PCP pointers

BoiledBreadTomatoSauce

My partner and I were looking to get a car on PCP early next year, hopefully after a flat purchase is out the way. I'm aware that financially PCP isn't usually the most prudent option but we're not looking to spend much.

Online, a brand new VW Up on PCP comes in at a similar price to one a few years old, only with a deposit of between £1k and £2k as opposed to £300 or so. Is it usually possible to negotiate the opening deposit down on new cars through PCP? I remember 5 or so years ago my former partner doing this but no idea if it was a one-off or not.

Any other hints and things to look out for when going this route would be much appreciated. I'm aware that we need to be careful not to get stung with hefty mileage charges but not sure of other pitfalls.

Ebe_Scrooge

BoiledBreadTomatoSauce wrote: »

Online, a brand new VW Up on PCP comes in at a similar price to one a few years old

Really ? Even taking into account the deposit and balloon payment ?

foxy-stoat

Once your signed up to a 3 year PCP you are normally locked in until month 33 or 34 before you can VT the car and walk away.

Do take out GAP Insurance, maybe not with the dealer.

Don't exceed the agreed mileage.

Don't damage any part of the car.

Do read the contract before signing it.

BoiledBreadTomatoSauce

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Really ? Even taking into account the deposit and balloon payment ?

Ah...on second glance not quite!

Standard deposit on a used one is £300, and monthly payment on one a couple of years old comes in at around £110 - £130.

Brand new ones are available for £129 a month with a £2k deposit, or around £170 a month with a £170 deposit.

Think that second look sort of answered my own question!

Hunter_Jaeger

Why an Up?

Playing devils advocate here.

As an alternative why not lease and find the deal as opposed to the make/model?

Play around on here (and other sites) and get a feel what is out there

https://leasing.com/personal/car-leasing/

Choose unpopular cars or cars about to have a new/facelift model introduced.

BoiledBreadTomatoSauce

Hunter_Jaeger wrote: »

Why an Up?

Playing devils advocate here.

As an alternative why not lease and find the deal as opposed to the make/model?

Play around on here (and other sites) and get a feel what is out there

https://leasing.com/personal/car-leasing/

Choose unpopular cars or cars about to have a new/facelift model introduced.

It's just an example really so not tied to an Up in particular. We just need something cheap to run that's suited to city driving.

Thanks for the link I'll take a look at leasing.

wgl2014

Hunter_Jaeger wrote: »

Why an Up?

Playing devils advocate here.

As an alternative why not lease and find the deal as opposed to the make/model?

Play around on here (and other sites) and get a feel what is out there

https://leasing.com/personal/car-leasing/

Choose unpopular cars or cars about to have a new/facelift model introduced.

Perhaps counterintuitively unpopular cars are often expensive to lease as they depreciate more. I agree it's worth considering the deals that are out there though.

Hunter_Jaeger

wgl2014 wrote: »

Perhaps counterintuitively unpopular cars are often expensive to lease as they depreciate more. I agree it's worth considering the deals that are out there though.

Manufacturers aren't keen on selling them off cheap so they are shifted via lease deals.

iwb100

Do not do PCP on a second hand car.

On a new car compare PCP total cost with a PCH total cost. It is often worth doing PCH. Think of PCP as leasing - ultimately PCP is often not a good way to "BUY" a care but it can be a good way of leasing it - sometimes dealer incentives make the PCP deal better than any PCH deal. But you need to compare. You can negotiate on a PCP deal but it does vary - some dealers in certain scenarios will flat bat any negotiation - others will be able to give you absolutely loads off. Totally depends on their target, the car and the situation you are in. On an UP I doubt they will move all that much. And likely to reduce the deposit they'll just increase your monthlys....

For such a small car and assuming you won't be doing lots of mileage I would simply get a low interest bank loan and buy a second hand car though. It will work out cheaper and probably leave you in a better position.