Hello,

I am 14 months into a 48 month PCP with Audi Finance and it is proving more expensive than I had budgeted, in as much that I could now get the same vehicle for £200-300 less a month through several leasing companies (and save several thousand pounds over the course of the contract). I am seriously regretting signing up now, but rest assured have learnt the salient lessons.

Any tips on how to get out of my lease early please without getting stung?
It's not desperate (yet) but every penny helps! (newly appreciated wisdom)

Thanks,
Rich

You need to talk to the finance company. The only way to get out of the agreement early is to make the required lump sum payment. They may give you permission to sell the car to raise this but first you need to phone them up and ask them to tell you the settlement amount if you settle, for example, at the end of the month.

Thank you for that maxsteam.

I will give them a call in the next few days.

I am thinking more and more that it may be best to get a loan to pay off Audi Finance and then recoup my money by selling it privately.

It would be nice to have their permission to sell it and negate the need for a loan but that may cause problems with people running checks etc to see whether or not there is any outstanding finance.

Once that dilemma is sorted, I need to find out about Autotrader etc for a sale.

Thanks again,
Rich

That sounds sensible.

Be careful about the settlement date though. Some people fall into the trap of asking for the amount needed to settle things today. They then settle in a month or two's time only to find that they don't have enough because the settlement figure is different for different dates.

Good luck.

I made a post in the other question about getting out of a PCP so the comment there still stands. If your PCP is a conditional sale agreement then when you have paid 50% of the total amount due you can send the vehicle back with no further payments to make as per the Voluntary Termination Clauses (section 99 and 100) under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

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Hi,

An update, and a plea for more advice please.

I did not pay the settlement figure to sell the car privately in the end as I would have lost several thousand pounds doing so.

I have a 4 year deal and 2 years is up in the 1st of September.

I am keen to consider a voluntary termination and hand the car back (it is in excellent condition).

Would a voluntary termination go against me and ruin my hard-earned/ valued credit rating? I really need this to be 100% solid as I will need to buy a house (and a replacement car!).

Thank you for your time in advance

I notice that you mention it is a PCP agreement and would urge you to consider that half of the total amount payable includes any 'optional' Final Payment due at the end of the term. If (and I assume you do) you have a final payment due, this will make a difference to the point at which you can 'VT' the agreement.

Officially, this doesn't go against you because you are exercising your Statutory rights but it will appear on a credit file and who knows what another finance company's underwriters will think. It is probably a good idea to try and do the two (VT & purchase new car) simultaneously so the VT slips under the radar of your new Finance house.

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You gotta tie yourself to the mast my friend, and the storm will end.