Advice re Vehicle Finance when circumstances change

curlu

Hello everyone
Not sure where to turn to for any advice, so thought I would try here to see if anyone has any suggestions.
My sister purchased a new vehicle using dealership finance in December, I assume its a PCP type arrangement but not 100% sure. In February she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent surgery which has meant that she has had to surrender her drivers licence which given the nature of the tumour will be for a minimum of 2 years, she may never drive again. Her prognosis for survival post 2 years is not great. She now has a nearly new vehicle in her driveway that she doesn't have any hope of driving. She called Suzuki to discuss options and they said her only option is to settle the finance and sell the vehicle herself as she did not take out PPI! Surely given the circumstances there must be some kind of compassionate grounds on which she can surrender the vehicle? She is concerned about the impact on her credit rating if she defaults on the payment. She can really do without having to sell a vehicle privately with everything else she has to manage, not to mention having to come up with a lump sum of money! Any advice. Others have suggested escalating it with Suzuki or defaulting on payments which will result in them trying to reach out to her to reach a solution, but just don't know what would be less harmful.

Any advice?

john1002

First things is to get a settlement figure so you know what your dealing with then you could try for a loan to pay it off and then sell the car or go to one of the car buying sites get an idea of the value you would get and then you'll know the hit your friend may have to take to get out of the agreement.

Let us know how you get on with the figures.

John

curlu

Hi John

She's looking at a settlement figure of £13K and a resale value of around £9.5K. I'm asking if there are other options for her that don't involve her having to borrow more money in order to lose more and not having the stress and aggravation of dealing with private buyers while she is going through chemo and radiotherapy for 6 weeks!

DCFC79

curlu wrote: »

Hi John

She's looking at a settlement figure of £13K and a resale value of around £9.5K. I'm asking if there are other options for her that don't involve her having to borrow more money in order to lose more and not having the stress and aggravation of dealing with private buyers while she is going through chemo and radiotherapy for 6 weeks!

I dont know of any options other than yourself or a family member take out a loan, pay the finance off and transfer the vehicle to that person, dont know if it would work.

She or you could write a letter explaining the issue, wont do any harm but they dont havs to do anything.

You sure if it is finance and not just a loan.

curlu

It was arranged through the dealership so I assumed its finance but I've not seen the paperwork as she lives 100 miles from me.....I will seek clarification.

Sparx

Have you asked about voluntary terminating the agreement? And handing the car back?

If able she would then only be liable up to 50% off the finance agreement. That could potentially be more financially viable.

Just a suggestion though - not saying this is definitely a better idea, but can sometimes be less of a financial hit.

Edit: this assumes the loan is PCP or HP.