I am considering this as an option for my 1.6tdi as the current valuation is less than what the GFMV will be in October this year.

I have done some searching and it seems fairly simple and hassle free. 

One thing i am unsure of is, when they collect the vehicle, do they go over it with a fine tooth comb and then bill you for every little scrape, stone chip, car park ding ???

 

Would really appreciate any input from people who have actually VT'd in the past.

 

Many thanks in advance

 

Tgeres been quite a few of these threads recently.

General experience seems to be vt is a less rigourous inspection than official hand back at end of term.. unless youve done something outrageous to the vehucle and any chips etc are "expected for age and milage" theyre not too pushed..

Just keep an eye after that there usnt any "unexpected extras" charged like admin fees and carp. 

When I VTd on a HP agreement a few years ago, Mannheim came to the house, walked the car, highlighted every detail and scratch they could find. The curbed wheels etc. They then charged me for them plus a lack of service history (car didn't have any when I bought it and I had the history from since I'd had it.) I then had to pay the finance company for those things but got the service history sorted and a few other bits as I could prove they were there when I bought it. 

 

I guess it depends on the rules from whoever inspects. 

Either dropping the car off at a designated place or having the car collected and it will be subject to BVRLA Fair Wear and Tear Guidelines: 

 

https://www.bvrla.co.uk/service/fair-wear-and-tear-guides

 

Depending on who is inspecting will dictate how closely those guidelines are followed.  Plan everything well in advance, ensure you have keys, log books etc.  Give the car a good clean and look at each panel at a time, then the wheels, then the interior, etc and evaluate what's with in the guidelines and what may need a SMART repair or similar.  A lot of body shops will offer a 'end of lease' service where they will make sure your car is fine but I think that's overkill (unless you have abused it for x years).  

 

One bit of advice I would give is to take pictures of the car whilst it's being inspected.  The timestamps being the important thing; I VT'd on my previous car (crap depreciation) and Manheim auction house tried to charge me a few hundred £ for a valet service despite the car being fully detailed before collection.  I supplied the photo's to the finance company and they agreed with me and reversed the charge.  Manheim also tried to charge a storage fee as they couldn't accept the vehicle on site that day but that was a communication issue between the collection company and them so again, the finance company reversed the charges then as a gesture of goodwill completely wrote off any fee's I owed as they were pretty annoyed themselves about these charges levied by Manheim. 

 

So keep any paperwork you are given ensuring it clearly states any fee's or lack thereof.  Others never have any issues, I probably just got unlucky but you never know...

Talked to Skoda finance today. I am a few payments away from being able to hand the car back. Or i can pay the sum now and hand back. They informed me that i will be charged for excess mileage. I am currently pretty much spot on what they say it should be right now. 

 

So have a dilemma now. 

 

If i wait for a few more payments, i will likely have gone over my milage allowance and get charged, which amounts to maybe half of the sum i would need to pay if i hand it back now. I have been offered a deal on a Fabia Monte Carlo Estate, which i like the look of and theres a good promotion on them too right now with the deposit contribution etc.

 

All of my alloys have no kerbing whatsoever. I do however have a couple of stone chips on the bonnet, a small scrape (20mm long) and a few mm wide right at the bottom of the rear bumper where it meets the black plastic. 

 

And maybe, two small "dings"  (less than 10p piece, maybe even 5p piece) where someone has opened their door onto mine at work or a supermarket. These can only be seen if you are being thorough. Interior is pretty much like new. 

 

I am worried that if i commit to handing back, then get stung with a huge bill of hundreds of pounds, it will just make the whole thing much more expensive than i had hoped. But then if i wait, and hand it back at the end of my PCP i could still be in this same situation i guess, less the sum i need to pay to end the deal obviously. 

 

Not sure what my best course of action is now, so would really appreciate any advice

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, roblatus said:

 

Not sure what my best course of action is now, so would really appreciate any advice

 

 

Presumably you still need a car to drive, so why not keep driving the car until October as if you do another PCP now you'll discover the monthly charges are higher now as they'll have to quote a lower GFMV (heavier depreciation). ie until October it's probably the cheapest way of running the car (inc excexx mileage charge). You also don't have an early termination showing on your credit file (some finance companies don't like ET's)

 

After this what next? - Some stonking PCH deals at the mo

 

Edited 10 January, 20188 yr by bigjohn

I was thinking of this, but someone mentioned that if i hand it back in October the inspection is even more strict??? I won't be able to part ex it as its already worth less than my GFMV will be in October and i don't see how that is going to change. 

 

Its a shame that theres no way of offering Skoda less than the GFMV to buy the car in some ways. But i certainly wouldn't pay the GMFV i have on the paperwork for mine.

 

This is a grey area. The agreement states that when you VT "you will have no more to pay if you have taken reasonable care of the goods" which is different to what the agreement says if you wait until the end, so technically they shouldn't be able to charge extra but from what I've read they do.

 

When I did mine just before christmas (pcp would finish in March) I was a bit worried that they would bill me for something ( and having the bother of refuting the bill) but the inspection was quite painless (the car was in good condition). 

1 minute ago, io1901 said:

This is a grey area. The agreement states that when you VT "you will have no more to pay if you have taken reasonable care of the goods" which is different to what the agreement says if you wait until the end, so technically they shouldn't be able to charge extra but from what I've read they do.

 

When I did mine just before christmas (pcp would finish in March) I was a bit worried that they would bill me for something ( and having the bother of refuting the bill) but the inspection was quite painless (the car was in good condition). 

 

Mine is in generally good condition as i say. Just a couple of chips on the bonnet and a small ding also from a stone that got thrown up onto it. Would it be worth touching up the stone chips prior to inspection?

 

I just don't want to end up with a bill of say £300-500 quid lol

 

 

what deal did you get on the fabia (if you don't mind me asking......)

On 10/01/2018 at 21:05, roblatus said:

 

Mine is in generally good condition as i say. Just a couple of chips on the bonnet and a small ding also from a stone that got thrown up onto it. Would it be worth touching up the stone chips prior to inspection?

 

I just don't want to end up with a bill of say £300-500 quid lol

 

 

Hi,

Have you successfully completed the VT? Could you please share the whole experience as I'm currently thinking about it... 

I confirmed that I have reached the 50% payment milestone but what I'm suspicious about is the termination pack that they want to send for signing.. As far as I understand from an online search, a formal dated letter is sufficient to start and complete the process.

 

Thanks! 

2 minutes ago, kortis said:

Hi,

Have you successfully completed the VT? Could you please share the whole experience as I'm currently thinking about it... 

I confirmed that I have reached the 50% payment milestone but what I'm suspicious about is the termination pack that they want to send for signing.. As far as I understand from an online search, a formal dated letter is sufficient to start and complete the process.

 

Thanks! 

It was over 2 years ago that i VT'd my mk3.

 

All i did was call VWFS, they then sent an email if i recall, where i filled in some details, i dont recall signing anything at all tbh.

 

When they inspected the vehicle prior to collection and when they actually collected it, i signed nothing. The inspector showed me on the iPAD that i had incurred no charges, and i could have signed, but i never bothered. I took a photo of the screen with my phone showing no charges, I had a couple of stone chips on the bonnet which were quite deep but i got a touch up kit and did my best with that.

 

Someone may have had a more recent experience as i say, but i found it all quite painless tbh.

10 minutes ago, roblatus said:

It was over 2 years ago that i VT'd my mk3.

 

All i did was call VWFS, they then sent an email if i recall, where i filled in some details, i dont recall signing anything at all tbh.

 

When they inspected the vehicle prior to collection and when they actually collected it, i signed nothing. The inspector showed me on the iPAD that i had incurred no charges, and i could have signed, but i never bothered. I took a photo of the screen with my phone showing no charges, I had a couple of stone chips on the bonnet which were quite deep but i got a touch up kit and did my best with that.

 

Someone may have had a more recent experience as i say, but i found it all quite painless tbh.

 

Hi! Thanks for the quick response. I have no issue filling a form with some basic details online but I would need to be careful if they are asking for signing any long paperwork.

It's good to know that you didn't sign the inspection form on the spot and just too a photo of it, I will make a note of it! 😛

The car is in excellent condition so I don't expect any charges beyond the wear and tear guidelines.

 

Thanks!  

Just now, kortis said:

 

Hi! Thanks for the quick response. I have no issue filling a form with some basic details online but I would need to be careful if they are asking for signing any long paperwork.

It's good to know that you didn't sign the inspection form on the spot and just too a photo of it, I will make a note of it! 😛

The car is in excellent condition so I don't expect any charges beyond the wear and tear guidelines.

 

Thanks!  

 

 

Ah I forgot! Any indication of how long does it take to complete the whole process?