Aurum
Download

Car Loan & Finance

Car finance compared on total cost, agreements filed with their key dates, balloon payments planned for, and vehicle debt paid down or ended on your terms.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Car Loan & Finance, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

Before you start: this plan is general information to help you organise your own money decisions. It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Check decisions that matter with a qualified, licensed adviser in your country, and remember that investing and trading can lose money.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

200

Starter tasks

💷 Personal Finance

Car Loan & Finance

Comparing car finance, leasing and loans, understanding balloon payments and paying down vehicle debt sensibly.

  1. Car finance agreement file
  2. Car budget ceiling as a share of take-home pay
  3. Settlement figure and equity check
  4. Key dates calendar for your car finance
  5. Deposit pot for your next car
  6. Soft-search eligibility check before applying
  7. Total cost of credit comparison sheet
  8. Choosing the finance type that fits how you drive
  9. Monthly car finance payment check
  10. Mileage tracker against your annual allowance
  11. Annual finance statement review
  12. Quarterly equity watch
  13. Regular car loan overpayment routine
  14. Balloon payment fund
  15. Condition record for a PCP or lease handback
  16. Refinancing rate watch
  17. Annual car finance review
  18. How PCP balloons and guaranteed future value work
  19. Reading APR, flat rate and the representative example
  20. Hire purchase ownership and the purchase fee
  21. Initial rental, excess mileage and early exit on a lease
  22. Voluntary termination and the halfway rule
  23. Depreciation and negative equity explained
  24. How dealer commission and brokers are paid
  25. Logbook loans and other costly car borrowing to avoid
  26. Independent quote to benchmark dealer finance
  27. Lease or finance for the next car
  28. Choosing a loan term you can live with
  29. Settling early or carrying on paying
  30. Overpay the car loan or save the difference
  31. Refinancing a balloon payment
  32. Choosing what to do at the end of a PCP
  33. Climbing out of negative equity
  34. Dealer finance meeting preparation
  35. Cooling-off review after signing
  36. Handback inspection preparation
  37. Final payment and confirming ownership
  38. Selling a car with finance still owed
  39. Write-off or theft with finance still owed
  40. First car finance with a thin credit file
  41. Car finance on self-employed income
  42. Whose name goes on the car finance
  43. Needing a bigger car mid-agreement
  44. Financing a car on pension income
  45. Falling behind on car finance payments
  46. Salary sacrifice car scheme through your employer
  47. Checking past agreements for unfair commission
  48. Staggered end dates in a two-car household
  49. Electric car finance and residual value risk
  50. Acting as a guarantor on someone else's car finance

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Car finance agreement file

Most people with car finance could not say, without digging, what their APR is, how many payments are left or whether a balloon is due at the end. Pulling the signed agreement, the latest statement and the lender's details into one place takes about an hour and answers every later question in this area. It is also the first thing a lender, adviser or complaints service will ask you for.

First tasks

  • Find the signed finance agreement in your email or paperwork
  • Request a copy of the agreement from the lender if it is missing
  • Write the APR, payment, term and balloon on a one-page summary
  • Save the agreement and the latest statement in one folder

Car budget ceiling as a share of take-home pay

A dealer will happily tell you what you could borrow; the useful question is what you can pay every month once the car is also insured, fuelled and maintained. Setting a ceiling for the finance payment from your take-home pay and existing running costs gives you a number to hold before anyone shows you a monthly figure.

First tasks

  • Add up your monthly take-home pay from the last three payslips
  • Pull this month's insurance, fuel and upkeep figures from your car costs
  • Write a maximum monthly finance payment that keeps the budget balanced
  • Agree the ceiling with your partner or household before shopping

Settlement figure and equity check

Equity is the gap between what your car is worth today and what it would cost to clear the finance today, and almost every car finance decision turns on it. Asking the lender for a settlement figure and checking three valuations shows whether you have money in the car, are roughly even, or owe more than it is worth. Knowing which tells you which later projects matter most.

First tasks

  • Ask the lender for a written settlement figure through the online account
  • Get three valuations for your car from different valuation sites
  • Subtract the settlement figure from the average valuation
  • Record the equity figure and date in your agreement summary

Make it yours.

Install Car Loan & Finance, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.