Privately selling a car with finance | Negative equity
Discussion
I made a mistake by buying a new Audi Q3 on PCP in July 2020 - on the basis of 15k miles pa, nil deposit, 3 x months ‘free’ and £477 x 45. Due to Covid and a career change I now only drive 6k miles pa and my car sits on the drive all week. My wife has a Countryman which will do as a family car. There’s 12 months left on her PCP.
I want to try and un-do my mistake. There are 8k miles on the clock. Settlement figure is £30.5k. WBAC say £24.5k. So £6k negative equity. There is no point in paying £6k to sell it. I might as well let that fund 12 more monthly payments and at least have some occasional use out of it. But I’ve looked at Autotrader, and it seems like I might be able to sell for around £29/£30k.
How would that work? If I put it on, saying minimum price is £31.5k (settle finance). Logistically, would a private buyer be able to settle my finance in exchange for title to the car? Am I likely to be able to sell it privately for £31.5k? It’s condition is fine. Would represent about a £5k saving on list price brand new.
It’s an S-Line 35 TFSI Stronic (the least powerful engine) with metallic paint, flat bottom steering wheel, extended interior lights - but no other options/packs. I’ve made 5 x payments so far.
I want to try and un-do my mistake. There are 8k miles on the clock. Settlement figure is £30.5k. WBAC say £24.5k. So £6k negative equity. There is no point in paying £6k to sell it. I might as well let that fund 12 more monthly payments and at least have some occasional use out of it. But I’ve looked at Autotrader, and it seems like I might be able to sell for around £29/£30k.
How would that work? If I put it on, saying minimum price is £31.5k (settle finance). Logistically, would a private buyer be able to settle my finance in exchange for title to the car? Am I likely to be able to sell it privately for £31.5k? It’s condition is fine. Would represent about a £5k saving on list price brand new.
It’s an S-Line 35 TFSI Stronic (the least powerful engine) with metallic paint, flat bottom steering wheel, extended interior lights - but no other options/packs. I’ve made 5 x payments so far.
Edited by AudiMan9000 on Monday 5th April 22:42
Edited by AudiMan9000 on Tuesday 6th April 06:43
They seem to be available new or nearly new MY 2021 for as low as £25k.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102179...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102179...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...
£477 per month for a Q3? Wow......
I sold a car last month that was on PCP finance with VWFS. Not negative equity though.
I spoke to VWFS and explained I was selling the car privately, the buyer wanted to settle the finance and pay me the difference.
They said fine, I set the buyer up with authority to access my VWFS agreement along with a password, and the buyer just called and made the payment.
It was all done and dusted in a couple of hours.
I would suspect that you may have to suck it up and take the hit on this i'm afraid, and try not to make the same appalling mistake again.
I sold a car last month that was on PCP finance with VWFS. Not negative equity though.
I spoke to VWFS and explained I was selling the car privately, the buyer wanted to settle the finance and pay me the difference.
They said fine, I set the buyer up with authority to access my VWFS agreement along with a password, and the buyer just called and made the payment.
It was all done and dusted in a couple of hours.
I would suspect that you may have to suck it up and take the hit on this i'm afraid, and try not to make the same appalling mistake again.
fflump said:
They seem to be available new or nearly new MY 2021 for as low as £25k.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102179...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...
Those are Technik manuals (poverty spec).https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102179...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...
Yes, mine is an S-tronic.
jonnyefc said:
£477 per month for a Q3? Wow......
I sold a car last month that was on PCP finance with VWFS. Not negative equity though.
I spoke to VWFS and explained I was selling the car privately, the buyer wanted to settle the finance and pay me the difference.
They said fine, I set the buyer up with authority to access my VWFS agreement along with a password, and the buyer just called and made the payment.
It was all done and dusted in a couple of hours.
I would suspect that you may have to suck it up and take the hit on this i'm afraid, and try not to make the same appalling mistake again.
What would be the mechanic of the buyer paying say £28k, and me ‘topping up’ with £2.5k?I sold a car last month that was on PCP finance with VWFS. Not negative equity though.
I spoke to VWFS and explained I was selling the car privately, the buyer wanted to settle the finance and pay me the difference.
They said fine, I set the buyer up with authority to access my VWFS agreement along with a password, and the buyer just called and made the payment.
It was all done and dusted in a couple of hours.
I would suspect that you may have to suck it up and take the hit on this i'm afraid, and try not to make the same appalling mistake again.
AudiMan9000 said:
jonnyefc said:
£477 per month for a Q3? Wow......
I sold a car last month that was on PCP finance with VWFS. Not negative equity though.
I spoke to VWFS and explained I was selling the car privately, the buyer wanted to settle the finance and pay me the difference.
They said fine, I set the buyer up with authority to access my VWFS agreement along with a password, and the buyer just called and made the payment.
It was all done and dusted in a couple of hours.
I would suspect that you may have to suck it up and take the hit on this i'm afraid, and try not to make the same appalling mistake again.
What would be the mechanics be of the buyer paying say £28k, and me ‘topping up’ with £2.5k?I sold a car last month that was on PCP finance with VWFS. Not negative equity though.
I spoke to VWFS and explained I was selling the car privately, the buyer wanted to settle the finance and pay me the difference.
They said fine, I set the buyer up with authority to access my VWFS agreement along with a password, and the buyer just called and made the payment.
It was all done and dusted in a couple of hours.
I would suspect that you may have to suck it up and take the hit on this i'm afraid, and try not to make the same appalling mistake again.
Stick it on
Wizzle.com
Motorway.com
and Evans Halshaw buyers site
see what the best offer you get is.
It’s a nearly new car, low miles and with manufacturers warranty therefore ideal retail car for dealers. However Audi are notorious for doing killer deals on new cars so do not expect anything near brand new value.
The way I see it you either pay £5k now to get rid or pay another £19k over the next 3 and a bit years to have it sat on your drive annoying you.
Wizzle.com
Motorway.com
and Evans Halshaw buyers site
see what the best offer you get is.
It’s a nearly new car, low miles and with manufacturers warranty therefore ideal retail car for dealers. However Audi are notorious for doing killer deals on new cars so do not expect anything near brand new value.
The way I see it you either pay £5k now to get rid or pay another £19k over the next 3 and a bit years to have it sat on your drive annoying you.
The best way is when you have found a buyer you pay the difference between the finance amount and car sale price direct to Audi in front of the buyer, they then transfer the remains amount direct to Audi.
However don’t expect retail money for your car, realistically you need to be at least 2k behind what a dealer wants, most people that buy a new or nearly new Audi do so on pcp, so it’s most likely to go to the trade and they will want it even cheaper than you want to sell it for.
However don’t expect retail money for your car, realistically you need to be at least 2k behind what a dealer wants, most people that buy a new or nearly new Audi do so on pcp, so it’s most likely to go to the trade and they will want it even cheaper than you want to sell it for.
It sounds like any attempt to sell it is just flushing money down the toilet for the privilege of being carless. I might as well just keep it for occasional use, and put this down to a very expensive lesson. Maybe a year from now it can be the main family car if we just hand the Countryman back. I’ll keep a close eye on its equity level, and consider getting rid as soon as I ‘break even’ which might about around the 3 year point.
bulldong said:
There will be no equity and no break even. That’s not how it works.
My old Q3 broke even at 31 months into a 48 month PCP when I was exceeding my estimated mileage. At least according to the valuation Audi gave me.I’m paying £477 as I estimated 15k miles pa. I’m only doing £6k pa so perhaps my break even point will come sooner.
AudiMan9000 said:
bulldong said:
There will be no equity and no break even. That’s not how it works.
My old Q3 broke even at 31 months into a 48 month PCP when I was exceeding my estimated mileage. At least according to the valuation Audi gave me.I’m paying £477 as I estimated 15k miles pa. I’m only doing £6k pa so perhaps my break even point will come sooner.
Anyway for what it’s worth I would see if you can get out of the Mini now as it’s more likely to be near break even or even explore voluntary termination on it as it’s only got 12 months to go
You might struggle to find a private buyer willing to drop £30k on a Q3. The target market for Q3 buyers with £30k sitting in the bank must be incredibly small but you have nothing to lose other than the listing fees on Autotrader etc.
The finance won't be an issue as long as its paid off, the finance company won't care who pays the balance whether its you or the buyer as long as the settlement figure is cleared.
Potentially buyers might be put off if they happen to do a HPI check before contacting you and see it has outstanding finance though.
As others have said, try the likes or motorway or similar and see what figure they give you.
Zero deposit and three months deferred payment was an utterly stupid idea financially but it seems to realise that now. You are unlikely to be anywhere near break even point, we paid a 10% deposit on our PCP and even on low 2.9% APR we are still not break even at the 36 month mark unless I listed privately and really got the top end price which is very unlikely, trade in we are 10-15% away so VT is looking the best option for us.
Also, the 3 months deferred is likely not 'free' at all. You are just deferring the payment but I would imagine you are still adding 3 months interest to the overall cost, similar to taking a mortgage payment holiday. Seems like a good idea but its really not unless you are literally desperate as 3 months interest is likely a few hundred quid more.
The finance won't be an issue as long as its paid off, the finance company won't care who pays the balance whether its you or the buyer as long as the settlement figure is cleared.
Potentially buyers might be put off if they happen to do a HPI check before contacting you and see it has outstanding finance though.
As others have said, try the likes or motorway or similar and see what figure they give you.
Zero deposit and three months deferred payment was an utterly stupid idea financially but it seems to realise that now. You are unlikely to be anywhere near break even point, we paid a 10% deposit on our PCP and even on low 2.9% APR we are still not break even at the 36 month mark unless I listed privately and really got the top end price which is very unlikely, trade in we are 10-15% away so VT is looking the best option for us.
Also, the 3 months deferred is likely not 'free' at all. You are just deferring the payment but I would imagine you are still adding 3 months interest to the overall cost, similar to taking a mortgage payment holiday. Seems like a good idea but its really not unless you are literally desperate as 3 months interest is likely a few hundred quid more.
AudiMan9000 said:
bulldong said:
There will be no equity and no break even. That’s not how it works.
My old Q3 broke even at 31 months into a 48 month PCP when I was exceeding my estimated mileage. At least according to the valuation Audi gave me.I’m paying £477 as I estimated 15k miles pa. I’m only doing £6k pa so perhaps my break even point will come sooner.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 6th April 09:23
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