The Volvo V90 was commonly sold on
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and
Hire Purchase (HP) finance agreements during the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) investigation period, which began on 6 April 2007 and concluded on 1 November 2024. The FCA found that
discretionary commission arrangements in motor finance were widespread across various lenders, affecting 12.1 million eligible agreements (FCA, March 2026) worth £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026). This means many V90 owners may have been impacted by mis-selling practices, leading to inflated interest rates and other financial disadvantages.
How the Volvo V90 was Typically Financed
The Volvo V90 is a popular station wagon that often comes with a significant price tag ranging from £15,000 to £30,000. During its period on the market, it was frequently financed through PCP and HP agreements offered by common lenders such as
Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance,
Close Brothers Motor Finance,
MotoNovo Finance, and
Santander Consumer Finance.
In a typical PCP agreement for a V90, customers would usually choose a term of 36 to 48 months. This arrangement typically includes balloon payments at the end of the contract, which can be substantial if not planned for adequately. The interest rates charged by these lenders might have been influenced by discretionary commission arrangements, leading to potentially inflated costs for consumers.
The FCA Motor Finance Investigation
The FCA's investigation uncovered that many motor finance agreements were marred by discretionary commission arrangements between car dealers and lenders. These arrangements allowed dealers to earn additional payments based on the terms of the loan agreed upon with customers. This system could incentivise dealers to push higher-cost deals, leading to inflated interest rates and other financial disadvantages for consumers.
The FCA's findings revealed that 12.1 million eligible agreements (FCA, March 2026) across various vehicles were affected by these practices (FCA estimate), resulting in a total loss of £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026) to consumers (FCA estimate). The average consumer lost approximately £829 per agreement (FCA estimate) due to inflated interest rates and other financial penalties.
How to Check Your Agreement Look for any mention of discretionary commission arrangements (DCA) or similar terms that indicate additional payments were made based on the loan terms agreed upon.
You should also check if your agreement falls within the relevant date range: from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. If you have identified these elements in your finance agreement, it is likely that the FCA-estimated scheme average is £829 per eligible agreement. due to mis-selling practices during this period.
If you suspect that your Volvo V90 finance agreement was affected by mis-selling practices, the first step should be to complain directly to your lender. Common lenders such as Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance, Close Brothers Motor Finance, MotoNovo Finance, and Santander Consumer Finance have procedures in place to address customer complaints.
You do not need a
claims management company to handle your complaint; you can file it yourself for free by contacting the finance provider directly or through their online complaint portal. Many lenders have dedicated teams to manage these types of cases efficiently.
Sources and References
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) Census 2021
- Motor Finance Association (MFA)
Based on 10,225 MOT tests conducted in 2024 (source: DVSA anonymised test data), the Volvo V90 has a pass rate of 86.3%. This is above the national average of 79.6%, meaning the V90 performs well in MOT testing.
The V90 pass rate is better than the overall Volvo average of 81.3%. The average mileage at MOT for this model is 67,645 miles.
- MOT pass rate: 86.3%
- MOT failure rate: 13.7%
- Tests analysed: 10,225 (2024 DVSA data)
- Average mileage at test: 67,645 miles
- Volvo average pass rate: 81.3%
- National average pass rate: 79.6%
Data source: DVSA anonymised MOT test results 2024, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.