PCP Advice

[davyk31]

I also found the 3 and 4 year figures were similar. I went for the 4 years to give me more options, didn't want to get to the end of year 3 and have to find the money to buy the car if I wanted to keep it longer. This way I can go in to year 4 if I want and just keep paying the monthly sum.

Don't agree about low deposit, this leaves you more vulnerable to negative equity and you pay more interest. Deposit of about 20% I reckon is the sweet spot.

[evo1986]

I've just played around with the configurator to see how various figures work out.

The car with extras cost £29,695 retail. I'm getting it cheaper through DTD but the deposit and their discount is too much for the VW configurator to use so I'll stick with the above figure.

£6k down....36 months....10k miles....£359.12 month.....GFV £14,580.90....paid over 3yrs....£12,928.32...plus GFV = £27,509.22

£6k down....36 months.....5K miles.....£324.62 month.....GFV £15,898.50....paid over 3 yrs....£11,686.32...plus GFV = £27,584.82

£6k down....48 months.....10k miles....£329.83 month.....GFV £12,532.50...paid over 4 yrs....£15,831.84....plus GFV = £28,364.34

£6k dpwn....48 months......5k miles.....£299.65 month.....GFV £14,126.40...paid over 4 yrs....£14,383.20...plus GFV = £28,509.60


So buying it outright makes no real difference at all as there is only £75 in it between the two figures over 36months although a bit more over 48months

What would bother me only putting down 5k of miles a year to keep the payments lower is come trade in time the car doesn't actually make the GFV as you have excess miles on it, as VW gave you a figure for 15k miles whereas you have done 30k miles.

Although in saying that, with my last 2 PCP deals, every salesman has always looked at my GFV and just given me slightly over it.

Just remember the GFV on these cars are very high and certainly more chance than ever that you may hand it back. The volume of GTD's being sold is astronomical so there will be hundreds of these cars on the market in 2-4 years time as they come back on contract hire/PCP deals.

Unlike Mk6 which was much more exclusive due to limit on allocation...................

At the end of the day if you plan to pay it off it doesn't matter what you set the mileage at. However I know there will be something else available in a few years time you will want to change it for : )

[p3asa]

That's true Lee.
Certainly putting a low mileage if your not keeping it is a false economy

[Jimmy Filth]

I decided to put 12,000 miles on it because it gives me options at the end. If you put a low mileage you are limiting yourself. At least, that is how I feel.

[noexcuse]

I was looking to pay £15k cash £10k on a credit card (balance transfer). Reading on the forums that the credit card companies now only allow balance transfers to other credit card accounts ! (Many years ago, you could just get the transfer paid into a normal current account). I ran through the VW finance tool and was amazed at the rate of interest. I was advised a few months ago that the VW dealers only allowed a small amount via a credit card purchase. I have a few cards with 12 months interest free on purchases. I rang my VW dealer today just to check on the progress of my order and asked what would be the maximum that I could pay via credit card and to my surprise he said you can pay all via a credit or number of credit cards but they charge a 1.5% surcharge fee.

Now I am thinking a different strategy. Car cost £29,629 minus discount £26k already paid £1k deposit £25k outstanding have 3 credit cards that will allow 12 months interest free on purchases combined total of £25k+. 1.5% surcharge on £25k is £375.00 (12 months interest free). Open a Santander 123 account and deposit my £15k get 3% interest on balances upto £20k. I get back £450 interest over 12 months (paid monthly). Am I missing something ? Seems too good to be true.

[Jimmy Filth]

Won't the interest be astronomical after the 12 months? Or do you plan to fully pay it off? I looked at putting some of it on credit card, but it worked out cheaper to finance it.

[noexcuse]

Easier to do a balance transfer some credit cards are doing 30 months 0%, 3% fee effectively just over 1% per year !. Have never paid credit card full rates only the promotional rates. Personal circumstances at mo buying a buy to let property and need the spare cash to do the property up and for unforeseen expenditure (as it seems to cost more than you originally planned) once it is done and rented out will be able to remortgage and pay off the credit cards.

[peterdoherty]

my dealer let me pay in full via CC with no fees. Got a shedload of cashback doing it that way.

[monkeyhanger]

You will have to find a very flexible dealership to allow full payment or even significant payment on a credit card (or a series of credit cards). Most have a limit of less than £1000, enough to cover a small deposit or a largeish privately paid service repair bill. My local dealership had a strict policy of £800 max payment by credit card.

The credit card companies want a 3 to 5% chunk of every purchase you make on it. You bought something from Argos for £100 on your Mastercard? Argos saw about £96.50 of it. That’s £780 (3%) to £1300 (5%) margin lost on a £26k car that may have already been generously discounted.

With £26k loaded onto credit card debt, you might find your credit rating takes a bit of a hiding if you then plan to take out other loans to pay off the credit cards once the 0% period runs out, or they strictly stick to babalnce transfers rather than 0% purchases.

Noexcuses: Seems a lot of pissing about for £75 gain. Why not chuck your £15k cash at the car, owe £10k and put that £10k on the cards to enjoy 0%/1.5% paid over the year. If you’ve got £417 spare a month for payments then you could be in a position to only owe £5k after 12 months when the CC 0% deal on purchases is likely to have run out. You’re also far more likely to be able to get £10k on CC debt than £26k, and it will look better for you on your credit rating. If you start applying for umpteen cards all at once, your credit rating will go down for a month or 2 after every application.

[p3asa]

I think it depends on the dealer regarding credit cards. I've just financed my daughters first car a VW Polo from a VW dealership and they were happy to take the £7000 on credit card.
At the end of the day it was me paying the fee to do it at £104 so its no loss to them.