best way to buy a car

[Hercules12]

Hi. I realise saving up is best and we do have savings but can't touch them and would like to buy a car over the next few weeks.
My credit score is very high and doing a soft check via Martin lewis website I should have excellent chance of a loan at 2.99%.
Id look to pay back over 3 years and paying back isn't an issue.
I've always bought old bangers and run them into the ground before replacing so no experience of spending more but thinking of getting a hatch back around 2016 for hopefully around 10k.
The whole pcp, hire purchase deals seem tempting but I would prefer to own the car and not worry about mileage and dents etc.
The question is am I missing something here? would I actually be better off getting a newer car on pcp/ hire purchase?
My mileage isn't more than 10000 but I don't want to have to watch it for fear of going over.
any experience or advice?

I'm in an almost identical predicament (see thread re cars at £8.5k). We are still looking and test driving and have increased budget to around £12k to be able to afford what we want.

I agree that it's better to pay upfront in most cases but what we have found is that there are a number of incentives offered by dealers on new cars and used when bought with finance. e.g. We've had offers of £3k off new list price from several dealerships, 0% finance , free services, etc.

I've priced up comparisons of buying certain cars brand new with the above incentives vs used at up to 3 years and the new cars are only slightly higher.

However the catch with PCP seems to be the mileage and damage issue of/when you return the car at the end of the deal period. It's a case of deferring the inevitable (balloon payment, possible negative equity, etc). You need to be able to predict your mileage and whether you'll want to keep the car in 3 years.

Generally for used cars I think a bank loan or hire purchase makes more sense. I am considering PCP for new cars but only with v low/0% finance and with the intention of keeping the car 6+ years.

I realise saving up is best

It is in some cases, and not in others. Sometimes leasing a car is cheaper than buying, but often not.

There is no best way, it depends on your own individual circumstances, the type of car you want, how long you want to keep it, and a dozen other factors.

You may as well ask what's the best length of string.

I think it's generally more expensive to change your car every few years, because each time you do there'll be a dealer or owner making a profit. But some people value the experience of driving a newer car (comfort, tech, safety) and that makes it worth it for them.

I'm inherently a bit uncomfortable about only borrowing something from someone rather than owning it - always worried I'll damage it. Makes it difficult hiring cars and it feels like leasing / PCP / HP is no different. But there are definitely pros to trying out the finance route in certain circumstances.

I think it's generally more expensive to change your car every few years

Sometimes. But what if you keep your car 3+ years and you suddenly get a huge big for a major engine of gearbox issue.

It's possible, but if you buy good quality reliable cars in the first place you're unlikely to get an engine issue within the first 5-8 years.
I've had numerous old bangers and only ever paid for brake pads, stuck callipers, brake pipes, wipers, clutch and tyres. All VW, honda and Toyota and 10-20 years old.

Hi. checking in.
So have 10k loan agreed and debating now between Skoda fabia se 2018 for just under 10k but 10k mileage. Comes with 2 year warranty though and j also like it will mirror my phone for Google maps.
Or older vw golf with 6-12 monrhs warranty and no phone mirroring for that age and price.
Any advice most welcome!

or Ford focus zetec!

Good plan. I am close to doing the same and apply for a loan, but am wavering about ordering a brand new petrol Toyota Yaris. Offers on new cars are really attractive - 0% PCP over 41 months , but I'm thinking a hybrid might be sensible...

We need several cars the majority cost less than £1000 each they are all still going after 4 years with only routine repairs, some people have lost a fortune in payments, interest etc, we spend what we save on holidays

We’ve just gone though this. And decided against PCP or Contract hire. Was offered a cracking deal for a Quasqai for £199 a month.

In the end we went for a 11 month old Hyundai i20 with 10,000 miles for £11k. We will keep it for 10 years or so.

You say you you’ll need to borrow. However, if you had been able to buy outright I’d have suggested the PCP route, but you pay it all off within a short while of taking delivery of the car. We did this with my wife’s car. There was a cash price for buying outright and then there was an even lower price for PCP. So we signed up to the PCP arrangement, paid a deposit of about 20% on taking delivery and then phoned the finance company the next day and said we wanted to withdraw from the deal. And that was it - no questions asked, and we just paid them the balance of the PCP price by bank transfer. No interest and a 16% discount on the price of the car.