PCP Vs Bank Loan & other questions.

bflare

My car is about to go to car heaven I am considering my options. Initially I thought about a bank loan but even though my credit rating appears to be good my bank is offering me a whopping 23.9% APR for 8K. So, I am now thinking about PCP. I am not bothered about owning the car at the end of the term. I just want a reliable car to get me to work & back without constant repair bills & then the option to change it at around 3 years. My mileage is around 18k so the repayments will be higher & I would try to use a deposit of around 2K.

Can anyone offer any advice & point me in the direction of where to look for a good deal? Are the interest rates normally lower than a bank & are they normally guaranteed?

foxy-stoat

I would get a loan and buy a cheaper car - £5,000-£6,000 should do it - try and get one for 24 months so its all paid for and yours after 2 years when you can look at changing it again.

I would stay away from PCP with only £2,000 to put down and with that annual mileage.

AnotherJoe

1. You dont appear to be in any position to take out PCP. Not much money and high annual mileage.

2. You are looking at avoiding "high" repair bills, which are uncertain, but these will probably be dwarfed by the certain depreciation on a new or nearly new car which is factored into PCP. INdeed thats most of the cost of it. There's no sense saving (for sake of argument) a £1k repair bill by buying a car that has (again for sake of argument) £3k a year depreciation for certain.
Go with FS's advice.

bflare

foxy-stoat wrote: »

I would get a loan and buy a cheaper car - £5,000-£6,000 should do it - try and get one for 24 months so its all paid for and yours after 2 years when you can look at changing it again.

I would stay away from PCP with only £2,000 to put down and with that annual mileage.

Yeah I think the higher mileage is the bad point here. I could probably put a bigger deposit down but then I would have to find a big deposit again at the end of the agreement for the next car.

foxy-stoat

I drive around the same mileage as you and am happy that I own the car outright, no one is going to charge me now some scroat has put a 500mm scratch down the side of it....the loan monthly payments are less than a PCP deal and will only last 2 years (1 to go) and if it gets written off I will buy another with the money and not have to worry about settling the debt with a massive minus figure to pay. Its around £5K and gets 50mpg and nice to drive. No bother yet, touch wood.

Used to have Gen 8 Civic diesel, now a Giulietta diesel and its been all good so far - probably jinxed it now just wait !

bflare

foxy-stoat wrote: »

I drive around the same mileage as you and am happy that I own the car outright, no one is going to charge me now some scroat has put a 500mm scratch down the side of it....the loan monthly payments are less than a PCP deal and will only last 2 years (1 to go) and if it gets written off I will buy another with the money and not have to worry about settling the debt with a massive minus figure to pay. Its around £5K and gets 50mpg and nice to drive. No bother yet, touch wood.

Used to have Gen 8 Civic diesel, now a Giulietta diesel and its been all good so far - probably jinxed it now just wait !

You made some very good points there thanks!


I was actually considering a Giulietta diesel. What year is it?

foxy-stoat

2012, just make sure the cam belt and pump have been done and it really needs full service history. Loads of information on the owners club.

Some electric wiring is a bit hit and miss, ie wires that go from the car to the boot and doors sometimes break - no idea why Alfa Romeo techs cannot make wires work, everyone else seems to manage it, gear position sensor fails and you may get leaks from the EGR assembly but nothing too major with these cars.

bflare

foxy-stoat wrote: »

2012, just make sure the cam belt and pump have been done and it really needs full service history. Loads of information on the owners club.

Some electric wiring is a bit hit and miss, ie wires that go from the car to the boot and doors sometimes break - no idea why Alfa Romeo techs cannot make wires work, everyone else seems to manage it, gear position sensor fails and you may get leaks from the EGR assembly but nothing too major with these cars.

Just had a quick look into the EGR & gear position sensor problems & they appear to be a relatively easy fix. What model is yours?

foxy-stoat

170 hp Lusso - optional extras on this one is the Competizone Red paint and full black leather. The only gripe about these cars is the seats for me - they dont have much in the way of side support like in other cars I have owned, and there is no foot rest. Not deal breakers for me.

Volece has bigger alloys and side skirts and you will get half leather but I don't think you get auto lights and auto wipers.

I was trying to sell it a few months back and get into a newer Corsa 1.3 d, but had no takers so keeping it now.

I had a tuning box for a while and it really hammered when pushed - but I only drive to work and back again and I only actually "used" the extra hp on one stretch of road maybe 2 times in 10 days so took it out.

DCFC79

The bank wont be basing the apr on your credit rating, your history plus information you supply is what they will base the apr on.

bflare

DCFC79 wrote: »

The bank wont be basing the apr on your credit rating, your history plus information you supply is what they will base the apr on.

So if I apply for a loan from another Bank that's offering a lower APR at the soft credit check stage will they push the APR up to the same as what my bank is offering me now once I apply properly?