Car Buying Cost Cutting System Article Discussion Area

AdrianHi

baxbya wrote: »

also how is o% finance o% if they'll only do it at the full price of a car, yet if you take a regular % interest or pay in full they'll do a few grand discount!???!!

Last time I checked the figures properly leasing a Vauxhall Astra over 3 years was quite a bit cheaper than buying one and selling at 3 years old due to depreciation alone, never mind taking finance charges into account. Leasing company buying power gets bigger discounts presumably.
Astra 1.4T SE £144 a month plus VAT for example.

Taking finance is usually better for the dealer as they get commission for selling the finance package. Doubt it works out that way for 0% deals though.

simonnorman

I think Adrian is totally right! Leasing is often more interesting, but it actually depends on how much the car depreciates over the period of the contract. some cars depreciate more than others. You also need to be aware that 0% finance is not always the most interesting deal because the dealer will most probably do less of a discount on the car itself (because they don't get margin on the finance!).
hope this helps

Napster

Has anyone used Orangewheels.co.uk to purchase a new car?
If so, are they a reliable & reputable company, did everything run smoothly with the order did the car arrive at the dealership on time ect?
I am looking to get a VW Scirocco & they contacted me regarding my enquiry on their site, then the dealership called me to discuss finance payment as it will be a company car & they are based in Chester (Nr Manchester). I am in Bournemouth so it will be a 4 1/2 hr drive each way for me to collect the car, just want to make sure it is worth the risk/effort.

ShowMeTheHoney

Apologies in advance I'm new to this (no kidding!). If I post this in the wrong place please holler and I'll delete it.

Anyone had to make a claim against Autocheck? they are an online car HPI thingy run by Experian, the creditcheck people? I've just checked their T&C's and basically it says they dont warrant any of the data they provide or specifically that it will be error free! If thats the case then whats the point of doing an HPI check with them and can anyone suggest a decent alternative?
thanks

pete1412009

Hey everybody,

I'm new to Moneysaving so bear with me. I'm planning to purchase a new car for the first time and am pretty clueless regarding how to go about it. My friends have recommended that I pay in cash as this way I can get the best deal. Is this sound advice? I don't really like the idea of carrying all that money about.

AdrianHi

pete1412009 wrote: »

Hey everybody,

I'm new to Moneysaving so bear with me. I'm planning to purchase a new car for the first time and am pretty clueless regarding how to go about it. My friends have recommended that I pay in cash as this way I can get the best deal. Is this sound advice? I don't really like the idea of carrying all that money about.

I think by "paying cash" people mean not taking out any kind on finance to buy the vehicle.
When it comes to physically paying for the vehicle I think the best choice is to have the money in your current account and pay with a debit card. This is what dealers prefer and it is secure.
Dealers make commission selling finance so it's best to negotiate price and then tell them your paying cash.
There are 0% finance deals around on some cars usually involving a large say 50% deposit. You should take advantage of this.
Example: A number of Mazda's including the Mazda 2 can be had for 50% deposit and 0% finance on the rest over 2 or 3 years (so you would do it over 3 years of course!)
So no, "paying cash" is not necessarily best and some new cars can be cheaper over 3 years that buying if you can track down the right deal, harder to do these days.

badger101_3

pete1412009, as AdrianHi says, your friends advising you to "pay in cash" will mean not taking finance out on the vehicle and using your own money. Dealers / car brokers earn commission for selling a car on finance and as such will make more profit this way. However, I believe that under the terms of the Consumer Credit Act any price you are offered to buy the vehicle at must apply whether you are buying the car on finance or not. i.e. - a dealer cannot sell you a car for a different price dependent on your payment method (maybe someone else could confirm this?).

May i suggest that you take a look at cars2buy.co.uk where you can compare new car prices from different dealers and new car brokers. You can therefore find the best price available and sort out the payment method afterwards.

motorguy

baxbya wrote: »

also how is o% finance o% if they'll only do it at the full price of a car, yet if you take a regular % interest or pay in full they'll do a few grand discount!???!!

Often used car dealers will offer '0% finance' when in reality they just build the interest costs into the price - thus offering a hefty discount if you dont take it.

New car deals tend to be sponsored - at least in part - by the manufacturer, so a discount should still be available.

owitemisermusa

Quick Q.

What about buying a used car and either putting the entire cost or most of it on a credit card directly, debit card (via money transfer from credit card) or loan to avoid dealer finance? Would that be a good way to go?

Dealer still quoting non-APR rate telling me it "the APR rate means nothing, and the rate he's quoting me is more important". He was stating a rate of 5+% and when I pressed for an APR he said it was about 11-12%!!

Filled me with a deep distrust so now I'm trying to investigate ways of avoiding dealer finance.

BLueFox_3

I've been in touch with some brokers listed in the main article, who were offering good prices on new cars. In each case, they are pre-registering the car (despite one website saying the car would be new registration). This means the V5C document (logbook) comes with their details. Normally the seller would then contact the DVLA and your details would then appear on the registration document.

However, the broker firm are holding onto the document for up to 6 months before transferring your details onto it. This would appear to be illegal, or certainly not good practice, according to an interesting article at the What Car website (search Google for "pre-registered cars:the rules")

This is done to prevent you reselling the car, as one broker told me.
Although you are the owner of the car, anyone who wants to see the registration document (insurers, police etc.) may query why your details are not on it. The article above clearly explains the potential pitfalls, and summarises by saying you should walk away from such a deal.

So - is the discount worth the hassle?