PCP isn't MSE

dipsomaniac

Firstly. I am guessing there is not a lot of multi millionaires on this site looking to save money

Secondly, I don't see my £200 focus as a 'banger'

I am just saying PCP is not money saving imho

Don't understand your last paragraph. Hope you are not saying I should leave this forum??  I am offering my opinion, nothing more.

Herzlos

dipsomaniac said:

It just seems to me that MSE is all about saving money or investing except the motoring forum

It's all about getting the stuff you want in a cost effective way. Some people want something newer than a £200 focus.

You may not see it as a banger, but that's pretty much scrap value so everyone else views it as such. Not that there's anything wrong with bangers, but not everyone wants one.

Sandtree

dipsomaniac said:

The more I read this forum I don't  see how paying monthly for new cars is ever saving money. It's the lazy option, not MSE?????

Paying cash can be the lazy option and not MSE

You need to consider interest of the loan -v- interest you can get with your cash, any view on the guaranteed value etc. Assuming you want a car for 3-4 years then PCP can be an efficient mechanism either if you don't have the cash or your cash it tied up in high yielding long term investments

dipsomaniac

Am I missing something. You pay more interest on the loan than you receive on deposit? Otherwise all banks would be bankrupt. Any 0% deal has to load the price? What has high (risky) yielding investments got to do with buying a car? They are long term (15yr+) investments. Many people on here change their cars are lot more frequently than that.

Grumpy_chap

BOWFER said:

I think you need to recalibrate your view of this forum, TBH.
It's about 'money' in general, despite the word 'saving' in the title.
If it was purely about saving money, you wouldn't have the sub-forums on investments, because 'everyone should be skint on here and shouldn't have money to invest'

I disagree - if everyone here saved money, then everyone here would be loaded and have substantial money to invest.
This forum, as I understand it, is about facilitating what you need (first) and want (second) in the most financially astute way.  The most financially astute way does vary between individual requirements and circumstances so, as much as I'm not a great fan of PCP, that does not mean that PCP is never the answer.

However, this thread does not appear to have a specific situation or query in mind and is veering towards discussion time and may well not cover anything that was not recently covered in this similarly DT-type thread (which began from the opposite premise that PCP was great as opposed to this thread that starts from the PCP is bad position):
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6259601/is-it-any-wonder-people-lease-pcp#latest

In the mean-while, I remain a trainee multi-millionaire and deciding the spec for my luxury limo.  If I follow MSE principles I am more likely to progress from "trainee" than otherwise.

Sea_Shell

Surely some of you must at least agree that PCP enables people to drive a car that they otherwise could not afford, if they had to buy it outright on old fashioned HP finance over 3 years.

Why settle for a Vauxhall on HP, when you can have a Mercedes on PCP for the same £xxx pounds a month.

Because you're worth it!!! 

motorguy

dipsomaniac said:

Saving money is about the cheapest option not the cheapest bad deal

The ethos of this site is to get what you want at the best price you can.

You only have to look at the guides on here RE: holidays, credit cards, loans and the forum groups for deals, etc to see that.

Sorry if you still cant get your head around that.

motorguy

dipsomaniac said:

The best deal is usually the one with the least amount of middle men

So leasing then?

motorguy

Herzlos said:

PCP gives budgetting stability even if it's not the absolute cheapest. Some people would rather have a predictable £200/month car than a car that's £100 one month and £400 the next, especially those living pay day to pay day.

Yup.

My niece got a car on PCP when she was 20.  Up until then she was getting her mum to drop her off at her job babysitting.  The job she got was 20 miles away but a great entry level opportunity in a call centre on an entry level wage.  She used the car for reliable transport to get her to work and back safely and was able to pay for it monthly as she had little savings.  Shes now in the recruitment team on a decent wage and is in line for the manager position soon.

The capability to PCP a car was an enabler for her.  

motorguy

dipsomaniac said:

PCP is all about people that can't afford a 40 k car driving a 40k car. 

Look at the top 10 cars sold in the UK.  Almost all of them are run of the mill stuff like Corsas, Fiesta and Focus.  Almost all of them will be PCP'd and driven by average people doing average jobs and not trying to impress anyone.