I can't afford my monthly car payments [COVID-19]

Part of the FCA's guidelines encourages manufacturers and finance providers to offer a payment holiday for people experiencing temporary difficulties. 

Your first port of call should be to discuss your options with them directly, as it's much better to find a solution with them, than to default on payments and risk affecting your credit score.

Their guidance also states that finance providers should not alter Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or Personal Contract Hire (PCH) agreements unfairly.

In most PCP or Hir Purchase (HP) agreements, you will be able to hand your car back if you have paid off 50% of the loan, including interest and any fees. 

If you haven't paid off 50%, you will have to pay the difference. 

If you have a PCH agreement, it will be difficult to hand the car back early, and it's likely you'll have to pay the remainder upfront to return it.

It's not likely there will be a way to reduce your monthly payments with your finance provider, however, if you really need to reduce all future payments, rather than just taking a payment holiday, then we may be able to help you part-exchange your car for something with more affordable monthly payments.

To see if you are eligible for this, email us today and ask for a car finance review. 

If you initially paid upfront for your car using a bank loan or a credit card, and you're now struggling to make the payments, you should call your provider for help.

If you want to end the agreement with them, you would need to sell the car to make enough money to cover the remaining balance. Speak to us today about a vehicle valuation and we can tell you if the car value will be enough to cover the balance.