Audi deal pitfalls?

[CapScarlet]

Buying a new Audi and there is a big discount available if purchsing car through PCP.

I want to pay cash and the dealer is telling me I can take out the PCP, cancel with the 14 day cooling off period and still get the discount.

Has anyone done this and were there any issues?

[AlwynMike]

Did just this with BMW and Mini.
You get charged a minimal interest - less than a tenner IIRC.
No issues cancelling the finance, just a 10 minute phone call and a big hit on the debit card.

[Ted H]

As AlwynMike described, I had a similar experience.

I obtained a settlement figure from the finance company which included a small amount of interest, i then called the finance company and paid by debit card.

[CapScarlet]

AlwynMike said:

....and a big hit on the debit card.

There is that

[MDMA .]

No issues. My Dad has done it twice in the last year or two with two Skoda Fabias (one for him, one for my Mum). The discount offered made it a no brainer. He settled within the week on both.

[J1990]

No issues here, aside from perhaps terminology.

You can only 'cancel' the finance within your 14day cooling-off period. You can 'settle' the outstanding finance at any point and that's simply a case of requesting a settlement figure from the finance provider.
I believe the difference here is that a cancellation incurs interest charges between date of finance issuance and the date of cancellation, whereas settling allows them normally to charge one month's full interest - Normally noted directly in the finance agreement.

[highet]

Done it quite a few times - last time was for sons VW to get discount and 2 years warranty, breakdown, MOT cover and servicing as part of the PCP package which wasn't available if paying cash !! You merely phone up the finance company and ask for a figure which, if I recall correctly you have 30 days to pay - if you exercise your right to withdraw from agreement within first 14 days it's cancelled completely as if it never existed whereas paying it off or settling after 14 days appears on your credit report as "finance settled" - might make a difference if you were planning to take out mortgage etc some time in the future ??

[M.F.D]

Out of interest, how big is the incentive for taking PCP over cash?

[ilikejam]

If it's largely a cash incentive then there's no real problems generally.

There has been issues where people have been offered servicing deals etc by the dealer because the dealer get commission on the finance they sell - people have then cancelled the finance, the dealer doesn't get the commission and they revoke the service deals they included. Not everyone's experience but seen quite a few similar comments on here over the years

[jjr1]

As mentioned above you do not 'cancel' the agreement. You exercise your right to 'withdraw' from the agreement within 14 days. I have done it many times on all sorts of cars and agreements. Don't get it wrong !

[mcflurry]

Presumably the dealer tells everyone this, but only a limited number of people follow it through, due to having 2 large lines of credit open for a short period, plus the "hassle", so loads stick with the PCP?

[Amateurish]

More likely, the "contribution" comes from the finance company and the dealer couldn't give a toss whether you settle the finance or not. He just wants the sale.

[CapScarlet]

M.F.D said:

Out of interest, how big is the incentive for taking PCP over cash?

The deal is a little bit complicated but basically the liast price of the car is about £66k (Audi SQ5).

The dealer is offering a straight discount of just under £5k for cash, then there is an additional £3.5k for taking PCP. They're also paying me over book for my trade in so total discount is aound £10k.

[CapScarlet]

Amateurish said:

More likely, the "contribution" comes from the finance company and the dealer couldn't give a toss whether you settle the finance or not. He just wants the sale.

That's exactly what it is.

[CapScarlet]

jjr1 said:

As mentioned above you do not 'cancel' the agreement. You exercise your right to 'withdraw' from the agreement within 14 days. I have done it many times on all sorts of cars and agreements. Don't get it wrong !

Thanks for the tip

[CapScarlet]

highet said:

Done it quite a few times - last time was for sons VW to get discount and 2 years warranty, breakdown, MOT cover and servicing as part of the PCP package which wasn't available if paying cash !! You merely phone up the finance company and ask for a figure which, if I recall correctly you have 30 days to pay - if you exercise your right to withdraw from agreement within first 14 days it's cancelled completely as if it never existed whereas paying it off or settling after 14 days appears on your credit report as "finance settled" - might make a difference if you were planning to take out mortgage etc some time in the future ??

Thanks - no additional financing needs (no mortgage) so should be ok. I will remember to withdraw from the agreement

[TheDrownedApe]

Hey OP - just in case you didn't check (although i expect you've been thorough) Drive the Deal have a decent offer on for the SQ5

https://www.drivethedeal.com/Order.aspx?SpecialOff...

also did the PCP thingy with my car a couple of years ago - it cost me £7 to withdraw from the agreement

[CapScarlet]

TheDrownedApe said:

Hey OP - just in case you didn't check (although i expect you've been thorough) Drive the Deal have a decent offer on for the SQ5

https://www.drivethedeal.com/Order.aspx?SpecialOff...

Thanks - looks like a good deal.

Ours is for the sportback which is a couple of grand more expensive (lord only knows why)

[Niguy]

Yes.

No.