SEAT Alhambra - Exchange/swap - jingo
Good morning forummers,

After some advice after an unfortunate change of circumstance if any one can help!

I am the the very happy owner of a 15 plate seat Alhambra i-tec and love the space, performance, versatility and practicality of it, we got the car on hire purchase (£303 p/m) in January.

Unfortunately my wife has suffered a nervous breakdown and is taking a career break until her mental health improves and I need to change the car, ideally for the same model.

I would be more than happy with a higher mileage early model (2010/2011) for around £150-200 p/m however I know dealerships generally only keep car which are up to 5 years old or less than 50,000 miles in stock. Can anyone point me in the direction of approved used models and advise as to how the process would go for someone in my circumstances?

Many thanks and happy motoring, Chris

SEAT Alhambra - Exchange/swap - Wee Willie Winkie

You're likely to be in negative equity and may find it difficult and no less expensive to change for an older model.

SEAT Alhambra - Exchange/swap - SLO76
Before going any further you need to get an early settlement figure from your finance company. Depending on how much deposit you put into the deal you may we’ll be in negative equity and will require money to pay this off along with funding a deposit on the replacement.

You’ll find that dealers tend to take advantage of people who are downgrading with low valuations on your own car. It’s likely you’ll be hit quite hard but again the first step is to get a settlement figure then get valuations from dealers and car buying services to see if this is viable.

The cheapest way to find any used car beyond your own savings is via a low cost bank loan. Dealer finance is never competitive and assuming you’re able to get rid of the old car I’d take a bank loan for the replacement. It’ll save you money.

Edited by SLO76 on 17/08/2019 at 12:22