Hi prenticebaby.

I think you'll want to run it by your trustee who will want to make sure that your creditors will not be disadvantaged.

Have you already agreed a sum to be paid over in lieu of equity in the vehicle?

It doesn't sound like the dealer will need to do a credit check. How will they make anything from the sale though? Presumably by swapping your car for one of lower value?

Is the idea to reduce your car running costs? If so it might be worth remembering that this might result in your trust deed payment increasing.

Hi, no the car will be valued at the end of the TD. I am having some problems with my car so rather than fork out money that I can't afford I would rather trade. I might save some money on running costs but wouldn't anticipate it to be a significant amount.

I think it's something you'd need to run past the trustee. It may well be that they look for you to get something at the £3k mark & hand over the balance.

Mark

I doubt you would find a dealer willling to do a trade down or even a straight swap for any car.
If they do, you would be on the wrong end of any deal and by a fair whack.

Cheers for the replies. I won't be doing anything if it involves me getting a worse deal or an older less reliable car.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who may have been in this position.

I did this when only a few months into my test deed, swapped a 10 plate Meriva which was too dear to run in petrol, road tax etc for a new Cheverolet Spark, a wee small 1.2l with £30 annual road tax. As for the wrong end of the deal, after negotiations they owed me money and rather Han taking it and paying it into the trust deed I haggled for 3 services, the 1st MOT due in a few years, mats, petrol and a baby seat.

My trustee had no issue ith this and it has been a financial lifesaver for me, atleat halved my petrol cost.

Timelord, thanks for sharing this. Did u tell the dealer about your TD? Which dealer did u go to?

Ni probs PB. I didn't tell them about my TD, I had no need to as I wasn't seeking any finance. The Meriva was purchased from Arnold Clark, it was with them I traded the car in. They asked if I had any finance to clear when trading in, I said no. The finance deal in place was the usual unsecured loan you get from them, which was included in the trust deed.

I also got my Spark, which I'd recommend, highly, btw if you are looking for a smaller car from Arnold Clark, but in case of any hassle, of which there was none, I decided to go to a branch which was not local 🙂

You just need to make sure it's a loan on your current car and not a lease agreement and, as always, inform your trustee of your intentions - that's the golden rule with every move you make in the TD, do that and, in theory, you can't go wrong 🙂

Let us know you get on.

Brilliant, this is really helpful. Yip, my current car was purchased from AC and was a loan with Santander which is definitely included in my TD. I'm gonna go tomorrow n see what they can offer. My car is worth £7730 according to Parkers, is this how much I'm likely to get to spend on another car?

I will defo ask my Trustees permission before I proceed with anything.

Happy Easter everyone 🙂

Ok, so I just spoke to a dealership and they told me I have outstanding finance showing with santander. Why would this be if its part of the TD? Is there anything I fan do to get the records updated?

Tell them it is a personal loan which is unsecured and that you are not looking to clear the finance.

So long as it is an unsecure loan it is irrelevant. If you are not sure call Santander and ask, I called Barclays when I done it, that was who my loan was through.

Thanks timelord, u should come n do it all for me!! I'm only getting 6,000 as a trade in so thinking that I'll just need to keep what I have and pay repair costs. I am 18 months into my TD, hopefully the next 18 will fly by (although I have missed some payments so will be more like 2yrs left). I'll keep u posted on what I decide to do! :-/

No probs 🙂 will be interested to hear how you get on.