying your driving would be the best way forward IMO, its amazing how much fuel you can save by making good pre planned road progress so you don't come to a halt and seldom brake, and keeping to the NSL or below, above that and economy nose dives.

motorguy

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Yes its going to cost you a lot more to get out of this, and spending even more to save a few pounds on fuel isn't going to help.

Modifying your driving would be the best way forward IMO, its amazing how much fuel you can save by making good pre planned road progress so you don't come to a halt and seldom brake, and keeping to the NSL or below, above that and economy nose dives.

+1

A 1.8 Astra will average over 40mpg on a run and should average high 30's overall.

I've had this engine in various guises in Vectras, Astras and Zafiras and its close to bulletproof.

I definitely would not be blowing my brains out on the finance to get rid of it to buy a car doing 10mpg more.

mccormick90

cheers folks,

the settlement figure is about £6500 and the car was valued at over £3500, it is an 09 plate with 30k miles on the clock. I'm going to see if a garage will give me good deal to get my car swapped but i wont hold my breath!

i think the problem with the economy is that its an automatic, its claimed mpg is only 34. corsas are 50 upwards so i will take a look into how much i will save. i shall try pre plan my road progress better to see if i can get a bit extra out of it but i do drive sensibly at the moment and find it too gutsy.

cheers

forgotmyname

Corsa may have an official figure of 50+ But in reality it could be much less. IT maybe as heavy as your car and a smaller engine will need to be worked harder.

1.8 Astra too gutsy? Sorry i had to giggle.

Unless buying an older cheaper car your going to be spending more than you are now.

wba31

mccormick90 wrote: »

cheers folks,

the settlement figure is about £6500 and the car was valued at over £3500, it is an 09 plate with 30k miles on the clock. I'm going to see if a garage will give me good deal to get my car swapped but i wont hold my breath!

i think the problem with the economy is that its an automatic, its claimed mpg is only 34. corsas are 50 upwards so i will take a look into how much i will save. i shall try pre plan my road progress better to see if i can get a bit extra out of it but i do drive sensibly at the moment and find it too gutsy.

cheers

If you have a HP agreement on the car, the vehicle isnt yours until you have made final payment on the HP, so you need permission from the HP company to sell the vehicle. They will understandable want you to pay off what you owe.

If your car is worth £3500, I'd be surprised if a garage would let you do a straight swap for a £3500 car of your choice. They will possible offer you trade value for your car, as they will want to sell for a profit.

With regards to terminating the HP agreement, this National Debtline factsheet is very useful http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=16_hire_purchase_debt

Foxy-Stoat_3

How many miles do you do a year/month/week?

Do you know how much it actually costs you per mile in fuel at the moment, not claimed figures from the manufacturer?

You will need to work out exactly how much you will save in fuel costs against the cost to change.....I think you will not be able to save enough on fuel to cover the cost to change if you go into another finance agreement - assuming you are able to get out of your current one.

Example, I was driving a Golf 4motion (2.8 4x4), used to do 340 miles to £83.00. £0.24 per mile.

Now I have an A4 1.9 tdi, 650 miles to £95.00. £0.15 per mile.

If I only drove 8,000 a year I am saving £720, I tend to cover around 20,000 miles so savings for me are £1800.

That is one extreme to another, going from low 20's to mid 40's mpg the savings are good but only a fool (or someone with too much money) would cover 20,000 miles in a low 20's mpg car anyway.

Going from a mid 30's to mid 40's mpg I dont think the savings will be that great, assuming your not driving as many miles as James Kirk.

OddballJamie

Also consider the extra space, are you planning a family in the future or a job change that may need a larger boot. If you do then keep the Astra.

Five years is a long time and a lot can change.

gilbert_and_sullivan

There is one other alternative, not to be undertaken unless you can absolutely guarantee to keep the car for a long time, get your present car LPG converted.

An awful to think about if you consider this at all, means stumping up about £1200 for a conversion, and you need a decent availablity of well priced fuel on your regular routes, chances are a 250 mile range between fill ups.

Its not for everyone mind and if you go down this route you must maintain the car impeccably to make it last as long as possible, but if you do cover a fairly high mileage could be an alternative to changing cars.