Decision time about my car - these are my options

facade

FDa65rdk said:

macman said:

FDa65rdk said:

Grumpy_chap said:

To choose a car and take delivery in a week and 3 days seems a bit of a rush.  Or, do you just need to choose and order this month?

This is what I was told in a recent email:
'The sooner the better so that we can get you the 3 months free as to benefit from that offer the car has to be collected by 30th September. All of the cars we have offered aren't at our site yet so we would need to allow for enough time to get them here.'
So it looks like I will have to delivery by the end of the month.

This is simply an unsophisticated sales pressure technique to push you into making a rushed decision and getting a poorer deal. As others have said, there are no free months. It's costed in, and the real price would be the same now or later.

Just out of interest, how do you know that the '3 months free' amounts to the same thing in the end?
I'm not doubting this at all but I'm interested where you found this out.

The correct way is to do the maths using the actual payments & deposit.

The cynical way (in the absence of the figures)  is to assume that the finance company is not a charity and they are never going to lose money- they want as much of yours as they can get.

FDa65rdk

facade said:

FDa65rdk said:

macman said:

FDa65rdk said:

Grumpy_chap said:

To choose a car and take delivery in a week and 3 days seems a bit of a rush.  Or, do you just need to choose and order this month?

This is what I was told in a recent email:
'The sooner the better so that we can get you the 3 months free as to benefit from that offer the car has to be collected by 30th September. All of the cars we have offered aren't at our site yet so we would need to allow for enough time to get them here.'
So it looks like I will have to delivery by the end of the month.

This is simply an unsophisticated sales pressure technique to push you into making a rushed decision and getting a poorer deal. As others have said, there are no free months. It's costed in, and the real price would be the same now or later.

Just out of interest, how do you know that the '3 months free' amounts to the same thing in the end?
I'm not doubting this at all but I'm interested where you found this out.

The correct way is to do the maths using the actual payments & deposit.

The cynical way (in the absence of the figures)  is to assume that the finance company is not a charity and they are never going to lose money- they want as much of yours as they can get.

I understand but that doesn't automatically mean that the '3 months free' option will end up costing exactly the same.
For example, I did the maths in 2017 and paying for the car upfront unexpectedly turned out to be more expensive than 42 monthly payments plus the balloon payment.

[Deleted User]

FDa65rdk said:

Thanks for the responses and the advice has been to pay the balloon payment and keep the car which I was leaning towards doing but wanted an objective point of view.
Is is worth considering going to WBAC before making the balloon payment, finding out how much they would offer and if turns out to be over £1000 than the balloon payment, selling the car to them, pocketing the difference and then looking for a new car?

I've had one experience with them before where they valued an old car that I needed to sell asap and it wasn't a good one.

I don't know if this is still the case but at the time, there was a £50 fee for cars valued at £100 or more.
They valued the car at £105 which meant I got £55 for it.
If they had valued it at £99, I would have got £99.
This seemed grossly unfair where a tiered fee would have been the proper thing to do.

You'd be trading in a car that you know well, know has been maintained etc for a another which you have very limited knowledge of, particularly with a private sale. Modern cars last for years, you can see 51 plates still knocking around (obviously there are even older cars still around!) - there is pretty much zero reason for a money saver to buy a new car after 3 years beyond wanting a new plate unless you knew the car was knackered

AdrianC

FDa65rdk said:

MalMonroe said:

FDa65rdk said:

daveyjp said:

When to expect major unexpected expense depends on the vehicle in question, how it has been driven and how well it has been maintained.

The car is in good condition but I'm concerned about them saying 'We've found this, this, this and this...' and I have to take their word for it.
I don't know a great deal about cars and would not be in a position to confidently or convincingly argue with them telling that.

My car is through a PCP arrangement and I don't know a great deal about cars either but if the dealer started saying they'd found 'this, this, this and this, I'd argue with them. Because I know it's in good condition. In the agreement I signed it states that normal wear and tear is expected, and the initial price was probably arranged around that too. 

If they do start saying such things, PLEASE don't take their word for it. There's nothing to suggest they would do that, though and some car dealerships are actually honest and above-board, in my experience. DO learn to stand up for yourself, though, or people ARE going to take advantage of you. I'm a single woman in what's still, misogynistically, considered a man's world but I won't accept any nonsense from anyone. Especially when it could cost me money!

It's not a question of needing to 'learn' to stand up for myself.
I don't know much about cars and if someone says there is damage to the vehicle, I don't have the knowledge about cars to argue the point and explain why that isn't the case.
There's a big difference between that and not being able to stand up for myself.

It's not about "knowing about cars". All the information you need should be in your possession. You have a copy of the BVRLA standard wear and tear guide, right?
If not to hand, it's on the web. It's written in a layman-friendly way.
https://issuu.com/bfwsn67/docs/bvrla_fair_wear_and_tear_standard_-_cb6bf45bb50403?e=2001091/30897824

Go through that, and look at the car. Look for damage. Carefully. Measure it. Compare it to what you agreed to when you started the PCP - which is what the guide documents.