The Ford Mustang, a classic American muscle car celebrated for its performance and style, was commonly sold on
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and
Hire Purchase (HP) finance agreements during the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) investigation period from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. This investigation uncovered significant issues with
discretionary commission arrangements that affected millions of consumers across the UK.
How the Ford Mustang was Typically Financed
The Ford Mustang, a vehicle often sought after by enthusiasts and car lovers alike, is typically financed through Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or Hire Purchase (HP) agreements. During the FCA investigation period, typical PCP terms for the Mustang ranged from 36 to 48 months with finance amounts ranging between £15,000 and £30,000. Common lenders providing finance for Ford vehicles during this time included
Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance,
Close Brothers Motor Finance,
MotoNovo Finance, and
Santander Consumer Finance.
PCP agreements often include a balloon payment at the end of the term, which represents a significant portion of the vehicle’s value. This final payment is typically required if the customer wishes to own the car outright or trade it in for another vehicle. However, the complexity of these terms can lead to misunderstandings and mis-selling practices.
The FCA Motor Finance Investigation
The FCA investigation into motor finance agreements revealed that many lenders were involved in discretionary commission arrangements during the period from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. These arrangements allowed dealerships and lenders to benefit financially when customers chose more expensive or complex financial products, such as PCP deals with high-end balloon payments.
The investigation found that these practices affected 12.1 million eligible agreements (FCA, March 2026) across the UK, resulting in an estimated total cost of £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026) to consumers (FCA estimate). On average, each affected consumer paid around £829 more than they should have due to mis-selling practices (FCA estimate).
How to Check Your Agreement First, review your finance agreement documents for specific terms like "Discretionary Commission Arrangement" (DCA) or references to high balloon payments at the end of the PCP term.
Relevant dates to check include agreements signed between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024. If you find any suspicious clauses or unusually high costs, it may be worth investigating further.
If you believe your Ford Mustang finance agreement was affected by the FCA investigation, you can complain directly to your lender without needing a
claims management company. Common lenders for Ford vehicles include Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance, Close Brothers Motor Finance, MotoNovo Finance, and Santander Consumer Finance.
When contacting these lenders, provide them with detailed information about your agreement and any evidence of mis-selling practices. You do not need a claims management company to handle this process; you can complain directly for free by following the lender’s complaints procedure.
Sources and References
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 2024
- Office for National Statistics Census, 2021
Based on 10,802 MOT tests conducted in 2024 (source: DVSA anonymised test data), the Ford Mustang has a pass rate of 86.6%. This is above the national average of 79.6%, meaning the Mustang performs well in MOT testing.
The Mustang pass rate is better than the overall Ford average of 78.3%. The average mileage at MOT for this model is 37,951 miles.
- MOT pass rate: 86.6%
- MOT failure rate: 13.4%
- Tests analysed: 10,802 (2024 DVSA data)
- Average mileage at test: 37,951 miles
- Ford average pass rate: 78.3%
- National average pass rate: 79.6%
Data source: DVSA anonymised MOT test results 2024, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.