See all Motoring NewsCar history expert Cartell.ie is warning buyers that the rising number of cars being sold in Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) plans is causing a rise in the number of used vehicles being sold with finance payments still outstanding.
According to Cartell.ie, across all years of used cars, the proportion being sold with finance still owed is 9.5 per cent, but that figure rises dramatically for newer models. For one-year old cars, the number now stands at 27 per cent, which represents as significant rise on last year's 23 per cent.
On a three-year-old car, the number with money still owed stands at 28 per cent. Cartell.ie also reports that more vehicles for certain key registration years are being offered for sale with finance outstanding than last year. From a sample of over 5,906 vehicles offered for sale and checked via the Cartell.iewebsite in 2016, the figures show that 29 per cent registered in the last three years are offered for sale with finance outstanding.
John Byrne, Cartell.ie, says: "Finance levels for cars offered for sale which are less than three years old are around 30 per cent. This means a buyer in the market for a relatively new car needs to be particularly careful. The rising levels of finance for newer cars may be attributable to the prominence of PCPs - but remember the impact for a potential buyer is the same: the finance house owns the vehicle until the last payment is made. You can lose the car if you purchase it with finance outstanding. Overall finance levels are rising again. Cartell warned the market in 2015 that finance levels had bottomed out - and would rise."
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