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Case study: Getting to know borrower Andrew
Andy is an Agriculture Engineer, and lives with his wife in Leek, Staffordshire on the outskirts of the Peak District. One of the realities of living in such a nice part of the world is that convenience in terms of travel tends to lie with owning a vehicle, rather than depending on public transport. So when Andy had a nasty surprise with his old faithful Ford Ka, he needed to make a plan quickly…
Me and my car troubles
I’ve never been particularly passionate about cars, and for me they’re just a means to get from A to B, and preferably as efficiently as possible. For years I had driven my old vehicle – a Ford Ka – around without any major problems. So when it came up for its MOT earlier this year, it seemed like a formality.
How wrong I was. It was surprising to me that the car failed its MOT. But that didn’t hold a candle to what happened next. To my disbelief, the mechanic suggested that I would be wasting my time and money trying to do the necessary repairs, and that the best thing for me to do would be to scrap it – even though the car was only 12-years old!
In fairness, he went into great detail as to why the car was essentially a write off, and explained the nitty gritty of what was wrong to me. But, suffice it to say, it wasn’t how I expected the day to go, and I found myself in a bit of a pickle. My offices are more than 10 miles from home, so it meant that I was suddenly in a race against time to get a replacement.
The first thing I had to do was find the right car, and this wasn’t so easy for me. Last year I had a hip replacement operation, and I was thus limited to finding cars which are set higher up, and thus easier for me to get into. Fortunately, at one of the first dealerships I went to, I stumbled across this Citroen Picasso, which, as an MPV, suited me perfectly.
Financing the car
I was pretty pleased to find the Picasso, and managed to negotiate a decent price with the dealer. But I didn’t have the funds lying around to buy it cash, so I knew I would have to finance it somehow.
The best rate the garage would do for me was an APR of 17.9%, which seemed a bit steep to me. It would have been convenient, but I resisted the urge to accept, as I thought I could do better.
The next port of call was my bank, but that was a waste of time as their APR would have been 23.6%. So I decided to shop around on some comparison sites, and that’s when I came across Lending Works. I was a bit sceptical when I saw that the Rep APR was 5.9%, as it seemed too good to be true. But after I made my application, the rate I was quoted was none other than 5.9%.
Accepting and paying off the loan
It was a no brainer for me to accept the loan offer, and I couldn’t believe how quick and easy the process was. All done online, no need for an appointment, and I literally had the funds within 24 hours. At 54, it’s been a while since I’ve taken out a loan, and it’s fair to say the nature of the market has changed a lot in that time!
As a borrower, what you’re after is expedience and convenience, and that’s exactly what I got from Lending Works. Not only have I recommended you to friends, but I really think more mainstream car finance providers will have to up their game if they are to keep up.
Anyway, taking on debt doesn’t worry me, even at my age. It was a necessity for me at the time, but in two years I’ll be debt free. And in the meantime, I’ve got a great new set of wheels which will hopefully last me a long time!
Related articles:
- Case study: A quick chat with borrower Wayne
- Case study: We hear from borrower Carol
- Case study: Borrower Charlotte speaks to us
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Our website offers information about saving, investing, tax and other financial matters, but not personal advice. If you're not sure whether peer-to-peer lending is right for you, please seek independent financial advice, and if you decide to invest with Lending Works, please read our Key Lender Information PDF first.
As with all investments, your capital is at risk.
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In line with our risk management framework, today we published our Q4 2019 performance update.
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The Lending Works Shield does not give you a right to a payment so you may not receive a pay-out even if you suffer loss. The Lending Works Trustee has absolute discretion as to the amount that may be paid, including making no payment at all. Therefore, investors should not rely on possible pay-outs from the Lending Works Shield when considering whether or how much to invest. For more information click here.