Aargh PCP I’ve messed up

[Murrfect]

Last January I got a car on pcp as needed something that could manage my commute 12 hours a week. I knew I only needed it for 18mths/two years (and I have another car that I love but can’t manage the commute)

But I’ve just checked the statement and it says 36 months! I must not have checked it carefully enough. I’m so cross with myself.

Does anyone know what I can do or am I stuck paying for and extra 18 months I don’t need? Or paying a big sum to end the contract early?

I’m tempted to offer it to my son if he learns to drive this summer but not sure if I’m allowed.

I thought I had it sorted and it was simple and now I’m *facepalm. I’m so stupid!

Ask the finance company for a settlement figure. You could sell the car if it covers the settlement amount.

I'm no expert but I believe you will incur quite a large termination fee if you want to cancel mid way through.

The company I lease through has a minimum age of 17 so maybe your son having it would be an option.

I'd call them Monday and see what your options are.

I think it’s the same as hire purchase cars, as long as you have paid half the total contract costs you can hand the vehicle back. So you may be ok as you will have paid two thirds? I don’t know if they can charge you an admin fee or anything if you go for voluntary settlement but that can’t be too much you would think.

Ok so is the way that works: the balance outstanding now is 10.8k

In the summer It would be 9.6k outstanding, I pay that, then as long as I sell it for 9.6k privately I haven’t lost out? Or as ling as the difference is more than the settlement fee

Cars online with my car spec are about 9.5-11k but from dealers. I suppose private sellers are less :-/

Bear in mind the settlement figure should be less than the balance as you will save on interest. Ring finance company and discuss your options.

Elieza! Maybe that’s it! I was sure I said only for two years!

I need to check but have a list of options worked out. So I don’t sound irritated (which I am as I also thought that they’d offered me my first service free but there was no paperwork so..... I paid)

Oh the settlement figure to BUY the car or to hand it back?

I needed it to get to work but omg! With £220 on pcp n £260 on petrol it’s so expensive

Once your over 50% of the way through you can hand the car back with no penalties (or at least we've never paid and hubby has done this twice). Just ring them and ask x

As others have said, you can Voiuntary Terminate your PCP contract if you have paid more than 50% of the original balance. There’s some useful information here www.thecarexpert.co.uk/car-finance-voluntary-termination-pcp-hp/

I chose to go down the VT route earlier this year. The process was fairly straightforward, but it did involve an inspector coming out to check over my vehicle - he was looking for damage that was over and above any normal “wear and tear”. So any scratches, dents etc. He also checked that I was within the annual mileage allowance, the car service record was up to date and the tyres were good. Any issues with any of these things results in additional charges from the car finance company.

It was definitely the best option for my vehicle, but I went into it fully aware of the potential for additional costs. Selling the car privately wasn’t an option for me as the car was worth much less than the amount of outstanding finance. Hope this helps.

Worth sticking the car info in some of the car selling comparison sites. I did this recently with my pcp, about 6 months before it was due to end. Local Arnold Clark paid about £1200 more than the settlement (they only deducted a tiny amount from the estimate too, I think about £40 for one alloy)

Bear in mind that it's 50% of the total price of the car, not what you've agreed to pay over the three years, which is the price of the car minus a balloon payment. You won't get to the 'hand the car back without penalty' stage until maybe 2+ years into the contract. But that might be an option.

I did a VT a few years ago and it was at something like 34 months into a 412month contract when I could do it. The condition check was surprisingly painless. My car was covered in bumps and scrapes, most of which were not my fault, and the bill came to about £60!

What's happening in the 18 months/2 years - will you not need a car at all?

You could talk to the dealer, they might be happy to buy the car back and it might be cheaper to cut your losses. If you still need a car, you could swap to a car that suits your needs more, but it's likely to mean signing up to a new contract so check this carefully.

That's a 42 month contract, not 412 FFS.