To ask your advice on my pcp car

[Fedupmum13]

Hope this is OK to post here, just thought I'd be more likely to get a response.
Have a pcp car coming to the end of the 4 years and a 6000 balloon payment due in November.
My options are to pay my balloon payment and keep the car (its got 60k miles - giving back isn't an option). Or take out another pcp for £250 a month (currently pay 290 a month). Dealer says I have a little positive equity in the car at the moment. Needs a service and mot this month, hence why I'm thinking of the options now.
I could, pay it off and it's mine, but I'm worried about the ever increasing mileage and things going wrong. Or take out a new pcp on a brand new car with 3 years servicing /warranty but means I start the cycle again.
I have a Renault captur at the moment and it's always been a great car for me. I could trade in for a new dacia duster.
Would be interested in thoughts, really don't know which to choose!
Thank you.
Voting:
YABU: Pay the balloon payment
YANBU: Take out another pcp

How on earth do you both have equity in the car AND owe if you hand it back?

You could enquire with your dealership for an extended warranty. It can be about £300 but it gives you another 2/3 years peace of mind on things that could go wrong. As long as you keep up the servicing then there shouldn't be a problem. The mileage is high for its age but if you've done multiple high round trips then that explains it and is one of them things.

Alternatively look to see if you could get a personal loan as this is couls to be less % than the PCP depending on your financial situation

Unless giving it back isnt an option because its marked/dented/scratched?

Assuming you don't have thousands sitting in a bank account to be used as a deposit on a new one or another secondhand car, I'd hand back the Captur paying the finance company the extra mileage penalty if they insist (they don't, always) and lease a new one with maintenance included.

I'm not a fan of leasing personally, but in your situation it might make the most sense.

Talk to your dealer actually talk to a couple, as they sometimes have different offers on even with the same manufacturer and see if the equity in your car would negate the mileage charge. They can do all kinds of magical things with seemingly 'fixed' charges if they sniff a sale, especially if you go in five days before the end of any month.

You could sell it privately to an outfit like webuyanycar, who pay off the finance balance for you, and give you any extra over and above that. It's worth an enquiry at least.
Used car values are artificially high right now due to lack of availability of new cars for a variety of reasons, so people are buying cars that are a few years old instead.

Don't just do what the dealers tell you to do, there are plenty of options, just inform yourself.

Get a settlement figure on your car today then see what webuyanycar and other similar companies will give you for it. If a decent amount of equity then do that and then you can start another PCP if you like or take a loan and buy something outright.

Pay for the balloon payment, then see how much you’ll get with we buy any car? I looked up your car and one had 32k mileage, 2017 plate selling at a dealership for just over £9k.
One thing my friends father did was buy a car off a friend of his. The guys pcp was coming to an end, so her father paid the balloon payment rather than give it back to the dealership to make more money out of the car. His friend was happy with this arrangement.

Thanks for the responses, I'll try we buy any car definitely. Didn't mean to drip feed, I do have the money in savings so could pay my car off and then it'll be mine without any further monthly payments etc. I suppose I'm worried about paying 6000 out for it to have problems. I don't know how long cars tend to last, online says 200,000 miles?! (obviously not every car will!)
The new deal (pcp) would give me 400 for my car (it's worth more than the balance out standing) if I took out another pcp. The new pcp would be 12k miles, 250 a month, over 4 years with a £6000 payment at the end. Obviously a new car would be great for peace of mind, reliability and then I wouldn't need to pay £6000. Obviously I'd be paying more than that over time. This is my 3rd pcp car, and I'm keen to get out of the cycle at the same time! Sorry, I just can't seem to make a decision!

Pay for the balloon payment, then see how much you’ll get with we buy any car?

Not necessary, just go straight to WBAC. They’ll settle the finance

I've looked and they'll offer me 8000 now, but that's as long as it's 6 months left on mot and full service history. I need to get it serviced and mot and then maybe in September will see that they'll still offer a similar amount and go from there.

I don't know how long cars tend to last, online says 200,000 miles?! (obviously not every car will!)
It may seem like an obvious point - but it depends what you mean by "last". Most modern engines will last well over 200k with proper maintenance but there are a few "stinker" designs where there are know issues (BMW swirl flaps, cam chains, Land Rover cranks) - even then not every car suffers.
Also a car is much more than just the engine and almost everything wears out eventually - also as they get older it's not just mechanicals, they rust too.

OP Is the new PCP for a new car?

Just a word of caution on WBAC - I actually got a good deal on one of my cars as the previous owner was going to sell to WBAC - when she arrived they found numerous faults that knocked their offer price right down - you need to be sure you have been upfront about the condition and they knock things off for not having all spare keys, ect.

And even if you're upfront with things with EBAC - like we had no spare key and no service history and told them upfront they still took more money off the offer when we went to them!

WBAC obviously

No idea about PCP, but we've only ever owned older second hand cars, our experience is they have lasted ok until mileage reached about 120-140K, or until they get to about 12/13 years old. Then they start costing so much in maintenance it's cheaper to scrap and start again.

I've rarely had a car that I got with less than 100K on it.
My record is one I bought with 260k and did a further 20K before selling it on. They can vary so much - not just between makes but individual examples of the same make/model.

I usually buy a second hand car thats 3 years old and keep them trouble free for about 4 years and then sell them on for a good price.
I bought my last second hand cad, with less mileage than your for 10k, a friend bought an older one with more mileage for 13k.
Look at the prices of second hand cars and see how much yours would be on the open market. I would pay the £6k and keep it a further 3 years. If you save £300 per month you will then have almost £11k to spend on a new car and you will get very good finance with that deposit. You will also probably get a minimum of £3k for you existing car which can be put towards a new car.

We were in the same predicament. We decided to keep the car and I'm glad we did because just as we were about to finish payments it got written off (not my fault, it was parked on our drive and nobody was inside)
So the money we got from the insurance company has paid the small amount left and we've had the rest.
A situation you don't expect but just my thought.

I had a Range Rover on PCP, wanted to hand it back but couldn’t until 50% was paid off.
I did a WBAC valuation online and it came out £2k less than the outstanding finance so left it. A couple of months later they emailed offering more than the outstanding finance, so I took it down and got £600 more than the outstanding finance!
They paid the finance company, I got my money, and it was done in less than a week!
They say the only time it gets down valued is if people aren’t honest about scratched, bumps etc. I would highly recommend.

Thanks everyone. Genuinely have really helped and I've decided to get it serviced etc. Wait til around a month before balloon payment is due and potentially do wbac :)

Well, this is the risk/ problem with PCP really, if you aren't prepared to stay on the treadmill it will cost more than buying outright.

Personally I would keep the car and run it for a few more years.

A bit of track but my car is an 05 plate. I bought it 5 years ago and all I’ve had to get done to it is a new clutch and brake pads. It’s still under 100,000 miles though. I probably do about 3000 a year.

@Fedupmum13

Thanks everyone. Genuinely have really helped and I've decided to get it serviced etc. Wait til around a month before balloon payment is due and potentially do wbac :)

Worth mentioning that WBAC isn't the only 'money-for-your-car' trade-in company out there. You could also look at Motorway and Wizzle. (Arnold Clark do it too, but I haven't had good dealings with them as a company so I can't recommend.) The prices/offers can vary so you could do worse than get a quote from several and see which works best when the time comes.

If you do decide to take out another pcp, then make sure you increase your milage to something realistic, otherwise you'll be in the same situation with the next car. In the meantime, I'd be working out whether I could save enough to buy a seco d hand car outright next time, particularly as you say you have savings.

I just got a used top spec mazda 2 for 12k. 2yr old, 10000 miles, ex pcp. Retail value about 20k due to added optional extras the original owner paid for. Current finance deals suggest the previous owner may have paid around £11000 over two years (monthly payment + deposit) for the car.

Thanks everyone
Interesting points, may pay for a 2nd hand car next time. Definitely hate the pcp cycle and not keen to continue.