New Car PCP - Agreed February, Car Delivered, Dealer now insisting on New % Rate Set at Huge Cost.

DrEskimo

MrFrugalFever said:

DrEskimo said:

Ljumeriah64 said:

Having had a few hours to reflect on this and although originally it was not the actual question asked, I'm now curious if I got a reasonable deal with the 5.9% originally offered and since returned to? It's still incredible to witness the impact of the increase to 9.9%.

As mentioned, I put only a very rudimentary amount of research into the 'best option'. My FA did say that PCP was an appropriate option for me at this time (Dec 2021) but I did not shop around further to that. I took the showroom offer. 

What might the alternatives have been had I done so? I'm curious from a personal perspective but even more so for others considering a new car purchase in these new world conditions? 

Is PCP still appropriate for the average new car purchase or does this significant hike in rates mean that now other options are better? 

I guess the summary conclusions based on my somewhat undisciplined dive into funding a car are:

1. Understand what documentation you are signing at the outset and the limitations on both parties. - It's less obvious than it might sound
2. Understand what aspects can change and whether they will hit you as the consumer - e.g. Interest Rates, Price Increases
3. Understand when the actual 'contract' or agreement becomes solid - I didn't & I should of. Maybe I've been lucky here.
4. Identify alternatives - again I didn't (hence the opening question above) .... what might those be and where do you source them?

But back to the new slant on my question .... did it end up a good or a 'meh' rate and deal?

You're overcomplicating this.

PCP is a finance product, which in general results in additional costs to borrow money where you don't have the capital upfront. Same as any other finance product (whether that be cars, TV, sofas or insurance).

The exception is where 0% or very low interest rates are applied where you can stand to make a bit of money by stashing the savings in an interest bearing account whilst borrowing the money at no/low cost.

Where it gets a bit more complicated is where there are incentives attached to the finance, for example deposit contributions and free servicing.
Unless the interest rate is very low, you are better off taking the PCP and then just settling the finance early to save on any interest costs. If the finance has no incentives, then no need to bother with PCP in the first place.

For you, I would just settle the finance the next day, as you have the cash and the finance is likely costing you a lot of money. You have spent time negotiating a deal, so by settling the finance a bit after you collect you can save face and not lose out on those freebies they chucked in. The dealer and the finance aren't linked, so they won't know you settled a day, week or month later.

They absolutely will, they will be provided with notification and have commission pulled back.

Sorry yes, I meant that I can't imagine specific Salesman X will get specifically notified that jureriah has just settled the deal to know to send him a snotty email (although I can't see why they would given he's just exercising his right to settle early).

Or have I got that wrong?

MrFrugalFever

DrEskimo said:

MrFrugalFever said:

DrEskimo said:

Ljumeriah64 said:

Having had a few hours to reflect on this and although originally it was not the actual question asked, I'm now curious if I got a reasonable deal with the 5.9% originally offered and since returned to? It's still incredible to witness the impact of the increase to 9.9%.

As mentioned, I put only a very rudimentary amount of research into the 'best option'. My FA did say that PCP was an appropriate option for me at this time (Dec 2021) but I did not shop around further to that. I took the showroom offer. 

What might the alternatives have been had I done so? I'm curious from a personal perspective but even more so for others considering a new car purchase in these new world conditions? 

Is PCP still appropriate for the average new car purchase or does this significant hike in rates mean that now other options are better? 

I guess the summary conclusions based on my somewhat undisciplined dive into funding a car are:

1. Understand what documentation you are signing at the outset and the limitations on both parties. - It's less obvious than it might sound
2. Understand what aspects can change and whether they will hit you as the consumer - e.g. Interest Rates, Price Increases
3. Understand when the actual 'contract' or agreement becomes solid - I didn't & I should of. Maybe I've been lucky here.
4. Identify alternatives - again I didn't (hence the opening question above) .... what might those be and where do you source them?

But back to the new slant on my question .... did it end up a good or a 'meh' rate and deal?

You're overcomplicating this.

PCP is a finance product, which in general results in additional costs to borrow money where you don't have the capital upfront. Same as any other finance product (whether that be cars, TV, sofas or insurance).

The exception is where 0% or very low interest rates are applied where you can stand to make a bit of money by stashing the savings in an interest bearing account whilst borrowing the money at no/low cost.

Where it gets a bit more complicated is where there are incentives attached to the finance, for example deposit contributions and free servicing.
Unless the interest rate is very low, you are better off taking the PCP and then just settling the finance early to save on any interest costs. If the finance has no incentives, then no need to bother with PCP in the first place.

For you, I would just settle the finance the next day, as you have the cash and the finance is likely costing you a lot of money. You have spent time negotiating a deal, so by settling the finance a bit after you collect you can save face and not lose out on those freebies they chucked in. The dealer and the finance aren't linked, so they won't know you settled a day, week or month later.

They absolutely will, they will be provided with notification and have commission pulled back.

Sorry yes, I meant that I can't imagine specific Salesman X will get specifically notified that jureriah has just settled the deal to know to send him a snotty email (although I can't see why they would given he's just exercising his right to settle early).

Or have I got that wrong?

It would depend how the dealership operates, they could claw back any commission paid to the sales individual, although surprisingly for the amount borrowed it generally really isn’t a lot (surprises people when I tell them at least).

it’s the OPs legal right to settle in full at anytime and I think in the scheme of things would be a minor nuisance to the dealer and individual sales person but a huge blow to MBFS (lack of interest).

k3lvc

jumeriah64 said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

 Either way, this weekend, we are going to burn it in with a trip down to Lyon.

And there starts a whole other story about used of EV's for European trips - do let us know how your get on and how long you spend drinking coffee in Autogrill/Carrefour etc

Made me laugh. Yeah will do. Guess we will know more about the realities of running an EV in the coming weeks. I have no idea good or bad at this point.

It's going down to Istanbul in May via ferry from Italy and back up the Croatian side. That will be an EV tester for sure. Far from safe EV territory for sure.  And early year we are in the 'evening bottle of wine' phase of planning of a trip to Marrakesh with it. 

Can't take a car like this and watch it depreciating on the drive and use it just for going to Sainsburys

I've avoided the EV route given my regular trips to Switzerland (french side) but I have colleagues that do it with varying degrees of success - a real lottery based on time/day of week.

Might be worth a read of the recent BMW iX long term test in Autocar magazine and their experiences/tips (it's eluded to here but I can't find a link to the article BMW iX 2022 long-term test | Autocar)

Grumpy_chap

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

 Either way, this weekend, we are going to burn it in with a trip down to Lyon.

And there starts a whole other story about used of EV's for European trips - do let us know how your get on and how long you spend drinking coffee in Autogrill/Carrefour etc

Made me laugh. Yeah will do. Guess we will know more about the realities of running an EV in the coming weeks. I have no idea good or bad at this point.

It's going down to Istanbul in May via ferry from Italy and back up the Croatian side. That will be an EV tester for sure. Far from safe EV territory for sure.  And early year we are in the 'evening bottle of wine' phase of planning of a trip to Marrakesh with it. 

Can't take a car like this and watch it depreciating on the drive and use it just for going to Sainsburys

I've avoided the EV route given my regular trips to Switzerland (french side) but I have colleagues that do it with varying degrees of success - a real lottery based on time/day of week.

Might be worth a read of the recent BMW iX long term test in Autocar magazine and their experiences/tips (it's eluded to here but I can't find a link to the article BMW iX 2022 long-term test | Autocar)

I think, for the OP with the EQS, crossing continents will be as simple as pie given the very long range that the car has.

jumeriah64

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

 Either way, this weekend, we are going to burn it in with a trip down to Lyon.

And there starts a whole other story about used of EV's for European trips - do let us know how your get on and how long you spend drinking coffee in Autogrill/Carrefour etc

Made me laugh. Yeah will do. Guess we will know more about the realities of running an EV in the coming weeks. I have no idea good or bad at this point.

It's going down to Istanbul in May via ferry from Italy and back up the Croatian side. That will be an EV tester for sure. Far from safe EV territory for sure.  And early year we are in the 'evening bottle of wine' phase of planning of a trip to Marrakesh with it. 

Can't take a car like this and watch it depreciating on the drive and use it just for going to Sainsburys

I've avoided the EV route given my regular trips to Switzerland (french side) but I have colleagues that do it with varying degrees of success - a real lottery based on time/day of week.

Might be worth a read of the recent BMW iX long term test in Autocar magazine and their experiences/tips (it's eluded to here but I can't find a link to the article BMW iX 2022 long-term test | Autocar)

You surprise me .... that particular route is very rich with EV charge points and Switzerland and Norway in particular are knee deep in them. That indeed is the opening part of our trip.

It gets a bit thinner through west coat of Italy, very thin after the ferry to Greece and then into a charger desert on the west coast of Turkey but much better Istanbul upwards and a breeze up towards Vienna and beyond.

But for sure will look at the link you kindly posted. The battery on the EQS is a beast. Driven well, you are good for near on 400 miles. MB say 450 but of course that is nonsense. Even hit hard you are good for 360 miles.

The Marrakesh run is dark side of the moon stuff at this point but certainly solid down to the Seville. Beyond that? Here be dragons 

jumeriah64

Grumpy_chap said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

 Either way, this weekend, we are going to burn it in with a trip down to Lyon.

And there starts a whole other story about used of EV's for European trips - do let us know how your get on and how long you spend drinking coffee in Autogrill/Carrefour etc

Made me laugh. Yeah will do. Guess we will know more about the realities of running an EV in the coming weeks. I have no idea good or bad at this point.

It's going down to Istanbul in May via ferry from Italy and back up the Croatian side. That will be an EV tester for sure. Far from safe EV territory for sure.  And early year we are in the 'evening bottle of wine' phase of planning of a trip to Marrakesh with it. 

Can't take a car like this and watch it depreciating on the drive and use it just for going to Sainsburys

I've avoided the EV route given my regular trips to Switzerland (french side) but I have colleagues that do it with varying degrees of success - a real lottery based on time/day of week.

Might be worth a read of the recent BMW iX long term test in Autocar magazine and their experiences/tips (it's eluded to here but I can't find a link to the article BMW iX 2022 long-term test | Autocar)

I think, for the OP with the EQS, crossing continents will be as simple as pie given the very long range that the car has.

I hope you right grumpychap ... I feel confident but then that's part of the fun of it. :-)

We put off getting a decent car for a few years and were only going to do when there were trips worth making. I fee this is almost the right time to be trying it ..... not mature enough to be a breeze but robust enough (infrastructure wise) to be attempted.

Middle Europe is well littered with charging. UK a lot less so. Scandi and especially Norway are rock solid. But for sure the further south east you venture, the more it's going to need some planning. I'm adding a Juice Booster to give charging options for these bad land areas, and I'm on the wait list for a Zip Charge .... a sort of small extra battery to stuff in the boot ... just in case. 

But I hope you right in your pie analogy :-)

k3lvc

jumeriah64 said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

 Either way, this weekend, we are going to burn it in with a trip down to Lyon.

And there starts a whole other story about used of EV's for European trips - do let us know how your get on and how long you spend drinking coffee in Autogrill/Carrefour etc

Made me laugh. Yeah will do. Guess we will know more about the realities of running an EV in the coming weeks. I have no idea good or bad at this point.

It's going down to Istanbul in May via ferry from Italy and back up the Croatian side. That will be an EV tester for sure. Far from safe EV territory for sure.  And early year we are in the 'evening bottle of wine' phase of planning of a trip to Marrakesh with it. 

Can't take a car like this and watch it depreciating on the drive and use it just for going to Sainsburys

I've avoided the EV route given my regular trips to Switzerland (french side) but I have colleagues that do it with varying degrees of success - a real lottery based on time/day of week.

Might be worth a read of the recent BMW iX long term test in Autocar magazine and their experiences/tips (it's eluded to here but I can't find a link to the article BMW iX 2022 long-term test | Autocar)

You surprise me .... that particular route is very rich with EV charge points and Switzerland and Norway in particular are knee deep in them. That indeed is the opening part of our trip.

Don't get me wrong - they are numerous but also apparently (very) well used - especially at peak times. As long as journey times are flexible to allow for queuing/waiting it's fine 

Good luck and will be interested to see what the range actually is

jumeriah64

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

k3lvc said:

jumeriah64 said:

 Either way, this weekend, we are going to burn it in with a trip down to Lyon.

And there starts a whole other story about used of EV's for European trips - do let us know how your get on and how long you spend drinking coffee in Autogrill/Carrefour etc

Made me laugh. Yeah will do. Guess we will know more about the realities of running an EV in the coming weeks. I have no idea good or bad at this point.

It's going down to Istanbul in May via ferry from Italy and back up the Croatian side. That will be an EV tester for sure. Far from safe EV territory for sure.  And early year we are in the 'evening bottle of wine' phase of planning of a trip to Marrakesh with it. 

Can't take a car like this and watch it depreciating on the drive and use it just for going to Sainsburys

I've avoided the EV route given my regular trips to Switzerland (french side) but I have colleagues that do it with varying degrees of success - a real lottery based on time/day of week.

Might be worth a read of the recent BMW iX long term test in Autocar magazine and their experiences/tips (it's eluded to here but I can't find a link to the article BMW iX 2022 long-term test | Autocar)

You surprise me .... that particular route is very rich with EV charge points and Switzerland and Norway in particular are knee deep in them. That indeed is the opening part of our trip.

Don't get me wrong - they are numerous but also apparently (very) well used - especially at peak times. As long as journey times are flexible to allow for queuing/waiting it's fine 

Good luck and will be interested to see what the range actually is

Good point. Looks like we will be finding out fairly soon. And yes I'm curious about that as well. Reviews so far tend to be positive. But until you know, you don't know.

I asked a hotel we will use Monday what the charge rate of their location EV charger was?  .... you know, 11kw, 22kw or 7.5kw if unlucky. They came back with the manufacturer name!!! Ho hum .... we got a long way to go still I guess :-)

k3lvc

I asked a hotel we will use Monday what the charge rate of their location EV charger was?  .... you know, 11kw, 22kw or 7.5kw if unlucky. They came back with the manufacturer name!!! Ho hum .... we got a long way to go still I guess :-)

Maybe best if you take an adaptor and 25m extension lead to plug into your hotel room

jumeriah64

k3lvc said:

I asked a hotel we will use Monday what the charge rate of their location EV charger was?  .... you know, 11kw, 22kw or 7.5kw if unlucky. They came back with the manufacturer name!!! Ho hum .... we got a long way to go still I guess :-)

Maybe best if you take an adaptor and 25m extension lead to plug into your hotel room

... oh yes it's numero uno adaptor in the Juice Booster kit :-)