Keep, sell or part exchange?

Ajsteve

Hi everyone,

Bit of background if I may. I recently separated from my husband with 2 young children and steadily getting myself back on my feet after living with parents for a short while. I have just started a new job working 22.5 hours a week, and will soon have private rent to pay alongside bills, childcare costs and the finance on my current car. I will be in receipt of child maintainence, universal credit and child benefit. 
 During the marriage, we spent £600 a month on 2 separate PCP plans - just under £400 on a Volvo 4x4 and £268 on a smaller Audi A1. I am currently in possession of the Audi A1 as it is cheaper to run and finance. The PCP expires next July. I am aware that in my situation a monthly car payment is less than ideal and £268 a month is hefty for a single parent on a low income. 

My question is - what should I do?

My options are the following:-

- Keep the car until July and suck up the cost. 

- Part-exchange the car for a cheaper new model on a new finance plan (I reckon I could save about £50 a month)
- Sell the car privately and use the money to buy a cheaper second hand runaround.

I need the car for daily commuting and ferrying the kids to and fro. So needs to be reliable and safe. I have always had brand new models where faults are covered under warranty and service plans included. I'm aware that older cars may have unexpected costs and I could be paying out more in the long term.

All advice very welcome. Thank you.

Keep_pedalling

Get rid and get an older car. You can still get a long manufactures warranty on some makes. A 2 year old Hyundai will still have 3 years to run, a 3 year old Kia 4 years for example. 

WellKnownSid

How much is your daily commute / school run and what are the public transport alternatives?

You reckon you could save £50 a month with a new finance deal - but on what basis?  Second hand values have dropped and interest rates are higher... Are you confident you can get finance at prime rates on your current arrangements / income?  Do you have a chunky deposit saved up?

My daughter does 25,000 miles a year in a 15 year old car.  It's proven safe and reliable - and is still worth what we originally paid for it.  Total cost of parts has been around £600 over those two years, £25 a month.

WellKnownSid

Keep_pedalling said:

Get rid and get an older car. You can still get a long manufactures warranty on some makes. A 2 year old Hyundai will still have 3 years to run, a 3 year old Kia 4 years for example. 

A decent suggestion, assuming there is some (any?) equity in the current Audi.  A Toyota has up to a 10 year warranty too if it's serviced at Toyota.  Dacia up to 7 years.

victor2

If you can afford the PCP payments AND whatever the final payment will be, then you'll end up with a car you actually own, presumably like, and know the service history for. However, making that final payment can be a challenge and is one reason why people end up going from PCP to PCP.

Keep up with the servicing and while you'll no longer be driving a relatively new car, it's probably a sacrifice you can make to help deal with your new circumstances.

Herzlos

How much is the A1 worth as trade-in and how much is the settlement figure on it?
If it's worth more than the settlement, then I'd trade it in for something cheap - Dacia Sandero, Hyundai i10, that sort of thing. The lower spec the better (less to go wrong and the cheaper they are to maintain).
If it's worth less than the settlement, I'd try and run it until you can hand it back and then buy something cheap.