Finance

The Auto Lounge Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 944060). All finance is subject to status. We act as a credit broker not a lender.

Who are we?

The Auto Lounge Limited, we are a dealership acting as a credit broker in arranging finance for vehicle purchases.

Our registered office address is: Infinity Partnership, 5 Carden Place, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, AB10 1UT

Our trading address is: The Auto Lounge, Drumlithie, Aberdeen, AB39 3YQ

Company Number: SC627534

VAT Number: 351885476

FRN Number: 944060

Contact Number: 01224 905111

Are we authorised to arrange finance for you?

Yes, we are authorised and regulated for credit-broking activities by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). We are not a lender. For further information, please visit the FCA website at: https://register.fca.org.uk/. Please note that business customers may not be protected under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 or FCA rules.

What can we do to help finance your vehicle?

We can introduce you (whether direct or through a specialist credit broker) to a number of finance companies (“funders”) who may be able to finance your purchase. There are alternative funders to which we cannot introduce you which may also be able to offer you finance.

We will provide you with information and explanations about the finance products which may be available to you and, where we recommend a product to you, we will ensure that this is based on the information you give us about your needs and circumstances, ensuring that it is suitable for you under the TCF Principles. Finance is arranged subject to status and terms and conditions. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to secure finance for you.

The Finance products we offer are:

Hire Purchase (HP)

If you choose to pay for your car with a Hire Purchase agreement, you will normally pay an initial deposit and will pay off the entire value of the car in monthly instalments. When all the payments are made, the Hire Purchase agreement ends and you own the car.

PROS

• You’ll be able to drive away a car that you may not have managed to buy outright
• Unlike a PCP or PCH contract, you won’t need to estimate your mileage at the start of your Hire Purchase agreement, so you’ll avoid excess mileage charges
• Once you’ve made your final monthly payment, including the option to purchase fee, you’ll have full ownership of the car.

THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND

• Monthly payments may be higher than some other finance options, such as PCP, as you’re paying off the full value of the car
• You won’t be able to sell the car without settling the finance
• You won’t own the car until you have made all of your repayments
• You’ll need to keep the car properly insured, maintained and in your possession until the full value is paid off

Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)

Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) is similar to a Hire Purchase agreement as you will usually pay an initial deposit, followed by monthly instalments.

What makes PCP different is that your monthly instalments are paying off the depreciation of the car, and not its entire value, over the course of the term. Then, when you get to the end of your agreement, there is a final, balloon payment that must be made if you want to keep the car.

HOW DOES PCP ACTUALLY WORK?

At the start of your PCP contract, a Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) of the car is set. This is the car’s expected value when your contract ends.

For you, this means that the money you’re repaying is the difference between what the car is worth now and what it will be worth at the end of your contract (the depreciation) plus interest, which is calculated on the full value of the vehicle. You’ll pay this difference off in monthly instalments.

Remember: you are still liable for the full amount of the vehicle if anything happens to the car or if you settle early.

This means lower monthly payments for you, but you will need to pay a final payment at the end (the Guaranteed Future Value) if you want to keep the car.

Once your agreement is finished, you’ll have three options:

1. Buy the car by paying the final balloon payment (the Guaranteed Future Value)
2. Hand the car back – your finance company has already predicted the Guaranteed Future Value of the car, so handing the car back will settle the deal
3. Part exchange for a new car

PROS

• Monthly payments on a car financed by PCP are usually lower than if your car is financed by a Hire Purchase agreement
• If you decide not to buy the car, you can simply walk away when you’ve made all the payments
• Similar to PCH, you can drive away a new or used car every few years (dependent on the chosen term) without worrying about selling it on
• If your car is worth more than the Guaranteed Future Value then you can use that equity towards a deposit on a new car

THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND

• If you want to buy the car you will need to pay your final balloon payment (the Guaranteed Future Value)
• Similar to a Personal Contract Hire ( PCH ) , you will need to agree on a mileage allowance at the beginning of your contract and there may be excess mileage charges if you exceed this
• You won’t be able to sell the car without settling the finance
• You won’t own the car until you have made all of your repayments
• You’ll need to keep the car properly insured, maintained and in your possession until the full value is paid off

CAN I SETTLE MY PCP DEAL EARLY?

You can normally settle your deal early, however the finance company will require you to pay off the difference between what your car is worth now, and what you still owe (negative equity). On the other hand, you may find that at the end of your term your car is worth more than the Guaranteed Future Value, which means you’ll have some positive equity to contribute towards your next car.

Lease Purchase (HP)

Lease purchase works very similarly to PCP and is in essence the same concept. The major difference between the two is that the balloon payment is not a guaranteed future amount where you can simply hand the car back to the lease company.

PROS

• You can have a lease purchase for business use which makes the monthly payments lower. In the past business purchases, have been done through hire purchase which has realised higher payments
• You can purchase slightly older cars outside the parameters of PCP which gives slightly lower payment than hire purchase
• Once you’ve made the final payment you own the car outright

Can we give you independent financial advice?

We are not independent financial advisers and so are unable to provide you with independent financial advice.

Do you have to pay for our service/do we receive any commission?

You don’t have to pay us for our service.

But a funder or broker we work with may pay us for introducing you to them. Different funders/brokers may pay us different amounts but it will typically be based on a fixed percentage of the amount borrowed. This percentage may vary according to different factors, for example: the amount of credit; the age or type of vehicle; the type of finance product; or the funder’s assessment of the risk of lending. For your reassurance, we are not able to change the interest rate you pay in order to receive more commission from a particular broker or funder. Although rates and commissions may vary between our finance partners, our aim is always to secure finance from them which is appropriate to your circumstances and at the lowest interest rate available.

If we are successful in obtaining an offer of finance for you and you would like to know the amount (or likely amount) we would receive if you decided to go ahead with the agreement and how that amount has been calculated, please contact us.

How will we use your information?

We will use your information to obtain quotes from funders and brokers to process finance applications through them and we and/or they may also conduct a search of your record held with one or more credit reference agencies. Credit checks may as a result appear on your credit file lodged by organisations with whom you have not dealt directly. The personal information collected will also be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money laundering and to verify your identity. If fraud is detected you could be refused certain services, finance or employment.

Further details of how your information will be used by us, funders and these fraud prevention agencies. A full data protection notice/ privacy policy will be provided to you before we submit any application for finance on your behalf.

The Auto Lounge Limited are registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number ZA624729.

What can you do if you wish to complain about our services or contact us?

If you wish to make a complaint, please contact us:

* by writing to us at: The Auto Lounge, Infinity Partnership, 5 Carden Place, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, AB10 1UT

* by emailing: info@theautolounge.co.uk ; or

* by calling: 01224 905111

If, after making a complaint to us you are still unhappy and feel the matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction, please contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS” – www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk). Please note that FOS may not be able to deal with complaints from business customers.

If you require further information, please contact us by calling the above number or emailing us at info@theautolounge.co.uk.