How a miscalculation saved me ££££ on a PCP
How a miscalculation saved me ££££ on a PCP
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CHEESYAARAN

Original Poster:

56 posts

95 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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Story time.

I am currently 19 and am a year in my PCP with a 2018 Corsa Energy 1.4. I decided to take out this PCP (with some encourage from my parents) as I secured a job on the other end of the country (I live in the north east, work in the north west) and wanted something with better mpg, comfort and overall reliability than my old 2006 Fiesta. I regret this decision today as that Fiesta was a great example and probably would have been fine, but that not what I wanna talk about today.

I went to Vauxhall as they were the only dealership who would put me in a new car that wasn't a super mini, the Corsa was the best I could do. While the Energy model is quite a low spec, it still has apple car play, heated seats and steering wheel and lots of other modern conveniences. I was exactly what i needed for the high mileage I would be doing. i went home that night and my dad and myself sat there and tried to figure out if I could afford the monthly payments, insurance and so on. We came to the conclusion I could on my new wage.

We go back to the dealership and start signing the paper work, stating i'll be doing 10,000 miles a year. That was the huge miscalculation. We had somehow got this completely wrong, with myself checking again at a later date, I would be doing a minimum of 20,000 a year. Both mine and my dads heart sank; as while I could afford the car currently, this extra mileage was going to cost me around £80 more a month. This may be nothing to some, this was devastating at the time as I wouldn't be able to save anything after my monthly outgoings.

We went to the dealership and we honest with them, saying we had messed up and we wanted out. Obviously, they were pretty pi**ed off. I was contractually tied to this deal now though, we had signed the paper work.

In the end the dealership upped my mileage to 21,000 a year for the SAME price. While I will never take out another PCP (I hate that i'm stuck with this car for another 2 years and its dead money) i cannot fault Vauxhall at all, they have been great. Maybe if I had gone elsewhere I would have been in some serious financial trouble right now with having to pay premiums on extra mileage.

But hey, I accidentally got a great monthly PCP deal so it all turned out good in the end!

littlebasher

3,956 posts

200 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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Nice to hear the occasional story, where a dealer does right by someone in the end.

fourstardan

6,508 posts

173 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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Seems a tad generous....

That's 2k of money being lost by a dealer probably struggling.

I'm getting too old/cynical to think this is too good to be true lol.

Did you resign the paper work based on 21k?

Andy665

4,161 posts

257 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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Have you checked the paperwork to make sure they have increased the mileage allowance?

If the paperwork has not been amended then you have been suckered

Butter Face

34,698 posts

189 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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Andy665 said:
Have you checked the paperwork to make sure they have increased the mileage allowance?

If the paperwork has not been amended then you have been suckered
Yes, this. Sounds like BS to me (and I'm a car salesman) VERY unlikely they have just lost an extra £80pm to keep a Corsa deal in bed.

CHEESYAARAN

Original Poster:

56 posts

95 months

Friday 24th May 2019
quotequote all
Butter Face said:
Andy665 said:
Have you checked the paperwork to make sure they have increased the mileage allowance?

If the paperwork has not been amended then you have been suckered
Yes, this. Sounds like BS to me (and I'm a car salesman) VERY unlikely they have just lost an extra £80pm to keep a Corsa deal in bed.
Yup, we sat down with them and amended the paper work, the garage is the Vauxhall one in Shorpe, I cant fault them at all, had a great experience, even if PCP isn't for me.

nick30

1,567 posts

200 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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I can believe it, a couple of years ago BMW were doing the same where they would up your mileage agreement free of cost and I took mine from 10k to 15k per year. Quite a few people on Baby BMW forum also did it.

CHEESYAARAN

Original Poster:

56 posts

95 months

Friday 24th May 2019
quotequote all
Wooda80 said:
Hmm

1818 Vx Corsa 1.4 Energy
Likely cash price ( from Autotrader ) £7500
Lets say £0 deposit
Using my lender's figures it would be either:
23 x £177 + £4438 for 10000mpa
or 23 x £194 + £4024 for 20000mpa.
Both at the same arbitrary 8.9%APR

The excess mileage might cost the equivalent of £80pm with your finance company if not declared until you hand it back, but it still seems high to me.

If I needed to find the £17 difference per month ( around £400 in total ) from my figures to keep your order in bed then I'm sure I could do it by chipping my finance commission, a smidge out of the price of the car and making it 24 payments rather than 23.
keep in mind I started my PCP in 2018, it was a brand new car at the time worth £13,000 (roughly). Your calculations make sense though, better at maths than myself and my dad!

GeneralSinn

12,778 posts

216 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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CHEESYAARAN said:
Yup, we sat down with them and amended the paper work, the garage is the Vauxhall one in Shorpe, I cant fault them at all, had a great experience, even if PCP isn't for me.
But that’s not the NE at all?? Where in the NW are you commuting to, Bristol??

CHEESYAARAN

Original Poster:

56 posts

95 months

Friday 24th May 2019
quotequote all
GeneralSinn said:
CHEESYAARAN said:
Yup, we sat down with them and amended the paper work, the garage is the Vauxhall one in Shorpe, I cant fault them at all, had a great experience, even if PCP isn't for me.
But that’s not the NE at all?? Where in the NW are you commuting to, Bristol??
Pretty sure the Hull area is counted as northern lol, i'm slightly more northern than Leeds and you don't hear anyone calling that the midlands. I work in Preston.

Butter Face

34,698 posts

189 months

Friday 24th May 2019
quotequote all
Just had a quick look.

On a new Clio at a comparable price point, the price difference is £21pm from 10kpa to 21kpa on a 36m PCP.

So it's likely they will have something to adjust this, but not £80pm.

Red 4

10,744 posts

216 months

Friday 24th May 2019
quotequote all
Butter Face said:
Just had a quick look.

On a new Clio at a comparable price point, the price difference is £21pm from 10kpa to 21kpa on a 36m PCP.

So it's likely they will have something to adjust this, but not £80pm.
The French car is cheaper because the more miles you do, the more it breaks down and the more time you spend on a pushbike.

They just haven't got the gall to charge you £80 for the privilege tongue out

james_gt3rs

4,816 posts

220 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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I thought there was generally a 30 day cool off period with finance things?

Butter Face

34,698 posts

189 months

Friday 24th May 2019
quotequote all
james_gt3rs said:
I thought there was generally a 30 day cool off period with finance things?
14 days to withdraw, but that's to pay off the finance by other means, not change your mind on buying the car.

JP18

109 posts

90 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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OP, what’s the APR on the deal?

loskie

7,080 posts

149 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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always amuses me that Shorpe is censored. Why take the out of Shorpe? There will be plenty more left there.

Flumpo

4,024 posts

102 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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CHEESYAARAN said:
GeneralSinn said:
CHEESYAARAN said:
Yup, we sat down with them and amended the paper work, the garage is the Vauxhall one in Shorpe, I cant fault them at all, had a great experience, even if PCP isn't for me.
But that’s not the NE at all?? Where in the NW are you commuting to, Bristol??
Pretty sure the Hull area is counted as northern lol, i'm slightly more northern than Leeds and you don't hear anyone calling that the midlands. I work in Preston.
I think he’s pointing out you said you are based in the NE. Hull is in no way in or even near the NE. Which is generally considered to start at scotch corner.


Mercury00

4,249 posts

185 months

Friday 24th May 2019
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OP didn't say how much he paid for the car. The standard discount on a Vauxhall is 50% off list price, if he didn't get that then the salesman could easily afford to take the hit on the mileage increase.

ninepoint2

4,071 posts

189 months

Friday 24th May 2019
quotequote all
Excess mileage only applies if you hand the car back to the Finance Company. If you plan to trade it in at the end of the period it does not matter if the mileage is over. If that's what PCP buyers plan to do then always go for the lowest mileage possible to keep the monthly payments as low as possible

Butter Face

34,698 posts

189 months

Friday 24th May 2019
quotequote all
ninepoint2 said:
Excess mileage only applies if you hand the car back to the Finance Company. If you plan to trade it in at the end of the period it does not matter if the mileage is over. If that's what PCP buyers plan to do then always go for the lowest mileage possible to keep the monthly payments as low as possible
Not strictly true. Your OFP is calculated from the mileage you state at the start, so a car doing 6kpa will have a higher OFP than a car doing 20kpa. So when you come to trade in your car and you’ve done 42k more than you’re supposed to have done, your car is worth less than expected and you’ll likely have a shortfall.

Yes, you only pay excess mileage if you hand it back, but there are implications either way.