Thread: BMW Finance worries

Hi,

My wife and I bought a new car back in 2006 from BMW in london, basic 3 year personal hp credit agreement with a balloon at the end.

The total cost was 22k we finished paying off the 3 years finance agreement end of July this year, however we have a balloon of 10k left. My wife spoke to BMW finance asking for more time to come up with the balance. We don't want to refinance that's not an option, she made an arrangement with BMW which we broke due to being out of the UK at the time. She didn't get the agreement in writing and since then they've just gone on the war path to reclaim the car.

We can't afford to pay the whole amount in one go as BMW want, but would like an extended time in which to come up with money.

We have since received letters from BMW wanting the car back, we would like to keep the car.

Can anyone advise us on the best course of action?

Many thanks

Is this really a question for us and not for yourselves?

From what I can gather in the 10 or so seconds it has taken me to read this post is that you have had an agreed finance contract with BMW, you have broken it.

BMW have then made an arrangement to suit both yourselves and BMW and again you have broken it.

While you were out of the UK did you have enough money set aside to pay the remaining balance on the car? What happened to this money in the space of time between being out of the country and receiving letters from BMW more recently?

You should seriously review the management of your finances if you are unable to pay for the car.

There are three options really:

-Come to the realisation that you are unable to fund the car and return the car, coming to an agreement with BMW

-Come to a new financial agreement with BMW agreeing regular although more manageable payments

-Alternatively pay the remaining balance straight away

There no magic solution for you here. You took the car and defer a large amount of the capital to the end now you need to pay up (either refinance with if they will have you now or borrow from someone else) or they will get the car back.

You are probably going to get a little more time as they may need a court order if you are passed the 3rd mark of the agreement, but bear in mind that your credit record may be being affected by the deffault of the account so sticking your head in the sand may not be the best solution. Be honest with yourself and BMW and see what can be sorted.

I also recomend getting a good idea of the value of the car as sometimes the balloon is far more than the cars worth and it would cheaper to go buy another car anyway.

This is one of the problems that this type of purchase option has. I'm not sure of the legal status as you have paid off most of the value of the car. However you could have been caught otu by the drop in values of relatively new cars. As per the above post, I;d refinance the outstanding balance and put it down to experience.

This type of deal looks attractive but is very volatile unless you get an agreed value at the end of the contract and are prepared for it if it goes the wrong way.

Never, ever go on this type of contact again as car prices can change as quick as oil.