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Car repayments

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hi all,

Just wondering if anybody has any advice regarding car repayments. I am going to be studying at the University of Arizona for 3 months starting in September. Now, obviously I can't drive my car while I am away so I phoned up my credit company (g.e. capital woodchester) to see about either payment holidays or extending my agreement. I have a 60month agreement with them and have paid nearly 24 months of that without dropping a payment. But basically they said 'no' to my request. I was wondering what would happen if I said I wasn't able to afford the payments? Would I be charged more in the long-run or what? It galls me that I have to pay for something and I won't be using it (the same situation with my flat)... Any ideas or advice? Cheers.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You'd probably have some people (debt collectors I think) looking for you.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well, when I phoned the company was like 'Can you not make the payments?' Almost like they have some sort of provisions made for that situation. Just annoys me that I can't get a payment holiday...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Is it not possible for you to go on holiday and leave the responsibility of paying 9with your money) to someone else? And what makes you think you were going to get a payment holiday?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Car credit companies are robbing bastards. Would it be at all possible to get a personal loan to pay off your balance and then pay the loan off in installments instead? They generally have much, much better rates, and lots are flexible enough to give you payment breaks.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    end of the day you enter into a credit agreement, im sure payment holidays weren't in the terms and conditions, as said I would get a loan and pay it off.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for the replies. I reckon I'm just going to have to grin and bear it and pay it. Yes, they are robbing gits, but I reckon I'm getting a pretty decent rate. I'm trying to palm my car off to my younger brother at the moment, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to afford it or not. If I have to pay it, the car will stay off the road so at least I'll save a couple thousand miles on the clock. Oh well... :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi all,

    Just wondering if anybody has any advice regarding car repayments. I am going to be studying at the University of Arizona for 3 months starting in September. Now, obviously I can't drive my car while I am away so I phoned up my credit company (g.e. capital woodchester) to see about either payment holidays or extending my agreement. I have a 60month agreement with them and have paid nearly 24 months of that without dropping a payment. But basically they said 'no' to my request. I was wondering what would happen if I said I wasn't able to afford the payments? Would I be charged more in the long-run or what? It galls me that I have to pay for something and I won't be using it (the same situation with my flat)... Any ideas or advice? Cheers.


    I don't really see why you'd expect them to give people a break from making a regular payment. You're paying a fixed cost each month and you can use the car for as much or as little as you like.

    If you've got someone that needs a car for 3 months then I'd say to them ...here drive it just cover the costs associated with it, ie. 3 months worth of road tax, insurance and repayments + ensure if they crash it they pay for the replacement costs or fixing costs.
  • PearlyPearly Posts: 345 The Mix Regular
    Have you thought about transferring your finance deal to a loan with your bank? The interest will normally end up being a lot lower and they may be more sympathetic to you if you can't pay for a couple of months - it could be worth a try? When I bought a car on finance I definitely saved lots of money getting a loan out, paying the finance deal and then just paying a smaller monthly repayment on the loan....
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for the replies. I reckon I'm just going to have to grin and bear it and pay it. Yes, they are robbing gits, but I reckon I'm getting a pretty decent rate. I'm trying to palm my car off to my younger brother at the moment, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to afford it or not. If I have to pay it, the car will stay off the road so at least I'll save a couple thousand miles on the clock. Oh well... :(

    How are they 'robbing gits'?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Talking of holiday payments, my mortgage company gives us them, quite handy if your going on holiday or have an unexpected expense.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sofie wrote:
    How are they 'robbing gits'?

    Exactly. They aren't.

    Nobody is forced to buy things they don't have all the money for. If something is too expensive, you don't have to buy it or take out a credit agreement. If you want a nice shiny car that's just par for the course. There's nothing stopping you getting a cheaper little second hand run around.

    I don't see the problem myself. You're going to have to pay for it sooner or later anyhow, it might as well be now, and it's only 3 months.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    lennon wrote:
    Exactly. They aren't.

    Actually they are, but not because they won't give him a payment holiday.

    I don't want to end up sounding like klintock, but credit is theft. Credit is all about handing over a small amount of money that doesn't exist anyway and then taking a laerge amount of real possessions in exchange.

    Even during payment holidays you continue to be charged interest.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How are they robbing gits? Because I end up paying them more than a) the car's worth, and b) more than they loan me in the first place. And like Kermit says, credit is all smoke and glass mirrors basically (if that's a fair enough paraphrase). Yeah, I have a car, but even if I wanted a 'cheap runaround' I would *still* have had to get a credit agreement... Yeah, it's three months, but that three months of payments could pay for my rent in America for 3 months. Just trying to save some money...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How are they robbing gits? Because I end up paying them more than a) the car's worth, and b) more than they loan me in the first place.

    Any time you borrow money you get that. But car finance companies generally have extortionate interest rates, and they tend to exploit people who have bad credit ratings and thus can't get a personal loan (or other cheaper way of paying) approved.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How are they robbing gits? Because I end up paying them more than a) the car's worth, and b) more than they loan me in the first place. And like Kermit says, credit is all smoke and glass mirrors basically (if that's a fair enough paraphrase). Yeah, I have a car, but even if I wanted a 'cheap runaround' I would *still* have had to get a credit agreement... Yeah, it's three months, but that three months of payments could pay for my rent in America for 3 months. Just trying to save some money...

    If you want a cheap car, you could just always buy it off someone private and not a car company...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How are they robbing gits? Because I end up paying them more than a) the car's worth, and b) more than they loan me in the first place. And like Kermit says, credit is all smoke and glass mirrors basically (if that's a fair enough paraphrase). Yeah, I have a car, but even if I wanted a 'cheap runaround' I would *still* have had to get a credit agreement... Yeah, it's three months, but that three months of payments could pay for my rent in America for 3 months. Just trying to save some money...

    So? You signed up with them. You wanted something you couldn't afford to buy outright, and agreed to their terms.

    These firms are only in existance because people are incapable of saving up, for whatever reason. Do you somehow not fall into this group?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    So? You signed up with them. You wanted something you couldn't afford to buy outright, and agreed to their terms.

    That doesn't make it moral and it doesn't make it right.

    My firm rip people off on their remortgage- the people agree to the terms, but what choice do they have?
    These firms are only in existance because people are incapable of saving up, for whatever reason.

    You'd be saving up a very very long time to buy a car.

    Which ain't much help when you have to walk the six miles to work.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    So buy a cheaper car. Don't remortgage your house with the company that Kermit works for.
    That doesn't make it moral

    So what would be moral? People working every day to earn a living, but giving the end-product away to those who want it but can't afford it?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    So? You signed up with them. You wanted something you couldn't afford to buy outright, and agreed to their terms.

    These firms are only in existance because people are incapable of saving up, for whatever reason. Do you somehow not fall into this group?
    Mmm, maybe you're one of the lucky ones who is loaded and can afford to save up for about 5 years to buy a car outright (which is silly cause of depreciation). Most are not. I didn't want a car, I needed a car. Yes, these firms are in existence because people can't save up, but then cars are already a rip-off anyway. Me agreeing with their terms doesn't mean I agree with them per se. I don't have a choice really. And the car credit companies know this... Which is why they charge so much.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    So buy a cheaper car. Don't remortgage your house with the company that Kermit works for.

    Perhaps we should save up for our houses too, yeah?

    I work for a nameless law firm on behalf of a nameless major lender, by the way.
    So what would be moral? People working every day to earn a living, but giving the end-product away to those who want it but can't afford it?

    What on earth are you on about?

    Do HSBC work every day for a living? No, they make their money by charging you excessive and illegal fees on your overdraft.

    A fair price is a moral price, where that price is explained clearly. Lending money to make money is not intrinsically immoral, but extortion is. Immoral lending is. Or perhaps you think its OK for 80-year-old ladies to be getting threatening calls from debt recovery agencies because they can't afford to pay for the loan that was mis-sold to them? Perhaps you think its OK to exploit and lie to people when it comes to money? Perhaps you think its OK that lenders actually lie to their clients about what secured lending is- and actually keep lying until the court bailiffs change the locks.

    When interest rates are hovering at around 4%, charging 25% interest is immoral. Lying to people about the cost is immoral. It is theft, and the CEOs of these companies should be treated as thieves. Saudi style.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Mmm, maybe you're one of the lucky ones who is loaded and can afford to save up for about 5 years to buy a car outright (which is silly cause of depreciation).

    Not at all. I've taken out loans to pay for things in the past - if I want something and can't afford it, and can't wait to buy it, then it is how things are done. Nobody needs to buy a new or expensive car. We buy them because we want them.
    Kermit wrote:
    Perhaps we should save up for our houses too, yeah?

    Well, yeah. If you don't particularly like the terms made available to you when you are looking for a mortgage. Or just rent?
    What on earth are you on about?

    Do HSBC work every day for a living? No, they make their money by charging you excessive and illegal fees on your overdraft.

    A fair price is a moral price, where that price is explained clearly. Lending money to make money is not intrinsically immoral, but extortion is. Immoral lending is. Or perhaps you think its OK for 80-year-old ladies to be getting threatening calls from debt recovery agencies because they can't afford to pay for the loan that was mis-sold to them? Perhaps you think its OK to exploit and lie to people when it comes to money? Perhaps you think its OK that lenders actually lie to their clients about what secured lending is- and actually keep lying until the court bailiffs change the locks.

    When interest rates are hovering at around 4%, charging 25% interest is immoral. Lying to people about the cost is immoral. It is theft, and the CEOs of these companies should be treated as thieves. Saudi style.

    Who is to say what is, or is not, moral? If you want something you cannot afford, then you either save up for it or borrow money to purchase it. If you want to borrow the money, then you have to shop around and decide which deal is best suited to you and your needs. If you can't find anything acceptable, then you're not going to buy whatever it is you wanted.

    It isn't my fault if people sign up to things they cannot afford to repay. I have no control over where they borrow money from - whether they'll still be struggling to repay it when they are 80, whether they borrow money from people who lie.

    There is a price to pay on everything. You can't grow your own money, so if you can't save it up for a purchase, then you borrow it from someone who has more money and is able to lend it to you.

    Is selling a car for £10-£30k immoral? They aren't forcing you to buy it. They aren't holding a gun against your head, with a nasty credit agreement in front of you.

    We make choices in life - and one of them is to either live within our means, or to live outside of them based on what we believe our future circumstances will be. If you can't live within your means, then you'll end up paying more than you would if you were able to live within them. If you can't research a purchase properly, then there is a chance you'll not end up with the best deal possible.

    Am I really missing something here, or are you just pissed that the world is far from ideal?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Am I really missing something here, or are you just pissed that the world is far from ideal?

    I'm not against people making money, I'm against people making money through exploitation, lies and deceit.

    If you don't really care about these people exploiting and robbing the most vulnerable people, then that's your choice. I think people who justify the disgraceful actions of banks either don't know or don't care what the banks really do.

    Perhaps you should do some research about what banks and debt recovery agencies actually do to people before you say that its all the fault of the people who borrow from them.

    If after that you still think the banks are right, then I think its a real shame, and does show a lack of compassion and moral judgement.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'll have to read up. Any links to anything that helped you arrive at your conclusions?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's just paying for convenience.
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