Voluntary Termination - Non Runner

[Guest]

Hi, I'm hoping someone might be able to give me some advice.

I am currently have a HP on a 15 plate car with Motonovo Finance. I'm currently 30 months into the 48 month term and have been advised by Motonovo that I reached the VT point - I spoke to them a month ago about carrying out a VT, but decided against it.*

On Sunday night, my car broke down with turbo failure (as diagnosed by the RAC), and now requires approx. £2000 worth of repairs carried out to replace the turbo and to carry out a flush of the engine, just in case there's metal fragments that could cause further damage. Typically, I'm not in the position right now to pay £2000 on repairing the vehicle, and have been trying to understand my options.

I decided to call Motonovo to find out what they could advise me. They gave me two options - submit a complaint about the car not being up to scratch (to be honest, the car has been an absolute work horse for me and has done all that I've asked it to do over the time I've owned it, so not happy about this option), or to voluntarily surrender (they would obtain a quote to sell the car in its current condition, and then take that figure from the finance still left, leaving me with no car, but still having to pay the remainder of the agreement). I asked about the voluntary termination and they said that because the car isn't in reasonable condition then it can no longer be accepted as a VT, unless I get it repaired.

What I'm trying to find out is, is that true about the VT? I've read a number of posts about people being charged for damage, after VT, but can a company not allow me to VT if the car isn't in a reasonable condition. Maybe I stupidly assumed that if I VT'd the car, then I'd be sent a bill for the repairs that it needed, but at least I wouldn't have to carry on paying the £4,500 left on the agreement. assuming the damage came to what I've had quotes for of course.

Please understand, I'm not trying to get out of anything at this point, I'm just trying to understand if what I've been told is the truth about VT and what my options are.

Thanks in advance









*

[R0b]

I asked about the voluntary termination and they said that because the car isn't in reasonable condition then it can no longer be accepted as a VT, unless I get it repaired.

Absolutely not true. You can ask them where in the legislation it says that you can only VT if the car is in a working condition and I bet you that they won't be able to point to anything.

You do, however, have a duty to take reasonable care of the car and there is an argument that the fact the car has broken down does not mean you failed to comply with that obligation, in a similar way a car may be stolen or involved in an accident.

Anyhow, the point to recognise is that you could be liable for returning the car in a non-working order, which should be limited to the cost of repair only. Therefore, it would be wise to source a few quotes for repair (get copies of quotes in writing) and average them out which you can argue would be your liability to Motonovo (of course they will likely argue otherwise).

On a side note, Motonovo are absolutely clueless when it comes to voluntary termination and have seen instances where they just say anything they wish. If you do exercise your VT right and they come back rejecting it on the basis that the car is not working, you might have grounds to terminate known as repudiation. This occurs when a party to the contract fails to perform their obligations which as a result is a fundamental breach warranting termination. The effect of this is that all future obligations are discharged and you are (in theory) entitled to claim damages for their breach.

I would imagine in this instance Motonovo would reject your VT notice which would allow you to inform them that they are in repudiatory breach and are
accepting their breach and terminating the contract.

Really depends on the route you want to take.*

[cp33c]

Many thanks for your help ROB. Not sure why I'm showing as Guest as the OP.

I had a feeling the guy I spoke to was trying to get out of something. He just didn't sound genuine when he was talking, almost like he was making it up as he spoke.

Having had a couple more garages call me back, since my initial post, they've all told me that the car is pretty much a right off now and get shot of it, which is a shame because it was an amazing car.

I'm now going to consider my options, thanks again for your help