Buying second hand car - previous owner paying-off finance

Stringy

Stringy

Stringy

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My mum is looking to buy a car off of someone who is moving overseas - the previous owner currently has finance and is having to sell the car at a loss (finance settlement figure > value the dealership want to give her). Am I right in thinking the best way to go about this is to go with the previous owner to the dealership and pay the agreed price direct to them, with the previous owner then paying them the difference between the second-hand price and settlement figure?

Before anyone says it's a dodgy deal, 'steer well clear' etc, the person moving overseas is a colleague and friend of my wife.

Car is a 65 Plate VW Polo 1.2 TSI Bluemotion Tech SE with 3000miles
Settlement figure £11800
Dealership value £~9.5k
Buying it for £10600

So we'd pay the dealership the £10600 and the previous owner would give them the £1200 at the same time?
 
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Why would you go to the dealer?

I've bought a car like this before - it's not generally advisable but I had spent a while talking to the guy and trusted him. I paid him and sat there while he paid off the finance over the phone. He passed me the phone so that the finance company could tell me that they had no further interest in the car.

Its nicer if they can settle it first - by credit card for example. But the dealer has nothing to do with it, they need to speak to the finance company so it can all be done over the phone or online. They may take a payment directly from you, which lowers the risk a bit - but make sure whatever you agree is written down and signed first
 
The dealer has little (if nothing) to do with it. The settlement figure will be paid directly to VWFS.

Its completely up to the two parties involved as to how to handle the split of the balance, just so long as all the outstanding finance balance ends up with VWFS.
 
Personally I don't entertain any car that has finance on it unless the owner clears it first, I confirm with my own phonecall they have no interest in the car and then I begin the purchase.
 
Ahh, rgr, having never bought a car on finance I don't know how the settling thing works! Figured it would be better to get the information externally before dealing with the seller in case they didn't have a clue.

So either we'll draw up a contract of some sort and pay her for her to pay off the finance company, or we'll arrange to pay it off together with the finance company on the phone. Her clearing it first isn't exactly an option, she's a primary school teacher who's moving home to Spain so probably hasn't got the ability to front 11k+ before we've paid her.

Got it :)
 
You could write the cheque (ideally, bankers draft) to the finance company, but then the seller has to have some trust in you that the cheque wont bounce (less of an issue with a bankers draft).
 
iaind said:
I've bought a car like this before - it's not generally advisable but I had spent a while talking to the guy and trusted him. I paid him and sat there while he paid off the finance over the phone. He passed me the phone so that the finance company could tell me that they had no further interest in the car.
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I've done this before and my advice is make sure the finance element over and above your purchase price is cleared before you transact. It's not complex, people do it all the time, but if you have a HPI on the car you should know who the finance is with right now and you want them to confirm they have no further interest in the car, meaning it's finance free, before you pay and take ownership. He pays the negative equity, you then pay the agreed price and VWFS confirm they have no further interest in that car and the car is then yours. You should be able to do this in a single phone call. Current holder makes his payment, you then make yours, VWFS confirms what you need to hear, you own car.
 
Stringy said:
Ahh, rgr, having never bought a car on finance I don't know how the settling thing works! Figured it would be better to get the information externally before dealing with the seller in case they didn't have a clue.

So either we'll draw up a contract of some sort and pay her for her to pay off the finance company, or we'll arrange to pay it off together with the finance company on the phone. Her clearing it first isn't exactly an option, she's a primary school teacher who's moving home to Spain so probably hasn't got the ability to front 11k+ before we've paid her.

Got it :)
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Sounds easy and sensible enough. It's definitely not a no-go like pepsilol says, you just have to be careful. If its someone you know then its safe enough - I'd pay her the money and let her settle it in full. Saves the hassle of making multiple payments. Do a transfer to her which should be instant and she'll be able to settle it over the phone by debit card
 
Sit next to seller, call the finance company, get her to give them her details and pay her chunk then hand the phone back to you and you supply them with your card details to clear it job done.

I say you call the company because I have heard of the seller and someone at the other end of the phone being in on a scam to make it look like the finance was cleared over the phone and it wasn't.
 
Are you set on that specific car?

Brand new wont be much more - a quick look on Orange Wheels brings up £11786 - CarWow will more than likely give quotes that are much lower than that as well. When we bought a Polo the quotes on CarWow were a lot lower than brokers.

I'm not saying pay an extra £1000 but its worth a thought - plus you'll get a years free insurance through VW if bought brand new or unregistered. Info here - https://www.insurewithvolkswagen.co.uk/Polo/
 
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It does seem a lot to pay for a second hand Polo! I know that's not what this thread is about but is your mum 100% set on this car? If the car was a year older it'd be significantly less outlay.
 
What does dealership value mean? How much the dealership will buy it back for?

Seems like a reasonable enough transaction.

Get the colleague to pay VWFS the £1200 first and then you can pay the rest.

Bunka said:
It does seem a lot to pay for a second hand Polo! I know that's not what this thread is about but is your mum 100% set on this car? If the car was a year older it'd be significantly less outlay.
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Yeh but if it was a year older again, it would be cheaper again.
 
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disfunktion said:
Are you set on that specific car?

Brand new wont be much more - a quick look on Orange Wheels brings up £11786 - CarWow will more than likely give quotes that are much lower than that as well. When we bought a Polo the quotes on CarWow were a lot lower than brokers.

I'm not saying pay an extra £1000 but its worth a thought - plus you'll get a years free insurance through VW if bought brand new or unregistered. Info here - https://www.insurewithvolkswagen.co.uk/Polo/
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£11786 for a Bluemotion Polo?

You can't exactly just look at the cheapest Polo.
 
muon said:
£11786 for a Bluemotion Polo?

You can't exactly just look at the cheapest Polo.
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That isnt the 'cheapest' Polo. It was for a 5 door 1.2 TSI Match Bluemotion which is actually a higher spec than the SE :)

The cheapest is the S 1.0 which is £9720. I dont think people realise the discounts you can get just from spending an hour or so on a few broker sites.

I didn't just spout random figures - Again these are quick prices from Orange Wheels. CarWow will be cheaper.
 
disfunktion said:
That isnt the 'cheapest' Polo. It was for a 5 door 1.2 TSI Match Bluemotion which is actually a higher spec than the SE :)

The cheapest is the S 1.0 which is £9720. I dont think people realise the discounts you can get just from spending an hour or so on a few broker sites.

I didn't just spout random figures - Again these are quick prices from Orange Wheels. CarWow will be cheaper.
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Do you have a link on orangewheels? I can't find it.

The closest I can find is the 1.0 Bluemotion which comes out at £12,587 (down from £15,635).

There doesn't even appear to be a 1.2 Bluemotion anymore, even on the VW website.

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/polo-gp/which-model-compare/details/1919#!#overview

edit:

It seems my mistake is differentiating "Bluemotion Tech" and "Bluemotion". Not sure what the difference is, but I've found Match model which does say "Bluemotion Tech" on the VW website.
 
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Bunka said:
It does seem a lot to pay for a second hand Polo! I know that's not what this thread is about but is your mum 100% set on this car? If the car was a year older it'd be significantly less outlay.
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Not really as the prices for used Polos are still really high yet the sell pretty easily.
 
muon said:
Do you have a link on orangewheels? I can't find it.

The closest I can find is the 1.0 Bluemotion which comes out at £12,587.

There doesn't even appear to be a 1.2 Bluemotion anymore, even on the VW website.
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https://www.orangewheels.co.uk/buy/volkswagen-polo-hatchback-1-2-tsi-match-5dr.html - click 'Skip all options' to get the above price.

I think you are getting confused as VW change trim levels all the time. All the cars bar the basic S still have 'Bluemotion' - i.e. stop start etc. The standalone 'Bluemotion' they now offer is a midway refresh they introduced which was the same as the previous generation - i.e 'aerodynamic styling and alloys etc' in order to get higher MPG on paper.

For example the car the OP is buying has Bluemotion in the title which just means stop/start as standard and an onboard display to show your driving 'skill'. 16 Plate onwards they re-introduced a standalone Bluemotion model but all other cars in the range still have a Bluemotion badge on the rear -they just avoide the horrible alloys and styling.
 
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disfunktion said:
https://www.orangewheels.co.uk/buy/volkswagen-polo-hatchback-1-2-tsi-match-5dr.html - click 'Skip all options' to get the above price.

I think you are getting confused as VW change trim levels all the time. All the cars bar the basic S still have 'Bluemotion' - i.e. stop start etc. The standalone 'Bluemotion' they now offer is a midway refresh they introduced which was the same as the previous generation - i.e 'aerodynamic styling and alloys etc' in order to get higher MPG on paper.

For example the car the OP is buying has Bluemotion in the title which just means stop/start as standard and an onboard display to show your driving 'skill'. 16 Plate onwards they re-introduced a standalone Bluemotion model but all other cars in the range still have a Bluemotion badge on the rear -they just avoide the horrible alloys and styling.
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Yep, I was getting confused. I noticed after flicking through the different engines on the VW website.
 
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