We’re a couple of weeks into the New Year now, and there’s a good chance that a fair few of you will be looking to either fill a space on the driveway or make an addition. We’ll take any excuse to buy a new car, after all. And obviously, there are many different ways you can go about it. Most will go down the finance route on a brand new car, with an estimated 80 to 90 per cent of buyers in Britain choosing to split payments over one lump sum. But are the same options available for used car buyers? And what if you want to spread the cost of a car you’ve found on PH auctions?
To answer that and many more questions, we’re joined on today’s episode of The Gassing Station podcast by Dean Clarke, head of sales at our finance parter Charles & Dean. Not only is he a massive petrolhead, with a back catalogue of around 50 cars including an E46 BMW M3 and multiple Honda S2000s, but is right at the coalface of the premium, performance and collectable car finance market. That makes him the perfect person to field our many, many finance-related questions, from splitting the cost of cars bought at auction to plans that offer the most flexibility when it comes to mileage and upgrades.
Of course, it wouldn’t be The Gassing Station without a buying challenge, and as we’ve got a special guest on it only seemed right to get them involved too. This week’s challenge comes from Patrick-M2, who’s looking for ‘the best performance family car for under £40k’, which opens up all sorts of options. Sam kicks things off with this subtly specced (yet with an Akrapovik exhaust) Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio for £35,995, while I’ve gone slightly more yobbish with a Ford Focus RS Edition like this 2018 car here for £37,500. Dean, however, knocked it out of the park on his podcast debut, picking an FL5 Honda Civic Type R like this Championship White car for £40,995.
To wrap up, Dean takes us through some of the weird and wonderful cars the company has financed in recent years, including a Bentley Blower recreation by Petersen, a Lotus Elan 26R and a C2 Corvette to name a few. It’ll even finance race cars under certain conditions. So have a look through the classifieds and auctions and, if you find something you like, have a look for the Charles & Dean finance option to see if there’s a deal that fits your needs. You know what would make for good background listening while you pursue? Today’s episode, which is ready and waiting for you.
Charles & Dean Finance are a credit broker, not a lender. Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 6533592) Credit subject to status, 18+, T&Cs apply
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