Finding out your car finance settlement figure is important if you want to swap or sell your car before you’ve paid off all the loan. It’s the amount you must pay to wipe the finance slate clean, before you start again with another PCP or HP deal – or, simply, want to own your car outright instead of making monthly payments.
When do you need to find out your car finance settlement figure?
Car settlement figures are often used by those with PCP agreements to switch into a new car before the deal has run its course. And with over 86% of all car sales in 2021 being done via finance, there are thousands of asking the same question daily. They can pay off the old finance when they part-exchange their car and take out a new scheme. Car dealers are increasingly used to arranging such deals.
Someone who’s recently come into a lump sum may also want to pay off their car finance early. Getting a settlement figure will let them buy the car outright.
Is it easy to get a car finance settlement figure?
Don’t worry about calling up your car finance company and asking for one. You won’t have to go through hoops to get it. They have a legal requirement to give you a settlement figure and it is a well-established element of car finance. If you’re looking into a new finance deal, the dealer will usually help you get this settlement figure.
But here at Regit, we’ve developed a clever settlement calculator that allows you to estimate your car finance settlement figure without calling up your finance company. It can give you a good indication and help you plan your car finance arrangements.
Calculating your car finance settlement figure
Our car finance settlement calculator allows you to estimate your own settlement figure. To do this, you need some information from your original car finance agreement:
- The type of car finance – is it a PCP or HP deal?
- Amount borrowed
- Agreement start and end date (month and year)
- Your monthly payment figure
- Your final payment figure (if it’s a PCP deal)
Our tool will give you a good estimate of your settlement figure. If you want to calculate an exact figure, call your car finance company. They will give you this amount, which is usually valid for 10 days (a ‘valid until’ date will be stated).
This figure will include a rebate on future interest payments – because you’re settling early, you won’t need to pay interest on the loan in the future.
Calculate your settlement figure
Settlement figures can, however, be subject to an early repayment fee of a month or two’s payments, and can also incur an admin fee.
Remember, the car finance company legally owns your car until the full loan has been repaid. This is why you need to clear your settlement figure before you sell the car. If you don’t, buyers running background checks on your car will be alerted there’s finance outstanding on it.