A really sad story....

spabbygirl

my son & partner bought their 1st house last summer learning money management here. because they were both working my son took out loans for 2 cars on finance, a big Range Rover thing that was £20k & seats their 4 kids and a smaller Audi with a few bodywork issues for a cheaper price, I think around £4k but in February his partner died unexpectedly at just 35. So now he has two cars he doesn't want, both in his name. The smaller Audi he listed on Motorway, which he tells me is a forum where you can sell cars still on finance to other dealers, its been turned down once because of the body work issues but we're hoping to add more photos for better luck next time.
The other car is different, still on finance for another 4 + years he wants to get something cheaper both to run and buy, but apparently if you sell it before halfway through the contract there are big financial penalties.
Is there a way to get out of this contact so early? I thought of writing to the person who owns the loan company, Zoopa, and explaining hoping they'll be helpful.
Has anyone else any ideas? Or how do I find out who owns Zoopa to ask for their help?

molerat

I assume the loans are PCP / HP which is where your half way point comes in, once you have paid half the total agreement value you can give the car back and walk away with nothing more to pay.  There is no penalty as such when ending the finance earlier.  He needs to get settlement figures from the lenders and values for the cars to see exactly where he sits.  If he has seen a car he likes he could see how much the dealer would give him for the car in p.ex. He could also check with one of the many car buying sites. There is no point writing to the lender to see what they can do, people want to sell their cars all the time for many reasons.

spabbygirl

I guess the loans are as you say, I'm so far away from that stage in my life I don't know how they work these days. I see what you mean, I don't think he's asked for a settlement figure on the big car but it is a good idea, so he could save up with my help to get to the halfway point then walk away, is that what you mean? It might be the only way to mange it I suppose, Thanks molerat,  

Edi81

Sorry for your son and his loss. 

I would hope with children and a mortgage there was some life insurance which can be used to pay for this. What about any pension fund or death in service with their work? 

Unfortunately a lender won’t write off the debt unless your son defaults. 

spabbygirl

thanks for that Edi81, Katie couldn't get life insurance because of a previous attempt on her own life many years ago before she met James, she might have a bit of pension and someone is looking into it for James & the children.
I guess it was too much to hope that anyone would write even some of it off, thanks anyway Edi

Herzlos

It may be worth taking the Range Rover to a car dealer and see if they'll take it as a trade in for something cheaper to run. With 4 kids you're probably looking at something like a Ford Galaxy, Vauxhall Zafira, Citroen Berlingo etc. Plenty of them available for under £10k which should at least bring the payments down a bit.

If they only bought on finance last summer there will almost certainly be a shortfall between the value and the settlement, but that can be rolled into the new deal.

An older Audi with bodywork issues may sell pretty well privately, but again there's likely to be a shortfall.

Ms_Chocaholic

Hi

Sorry for your loss.  Can't help with the car but has your son checked what bereavement benefits he may be entitled to.  Just wanted to put this out there just in case he hadn't.

macman

First thing to do is confirm exactly what sort of finance it is. HP, PCP, lease? Otherwise any advice is speculative.

XRS200

macman said:

First thing to do is confirm exactly what sort of finance it is. HP, PCP, lease? Otherwise any advice is speculative.

Very likely that a £20k range rover and a £4k audi would be too old for pcp or lease.

spabbygirl

Thanks all, sorry to be slow to post, I've been busy, in the end he sold the Audi on a forum that is the only place you can sell cars that are on HP, there was a £600 shortfall which I made up but you feel they have you over a barrel, they make a low offer & say they'll go without it, we\re glad its gone but do feel ripped off. It had to be done though. Thanks for all your help, it was really useful.

DrEskimo

spabbygirl said:

Thanks all, sorry to be slow to post, I've been busy, in the end he sold the Audi on a forum that is the only place you can sell cars that are on HP, there was a £600 shortfall which I made up but you feel they have you over a barrel, they make a low offer & say they'll go without it, we\re glad its gone but do feel ripped off. It had to be done though. Thanks for all your help, it was really useful.

It is done now, but the bit in bold is not true.

You can sell a car on finance to any dealer/local garage anywhere in the country, as well as any car broker such as WBAC, Motorway, CarWow, etc.