BMW cancels YouTuber’s finance after he modifies M4 performance car

The presenter of a popular YouTube channel has claimed that BMW has threatened to repossess his car after he breached his finance agreement.

Riccardo Senior, the presenter and cameraman behind LivingLifeFast, financed the M4 Competition from BMW Financial Services. He uploaded the video on June 1, explaining that he has just one week left to pay the full outstanding amount for the £60,000 performance car or face having it taken away.

He said: “I recently got a letter from BMW saying you have breached your agreement based on two things. The first one, you altered the vehicle without getting our consent.

“The second one is, if BMW feel you cannot afford the payments on your car, they can breach the agreement and demand the full amount for your car.”

He added that the vehicle finance was arranged through BMW Financial Services, saying: “I bought the car with the intention to modify it, you know, I’m a YouTuber.”

However, most finance contracts forbid modifications because the vehicle remains the property of the company that organised the deal until the full amount has been paid off.

BMW Financial Services offers three finance products. Personal contract purchase sees the client pay a deposit followed by monthly fees for a set period, with the option to return the vehicle at the end of the terms or buy it at its new value. Hire purchase also requires a deposit followed by monthly payments, but the full value of the car is covered by the agreement and you own the vehicle at the end of the contract.

Finally, contract hire acts like a long-term rental with monthly repayments, but no option to buy at the end of the contract. It is unclear which service Senior used, but in each case, BMW remains the owner of the vehicle at least until the end of the contract.

During the video, Senior confirms that he has fitted a hybrid turbocharger and methanol injection to the engine, as well as an Armytrix exhaust system and other ‘security modifications’.

A BMW spokesperson told the Press Association: “The altering of vehicles is stated clearly in our finance agreement. This is found across BMW Financial Services PCP agreements.”

They pointed to section 4d of the agreement Senior would have signed, which states: “Until the Vehicle is returned to us at the end of this agreement or you become the owner of the Vehicle, you must… not alter the Vehicle in any way without first obtaining our prior written consent, and if we consent you must restore the Vehicle to its original condition (at your cost) before returning the Vehicle to us.”