PCP mis-sold

phillw

Willguilfoyle said:

I am currently starting the process and have been told I am due £10k plus in compensation for one of my previous cars? 

People will say anything to get you to sign a contract.

There might be some "go away" money in it, if they told you that you might get £500 or £50 then would you do it?

Are there any costs that you will need to cover even if you get £0?

Grumpy_chap

I think I was mis-sold an Austin Allegro as my first car.  I was under the impression that, as the Police used them, then they must be good and reliable cars.

I was then mis-sold an MG Metro, under the belief that it had red seat belts and therefore must be sporty.  I think I may also have been told that the "swiss-cheese" wings was all part of the "go faster" package.

Etc., etc., etc.

If I just list all these events out, how much money will I get?

The_Fat_Controller

Austin Aggro, a wonderful vehicle, especially with the QUARTIC steering wheel.

Nebulous2

The_Fat_Controller said:

Austin Aggro, a wonderful vehicle, especially with the QUARTIC steering wheel.

I had several Allegros at the same time. Occasionally I managed to achieve a magical combination of parts which gave me one functional car. 

Most notable problem was an under bonnet fire which took out the wiring. I had to buy a wiring loom from a scrappy and fitted it with the help of my father in law.

You couldn't do that on a modern day car! 

ratechaser

The_Fat_Controller said:

Me : What's the best discount for a cash purchase on that new XXXX you have in the compound ?
Dealer : £1200 (9%) . However if you take it on PCP you can have the same discount, a £500 contribution from the finance company and 0% APR over 48 months (other terms were available at the same rate)
Me : Sounds good, any catches ?
Dealer : If you want to pay off the finance, please don't do it in the first 3 months or we'll lose our commission.
Me : We have a deal !

Not all car dealers are robbing barstewards, this was at one of the largest groups in Scotland, the likes of Carwow could not beat them.

Do your research and of course if you are reading this, you already have the tools at your fingertips !

Yes, that's pretty much how it's gone on my last 3 new car purchases - don't need the finance but take it for the incentive and dealer in full knowledge that it will be paid off almost immediately.

Car buying is definitely one of those areas where there is a lot of room for creative and hard bargaining, depending on the make and model, state of the market, time of the month etc etc - and of course how much research, effort and brass necked cheek you want to put into it... not for everyone, but the fact that some people are prepared to just pay 'sticker price' doesn't make it mis-selling.

(on the subject of Carwow, they are one of my starting points to establish a baseline for negotiations!)

red_gar18

The_Fat_Controller said:

Me : What's the best discount for a cash purchase on that new XXXX you have in the compound ?
Dealer : £1200 (9%) . However if you take it on PCP you can have the same discount, a £500 contribution from the finance company and 0% APR over 48 months (other terms were available at the same rate)
Me : Sounds good, any catches ?
Dealer : If you want to pay off the finance, please don't do it in the first 3 months or we'll lose our commission.
Me : We have a deal !

Not all car dealers are robbing barstewards, this was at one of the largest groups in Scotland, the likes of Carwow could not beat them.

Do your research and of course if you are reading this, you already have the tools at your fingertips !

Typically if you buy a car at 0% APR you're paying the over inflated list price. The same car from another dealer (not offering 0%) will likely be significantly cheaper. Vauxhall for years offered 0% APR but people were paying well over the odds for a Corsa thinking they were getting a deal with the 0%, then when they tried to end the deal early found they had thousands in negative equity.

The_Fat_Controller

@red_gar18, just goes to show you need to do your research as I did.

As I said, CARWOW could not beat it and they were the best of the national discounters, I tried them all.

That was for cash or finance.

No other nearby dealers for the same manufacture could beat it.

A decent discount from the dealer was always on offer and the fact they also pointed me in the direction of the 0% finance deal was excellent, I got my "finance contribution" and they got their bonus.

techwatcher

The_Fat_Controller said:

Me : What's the best discount for a cash purchase on that new XXXX you have in the compound ?
Dealer : £1200 (9%) . However if you take it on PCP you can have the same discount, a £500 contribution from the finance company and 0% APR over 48 months (other terms were available at the same rate)
Me : Sounds good, any catches ?
Dealer : If you want to pay off the finance, please don't do it in the first 3 months or we'll lose our commission.
Me : We have a deal !

Not all car dealers are robbing barstewards, this was at one of the largest groups in Scotland, the likes of Carwow could not beat them.

Do your research and of course if you are reading this, you already have the tools at your fingertips !

I had a similar experience when buying a new car from a dealer last year; decent discount plus extra 'loyalty discount' (we've used them for servicing for a long time) plus finance contribution plus 0% finance.

As it presumably isn't possible for companies to actually borrow at 0% - it will be costing the finance company interest to provide the funds, it did make me wonder where the profit on deals like this lies. 

Simes122

techwatcher said:

The_Fat_Controller said:

Me : What's the best discount for a cash purchase on that new XXXX you have in the compound ?
Dealer : £1200 (9%) . However if you take it on PCP you can have the same discount, a £500 contribution from the finance company and 0% APR over 48 months (other terms were available at the same rate)
Me : Sounds good, any catches ?
Dealer : If you want to pay off the finance, please don't do it in the first 3 months or we'll lose our commission.
Me : We have a deal !

Not all car dealers are robbing barstewards, this was at one of the largest groups in Scotland, the likes of Carwow could not beat them.

Do your research and of course if you are reading this, you already have the tools at your fingertips !

I had a similar experience when buying a new car from a dealer last year; decent discount plus extra 'loyalty discount' (we've used them for servicing for a long time) plus finance contribution plus 0% finance.

As it presumably isn't possible for companies to actually borrow at 0% - it will be costing the finance company interest to provide the funds, it did make me wonder where the profit on deals like this lies. 

Downstream and servicing.  Most pcp deals are rolled in to another car at the end of term.  You might then not get such a great deal and would be paying interest on the replacement.  And the vehicle you trade in may be sold on with finance in the used market at much higher rates of finance.  And of course the profit between its trade in and forecourt sale price.  

KitMunki

It would appear that companies failed to disclose the level of commission they received for selling the loan. If you speak to a mortgage broker they disclose their commission. As such you are an informed buyer and aware of what they earn. By failing to disclose that commission it becomes a secret payment. And you as a customer are not aware you have been sold a higher rate of interest because it pays better commission. As such you overpay unknowingly. That is mis-selling as you are paying more than you should be due to undisclosed commission. 

A lot of PPI claims were also down to the fact that the ‘insurance’ wasn’t actually as good as advertised.