Changing car finance?

stewartwilliams

Needed a new (or second hand car in this case) about 3 years ago.
Went to a local dealership and, at the time, with my less than perfect credit record, I got finance with 24/7 money.

No issues paying each month.  Never missed a payment etc.
I'm paying around £381 a month, which is probably a lot more than I should be paying, but it's not causing me any issues financially.
To be honest, not sure if this is due to high interest or what.
(Need to dig out the paperwork to double check things such as the length of the term etc.)

Is it possible to change finance companies mid-term?
Got around £9500 left (around 2 years of payments).  No final payments - once paid, it's mine.

Expect the value of the car to be far less than what I've paid at the end of day as well.

Or is it better to say go to my dealer, and perhaps trade it in against a newer model?  Last time i took it in a for a service, one of the staff asked me how much I was paying and said they could do something far better.

(In the past, I had a new Toyota Yaris every 3 years - traded in for a newer one with my Toyota dealer, payments being in the low £200s, but driving a Kia Sportage now).

retiredbanker1

First thing to find out is the APR you are paying now and what early settlement fees there might be - then come back for advice.
Do you think you will get a better rate now than 12 months ago - is your credit report full of green ticks for on time payments (for everything not just this loan)?

fatbelly

Yes it's possible

https://www.lloydsbank.com/car-finance/refinance.html

mab3000

Both replies to this post give you sound advice to think about and a good option. 

Another option could be a personal loan with a lower interest rate than what your currently paying now to pay off the car finance, bearing in mind any early settlement fees on your car finance agreement etc.