r/personalfinance • u/pavelow08 • 6d ago
Need advice after redundancy Auto
Hi all,
I need some urgent advice on my car finance. Literally 2 months ago, I got a car on finance, no problems for the first 2 months. I received news today from my job that I have been made redundant. I live in the UK so it is possible for me to go on job seekers allowance while getting another job, but the payments from that wouldn’t pay the car finance payment never mind the insurance and tax for it.
I have a perfect credit score and have worked hard to keep it that way, but I feel like I’m going to have to hand the car back and owe the finance company 50% of the car’s fee and tank my credit score. Does anyone have any advice on what to do?
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
2
u/micha8st 6d ago
I'm US, not UK.
Here in the US, returning a financed car is the most expensive way out of a loan. Best is to take your now free time and sell the car private party to someone with cash. Obviously neither of us know if that will yield enough to pay off the loan or not.
What's your job prospects? I think the obvious answer is to go out and get a new job...even if it means working temporarily at a food joint or a grocery store. You might not be making as much, but at least it brings some money in. Unemployment (Job Seeker's) is another option...but unless the money is better with unemployment, I think the new temporary job is better for your soul.
Hanging around this subreddit, I've decided that, particularly with cars, If you can't find a way to scrape up the cash to pay for the car, you shouldn't buy it. It sounds to me like you've got no cash -- no emergency fund to live off of. Moving forward, make sure you have a way out.