Considering a PCP deal

redrabbit29

For years now I've had old cars, and the one I have now is a Y reg Ford Focus with 95'000 on the clock.

Last month the clutch was replaced - for £350
This month the wheel bearings + break pads were replacing - for £305

The MOT is in July and it has failed both times before which needed repairs.

The car is solid but is just needing new parts through wear and tear.

My Focus costs £225 a year to tax
It's a 1.8L petrol and guzzles petrol for fun

PCP

I'm 30 and work full time, doing a range of shifts in a very responsible job. The car is pretty important to commute to/from work, with no easy public transport options.

I've been considering a PCP deal for around £160 a month. Free insurance for the first year, and trade it back in after 4 years. I can get a VW polo for this price, 1.2. High MPG and £20 a year tax.

I've previously decided against it as I don't like the idea of paying every month for years and years.

My student loan (costs about £180/month) is about to be fully paid off. I was looking forward to having more money.


OTHER OPTIONS

Maybe PCP is more economical and a wiser investment. Rather than patching up an old car, worrying about repairs, then gettnig to work, breaking down, then replacing it with another old car in the future.

I also considered a loan and getting a nearly new car. But then you still have MOT's to worry about, no free insurance, the loan, then in a few years all the same issues.

I'm not sure what to do, not in a major rush so have time to consider the options.

Thanks everyone

BeenThroughItAll

redrabbit29 wrote: »

For years now I've had old cars, and the one I have now is a Y reg Ford Focus with 95'000 on the clock.

Last month the clutch was replaced - for £350
This month the wheel bearings + break pads were replacing - for £305

The MOT is in July and it has failed both times before which needed repairs.

The car is solid but is just needing new parts through wear and tear.

My Focus costs £225 a year to tax
It's a 1.8L petrol and guzzles petrol for fun

PCP

I'm 30 and work full time, doing a range of shifts in a very responsible job. The car is pretty important to commute to/from work, with no easy public transport options.

I've been considering a PCP deal for around £160 a month. Free insurance for the first year, and trade it back in after 4 years. I can get a VW polo for this price, 1.2. High MPG and £20 a year tax.

I've previously decided against it as I don't like the idea of paying every month for years and years.

My student loan (costs about £180/month) is about to be fully paid off. I was looking forward to having more money.


OTHER OPTIONS

Maybe PCP is more economical and a wiser investment. Rather than patching up an old car, worrying about repairs, then gettnig to work, breaking down, then replacing it with another old car in the future.

I also considered a loan and getting a nearly new car. But then you still have MOT's to worry about, no free insurance, the loan, then in a few years all the same issues.

I'm not sure what to do, not in a major rush so have time to consider the options.

Thanks everyone

If you're not bothered about what you drive, and you don't need a bigger car, you can get a VW Up!/Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii for less than £100 a month on a PCP deal. My colleague pays £83 a month for his. That's less than my mobile bill.


ETA: I in no way endorse this as a good deal. It's just cheap. Personally I wouldn't touch PCP with a bargepole, as I like to own my cars outright; but if it works for you then that's absolutely fine by me.

richy999

It's easy to be swayed by the cheap road tax and better mpg of a more modern car, but you will pay for it in terms of depreciation and finance costs.

If you really fancy a new car for a change, and it's within your means then go for it but don't kid yorself into thinking you'll be saving money by doing so.

A personal lease is also an alternative to a new car on PCP, but this is less flexible due to the commitment involved.

redrabbit29

I don't know if I like the VW Up, but I am open to most cars.

I looked up how much it is and it is around the same price per month

redrabbit29

richy999 wrote: »

It's easy to be swayed by the cheap road tax and better mpg of a more modern car, but you will pay for it in terms of depreciation and finance costs.

If you really fancy a new car for a change, and it's within your means then go for it but don't kid yorself into thinking you'll be saving money by doing so.

A personal lease is also an alternative to a new car on PCP, but this is less flexible due to the commitment involved.

Currently I get about 27mpg on my Focus, and the road tax is £220 a year.

I know that a new car will cost more money overall. However I don't see how I will pay for it in depreciation terms, as the car will be handed back at the end, or a new deal would be done.

I looked up personal lease, and it was about £150 per month which is leasing a VW Polo for 12 months.

BeenThroughItAll

redrabbit29 wrote: »

I don't know if I like the VW Up, but I am open to most cars.

I looked up how much it is and it is around the same price per month

Oh well. I tried. You won't get an accurate figure until you speak to a dealer. The 'examples' they quote will be subject to negotiation. The VW website currently shows the Up! with £105 per month payments for 34 months, so quite a lot less than the Polo you quoted before.

BeenThroughItAll

redrabbit29 wrote: »

Currently I get about 27mpg on my Focus, and the road tax is £220 a year.

I know that a new car will cost more money overall. However I don't see how I will pay for it in depreciation terms, as the car will be handed back at the end, or a new deal would be done.

I looked up personal lease, and it was about £150 per month which is leasing a VW Polo for 12 months.

You're paying for depreciation - look at it like this with round figures for simplicity:


Buy a £10K car outright, use if for three years, sell it for £6K (40% depreciation)


Lease/PCP £10K car for £120 a month for three years (lets pretend there's no deposit), hand it back and it's cost you £4320. That's more than you've lost on an outright purchase, but you don't own anything after three years.

richy999

redrabbit29 wrote: »

I know that a new car will cost more money overall. However I don't see how I will pay for it in depreciation terms, as the car will be handed back at the end, or a new deal would be done.

The PCP deal will be structured to take account of the depreciation of the car as well as the cost of the finance and profit for the dealer.

So no, you won't notice the depreciation as you would in a normal car purchase but you will still pay for it in the end.

OddballJamie

What about a diesel Ibiza?

Averages out at £140 a month plus about 5-6p a mile extra over the 5k a year.
http://www.centralukvehicleleasing.co.uk/vehicle/choose_your_lease/54909/seat/ibiza/12_tdi_cr_s_5dr_ac.html

forgotmyname

Clutch replaced, Brakes and bearings replaced. It sounds like it should be cheap to run for the next few years.

It may drink a bit of fuel, But little to go wrong on those petrol engines. And dont believe the ficticious MPG figures quoted on the brochures.
Unless your journey is on a set of rollers in a lab you wont get them.

Your lease car will also need brakes and tyres and other consumables. + Servicing costs at a dealers or garage specified in the lease.

So your looking at a lease or similar of £160 a month to save £200 a year?
Sounds like your car has not cost anywhere near the £2000 the lease will cost you.

Dont forget any damage to the car during the lease must be repaired properly. Even some dealers fail on that.

redrabbit29

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Oh well. I tried. You won't get an accurate figure until you speak to a dealer. The 'examples' they quote will be subject to negotiation. The VW website currently shows the Up! with £105 per month payments for 34 months, so quite a lot less than the Polo you quoted before.

Ah right, I didn't consider that there's obviously negotation involved. Good point.

Oh the VW Website Finance calculator is what I looked at. It shows a deposit of £1138.50 for the "HIGH UP", over 36 months = £173.50.

The Polo on the same website over 36 months shows the monthly cost as £186.77

I must be missing something in the options, but I accept entirely there are better deals including the one you've seen advertised