Selling car with existing finance, help!

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I'm on the last year of a HP but now looking to sell my car and buy a new one - something a bit bigger than what I have now.

I just don't know how to go about this, has anybody done something similar? Unfortunately my credit score is not as good as it was when I first got this car 4 years ago so don't actually know if it would be an option anyway but want to try, as I don't want to be stuck with a car that is way too small and not practical.

Anybody have any suggestions/experiences they can share? Desperate to change cars now.

My car is worth more than what is left to pay... could I just go to a dealership sell it to them and put the remaining amount to a new one?

We’ve done it a few times but it does limit your buyers as they have to trust that when they pay you, you will clear the finance off. It generally works fine with dealers but less so with private sellers. Although the last one I sold was private sale, they paid me-I paid the finance company and then I started again.

We only do it when the car value has exceeded what is owed on the car + deposit. So we have made a profit. The used market has been so strong recently, I made £8k on the last one. Only good thing that came out of Covid.

Yes if you part ex with a dealer they will value car settle existing finance from that value and you can use remainder towards next car

Anyone know how the finance would work though? I think my options are limited because of the credit score situation.

Hopeful bump

It’s impossible to say, you’ll either qualify or not. Lenders have been stricter, and affordability is tighter and interest rates significantly higher. If I’m entirely honest you might be better off sticking with what you have as you could end up with no car if you sell yours. You could approach a dealership and test the water first though.

We want to switch out one of ours but the interest rate makes it too expensive right now.

It doesn't sound like a good time to be signing up to more car finance. Are you sure you can't manage a couple more years with the car you have?

If you kept your current car after the finance is paid off, you'll be able to save up for/towards the next one and be able to buy it without borrowing. and maybe end the cycle of borrowing that's damaging your credit file - can you actually afford payments?

Until you try you’ll never know if you’ll be accepted the problem is some dealers are happy to push the finance to other lenders who have lower requirements however they have much higher interest rates so you’ll get much less for your money / be paying over the odds

Sorry to hijack OP but I’m in a similar position however would rather sell to a private seller as so far none of the big buying companies are offering me a good deal. Does anyone know if it’s allowed to sell privately with a HP loan? Have already got the settlement figure from my loan company but would only be able to pay once someone bought the car.

Thanks everyone for responses. I've made a few enquiries today and have found a car which I'm interested in at a dealership. They have said they will part exchange my car, the remaining existing finance will be paid and the rest put towards the new car. Being approved for finance wasn't an issue.