E91 325i - trading in under PCP. Advice please.

[TheCaseAce]

A question for our friendly BMW dealership types, really...

I currently have:

2006 (06 plate)
E91 325i SE Touring
Manual
38,000 miles
Sparkling Graphite

Major options:

• leather
• prof sat nav + bluetooth etc
• front+rear PDC
• cruise control

My GFV (balloon payment) is £13,500 ish.

Local dealership has (provisionally) suggested giving it back is the best bet as it won't be worth more than the GFV... I think that's bks... I can see very similar cars with worse mileage and spec for £15,500 on the AUC site.

What do you think? I need to have an idea of what is realistic so I don't look a dick




Oh, I am planning to part exchange it for another 3 series on BMW Select/PCP. If anyone thinks they can help with this I am happy to chat - I'm based in Manchester area.

My current issue is that I want to keep my monthly payments the same or similar... but I can't work out what that means I can afford! Do you see what I mean? There should be some kind of PCP reverse-calculator to say "I want to pay X... what's the max price I can look at?"


Any advice welcomed.

[pgilc1]

TheCaseAce said:

A question for our friendly BMW dealership types, really...

I currently have:

2006 (06 plate)
E91 325i SE Touring
Manual
38,000 miles
Sparkling Graphite

Major options:

• leather
• prof sat nav + bluetooth etc
• front+rear PDC
• cruise control

My GFV (balloon payment) is £13,500 ish.

Local dealership has (provisionally) suggested giving it back is the best bet as it won't be worth more than the GFV... I think that's bks... I can see very similar cars with worse mileage and spec for £15,500 on the AUC site.

What do you think? I need to have an idea of what is realistic so I don't look a dick




Oh, I am planning to part exchange it for another 3 series on BMW Select/PCP. If anyone thinks they can help with this I am happy to chat - I'm based in Manchester area.

My current issue is that I want to keep my monthly payments the same or similar... but I can't work out what that means I can afford! Do you see what I mean? There should be some kind of PCP reverse-calculator to say "I want to pay X... what's the max price I can look at?"


Any advice welcomed.

If there are cars similar to yours on AUC for £15500 then your car is probably worth £11500 to a dealer IF he really wants a petrol 325i SE.

Hand it back if you can.

[gizlaroc]

TheCaseAce said:

Local dealership has (provisionally) suggested giving it back is the best bet as it won't be worth more than the GFV... I think that's bks... I can see very similar cars with worse mileage and spec for £15,500 on the AUC site.

You need to put an advert up for it a month before the due date really. Advertise it above your GFV and see what luck you have.

But if cars the same spec are available from BMW for £15500, which means you could get one for £14-14.4k after haggling, expect around £13k used.

So I guess you will be throwing the keys back at them.

Your car books at £14k at the moment, and everything is well behind book.

[TheCaseAce]

Both handy, I guess. Worse news than I thought - didn't consider that I might not have any equity in it at all.

Seriously tho - you are suggesting that I go into a car dealership and just capitulate? Surely getting even 13,950 for it in trade is £490 better than just giving it back?

Also - are dealerships expecting to make a £4k margin on a £13k car? That seems ridiculous. Okay, the AUC check must take money but not that much. £500 tops.

[LHDisbest]

Chances are that the dealer might have to sit on that car for 2-3 months, so by the time the AUC prep is completed (to be honest thats never any less than £500 even if your car is minted).

So the dealer has to take into the prep costs and the possibility of having a 325 petrol sitting on the forcourt with at least two book drops (£1000-£1200).

Im not wanting to sound like a tit, but a 325 isnt the most desirable thing to have right now (anything petrol over a 1.3 seems bloody hard to shift at the moment).

If i were you, id swallow the pill, hand the car back and start again. TBH this was always on the cards at some point with BMW and their PCP deals as the GFV's were astronomical.

Just to go off topic a moment, i quoted on a PCP for a customer last week on a new Fiesta Titanium 1.4 5dr. The car is £13k list now and on a 2yr PCP the GFV was £5300!! WTF??

Selling cars is a hard game at the moment im afraid, tho you should be able to get a cracking deal on a new BMW i would have thought.

[pgilc1]

TheCaseAce said:

Both handy, I guess. Worse news than I thought - didn't consider that I might not have any equity in it at all.

Seriously tho - you are suggesting that I go into a car dealership and just capitulate? Surely getting even 13,950 for it in trade is £490 better than just giving it back?

Also - are dealerships expecting to make a £4k margin on a £13k car? That seems ridiculous. Okay, the AUC check must take money but not that much. £500 tops.

If they retail at £15500, then they'll need to allow £1000 discount to play with - either to give that to no trade in customers or to help bolster up the trade in price, so thats back to £14500. Then £500 for servicing, prep and valet, maybe £200 commission to the salesman, and you're back to £13800. If the dealership then only takes £2K gross you're back to £11800, and out of that £2K the dealership will have to pay VAT and TAX, as well as the % taken for running costs of the dealership itself.

[pgilc1]

Dont forget that if you simply hand the car back it puts you in a VERY strong position in ANY dealership.

You could maybe get £2000 - £3000 off the car you're buying - better that and seeing the honest figures on the deal than getting £14500 for you car and just £500 discount.

[TheCaseAce]

That's really useful, thanks

Why are you in a strong position if you hand the car back? I don't really understand that.



As for getting a cracking deal - I hope so. I went in to discuss AUC's (which is what I still expect to end up with) but the sales guy said "we'll do what we can to get you in a new one... assuming you don't mind that it's pre-reg'd"

[bennno]

TheCaseAce said:

That's really useful, thanks

Why are you in a strong position if you hand the car back? I don't really understand that.

Because you will then be a cash buyer. If the dealer wont need to buy stock to sell you a car they will give a bigger discount.

Bennno

[paoloh]

Hand the bloody thing back

[pgilc1]

TheCaseAce said:

That's really useful, thanks

Why are you in a strong position if you hand the car back? I don't really understand that.



As for getting a cracking deal - I hope so. I went in to discuss AUC's (which is what I still expect to end up with) but the sales guy said "we'll do what we can to get you in a new one... assuming you don't mind that it's pre-reg'd"

Dont rule out new or prereg. I bought a new 535 m sport last year on a PCP deal for

(a) the same deposit and monthly payments as a 530d m sport
(b) the same deposit and monthly payments as a year old one.

[bennno]

pgilc1 said:

(a) the same deposit and monthly payments as a 530d m sport
(b) the same deposit and monthly payments as a year old one.

With a higher residual presumably, its not magic

Bennno

[TheCaseAce]

Is there a recommended % deposit you should put down on PCP's?

I was told by someone that putting cash into a rapidly depreciating asset is a bad idea, but it does seem to have a fair effect on the monthly payment.

I need to sit down with a dealer for a while and get some finance examples worked out for me... at the moment it feels like going shopping without knowing how much money you have in your wallet.

[ITP]

Well, you won't have anything in your wallet or in your pockets or a shirt on your back if you sit down with a dealer and let him advise you

[Welshbeef]

TheCaseAce said:

Is there a recommended % deposit you should put down on PCP's?

I was told by someone that putting cash into a rapidly depreciating asset is a bad idea, but it does seem to have a fair effect on the monthly payment.

I need to sit down with a dealer for a while and get some finance examples worked out for me... at the moment it feels like going shopping without knowing how much money you have in your wallet.

Remember at the end of the day PCP is a sort of loan. Usually the more you lend the lower the rate - sometimes it can push you up into the next threshold thus cheaper than you might be if you paid in a deposit.

Have a play around on this site - it will give you illustrations for different cars /values and milages. So you will have a base to compare vs what BMW offer you. So if its lower than BMW you could negotiate with them to min match it.
https://www.carfinanceforyou.com/ycl/calculator/in...

[dick_dastardly71]

Hand the car back - the finance company has underwritten the value and will probably push it out through auction, so the dealer doesn't have to worry about shifting it and/or losing money as it depreciates on his forecourt.
Puts you in a very strong position on a new one. And remember, the APR and GFV are negotiable when you're fixing up a new PCP. Get PCP quotes from 3rd parties so they have something to try and beat.

[TheCaseAce]

You lot are ace. That's really useful. Thanks.

Going to chat to them tomorrow.

Coincidentally just found out my colleague/mate is good friends with the finance manager's daughter (no, not THAT good friends) so hopefully I can deal with the organ grinder, not the monkey.