Sell my financed car the Motorway way

Yes! Motorway works with over 5,000 verified car dealers who are all experienced in buying used cars on finance. The dealer will pay off any remaining finance on your car when they purchase your vehicle. Just let your finance company know you’re looking to sell your car to receive a settlement figure.

Legally, your finance will have to be settled before you can sell your car to another owner, whether to a dealer or a private individual.

If you are selling your car privately, you will have to pay off what you owe first.

If you try to sell your car to anyone knowing there is outstanding finance on it, and without making buyers aware of it, this is illegal. Once the deception is uncovered, you’ll likely be made to pay back what you owe to the finance company, and if it evolves into a legal battle, you will also owe money to the buyer and may even risk action by the police.

It’s unlikely you’ll face a prison punishment for selling a car on finance unless it can be proven that you were trying to defraud the finance company. More often, it is a civil issue but that still means hefty fees for you, including paying what you owed on the car — moral of the story, don’t try anything underhanded.

Yes you can. Legally, your finance will have to be settled before you can sell your car to another owner, whether to a dealer or a private individual.

Clearing outstanding finance with Motorway is easy and dealers we work with clear finance all the time.

Once you have chosen to proceed with your highest offer on Motorway, the buying dealer will need to see a finance settlement letter to clear the finance. The dealer will pay off the finance as part of the purchase and you keep any remaining funds. Payment is sent fast, straight into your bank account. It’s a simple process and we guide you every step of the way.

If you end up buying a used car and had no idea there was finance outstanding on it, then you have the right to keep it, this is known as “good title”. But the finance company will still want to be paid and that means they will likely chase you to make sure you are the innocent party.

Unfortunately, it’s down to them to decide if you really have good title or not, so if they decide that you are responsible for paying off the outstanding finance, then you will have to escalate the issue to the Financial Ombudsman or seek legal advice.

Yes, many dealers and car buying sites will be happy to settle your outstanding finance for you based on the sale of your car. Whether you pay your settlement figure yourself or want a dealer to facilitate this, you’ll still need to inform your finance company of your plans to sell. 

If you choose to sell your car privately, then all your finance will need to be paid off. If you try to sell your car to someone without letting them know you still owe money on it, you are acting illegally.

Voluntary termination is when you ask your finance company to end your finance payments early. This is usually only possible if you have paid over 50% of your owed amount off. There are a few other key things to keep in mind, too:

• Due to interest rates and fees, reaching the ‘50% paid’ checkpoint of your finance plan won’t be the same as reaching the halfway point in terms of date, i.e., it may take longer than you think
• You can request voluntarily termination at any point after 50% is paid off, but you won’t receive anything like a refund on interest if you choose to request it at, say, 70% paid-off
• You will be able to end your payment plan early this way, but you’ll still have to pay the outstanding balance