Cancelling Your Car Finance Early

Personal circumstances can change quickly and whether it's simply not wanting your current car anymore or your personal financial situation has changed, there are ways that you can terminate your car finance agreement early.

Buying a car is likely the second-costliest thing you will ever buy in your life behind a house, and car finance is an option available to help you spread costs out across a period of typically 24-60 months.

But a few hundred pounds every single month for several years is still a lot monthly, even if it is a fixed cost and you budget well ahead of time to ensure you keep up with the repayments.

Could you be eligible to terminate your car finance agreement early? Find out if you can today by checking your deal below. 

In a recent poll conducted by Car Credible, 50% of those surveyed didn't realise they could get out of their car finance deal early if they wanted to.

That's quite a substantial percentage and we expect there to be lots more people out there with a car on finance that just had no idea that it was possible. We explain how you could potentially get out of your deal if it's not right for you anymore.

Why you might want to end your agreement early

There are three main reasons why people tend to want to get out of their car finance deal early:

1. Their personal or financial situation has changed and they can no longer afford the monthly repayments.
2. They simply don't want the car anymore, either because they don't like it, or they don't need it.
3. They just want something completely new or different.

Voluntary termination

Voluntary termination is when you are eligible to hand the car back once you have paid at least 50% of the total cost of the car including interest and any other charges, without having to make any additional payments. You should be able to find a clause in your contract about this type of termination.

Once you have paid 50% (or more), you can hand the car back to the finance company and walk away. If you haven't quite managed to hit the 50% mark, you can make additional payments to get yourself there and then voluntarily terminate via that process.

Providing you have made all the repayments up to the point of wishing to terminate, there should be no negative actions placed upon your credit score.

Cooling-off period

If after you have signed the agreement to purchase the car but you change your mind, you will have a 14-day cooling-off period where you can hand back the car to the finance company without paying a penny. This applies to all types of car finance.

Early settlement 

You may come into some money or just decide that you don't want to keep making the monthly repayments but still want the car. If this happens, you are entitled to request your early settlement figure from the finance company which is how much you still have left to pay on the car.

If you are on a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) deal, you will also have to pay the final balloon payment which is a lump sum of money that would normally be paid at the end of your finance deal if you wanted to own the car.

Once you have paid the early settlement figure, the car will be yours to own outright with no more monthly payments left to make.

How Car Credible can help you

At Car Credible we may be able to help you get out of your current car finance deal early without the need for you to pick up the telephone or leave the comfort of your own home.

Simply enter your car finance details and create an account. We will assess your deal and let you know if you are eligible to upgrade your car or save money on your car finance deal.

If you aren't eligible just yet, don't worry! We will keep you updated every month on your deal to let you know when you can make a change.