Associate
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.
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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