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At Mint Cars, we understand that it can be difficult to start your used car search without understanding what car finance options are available to you. Very few people buy cars with a cash lump sum, so many people start their buying process with questions like: how much car finance can I get or afford, what are the interest rates on car finance, will I pass the checks for car finance and how is car finance approved?
As with the entire car sales process, we like to make this clear and hassle-free for our customers so you can use this website to get the answer to those questions before you find the car to spend your money on.
We have two car finance options available across our wide range of vehicles: personal contract purchase (PCP) and hire purchase (HP). PCP is one of the most popular ways to finance a car, it enables lower monthly payments across an agreed period of time and then gives you the option at the end of that period to pay off a final balance in one lump sum or trade in the car against a new PCP car purchase. Our PCP rate provides an affordable way to upgrade your motor. Our HP interest rate is slightly higher but if you are certain that you will want to keep your Mint car beyond the end of the payment term, HP can prove to be cheaper car finance option over the lifetime of the loan according to an article by WhatCar.
As with all car dealerships, both of our finance options are subject to eligbility. However, you can use the my car credit score independent online credit score checker on this website to check your eligibility for car finance for free. And the even better news is that this independent checker only completes a soft search, which means that it doesn’t affect your credit rating. Why not use the checker to work out how much you may be able to borrow, based on affordable monthly payments?
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) is a finance product that allows you the opportunity to buy a new or a used car.
It is similar to a Hire Purchase agreement as you will usually pay an initial deposit, followed by monthly instalments over a term typically between 18 to 48 months.
What makes PCP different to Hire Purchase (HP) is that your monthly instalments are paying off the depreciation of the car, and not its entire value, over the course of the term. Then, when you get to the end of your agreement, there is a final, balloon payment that must be made if you want to keep the car. The balloon payment is often referred to also as the Guaranteed Future Value (GFV).
When you have chosen your vehicle, you will then agree your annual mileage and decide on the agreement term with one of our Business Managers.
We will then determine the Guaranteed Minimum Future Value (GMFV) of the vehicle at the end of the agreement and work out a deposit and monthly amount that works for you.
At the end of your agreement you will then have three options:
Return – Simply return the car the back to us
Retain – Keep the car by paying the optional final payment
Renew – Trade it in for another car
For a quotation, help, or advice contact us and ask to speak to one of our Business Managers.
You can normally settle your agreement early by asking the finance company to provide you with a settlement figure. However, the finance company will require you to pay off the difference between what your car is worth, and what you still owe and there may be a difference which is known as negative equity. On the other hand, you may find that at the end of your term your car is worth more than the Guaranteed Future Value, which means you will have some positive equity to contribute towards your next car.
Hire Purchase is a way to finance buying a new or used car. You will normally pay an initial deposit and will pay off the entire value of the car in monthly instalments. When all the payments are made, the Hire Purchase agreement ends, and you own the car outright.
The short answer is yes, you can end your finance early. There are different provisions within each finance agreement that allows you to do just that. If you have got through two-thirds of the way through your finance agreement, the options to end the finance agreement early open up.
For a Hire Purchase agreement, there is an option of paying it off early through a settlement fee. A settlement fee covers the cost of any remaining unpaid instalments and interest payments remaining on the agreement. Once the settlement fee is paid, you take full ownership of the car early.
Under a Personal Contract Purchase agreement, you can also pay a settlement fee for bringing the agreement to an end early. After that, you can choose to hand the car back or you have a second option. Through a PCP agreement, you can take full ownership of the car by paying off the remaining Guaranteed Minimum Future Value also known as a balloon payment.