End of PCP Options?

[Ritch_DS3]

Good Evening,

Apologies if this ends up a bit of a long post....

I do a high mileage for work, I have a 2012 DS3 which my Elect 3 PCP is due to finish at the end of September. I had an agreed annual mileage of 25,000 (total of 75000 for the 3 year PCP)

I dont want to keep the car, as I dont want to run a High Mileage DS3 and pay the £6500 they want for me to keep the car.

I am being told that the car is in negative equity, so it owes my finance agreement more than they say its worth, Its in good condition and has been serviced regularly.

I have a couple of minor scratches that are NOT down to the bare metal, that I hope can be buffed out with a good wash and T cut.
I have unfortunately kerbed all 4 of my bellone alloys, I am guessing whatever route I take to dispose of the car, I will need to get this fixed, does anyone have any idea of cost/time to refurbish, as I believe these wheels need to be re cut on a laith?

I am based around Milton Keynes/Northamptonshire.

The car currently has 71,000 miles on the clock, if I was to keep the car until the September deadline I would imagine I may be as much as 4-5K over my agreed annual mileage.

I have been researching Voluntary Termination (VT) as I am more than half way through my payments. I understand this does not affect my credit rating, but may affect my ability to re finance with Citroen Finance again, as it is recorded on my credit file that Iv'e opted for a VT.

Does anyone have any experience with doing a VT, is it sensible?

If I understand correctly from what ive read on the Internet, the law says if I VT, Citroen can NOT charge me for excess mileage even if I have gone above the agreed mileage?

I called Citroen today, who told me that as long as I have not done any more than 75,000 miles when I hand the car back, no excess mileage charges will apply. I am surprised at this, as I would have expected them to adjust my allowed mileage based on when I return the car, so if I return 3 months early my agreed mileage is adjusted down? I am not sure if the person on the phone was referring to the rules on VT which I posted above (Excess mileage can not be charged for VT?)

I am really sorry for the long post, anyone that's read this far thank you. I guess in a nutshell I am trying to work out what to do next, i.e. what's the most ecconomical way to move forward?

Thanks
Rich

[DS3Kahuna]

I'd imagine that if you were going to purchase again through Citroen Finance, your dealer would be quite keen to do a favourable deal, especially if you order in the next few weeks for September delivery to meet their new reg targets. My Wife had a DS3 on Elect 4 (Contact hire) that went back in April. It was 4000 miles over and we were charged at 6p per mile + VAT. It also had two scuffed Alloys that they quoted costs of £60 per wheel. Citroen finance did however write later and overlook the wheel refurb costs as she had been a loyal customer. (She had only had this Citroen and we hadn't ordered another at that time) If you're planning to get another Citroen I'd suggest that you sit down with a dealer and see what they are prepared to do for you.

[Bigfeet]

"If I understand correctly from what ive read on the Internet, the law says if I VT, Citroen can NOT charge me for excess mileage even if I have gone above the agreed mileage? "

Rubbish, the rules for mileage excess are in place to protect the finance company, even if you VT then if you are deemed to be above what would be called an acceptable mileage then the finance company are allowed to charge.

Don't forget that condition of the car also comes into play when you VT as well so those alloys would need to be fixed.

[Ritch_DS3]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies everyone
Still massivly undecided what to do, I am a bit scared how much handing the car back will cost me so who knows ...

I am tempted to test the theory to see what happens if you take a Citroen DS3 past 100,000 miles. What will fall off I wonder?

[olly]

Im on PCP and I have a future price . which at the end of the 4 years you have this figure which is to pay off the outstanding finance?

is this the same you?

[Phil H]

In your case I'd weigh up the options of handing it back with the unknown charges that you are going to be presented with, such as £60 per wheel versus simply selling it into the trade or wbac etc and paying the settlement figure as is. If you do VT, ensure that the condition of the car is photographed with a newspaper in the photos in case of dispute and don't sign anything to say you'll pay for damages as that is not required...VT is just that, the law allows you to give 14 days notice once you've paid 50% under S99 of the CCA or whatever it is. Finance company will try to make it hard for you, as it costs them money.
My DS3 is coming towards the end of PCP and I'm thankfully well below mileage, so I will just sell mine on privately or into the trade.

Am I the only person thinking you had a shoddy deal set up where you have come into negative equity? Thought they tried to make sure there was always equity to encourage a trade up to a new model. I'd also look at what is reasonable wear and tear for that mileage, sure you could argue a few alloy scrapes are quite normal on a car of that age and mileage.

[Old Bloke]

You are quite right about the excess mileage and voluntary termination. The excess mileage rules unquestionably do not apply. This is because you are handing it back as part of your consumer rights as set out in the agreement. They effectively overrule the mileage stipulation. The ruling for VT is that you can return the car to the finance company when you have paid half of the TOTAL AMOUNT payable under that agreement. That figure includes the deposit and all the interest and is at the bottom of the figures on your agreement. This was a big thing a few years back when used car values plummeted and to counter this manufacturers adjusted their PCP,s to try and create more equity at the end. The vehicle has to be in a condition commensurate with age and mileage. With your agreement you don't have many payments left and you are technically still under the contract mileage so you aren't,in a terrible position. If you fancy another DS 3 then see what your dealer will put together for you and get another Elect 3 quote. If your dealer can't give you enough in part exchange then contact Citroen finance and tell them that you would like to hand the car back early and end the agreement. Technically you could do this on VT, or are there any current Elect 3 loyalty renewal offers currently which encourage existing customers to buy now which may make it more attractive. All in all I don't think you are in too bad a position. Another angle is that if you have a good relationship with your dealer and you are buying another car from them they may have a bit of margin to help out with the refurb costs of your car, they will have a valeter, smart repairer and wheel refurb man so that if you do hand it back under the Elect 3 terms it may ease the bill. Sorry for the long post.

[Bigfeet]

Be careful about excess mileage, previous comments are inaccurate and be aware finance companies employ legal teams to cover themselves. Many people will state law from cca but without fully understanding it. Below is text return by a finance when challenged

section 100 subsection 4 of the CCA stipulates that if the debtor has contravened an obligation to take reasonable care of the goods or land, the amount arrived at subsection 2 shall be increased by the sum required to recompense the creditor for that contravention and subsection 2 shall have effect accordingly. This is further extended in section 101 subsection 2 whereby termination of an agreement under subsection 1 does not affect any liability under the agreement which has accrued during the period of said agreement and fall during the VT process is to be paid in excess or the 50% value.$%^&*#@

[MARK.A]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies everyone
Still massivly undecided what to do, I am a bit scared how much handing the car back will cost me so who knows ...

I am tempted to test the theory to see what happens if you take a Citroen DS3 past 100,000 miles. What will fall off I wonder?

Zack on here is already past 105,000 miles

[Old Bloke]

Firstly With regard to VT I would respectfully point out that the reason the mileage excess is not applicable to VT is because the stipulation is that the hirer has taken reasonable care of the goods. Mileage is not deemed as taking unreasonable care. The section of the act is to deal with conditional sale/hire purchase agreements of any kind, so can cover plant and equipment, land, domestic goods etc. so mileage, or hours, in the case of plant and equipment class as usage and not unreasonable care.
That aside it seems like you have looked after the DS3 and kept it maintained so it should rattle along fine as long as the injector seals haven't leaked so worth having those looked at. The downside is that you have to fund £6500 and you may consider that funding to be better spent on a new car. Assume that if you keep it for another 3 years that it will be worth say £1000 the very worst way and weigh that depreciation and a bit extra for maintainance - timing belt, MOT's etc against the cost of buying new

Please note no disrespect to Bigfeet at all regarding VT. Also it was incorporated in the statute for extreme circumstances and not intended for consumer convenience.

Best wishes

[Ritch_DS3]

Hi All,

Firstly I want to say thank you for all the replies, its nice to see a healthy debate on my situation.

I had my alloy wheels refurbished at the weekend, all four cost me £280, I anticipate the scratch on rear bumber/scratch on wing mirror could be SMART repaired for around £150. So I now don't feel too apprehensive about sending the car back as I did. At the end of the day, Iv'e done the damage, why should Citroen pay for my mistake!

As I am so close to the end of my contract term, I think I am less likely to VT the car, but just hand it back at the end of September and take delivery of whatever new car I choose, BMW are trying to tempt me into a new 118D Sport loaded to the gunnel's with kit.

from what I read I would have agreed with Old Blokes comments on what Citroen could/couldnt charge me for. however I dare say BigFeet is probably closer to the mark on what I believe Citroen would probably try and do. I guess I will have to see how far over my 75,000 miles I am in September and see how much I have to cough up.

This is an amazing forum, with some genuinely great people. If only all car forums were this helpful

Rich.

[DigitalCal]

Hi All,

Firstly I want to say thank you for all the replies, its nice to see a healthy debate on my situation.

I had my alloy wheels refurbished at the weekend, all four cost me £280, I anticipate the scratch on rear bumber/scratch on wing mirror could be SMART repaired for around £150. So I now don't feel too apprehensive about sending the car back as I did. At the end of the day, Iv'e done the damage, why should Citroen pay for my mistake!

As I am so close to the end of my contract term, I think I am less likely to VT the car, but just hand it back at the end of September and take delivery of whatever new car I choose, BMW are trying to tempt me into a new 118D Sport loaded to the gunnel's with kit.

from what I read I would have agreed with Old Blokes comments on what Citroen could/couldnt charge me for. however I dare say BigFeet is probably closer to the mark on what I believe Citroen would probably try and do. I guess I will have to see how far over my 75,000 miles I am in September and see how much I have to cough up.

This is an amazing forum, with some genuinely great people. If only all car forums were this helpful

Rich.

Can you keep us up to date? I'm really interested to see what will happen because I suspect I will be over my mileage agreement (I'm currently sitting at 41,000 miles on a 60,000 mile agreement which is due to end next Summer). Not sure whether to up my mileage limit again, change early and before I hit the figure, or wait and cough up like yourself. Do keep us updated

[Ritch_DS3]

Hi,

sorry for the late reply, I will keep everyone upto date, I ended up buying the BMW 118D which will be delivered in September. I will end up notifying Citroen in August, so guess I wont end up VT anyway as I will be at the end of my natural lease period?

So I have already coughed up for Alloys at £280, I am getting quotes to repair 3 scratches, one on the rear bumper, and two scores, one on each door mirror housing.


I guess I will be 3K over my mileage allowance when I hand the car back in September. So I expect a bill for around £360-£400 for mileage.

I estimate my costs to be around £900 to hand the car back, (excess mileage and damage paid for) unless they find anything else I have not spotted.

Rich

[Hyperkev]

If you buy it at end of term ,do you still get charged for excess mileage ?

[Chris_Blue]

If you buy it at end of term ,do you still get charged for excess mileage ?

No. Ive got that confirmed.

However, if you give the car back, don't forget the VAT on any excess mileage