Finance at what cost?
New research has revealed that more than a third of car owners who have bought their vehicles on finance repayment plans later regret their decision, with the majority stating that they struggle to meet the payments.
Furthermore, half of these have been unable to meet other financial commitments, such as mortgage, rent or utility bills, due to their additional outgoings.
2,100 British car owners took part in the survey, conducted by www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, all of whom stated that they had purchased their current vehicle on a finance repayment plan and were still within the repayment period.
They survey found that a third (32%) stated that they felt some regret about buying their vehicle. When asked to share the reasons behind this regret, the most popular causes included, ‘struggling to make the payments’ (71%) and ‘not needing such an expensive car’ (39%).
When asked about the consequences of the decision, answers included; struggling to afford the running costs e.g. petrol, maintenance (69%), struggling to afford luxuries e.g. family days out and social events (58%) and strained relationships (52%).
George Charles, spokesperson for www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk commented, ‘These results are really concerning; it seems that Britons are over stretching themselves on a luxury that can take years to pay off, and during those years we don’t know how our circumstances might change.
‘Finance plans are not necessarily a bad deal, but they aren’t to be made lightly – think about what you can really afford and what you can commit to for the course of the plan. Do you really need to spend two or three hundred pounds, or more, every month for the next few years, just to get from A to B? It’s a big question that many of us are taking far too flippantly.’
