Thinking of buying a car on PCP (a few questions)

[chrisx666]

Lease examples (no experience of the linked company or the car itself, but may be helpful info..)

2500 for the 1st month then £290/month inc vat over 2 years. N-tec 2.0D 4WD AUTO. 10k miles/year. Road tax included.

http://www.fleetprices.co.uk/personal-contract-hir...


£765 for the 1st month then £255/month inc vat over 2 years. N-tec 1.6. 10k miles/year. Road tax included.

http://www.cars2vans.com/contract-hire/deals/nissa...

[rich12]

Unfortuently we can not do it through my business due to the type of business and the scheme we are on.

[SSBB]

So consensus is high GFV is good if you "hand-back" because it lowers payments; low GFV is good if you want to "keep", but it that case you would be better of on HP anyway, so if you are taking PCP in that case then you are hedging your bets and losing out no matter what you do at the end of lease?

[Engineer1]

There is an advantage to PCP if you get the car you like then PCP it for 3 years, get tit serviced all the warranty work done and if you still like it buy it as a second hand car that you know the history of.

[SSBB]

Engineer1 said:

There is an advantage to PCP if you get the car you like then PCP it for 3 years, get tit serviced all the warranty work done and if you still like it buy it as a second hand car that you know the history of.

So if the final payment is more than the car's value, you can effectively negotiate to buy it at a lower price instead? These vehicles don't automatically go to auction or anything. This may sound idiotic but I haven't dealt with PCP before.

[C8H18Head]

Don't do it!

Mixing phencyclidine and major purchases is simply not smart. My sister's husband's half-brother once purchased a car when tipsy on cider and regretted it the next day.

[Fox-]

I'm not going to touch on the finance thing - but you are 23 years old. Is spending an enormous amount of money on a diesel Nissan hatch crossover thingy really what you want? I'm not usually one to play the age card - after all, you can like whatever you want regardless of age, but I'd have thought such a car, where all of its srengths are particularly dull practicility issues that are important when you have 2.2 kids but tedious when you don't - will bore the **** out of a 23 year old in about 3 months flat.

And then you are stuck with it.

There must be something you'd enjoy owning more than a diesel powered people carrier?

[All that jazz]

CampDavid said:

going on your username you're 23.

I'm just curious how you've come to that conclusion from his username (rich12).

[drophead]

You're buying a car on PCP?!?!

[CampDavid]

All that jazz said:

CampDavid said:

going on your username you're 23.

I'm just curious how you've come to that conclusion from his username (rich12).

He's Rich89 in the first post, it changes halfway through

[All that jazz]

CampDavid said:

He's Rich89 in the first post, it changes halfway through

Hmm.. I see now. Very odd..

[Deva Link]

Bear in mind that if you do want to hand the the car back at the end of the term then you will have to pay any excess mileage charges and you may be charged for any damage beyond fair wear and tear to the car. I don't know about Nissan, but VW and Mercedes are legendary for trying to screw money out of people after the car has been handed back.

Also if your circumstances change and you want to get rid of the car early, that can be expensive - the "handing back at halfway" which works with HP doesn't work the same with a PCP. It's when half the amount owing has been paid but the GFV means that point isn't reached until near the end of the deal.

Even if you think you will keep the car, PCPs are designed to get people changing their cars every 3 years, so you may find that if you've got to borrow to pay off the GFV it could well cost not much less per month than taking a new PCP.

[rich12]

Fox- said:

I'm not going to touch on the finance thing - but you are 23 years old. Is spending an enormous amount of money on a diesel Nissan hatch crossover thingy really what you want? I'm not usually one to play the age card - after all, you can like whatever you want regardless of age, but I'd have thought such a car, where all of its srengths are particularly dull practicility issues that are important when you have 2.2 kids but tedious when you don't - will bore the **** out of a 23 year old in about 3 months flat.

And then you are stuck with it.

There must be something you'd enjoy owning more than a diesel powered people carrier?

Been there, done that, Had 5 imprezas, 2 M3's, TT, track cars, few other BMW's, Clio 182, Megane R26 etc

I don't really have an interest in going fast and b road blasts any more, we are having a kid so am more looking for safety/reliability..

If i could find a car with a bit more poke and 4WD whilst having all the other requirements then i would get it.
I very rarely drive our car as i have a work van or work cars. My partner has had fast cars since she was 18 (21 now) so shes had her fun too. Once we move out of our apartment, i can get another 'weekend' car to go along this one.

[C8H18Head]

drophead said:

You're buying a car on PCP?!?!

13 minutes too late.

And, OP, please explain this concept...

rich12/89 said:

I don't really have an interest in going fast

Edited by C8H18Head on Friday 6th July 16:38

[yellowbentines]

Deva Link said:

Bear in mind that if you do want to hand the the car back at the end of the term then you will have to pay any excess mileage charges and you may be charged for any damage beyond fair wear and tear to the car. I don't know about Nissan, but VW and Mercedes are legendary for trying to screw money out of people after the car has been handed back.

Mercedes ARE legendary for it, however I've got round this twice by part-exchanging or selling the car 1-2 months prior to the end of the 3 year agreement - that way the GFV doesn't matter (you negotiate your own PX value against what you're buying or set your own private sale price), mileage and condition affect your PX value/sale price but can be whatever you want them to be.

PCP deals are a much better proposal than leasing/contract hire for the reason above, that you can get out of it early penalty free in the same way you can sell a car on HP - get a redemption figure, pay it, hopefully if you're lucky/good at negotiating (I always have been) you end up with cash in hand towards the next car.

[Deva Link]

SSBB said:

So if the final payment is more than the car's value, you can effectively negotiate to buy it at a lower price instead? These vehicles don't automatically go to auction or anything. This may sound idiotic but I haven't dealt with PCP before.

Not usually, no. Although when the recession first hit and the market was on its arse, apparently BMW was doing deals with people who's GFVs had been set 3 yrs before and were insanely high.

The vehicles do usually go to auction, often closed ones where only franchised dealers can bid so that tends to keep the prices up.

[Fox-]

rich12 said:

I very rarely drive our car as i have a work van or work cars.

So why sink so much money into a car? Seems pointless really?

Buy a 3-4 year old Focus. It'll rarely ever break, you probably don't need 4WD (If its snow paranoia, FWD and some decent tyres will sort that out) and you are not wasting vast sums of money on something that isn't very interesting and you admit you'll rarely use anyway.

If you were going to drive it lots, or you really liked it, or whatever, then sure, spend a pile but it seems like you are buying a car as an appliance - nothing wrong with that - so why spend so much?

You don't need to rush out and PCP a brand new plastic people carrier just because you are having one child. Infact I'm struggling to see what wouldn't suit you down to the ground about a Focus or something. Perfect safe and reliable family transport.

[rich12]

She will still drive it, to work and back and various other places.

I see your point and i am still looking at options (hence my post) so thanks for all the input.

[Blown2CV]

you will get the GFV they give you. A larger deposit will only reduce the payments, it won't change the end situation, so it will be 'lost' as such. PCP is a great way to finance a car, and you can afford a car (if you are monthly cost orientated) that you wouldn't otherwise be able to, and 3 years before saving up. Any dick that comes along saying PCPs are bad or finance is bad is just trying to present themselves as cash-rich. Bunch of tools.

[Fox-]

Blown2CV said:

you will get the GFV they give you. A larger deposit will only reduce the payments, it won't change the end situation, so it will be 'lost' as such.

It wont be lost, because by reducing the total payments by the additional amount of deposit, you save both the initial amount of deposit on a monthly basis and the interest on this amount.