The Car finance discussion thread...

[Lippy 0]

Hey

 

As more people on the forum are changing their cars, so I thought this may be a good place to discuss things in general.

 

My usual weekend trawl of the classifieds showed how much VAG you can get for 3 - 7 k, all of which look tempting in different lights of the day. Anyway, it got me thinking...

 

What options are available for getting a car on finance, and what things should we be aware of etc.

 

My C is only my thrid car and was paid in cash, knowing that it would take me ages to save up outright for a 4mo/S3 etc. How did you go about financing things?

 

Hope this isn't too personal, obviously leave out the details on direct costs etc, more interesting to debate the options loans, HP etc etc and the benefits or pitfalls around them.

[jedi-knight83 0]

just went into the bank and walked out 30 mins later with £14k. was really easy.

 

i would do it again but would suggest borrowing £2-£3k less than the purchase value... that way if things go tits up and you need to sell.. even if its depreciated a bit you can still pay the loan off.

 

Id rather borrow the money for a car than have personal funds tied up in it.

[JIMMI 0]

Just be careful,

I know most people have loans, finance etc on cars but ive seen far too many mates etc get into trouble with debt on cars etc that im pleased ive never had to borrow to buy cars and bikes, ive always saved up and bought them outright myself. Its not too bad now that im a little older and i can afford nice motors (dare not list what i own now :oops: ) but when i was younger and all my mates had new cars on finance and loans i was driving about in sub 1k bangers and stuff because thats all i could afford.

Its paid off in the long run though !

I'd much much rather have a 2k car that was mine than a 15k car i was just "renting" !!

 

Jimmi.......................

[Jim 2]

Hm..

 

Tough call this. I've always had finance on my cars - old and new. I always sort of struck it lucky because I borrowed the right amount for the car, and the repayments balanced out with depreciation so whenever I sold the car, I always evened out.

 

This was all before I moved out of my parents house and started fending for myself. Now i've moved out I really regret having finance on my car. I stuck some money on a credit card bill I could never clear, and half of the money on buying the Corrado I have now. I will be paying it off now for another 2 and a bit years and the Corrado is not worth the amount I owe. Foolish move but I guess in two years i'll be in a much better position!

 

Just really really work it out - and don't rush into it. Work out how much its going to punish you a month and work out worst case scenario's for each month - like the worst bills you can imagine, etc and see how it all balances out.

[Son of a Beesting 0]

I'd much much rather have a 2k car that was mine than a 15k car i was just "renting" !!

 

Agreed, what happens if it gets crashed/stolen. You have to pay a car off you dont have. I know insurance covers this but you can still end up owing money and it can take over a year to sort out a insurance case.

 

Only borrow money you can 'afford' to lose. Say if the car is worth £5000, borrow £2000 or there abouts.

[jedi-knight83 0]

in my case the insurance paid out in full within a week of the crash and what was left on the loan was paid the following week.

 

I then took out another loan the following year when i bught my current S3

 

Like i said above though... each time the loan amount was for less than the purchase value of the car.

[steve @ 0]

I always pay outright rather than borrow / finance. I already have student debts to pay so the last thing I need is another loan to repay.

[Nick 0]

I bought my last car using money from a loan, the car was £4250, and i borrowed 3k, and paid it off over 2 years (i think) which was about £130 a month.

 

I sold that, and bought my C with the money, and the 'change' went on insurance.

 

A month or two until i was due to pay off the loan i got a credit card, and chalked up another 1k and ended up having to extend my loan.

 

This sucks, as im still suffering now, however i feel its a better option than finance as if everything goes wrong, i can sell my car to pay off the money rather than having to find the money to pay off the finance, before selling, as your not allowed to sell a car on finance!

[Son of a Beesting 0]

in my case the insurance paid out in full within a week of the crash and what was left on the loan was paid the following week.

.

 

your fortunate then, I am just saying I know people who have had to wait ages for insurance to pay out. It wasnt their fault either at all (someone overtaking on a blind hill and was on his side of the road in one case). I am not saying not to do but there are times when its not the best idea.

[khurrado 0]

I always pay outright rather than borrow / finance. I already have student debts to pay so the last thing I need is another loan to repay.

 

Amongst other debts. My student loan was £15k. Its a lot easier borrowing money than paying it back. :cry:

 

And now I would only borrow money for investment, as in something that would accrue value and not depreciate. E.g. a house/flat.

[TomB 0]

I've always bought outright, but then again, I've never paid more than £2K-ish for a car, which I saved up for for a while before buying it.

I know that I'll always be driving an older car that will always need bits doing to it, but I prefer it that way to owing money. Just personal preference tbh.