Thinking About Car Hire-Purchase Agreements?

7 Tips About Car Hire-Purchase Agreements

These schemes aren't cheap
Just like if you finance your car through the dealer, when you use hire purchase to finance your new car it is often very expensive compared to getting an ordinary personal loan from a separate provider. To compare the total cost, ask for the ?total amount repayable? figure, and get similar comparisons with your personal-loan search.

You don't own the car yet
Hopefully you realise that with this agreement you are only hiring the car until you have made your final payment. The only benefits to this are small and probably won?t be of use to you. They are:

You can return the car once you?ve paid half the cost and can stop making further payments.
If the car is faulty and you act swiftly enough, you can pursue the company that financed the agreement (i.e. the one that paid for the car and to which you make the repayments). This is in addition to your usual route of pursuing the dealer.
The negative aspect of not owning the car is bigger. If you haven't yet paid 1/3 of the cost and you default on a payment, the finance company can simply turn up and take back their car if you?ve parked it on the road (but not from your drive or garage, although car parks are grey areas). What's more, many agreements will still require you to pay up to 1/2 of the cost of the vehicle, whether you have it in your possession or not.

If you've paid more than 1/3 the finance company must get a Return Order from the court before they are allowed to take the vehicle back.

Finally, as it's not your car it can't be protected if you're made bankrupt.

What can you do?
Here are some tips.

1. As explained, the finance company can take your car back. However, if you keep your car on private property, such as your drive or a locked garage, the company must first get a court order to do so. This is regardless of how little you?ve paid. It would certainly keep it in a garage if possible.

2. Work out if you've paid 1/3. Take into account the deposit you paid and the value of any part-exchange. If the finance company takes your car without a court order or your consent, and you?ve paid over a third, you should get a refund of all the money you?ve paid in the agreement.

3. Decide if you can you do without the car. Bearing in mind that you?re struggling with your bills, would it make more financial sense to give it up and get a cheap, reliable 2nd-hand car? (Remember, though, that you?ll probably still be obliged to pay up to half, if you haven't already done so.)
4. If you can't do without the car, make it a priority debt and pay less to other debts such as unsecured personal loans. However, don't forget your other priority debts:

Council tax (people go to prison for not paying their council tax)
Electricity and gas (don't get cut off)
Maintenance, child support and fines (to avoid going to prison)
Income tax
Rent or mortgage (to avoid losing the roof over your head)
Second mortgage (same reason)
Television licence

5. Before the court issues a Return Order, you will receive claim forms and will have the opportunity to plead your case in court. If you can offer a repayment plan that pays off the debt in a reasonable period, as well as the ongoing monthly payments, the court is likely to refuse the finance company's Return Order.

6. Always try to negotiate with the finance company first to make a plan to pay off the debt. It's not often that they'll let you pay less per month than the monthly payment was supposed to be, but it can happen.

7. Failing that, you can apply for a Time Order from the court. You use this when you're having temporary difficulties. The judge can agree that you pay reduced payments for a short while and can increase the length of the contract.

Hope these tips could help you..

Buying a Car? Sound's good

How to Buy a Car With Bad Credit



Buying a car is a big deal for most people. Cars are pretty expensive and most people can't pay cash for them. Most of the times, people take out loans to pay for their cars the same way they take out loans for their homes. Most cars are paid of in the period of a few years. The longer you take to pay off a car, the more interest you will pay. It's in your own interest to find a car loan that has low interest rates and a not so long payoff period.

But with the economic crisis still going strong, a lot of people now have bad credit scores. A lot of people are worried they cannot be approved for a used car loan because of their bruised credit. It is very ironic that people with bad credit have bigger problems being approved for loans with lower interest. After all, if you're on bad credit, you're already having troubles making your payments to begin with.

How To Buy A Car With Bad Credit

You can still buy a car even if you're on bad credit. But I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. It will take a lot more effort than if you would have had good credit.

Before you are going to be shopping around for a used car loan, make sure that you have checked your own credit first. There are websites on the Internet that will get you your credit report for free. But they only do this once per year. You'll want to know where you stand before you go talk to a lender. The lender will also run a credit report and it would be unpleasant if you were to be confronted with any surprises you didn't know about.

If your credit is really bad, you might have to repair it before you can be approved for a loan. If your credit is not the worst out there, then you can usually get approved for a used car loan if you provide proof of income and employment. Knowing you'll be able to pay off your monthly bills on the car loan will make clear to your lender that you are a low risk investment for him.