BMW Finance

BMW Finance

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Discussion

dubbs

Original Poster:

1,588 posts

286 months

Friday 14th November 2008
quotequote all
Bearing in mind the current question marks around interest rates and what a given motor may be worth in a few years what's the forum view on finance from BMW on an AUC?

1. Pay as much cash as you can up front
2. Get one of the low deposit/monthly/Gauranteed end value arrangements
3. Standard finance over 3yrs to pay off what's left after a deposit left

I'm thinking around best options...

Realistically I'd keep the car 3 years max

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

226 months

Friday 14th November 2008
quotequote all
dubbs said:
1. Pay as much cash as you can up front
2. Get one of the low deposit/monthly/Gauranteed end value arrangements
3. Standard finance over 3yrs to pay off what's left after a deposit left
Tricky one.


I think all BMW finance deals are now with a GFV at the end, so because of that you want as small a deposit as possible.

The LIBOR rate is starting to drop as banks start lending to each other, I was offered 1.3% above LIBOR which has fallen from 6.3% on the 10th October to 4.2% yesterday.

To put that into perpective I paid 8.2% apr last month and could get the same deal at 5.5% if I refinanced today, which I may do as I don't pay any set up fees.

That is with Natwest through Lombard.

Now I know BMW are still at between 9 and 12% depending on the customer, so be careful.

Example...

Lombard 5.5%
£38000
£3000 deposit
£615 month over 36 months
£17000 balloon, not guaranteed.

BMW 9%
£38000
£3000 deposit
£690 month over 36 months
£17000 balloon

BMW 12%
£38000
£3000 deposit
£751 month over 36 months
£17000 balloon



Now I know people like a guaranteed final value so they can throw the keys back if there is negative equity, but if you are being offered the higher rate then just use Lombard and pay more each month meaning the final value is lower.

Lombard at 5.5% paying £750 a month means you will only owe £11k after 3 years. Now personally I would rather take the gamble as I don't think £11k is that much of a gamble, I reckon these will still be £20k+ at 3 years.

The only person that pays for the feel good effect of a GFV is you.




deano23

116 posts

187 months

Friday 14th November 2008
quotequote all
I've been offered crap rates (10/11%) for loans from a number of companies this week.

Opted for a 10% one over 3 yrs for 1/2 value of car, but i'll definately be looking to consolidate that in a few months when hopefully rates have droppped (and my credit improves).

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

226 months

Friday 14th November 2008
quotequote all
Just make sure you are on a variable apr based lease type loan and not a contract hire or PCP flat rate type deal, otherwise it may be cheaper to just see it out.



dubbs

Original Poster:

1,588 posts

286 months

Saturday 15th November 2008
quotequote all
Was possibly thinking around 8k down, 3y finance, 10-12k final.... rather than spend all the rainy day money....

skeeterm5

3,392 posts

190 months

Saturday 15th November 2008
quotequote all
I think that sometimes people get hung up too much on the interest rates etc - isnt the most important thing the amount you pay each month?

Sure you want this to be as low as possible but the acid test is how much you want to pay per month. One of the things to consider about the BMW finance is that you can drive a much harder bargain on the car price as the dealer is making money from the finance.

You can't do this if you rock up with a loan from Lombard.

Unless you really want the car then a GFV is a great way of keeping your options open, and to a certain extent you have to pay a premium for this in the overall cost - afterall BMW are taking all the risk.

S

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

226 months

Monday 17th November 2008
quotequote all
skeeterm5 said:
I think that sometimes people get hung up too much on the interest rates etc - isnt the most important thing the amount you pay each month?

Sure you want this to be as low as possible but the acid test is how much you want to pay per month. One of the things to consider about the BMW finance is that you can drive a much harder bargain on the car price as the dealer is making money from the finance.

You can't do this if you rock up with a loan from Lombard.

Unless you really want the car then a GFV is a great way of keeping your options open, and to a certain extent you have to pay a premium for this in the overall cost - afterall BMW are taking all the risk.

S
APR is the only way to work out the true cost when using finance.

You can convince yourself it is cheaper by raising the balloon or putting more down but apr really does tell you how much the charge for borrowing is.





laingy

676 posts

243 months

Monday 17th November 2008
quotequote all
I agree, the reason companies make money out of finance is structuring something to suit your needs/ ability to pay. This always costs and in the long run the consumer suffers. Always look at apr, it is the only way to compare deals.

After_Shock

8,751 posts

222 months

Monday 17th November 2008
quotequote all
Apr isnt the best judge of the interest rate, it alters way too much with how long the money is borrowed over and jumps up on a pcp or lease because theirs an end payment, apr is affected by how the money is repaid so distorts if a big chunk say 30% is left till the end.

Only way to work it out is simply look at the payments each month, the doc fees and the end payment if you have one and work out exactly how much you are repaying. Its surprising how little difference the total amount payable differs for wildly varying apr's. Banks have been fiddling with APR's for years by putting payment holidays and loads of other crap in to make their rates look more favourable.

Personally in the current climate I would get something with a guaranteed end value, put down a relatively small deposit say 10% max and do it that way, if the crap hits the fan and the cars worth nowt at the end its the finance companies problem not yours and you have no negative equity.

Other way is put a decent deposit down, do it over 5 years and once you have paid half again if the crap hits the fan just hand it back to the finance company if the cars worth less, ideal way if you do high mileage.

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

226 months

Tuesday 18th November 2008
quotequote all


After_Shock said:
Apr isnt the best judge of the interest rate, it alters way too much with how long the money is borrowed over and jumps up on a pcp or lease because theirs an end payment, apr is affected by how the money is repaid so distorts if a big chunk say 30% is left till the end.
I think you are thinking of a Flat Rate, this changes depending on...how long it is over, whether you take a payment break etc. etc.

APR is the amount of interest you pay annually on the existing amount of funding.

It is the only true way to compare loans.




Edited by gizlaroc on Tuesday 18th November 23:11

dubbs

Original Poster:

1,588 posts

286 months

Thursday 20th November 2008
quotequote all
So,

3k down, 15k left after 3 years on a 32k purchase.

How much would that be? Think that's realistically what I'd be looking at if I want to conserve cash.

If I wanted an ealry exit clause, say at 18month, what kind of deal do need and will it negatively increase cost or do they like that sort of thing anyway to de-risk?

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

226 months

Thursday 20th November 2008
quotequote all
http://www.dynamic-webs.co.uk/information/car_loan...

Good calculator.



I think the best you will get at the moment is a 45% balloon, that will be £14400.

Depends on the rate, if you get it down to 6% apr it will be about £515 a month.
get stitched up with BMWs current 11.9% and it will be £615 a month.

That is why getting the finance right is as important as getting a good deal on the car.

contracttor

919 posts

187 months

Saturday 29th November 2008
quotequote all
Hi,

I was looking at a used 08 e93 yesterday. While I managed 3K off of list to 33K, the finance guy wouldn't go under 5.5 flat for the PCP. I think thats around 11% apr ish. I was expecting the IR to be about 9%. He then tried to massage the monthly payments by switching from 36 to 48 months. Is the rate he offered competitive, or is there margin for improvement in there?

Thanks,
C

Edited by contracttor on Saturday 29th November 11:15

mmm-five

11,282 posts

286 months

Saturday 29th November 2008
quotequote all
contracttor said:
Hi,

I was looking at a used 08 e93 yesterday. While I managed 3K off of list to 33K, the finance guy wouldn't go under 5.5 flat for the PCP. I think thats around 11% apr ish. I was expecting the IR to be about 9%. He then tried to massage the monthly payments by switching from 36 to 48 months. Is the rate he offered competitive, or is there margin for improvement in there?

Thanks,
C
I just bought a Dec '06 Z4MC on HP (no balloon) and got 8% APR in the end - which was very close (within 0.2%) to the best deal I could get through anyone else, plus I have the 'protection' of handing it back after half has been paid back if I really need to.

It was £22k over 5 years and worked out at £440/month.

Edited by mmm-five on Saturday 29th November 12:02

dubbs

Original Poster:

1,588 posts

286 months

Saturday 29th November 2008
quotequote all
I got 7.3% APR on the M6 and can recommend Gareth at Bespoke Auto finance - let him know I sent you :-)

madou

366 posts

253 months

Saturday 29th November 2008
quotequote all
dubbs said:
I got 7.3% APR on the M6 and can recommend Gareth at Bespoke Auto finance - let him know I sent you :-)
He is good, and by working through the numbers, helped me to confirm I am too tight yes

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

226 months

Saturday 29th November 2008
quotequote all
Who sent me an email asking for details??

I sent you a long reply but that was days ago and it just bounced back.

Send me a PM on here and I will reply.

dubbs

Original Poster:

1,588 posts

286 months

Saturday 29th November 2008
quotequote all
That was me - had real probs with the email account, sorry about that.

All done now so no telling me a missed a deal at 4% APR less than I got!!!!!! :-)

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

226 months

Saturday 29th November 2008
quotequote all
Haha, no mate not at all.

Funnily enough I told you to get in touch with Gareth and just saw above that you did anyway.

Enjoy the new toy!!

contracttor

919 posts

187 months

Sunday 30th November 2008
quotequote all
dubbs said:
I got 7.3% APR on the M6 and can recommend Gareth at Bespoke Auto finance - let him know I sent you :-)
Is that on a used car and is that PCP or standard HP? Thanks.