Personal Contract Plan for a new car

OverlandLandy

GunJack wrote:

The point is, though, it has cost you £x to "borrow" a car for 2/3/4 yrs. Hardly money saving...

Yes - but I need a car - I used the buying power of the big guys...got a low APR...kept my money in the bank...bought it cheap...sold it for a profit... this more than offset the interest on the loan.

I could afford to pay cash...but would loose the buying power...the BIG discounts on the maintenance....and i loose my offset advantage on my mortgage!

As i say the BIG Picture is that walking in to a car dealer off the street there was no way i was going to get such a good deal..... I know you can loose out on these deals..But if you are prudent you can make a profit. Buy low...sell high.

I guess its like Stoozing...but with a car......but you need to know the market...get hold of a Glasses guide etc...so you can get a real view on depreciation etc.....and second guess future demand to a degree.

The reality of car ownership is that it costs you money.....but its an essential for me I'm afraid.

I guess we just need to agree to differ as my spreadsheets would take forever to download!!!!

GunJack

OL - we'll agree to disagree !! I do however agree that a car is essential. But my last 7.5 year's worth of cars have cost me in total £2000, or £22 per month averaged out over that time(will actually be less than that, the current one will last until at least Sep this year) - what's the total cost to you of 8 yrs worth of PCP out of interest ??

sandralovescats

You would be better off getting any new car on contract!

The plans quoted above are a total ripoff - been there, done that - they are not recommended by most Dealers nowadays for that reason.
I wholeheartedly agree with GunJack on this one.

py6km

Thanks for all you replies guys.

I basically want a PCP deal because I would like to keep the monthly payments low, and I want to be able to change my car every 3 or 4 years without no hassle, i.e. by just handing it back to the dealer.

It would seem I was quoted out the way really, because I have just had a look at freewaycars.co.uk (thanks OverlandLady), and they produced a quote of £428 per month for the exact same car.

If I put a small deposit in, I think I can get it for what I want (between £300-350 per month).

So, I think it must be the interest rate that the dealer applied, because the GMFV from Freeway is the same as the one the dealer gave me.

I have no experience of obtaining a car through a company like this however, and would prefer the security of being able to roll into my main dealer to complain about things if needs be, so I may have to let them know how uncompetitive they are being !

OverlandLandy

GunJack wrote:

OL - we'll agree to disagree !! I do however agree that a car is essential. But my last 7.5 year's worth of cars have cost me in total £2000, or £22 per month averaged out over that time(will actually be less than that, the current one will last until at least Sep this year) - what's the total cost to you of 8 yrs worth of PCP out of interest ??

I really cant tell you - my calculations over the years take in to account lots of factors such as reduced airfare costs (and emissions), Mileage allowance and associated Tax Rebates, Lack of company car tax, Money offset against my mortgage, depreciation, servicing costs, company 'opt-out' allowance vs company car allowance etc.... I also have to factor in the requirements of my business to carry business items and clients when required (So an Audi TT or Mini is out alas). It does however mean that I'm not restricted to a narrow company choice.

In real terms I make a 'profit' over the period as I get a car allowance, mileage allowance and don't pay company car tax. I also have my money offset against my mortgage and it is not tied up in the car. I have page after page of spreadsheets to look @ all the factors, but as my job roles change on an ongoing basis so does my mileage etc....

As i say it does not appeal to everyone.

If I did not have to have a car for work I would go down a totally different route.....and get a classic car for everyday use with 0% depreciation, £0 road tax (if pre-73) and very cheap insurance. I have always made a profit on the classic cars that i have owned...and to a degree they offset my 'modern car' running costs (but I don't factor this in to my PCP costs)

All cars cost money to a degree - when I work out my costs it factors everything in. I'm surprised that you only spend £22 per month taking all factors including depreciation, servicing, new tyres, MOTs (if required)road tax and insurance into account? Taking road tax, MOt and servicing at £130, £50, £100 this makes £280 per year alone. Leaving you nothing for Insurance or depreciation?

py6km

Phoenix79 wrote:

I just quoted this up from Lex:



So the figure you were quoted of £470 with no deposit seems to be about average

Thanks Phoenix -- the car you had quoted up is actually the more more expensive version with a safety pack (the [ACC/CMBS/HID/AFS]), so perhaps £450 might be about right for that, but the one we want is the normal EX version without these add ons, and that should be about £2000 cheaper.

[Deleted User]

£450 or so for 48 months comes to £21,600 - that's a lot to pay for a £25k car and not even own it at the end (I realise that included in that cost is interest and "equity" built up in that the balloon (final) payment is less than the predicted value).

I have been to see a new CR-V myself and liked the car but they wouldn't move on price so plan to wait until there are a few demonstrators around (or something else catches my eye).

You could also look at sites like https://www.broadspeed.com which I think offers about 1k off through proper UK dealers.