Possibly need a “new” car 🫣

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Unfortunately i was crashed into recently, as it’s an older car with 165k miles on the clock, the insurance company have warned me it’s likely to be written off.

I am not expecting the insurance to pay a lot out, so I need to figure out what to do as I simply cannot be without a car. 

However, it’s been a very long time since I needed to buy a car so I’m wondering if you guys can help me figure out the best way to purchase one. 

Here’s a bit of info on what I would need, and then some questions about purchase

I do around 20k miles a year

I work 15 miles away and travel into the office 3 times a week, it’s 50mph for half the journey and then city traffic

Twice a month I travel to visit family which are 30 miles away, mostly dual carriage way 

we have a family of 5 and I am the only driver. That being said, my eldest is 17 and currently learning - youngest is 6.

Given the above I am thinking a 1.6 petrol / petrol hybrid. I currently have (well…had…) a 2l diesel c max which I think was going to waste but the size of the car was fine for us 

I potentially could buy my old car pack as a Cat S. the damage looked mostly cosmetic, waiting on garage to confirm damage.

Now - buying a “new” car if needed.

I do not have the cash free to purchase outright 

I have debts (all currently manageable, all 0% and I am over paying), no mortgage 

My current credit rating is pretty good so I could potentially get a loan

My work also have an ev scheme which I could look into 

I have no idea how pcp works but a friends told me to look into this also 

I’d really appreciate any advice on the pros and cons of the different ways of purchasing (and if you’ve had experience with a car that might suit my needs!) 

Many thanks 

Mx

Grumpy_chap

I am generally pro-EV and the range of an EV would be very suitable for the journeys you describe.  However, your capital available might not support an EV that is large enough for the five of you.
(The work-place SS EV scheme might alter that assessment, but be sure to look critically at the SS scheme as they are not always as great as the headline figures.)

I actually think a 1.6 petrol is a good idea - go for a manual.  If you went for a Focus or similar, it would probably be large enough as a family car and also small enough / cheap enough for insurance that your eldest could also drive that once they passed the test.  I have had a 1.6 petrol Focus and also an Auris Hybrid and the hybrid was not really that much more fuel-efficient overall on a comparable journey mix to that which you described.

In terms of best way to finance, can you secure a suitable car from the amount that the insurance does pay out on the old car?

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Thanks for the reply. I am waiting on insurance to tell me if it’s a write off but I have been looking at various companies for what the value would be and it’s coming up at around £1,500 🫣 

my car was 11 years old, 165k miles and despite that I’ve had it serviced every year etc, I am told it’s pretty worthless to them 😔

(What’s really annoying is my car MOT was jan, id done all the advisories, it was running perfectly fine - I was parked in a car parking bay, Someone drove into me and then drove off - they was caught and bought back by another motorist - and it’s me that’s now stuffed and out of pocket) 😒

Bigwheels1111

It will all come down to your budget in the end.

20k will get you a new ev or hybrid for eg. MG EV £10,500

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502078865940?sort=price-asc&twcs=true&searchId=055eaec2-9115-4afd-9ec8-a68670dbf5fb&advertising-location=at_cars&aggregatedTrim=Exclusive&fuel-type=Electric&make=MG&model=MG ZS&page=3&postcode=S433AQ&fromsra

This one should have just under 2 years warranty left.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503240527571?sort=price-asc&searchId=055eaec2-9115-4afd-9ec8-a68670dbf5fb&advertising-location=at_cars&aggregatedTrim=Exclusive&fuel-type=Electric&make=MG&model=MG ZS&page=3&postcode=S433AQ&fromsra

Long range.20k 6 years and 50 weeks warranty.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504030915121?sort=price-asc&twcs=true&searchId=4fe09931-89a6-4b6a-a3ae-e8161d5abe82&fuel-type=Electric&maximum-mileage=100&page=17&postcode=S433AQ&price-from=17000&year-from=2024&advertising-location=at_cars&fromsra

Goudy

PCP is just another form of HP.

With straight HP your payments are linear. You borrow X amount and repay it in set amounts each month until you have repaid all the capital and interest in full.

PCP defers a portion of the capital to be repaid. This portion of capital is called the GFV (guaranteed Future Value).
So the finance company work out a predicted value of the car as the end of the contract and defer that payment.
This means you pay off the capital of the rest of the loan and all the interest in your monthly payments, then have options at the end when it comes to paying the GFV.

These options include just paying the GFV and keeping the car.

Handing it back to the finance company and if it's condition and mileage are within the contract still, pay nothing more. (if it isn't, they will charge you)

Or trade it in for another car (doesn't need to be another PCP or the same make/model).
Quite often you can negotiate a trade in value above the GFV which still needs to be settled to put towards your new car. If you can't get a trade in value to cover the GFV, just hand it back to the finance company.

Generally, PCP on used cars tend to be expensive. Interest rates tend to be higher and there are usually no incentives like deposit contributions.

New cars tend to come with deposit contributions and some other incentives, so the finance company might pay a couple of grand deposit for you and generally offer lower interest rates.

It's not for everyone, but not everyone is the same or has the same resources.
If you are savvy, they can work out pretty reasonable.
Obviously your monthly payments are lower than a straight loan or HP and with a new car you can tend to budget it's running costs a little easier as there should be no unexpected repair costs.

The only worry I can see is your predicted mileage.
20k a year will reduce the GFV, which means the differed payment will be lower and you'll pay more each month. 

SiliconChip

Are you sure about your annual mileage? 20K seems high based on what you've said:

Travel to work, 30 miles per day on around 150 days = 4500 miles

Travel to family, 60 miles x 2 x 12 = approx 1500 miles.

That only accounts for 6000 miles, where are you doing the other 14,000? The answer may guide what type of vehicle is suitable.

Bigphil1474

Workplace salary sacrifice schemes can work out well but it's worth considering them in the round. I looked at ours and I could have a brand new BEV car that all in would cost me a net of about £150 a month, plus electricity cost, for something like a Kia Nero. Bargain. However, it would also mean that in 10 years time when I hope to retire, my pension would be £2,500 less per year so even in simplest of terms it's really more like £350+ a month and probably more if I live long enough.

Personally I'd go with buying back your car from the insurers and either living with the cosmetic damage or fix as good as you need.

Herzlos

What budget are you looking at?

If you're looking at the cheaper end then look purely on condition and don't worry too much about engine size. Assuming you can't get yours back on the road for cheap.

If newer, then it'd depend on what's available in your workplace scheme, Loads of decent EVs that can take 5 people with the ranges you do.

If buying outside of the scheme, then you might want to look at something like the Dacia Jogger. It's got possibly the stupidest name on the market, but it's a pretty big no frills 7 seater (or 5 with a huge boot) that you can get from about £13k. Available in a 1.6 or 1.0T, with an optional hybrid.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

SiliconChip said:

Are you sure about your annual mileage? 20K seems high based on what you've said:

Travel to work, 30 miles per day on around 150 days = 4500 miles

Travel to family, 60 miles x 2 x 12 = approx 1500 miles.

That only accounts for 6000 miles, where are you doing the other 14,000? The answer may guide what type of vehicle is suitable.

Hi, thanks for the reply. 

I pulled the mileage from my MOT certs since covid. It’s between 19.5k and 21k so I went in the middle lol 

SiliconChip

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel said:

SiliconChip said:

Are you sure about your annual mileage? 20K seems high based on what you've said:

Travel to work, 30 miles per day on around 150 days = 4500 miles

Travel to family, 60 miles x 2 x 12 = approx 1500 miles.

That only accounts for 6000 miles, where are you doing the other 14,000? The answer may guide what type of vehicle is suitable.

Hi, thanks for the reply. 

I pulled the mileage from my MOT certs since covid. It’s between 19.5k and 21k so I went in the middle lol 

You still need to answer the question about what type of driving you're doing to cover the unaccounted for 14K miles - tootling around town may suggest a different solution to travelling from Plymouth to Aberdeen several times a year.

Ectophile

If the damage isn't too serious, then you may find it more cost effective to take a payout from the insurance company and then take the car to a local independent bodyshop.  You would normally be given the value of the car minus the amount the insurance company would have been given by a scrap yard.

But you need to know what the damage is before going for that option.