Can anyone advise about getting a PCP car?

[motheroreily]

I've got a 59 plate car. Last night it overheated. I got towed up which was good. I topped the coolant up last night and today it's empty again so I think there's a leak.

I don't have money to buy another car outright and my car is older so not sure its worth repairing.

Ive thought about getting a PCP car before as my cars are always quite old and don't last that long. But I wanted longer to think about and investigate it. I really need a car as I live in a village with limited public transport and I work 20 miles away.

Has anyone got a PCP car before? I'd love to hear others experiences.

I don't have a car on PCP, but if I wanted to do something similar (low monthly payments, better car than I could afford on normal finance) I would lease instead. A lot of people think it's the same, but it's not.

Leasing is cheaper because you never own the car. PCP factors in an expensive balloon payment at the end if you want to own. If you like the idea of changing to a new car every 3 years, I'd look at leasing.

Leasing dot com is a good website to check deals.

Thank you this is really helpful. I didn't realise leasing and PCP were different so I will definately look into this.

That is exactly what I want. Lower payments and a better can than I can afford.

I looked in to PCP's but was put off by the mileages - most were based on 8K miles a year & I do double that. And I was worried about being charged for "dings" plus being stuck on the treadmill of having to always pay for a car monthly.

So in the end I just took out a loan from M&S at a low interest rate & paid it off gradually. Means I own the car at the end.

Iv’e recently finished paying off my PCP contract
I got 4 years interest free .
Mine was a good deal for me because I’m a very low mileage user.
If I had done above 8000 miles per year it would have cost me an extra 6p per mile.
I only do less than 5000.
You need to read the paperwork closely.
I’ve kept the car not taken another one.

For PCP agreements, you need to factor in the balloon payment if you want to own the car at the end of the agreement and this is always thousands of pounds.
Also, if you don’t want the car after the lease period, you can always return it to the finance company but in that case, you can get charged loads if you’ve gone over your mileage limit or there’s wear and tear on the car.
I always save up and buy the car I need but it’s always not a new one but if I had to do finance , it’ll be hire purchase or some call it conditional sale as in this case, they divide the overall cost of the car by the number of years and you just pay in instalments. This way, after the finance period is over, you own the car and don’t have to worry about a balloon payment, etc though what you pay monthly is always more than in the case of PCP because you are paying for the overall cost of the car.

I’d bear in mind that really there’s no such thing as ‘a better car than you can afford’ - you will pay for whatever you have in some form. Try to do the calculations to look at costs over a 10 year period and not just the individual monthly cost too. The monthly costs can be deceptive but over years and years and years really mount up.

Also consider if you need a brand new car. Lots of the main dealers do finance deals with used approved cars - so cars up to 3 years old which come with warranties, breakdown plans etc. They are low mileage and as good as new really.

Don’t decide that brand new is essential. There are lots of very good cars that are a couple or few years old that would be just as good and so much more affordable.....even on a. Monthly basis if you’ve ant afford to buy outright.

It’s very easy to be drawn into the ideas of shiny and new and a new car every 3 years and seemingly affordable mo they payments...and decide all of this is vital and somehow what everyone deserves and should have as a matter of right. Do lots of careful calculations, read all the small print and do lots of comparisons. Accept that the brand new car every 3 years might not really be affordable to you and that isn’t a problem and doesn’t mean you can’t still have a very decent car.

Try to take a long term view of finances. Paying pretty hefty payments for a car indefinitely, can make it so much harder to buy property or move up the ladder, or reduce options to work part time, have holidays or put into a pension. Don’t just think’ we shiny car next month and another in 3 years’...try to see the whole picture.

You dont have to drive a banger, you do t have to pay the full amount upfront, but there is something between brand new car every 2 years and unreliable rust bucket.

@WombatChocolate

I’d bear in mind that really there’s no such thing as ‘a better car than you can afford’ - you will pay for whatever you have in some form. Try to do the calculations to look at costs over a 10 year period and not just the individual monthly cost too. The monthly costs can be deceptive but over years and years and years really mount up.

Also consider if you need a brand new car. Lots of the main dealers do finance deals with used approved cars - so cars up to 3 years old which come with warranties, breakdown plans etc. They are low mileage and as good as new really.

Don’t decide that brand new is essential. There are lots of very good cars that are a couple or few years old that would be just as good and so much more affordable.....even on a. Monthly basis if you’ve ant afford to buy outright.

It’s very easy to be drawn into the ideas of shiny and new and a new car every 3 years and seemingly affordable mo they payments...and decide all of this is vital and somehow what everyone deserves and should have as a matter of right. Do lots of careful calculations, read all the small print and do lots of comparisons. Accept that the brand new car every 3 years might not really be affordable to you and that isn’t a problem and doesn’t mean you can’t still have a very decent car.

Try to take a long term view of finances. Paying pretty hefty payments for a car indefinitely, can make it so much harder to buy property or move up the ladder, or reduce options to work part time, have holidays or put into a pension. Don’t just think’ we shiny car next month and another in 3 years’...try to see the whole picture.

You dont have to drive a banger, you do t have to pay the full amount upfront, but there is something between brand new car every 2 years and unreliable rust bucket.

Thank you this is how I feel. I've always had old cars that need work. I don't really want a brand new car but something more reliable than what I have. I didn't realise you could get PCP on second hand cars so I'll look into that too.

Yes - search for USED APPROVED.
All the car makes do them and offer finance on them too. They should take yours in as trade-in.

But do consider too, that it might be worth mending it. Again, you need to take the slightly longer term view and not just be keen to do anything to avoid spending £3-500 to keep it on the road. Why don’t you book it in somewhere for later in the week and get a quote. A 59 plate car isn’t old in my view. I’d always hope to get 15 years out of cars. However, if it is looking like it needs more than a few hundred spent, maybe it is time to move on.

Might be worth checking if your work does a salary sacrifice scheme for an electric / hybrid car. A friend of mine is looking into it at the moment at her work.

not old at all. Could be something simple like a split coolant header tank. If head gasket gone then that is a bigger issue.

find a competent garage that deals in 'older' cars and get the fault diagnosed.

car finance is pissing money away.

I looked into it but didn't like the balloon payment at the end. I ended up with a two year old Ford from a main dealer and got a loan from Admiral for four years because the interest rate was so much cheaper than the car finance. I've got two more years to pay, and then I own a six year old car, which I'll keep for another three. I love it to BITS.

Bear in mind with a lease you're really tied in for the full term, you can only terminate the agreement with a large financial penalty. Pcp you can usually terminate around 3/4 of the way through (the balloon payment counts towards to the 59% for voluntary termination) or trade in for a different car at that point. If you decide to go for PCP on a used car, get a quote on the same new car as they're often within spitting distance of each other on a PCP (usually better rate and sometime a incentives on a new purchase). Also new cars will come with 3-7 years warranty depending on brand and approved used are usually 12 months warranty.

A loan from your bank will normally be cheapest, if you decide to do this its worth speaking to your dealer to see if they can match the payment or offer a discount on the car. Dealers really make their money on the finance so they will try to work with you to get you at the right payment.

I sold cars for 15 years so if you have any questions feel free to ask!

That should say 50% for a VT! Sorry,

What car is the 59 plate op? If its a Honda or Toyota its hardly even run in.

Regardless of the make it will probably cost less to fix than 1 single pcp payment for a new car. So many people think pcp is the answer when the car they already own is perfectly usable.