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First time buyer with car finance

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Hi 👋 I'm hoping for some information regarding my predicament 

Me and my oh are looking at getting our own place possibly later this year but not sure if the car finance is holding me back 
So my basic salary is 23.5k, but usually 30k with bonus, hers is around 19k. Both have credit score in the excellent range and it's only me who has a 14k car lease that ends February next year.

I'd love to keep the car, but not sure if I got a loan out now how that would affect our application chances, or see if we can get a mortgage first before anything else. 

Any comments wether positive or negative welcome 
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Comments

  • SuseOrm
    SuseOrm Posts: 518 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Apparently if you take a credit it affects your score for six months and it will definitely affect your affordability.  
  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 24,527 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    It is unlikely a one off credit check will be a deal breaker to getting a mortgage. 
    What will probably play a bigger part is what the monthly repayments are. That will probably affect how much you can get. 
    I am a Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • chanz4
    chanz4 Posts: 11,057 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Xmas Saver!
    let the car go back, by a cheap one then once complete buy one
    Don't put your trust into an Experian score - it is not a number any bank will ever use & it is generally a waste of money to purchase it. They are also selling you insurance you dont need.
  • Thanks for the replies, currently paying £340 a month on the car finance, and that's pretty much my only outgoing apart from £130 a month board to my parents. 

    Houses are quite cheapish in the midlands, looking at one around the 170k mark and both got 10k locked in lisa account's. 
    chanz4 said:
    let the car go back, by a cheap one then once complete buy one
    That's what I was thinking, but wasn't sure how much having it would affect our chances with having that as my only debt 
  • chanz4
    chanz4 Posts: 11,057 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Xmas Saver!
    go on halifax calculator run both with and without the car, its suprising how much a car can effect
    Don't put your trust into an Experian score - it is not a number any bank will ever use & it is generally a waste of money to purchase it. They are also selling you insurance you dont need.
  • £340 is a lot for a car loan on your income. Get something on lease for £99 until you have bought a house and moved in adjusted to all the extra stuff that inevitably comes with house purchase. Then if all looks flush purchase another car with a bigger monthly premium if you feel comfortable to do so.
    Paying £130 current rent and all bills is going to be a big shock to the system in the real world especially with rising energy costs!
    Shy Bairns Get Nowt
  • Thanks again for all the replies, feel like the right thing is to sell the car, currently owe 14k and motorway value it at 19k, so yes it's definitely a no brainer, just wanted some advice from complete strangers lol 

    CottonTail said:
    £340 is a lot for a car loan on your income. Get something on lease for £99 until you have bought a house and moved in adjusted to all the extra stuff that inevitably comes with house purchase. Then if all looks flush purchase another car with a bigger monthly premium if you feel comfortable to do so.
    Paying £130 current rent and all bills is going to be a big shock to the system in the real world especially with rising energy costs!
    I did live on my own, private rent so know what the bills are like and got furniture etc all stored ready moved back home to save, managed to clear £2k credit card and save 8k deposit, but appreciate the advice, 
  • Windofchange
    Windofchange Posts: 1,172 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Suffolk04 said:
    Thanks again for all the replies, feel like the right thing is to sell the car, currently owe 14k and motorway value it at 19k, so yes it's definitely a no brainer, just wanted some advice from complete strangers lol 

    But you said the car is on a lease? Is this a PCP contract? If so, you aren't selling the car as you don't own it. Are you allowed to break contract early? Otherwise yes, echo the above about getting rid and then getting one again if you have to once mortgage is sorted out. 
  • Yeah sorry its on a pcp contract over 3 year's, this is up in Feb 2023, but thought I could sell to motorway.co.uk or wbac, they settle the remaining balance and I receive whatever is left, or is that wrong?
  • Suffolk04 said:
    Yeah sorry its on a pcp contract over 3 year's, this is up in Feb 2023, but thought I could sell to motorway.co.uk or wbac, they settle the remaining balance and I receive whatever is left, or is that wrong?
    As long as you clear the settlement that is perfectly fine. This is the reason PCP's can be better than leases as you can simply sell the car and pay the settlement figure, its far harder to get out of a lease. The downside to a PCP is that the whole value of the vehicle shows on your credit report so a £30k car would show the £30k + Interest as what you 'owe'. 

    Who is the PCP lender? Assuming its one of the dealer finance companies so BMW/Mini/VW etc, selling the car and paying the settlement is usually fine but give them a call to confirm. You may need to call them to get the exact settlement figure anyway so just ask about selling the car to pay it off.

    WBAC and others are offering good prices at the moment so if you have had the car 2+ years, you may be able to sell it and break even with the settlement or possible have some equity depending on your deposit amount and APR. 
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