Is it any wonder people lease/PCP?

motorguy

dipsomaniac said:

Someone has to ask the question.  If Adrian's not going to ask I will.  Why get a car on credit when you can buy one for £200?

If someone is handy with a car and want to only spend £200 then great.  

Doesnt mean it suits everyone though.

Conversely, if people chose not to and go lease something new, then maybe it suits their requirements?  Wrap their costs up in to one monthly payment that they're happy with.

dipsomaniac

This is MSE and PCP/lease is never money saving imo

motorguy

dipsomaniac said:

This is MSE and PCP/lease is never money saving imo

You are misunderstanding the point of MSE if you think it is about spending as little as possible on only things you need.  Its about getting the things you want at a cost effective price.

AdrianC

motorguy said:

dipsomaniac said:

This is MSE and PCP/lease is never money saving imo

You are misunderstanding the point of MSE if you think it is about spending as little as possible on only things you need.  Its about getting the things you want at a cost effective price.

True.

And it "I must have a new car every three years" is your thing, then a PCP or lease might be the best way to do it.

If "I want reliable transport, cheaply" is the requirement, though...

Bonniepurple

I’ve never had the reliable income to want to risk a PCP, and I also like having older cars that are fully owned - it means I’m not worrying over every little scratch, scrape or ding.  Mind you, my cars are workhorses, carting all sorts of things around.  

One thing which I have noticed is that with the emphasis on PCPs, the second (and onwards) hand car market is full of cars with all bells and whistles too - and these don’t come cheap.  I don’t want in car entertainment.  I don’t want park assist.  I don’t want built in hands free (not least because you can hear conversations outside the car!).  I just want a car that is between new and falling apart at the seams.

Of course, the only real winners with people financing and changing cars every few years are the banks...

Grumpy_chap

Bonniepurple said:

One thing which I have noticed is that with the emphasis on PCPs, the second (and onwards) hand car market is full of cars with all bells and whistles too - and these don’t come cheap.  

Of course, the only real winners with people financing and changing cars every few years are the banks...

Generally, optional items are very poor value through PCP as they add little to the resale value so the entire option cost is simply divided through the PCP term and fully paid for by the first user.

I agree that it is the banks and the manufacturers who gain from PCP.

BOWFER

dipsomaniac said:

Someone has to ask the question.  If Adrian's not going to ask I will.  Why get a car on credit when you can buy one for £200?

Someone has to say it, so I will.
Because it will look and drive like a piece of dung.

AdrianC

motorguy said:

dipsomaniac said:

Someone has to ask the question.  If Adrian's not going to ask I will.  Why get a car on credit when you can buy one for £200?

If someone is handy with a car and want to only spend £200 then great.  

Doesnt mean it suits everyone though.

Point of order... If my example is being referred to, then I actually said £2k, not £200.

And, FWIW, I saw a 63-plate (so 8yo) equivalent for sale yesterday locally. £6k.

This is a car that's £16k new, £12k for a Ling 4yr/40k lease.

Herzlos

AdrianC said:

I bought a £2k, 15yo car as the sensible daily 14 months ago.
One advisory on the MOT since then, for a yellowed headlight - £20 and an hour of DIY to polish it up.

Ling's cheapest lease for the current equivalent is 6+47 £230/mo for the equivalent. So, by now, I'd have spent £5,300.

You're of course comparing driving a 15 year old car (when the average lifespan for cars in the UK is 14 years) with driving a brand new car, which could easily be 3 or 4 generations newer. So even ignoring maintenance the newer one will be better to drive, safer, more fuel efficient and have more features. Car technology has launched forward in 15 years.

People don't generally care about cars beyond it being affordable to run and does what they need (such as being safe for their kids).

For a lot of people, it's worth paying a bit more for a newer car with more predictable expenses.

AdrianC

Herzlos said:

You're of course comparing driving a 15 year old car (when the average lifespan for cars in the UK is 14 years) with driving a brand new car, which could easily be 3 or 4 generations newer. So even ignoring maintenance the newer one will be better to drive, safer, more fuel efficient and have more features. Car technology has launched forward in 15 years.

Actually, in this instance, it's the same basic car - bar a facelift 10yrs ago.

Different engine, yes. But that's not necessarily a good thing in reliability terms - the new engine is FAR more complex, and has not had universally flattering reviews, while the older one was basically bombproof.

As far as "technology moving forward", the rear suspension was simplified with the facelift, from independent to torsion beam. Yes, there's more fripperies like bluetooth and the like. Woo. We swapped the standard head unit to one with bluetooth and USB. Not that we use bluetooth... Radio 4 is good enough for anybody.