Questions about financing a vehicle

"I have been offered a PCP agreement that has a 'balloon' payment at the end. My dad doesn't like the idea. What happens at the end of the agreement? Can I keep the car if I want to? "

PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) is a form of Hire Purchase agreement and is recognisable by the last payment which is much larger than those before it. Also the finance agreement details your right to return the car if you don't wish to pay this last final payment. You can pay the payment (or refinance it) and keep the car. If you wish to return the car then you may provided that any excess mileage charge is paid.
Your father's dislike for the scheme is not uncommon. There is a belief that because the payments are lower there must be some significant hidden cost. Hartwell Finance have over ten years experience of arranging PCP's and we think the concerns are unjustified. For financial reasons, that cannot briefly be explained here, an HP agreement and a PCP agreement at the same APR (Annual Percentage rate) are financially the same. For this reason there is no intrinsic reason why one should automatically offer a better deal than the other. However, as the finance company is guaranteeing to accept the car back no matter what the depreciation (think what happened to new Rover's) then they are likely to require a modest increase in rate to make it worthwhile covering this risk. It is then your decision whether this extra cost outweighs the benefit of this insurance plus the lower payments.
The payments are lower because a proportion of the cost of the car is deferred to the end. This figure is calculated given your mileage and the expected depreciation of the car. The more that is deferred to the last payment, the lower the payments can go. This may be what you want but bare in mind that the closer the car's value to the final payment then there will be less value to pass to your next car as a deposit. On the other hand a higher final payment is more likely to put you in a position where, if the car is worth less than the payment due, you can happily walk away knowing you don't have to continue paying.

"I have a car on HP and would like to sell it to my sister-in-law having already ordered my new car from Hartwell Northampton. I understand the finance company need settling first before I transfer ownership but I won't get paid until a week after my sister-in-law needs the car. Any ideas?"

As you don't legally own the vehicle you shouldn't sell a car that has secured finance upon it. It might be worthwhile speaking to the finance company and explaining you wish to sell the car privately. If you inform them that you will pay them in full immediately once you have cleared funds then while they may not be 100% comfortable they should be able to give you some sensible and practical advice.
If the buyer isn't happy about buying the car when it has HP outstanding then they should be able to send the payment direct to the finance company. If you sell to someone you don't trust implicitly then make sure that you have cleared funds before you release the car.
An alternative might be to pay the finance company from a Bank overdraft and clear the overdraft as soon as the money is received from the sale of the car. A proportion of the cost of the overdraft will be offset by the early settlement interest saving from the HP agreement.
Remember, never release a car to a private buyer until you have cleared payment.

Obtaining finance

"I have just returned to the UK having been working in Norway for five years. I have been having trouble getting a loan at a cheap rate. Would your company be able to recommend an HP company that I would have more luck with."

You could use our "sub-prime" system. We understand you may not have an adverse credit history merely an absence of any history but this process can often iron out these sort of issues. Many people who feel they must have a poor credit history find they haven't.
To improve the situation try to ensure you get back on the Voters Roll. Take a small HP agreement where your deposit is large, even if you don't need the finance. Lenders won't be able to resist such a secure proposition but they may ask for extra proofs of address/income. Pay it off early if the rate is high. This will record the agreements existence with Experian and Equifax (credit reference agencies). This will get you on the ladder.
Keep well within credit card limits, don't exceed them and don't miss the minimum monthly payment as it looks like you can't manage your finances. Any partner may also need to manage their money well as you may become financially linked. Avoid finance taken over long periods and don't carry multiple credit cards with thousands outstanding on each. If you build a good credit history by borrowing and paying back responsibly you will in time be able to take the pick of the best rates available.