Car financing issue

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28 Oct 2022
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5
Location
Berkshire
Hi everyone,
So... this is going to be a bit of a read, but please bear with me.

I purchased my perfect motor on finance in 2018, a 2015 Ford Fiesta, low mileage, 1 litre turbo boost engine with an automatic gearbox, I had no issues at all until late 2021 when my engine suddenly overheated on the motorway, and it completely ceased working. There were no warning lights or info on the dash prior to it ceasing.
A mechanic took it in and diagnosed it as a complete write off! As the engine had overheated, it had also completely written off the gear box! The stress hit me hard because there was still £6000 outstanding finance on it!!
It turned out that the coolant tank and pipe had issues in that make, model and year. Prior to the breakdown, it had had full service and MOT 3 months before with no issues reported. As this wasn't an issue that I could claim on my insurance, I was stuck, then by chance some weeks later the mechanic found out through forums that this was an issue with them, so he advised me to speak to Ford. I contacted Ford and they told me that I'd been missed on a recall in 2018 and to my luck they offered to pay me out the value of the car at the time, £5500. After some negotiating and explaining that I am a full-time student, I do not have the funds to purchase another decent car outright nor do I have the funds to put down as a reasonable deposit, they increased their offer to £7000.
This left me with a total of £1500 after paying off the outstanding finance. After some searching around looking at used cars online, umming and ahing over finances on brand new cars, which was not even an option I could take as nowhere would take such a small deposit on a new car or offer a jobless full-time student a finance, I finally gave into a used car on finance from an independent dealership and I had to have one of my parents take out the finance in their name because I cannot provide proof of income due to the reason above. The best second-hand car I could get with that left over money was not even worth considering, second hand cars are just so expensive at the moment.

Now... due to my panicked need for a car because I have to travel to various placements, university, sometimes on call outs night or day, plus we live in the middle of nowhere with no bus route, I did not take the time out to research cars. Add to that my small budget and lack of knowledge in cars, I have now ended up with car that simply should not be road worthy. Now I am not being ungrateful here...but my word the anxiety I suffer every journey in that car is unreal! Constant lights coming on, some of which have been seen to but just will not go away, sometimes it will not register when put into gear and it drives like... indecisively... just plain terribly. I can feel every gear change, all previous automatic cars I have owned have never been so. I am constantly harassed on the road because it's not a fast mover, it reacts slowly and sometimes it appears not to be 'feeling like a drive'.
Now before anyone says anything, the course I am doing is medical and very full on, I barely have time to work paid work because I have to prioritise assignments, revision time, placements, training sessions etc.

I contacted the finance company and they refused to let me sell it privately stating that it would be a breach of the contract even if the financed is paid off within minutes of it selling. I wanted to sell it privately because I'd get a better price compared to car buying companies and garages.
After speaking to the dealership where I financed it, they only offered me £3500 for the car and the current settlement figure is £7800. I understand, they are a dealership, they will underpay to make more money when they sell.
So here I am... stuck in a finance I cannot budge so that I can start again. The plan was to hopefully rid of the car, have something left over to then move onto another better functioning car (research done already) on another finance which is literally my best option.

Can you help me please, is there any other way I can get rid of the car??

Thank you and apologies for the essay.
 
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How long have you had the car? Could your parents pay the finance off and then you sell the car? Think carefully what you need from a car before you start another round of finance. What would be wrong with a 12 year old civic for example? Dirt cheap and high reliable. I doubt very much they could prove breach of contract if you sold it and then paid of the finance within minutes, they would have no way to prove it! They just want the extra profit.
 
Hi,
I'll just answer all your questions in one.
It's a Vauxhall Adam 1.4 automatic (I hold an auto license only).
The issues started with a flat tyre warning 3 months into "ownership", all tyres were new from purchase, had them checked and they didn't need replacing, the warning carried on, it was looked at by Vauxhall and an independent garage, but neither could resolve it. The tyre pressure sensors were looked at too and no issues.
It drives odd, the acceleration has poor power on take-off and when the gear change comes in on further acceleration it slows down then speeds up so gradually. I can only describe it as forward-back-forward-back feel and that goes on. Hills are the worst.
On regular occasions it fails to register when put into reverse/drive/neutral mode. I feel like I am constantly fighting it.
On 3 occasions it has sprung up a message saying "over speed" and knocked itself into neutral.

I have had it for 10 months, no my parents cannot afford to pay off such a sum, unfortunately they are not financially stable for personal reasons I shan't like to disclose and for respect. There would be absolutely nothing wrong with a 12 year old civic, my thought process at the time was to get a car that would be reliable until I finish university and go from there. Prior to financing this one, I test drove a few, bare in mind I only had £1500 to spend and every car I came across either had issues listed, it was CAT D, extremely high mileage or increased my insurance premium.
The finance package is a HP. I would assume the drop in value is due to the make and model not being one that keeps value? I don't know a lick about cars *laughs in sadness*.

Cheers for the offer dLockers but I shall say no thank you. I have no idea who you are or what the agreement would be.
 
How did you afford the original ford fiesta?

I would suggest you should take a more thoughtful approach to choosing a car, because you only have an auto license your really sort of stuck as to what's available. That said, there are loads of small cars that are auto and would be reliable. Nissan note, Toyota Yaris, Honda Jazz as am example. All reasonable on repairs and fuel. If reliability is no 1 priority ignore the looks of the vehicle.

The vauxhall adam sounds like the gearbox has issues.

Hope you can solve your issues.
 
How did you afford the original ford fiesta?

I would suggest you should take a more thoughtful approach to choosing a car, because you only have an auto license your really sort of stuck as to what's available. That said, there are loads of small cars that are auto and would be reliable. Nissan note, Toyota Yaris, Honda Jazz as am example. All reasonable on repairs and fuel. If reliability is no 1 priority ignore the looks of the vehicle.

The vauxhall adam sounds like the gearbox has issues.

Hope you can solve your issues.
You must have missed the bit where they have a 10 months old Vauxhall Adam. OP is just struggling to understand how the real world works.
 
How did you afford the original ford fiesta?

I would suggest you should take a more thoughtful approach to choosing a car, because you only have an auto license your really sort of stuck as to what's available. That said, there are loads of small cars that are auto and would be reliable. Nissan note, Toyota Yaris, Honda Jazz as am example. All reasonable on repairs and fuel. If reliability is no 1 priority ignore the looks of the vehicle.

The vauxhall adam sounds like the gearbox has issues.

Hope you can solve your issues.
I was previously working and living reasonably, however the career I was in was not one that provided equal opportunity for everyone to improve themselves (something I didn't know until I was in it). I also had plans to change careers once I was of a more mature age, which I have done now. My finance is affordable at the moment, I am not frivolous with money and budget very well. I am not one who puts looks of a car over function.

I have taken better thought over the last 10 months, I am just stuck on how to get out of the finance.
Seriously has no one else ever made poor judgement here and they have been stuck?
Grin and bear it maybe...
 
find a buyer and when you do the deal, you ring the finance company up for a settlement figure, the private buyer pays the finance company in your presence and then pays you any balance if there is any.
i did this a few years ago on a merc and it was simple, the finance company tells you they no longer have a interest in the vehicle when done.

form there point of view they dont know whether it is a private buyer or a friend paying it off for you.
i dont understand how a dealer offers you 3500 to buy it unless he expects you to pay the balance? surely he is in the same situation as if you sold it to a private buyer.?

personally it does sound like a gearbox fault or maybe a software update (not knowing the type of box vauxhall put in) you may well have problems selling it to a private person:(
 
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Most people don't try and get their parents to pay 9 grand to get out of finance 10 months into car ownership.

Most parents bring up their children so they do not get themselves into that mess either. Automatic licence as well. I would disown my kid if she did that ;).

I can almost guarantee OP used student loan to do the finance as well.
 
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Most parents bring up their children so they do not get themselves into that mess either. Automatic licence as well. I would disown my kid if she did that ;).

I can almost guarantee OP used student loan to do the finance as well.

This, my mrs was taking lessons in an auto before she met me. I literally forced her into a manual probably for the same reasons...
 
Hi mate, DM me and I'll cover the finance for you.

What about the rest of us :cry: Can put all that spare cash to use fixing the ****box in my signature :cry: I've been saving for nearly 2 years and almost have enough to get it fixed!! In the meantime some scrote broke into it and decided to steal the stereo (yes apparently that's still a thing) and destroyed half the dash while doing it :(
 
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