curiousyellow – if you HPI any car it shows up wether there is finance showing on it. I dare say ins companies will do this in the case of total loss claims. The V5 can show your name, the invoice show your name etc etc. But we have all seen enough of them police programmes where the previous owner had finance on the car, sold it and then failed to settle the finance. Thats pretty much what not settling the finance on a car that has been written off amounts to.

So either you declare it when the car is written off and send a copy of the finance settlement to ins co to settle. Or they pay you and you settle. Either way, finance company will want settlement.

muffin man is right. The PCP deals tend to be manufacturer led. They support them with mega bucks deposit contributions because they have the highest return rate but in return the dealer has very little to play with. You may time it right that they are desperate for numbers so get it below cost but how much is usually not a lot. If you feel the dealer is looking after you, then that may be worth a few hundred quid more than driving 100mls each way to get a car from a faceless competitor.

Dont be shafted though. Again, compare the price (People on here usually come up with amazing price comparrisons), then see what the best deal you can get from the dealer you feel most comfortable with. Even better, do your homework before you go in for the test drive, see how you feel and then you would be in control of any conversations. As a salesman, i always prefer to deal with someone who knows what they want but is reasonable enough to realise its better for everyone to be happy, they are always the best deals.

The car you are looking at buying on PCP is used?

How used? I would only get a PCP if I get to hand the car back when it is still under warranty and doesn’t need an MOT

Yes – they’d rather have you sat in front of them. You’re more likely to buy if you can see the lovely, shiny new car across the forecourt! 😀

Nearly new – yes. But it would have to be really low mileage and nearer 6 months old than a year old for me. I wouldn’t take nearly new over more than 3 years either.

The main idea of PCP is you can get into a new car cheaply.

Hang on, I take offence at any implication of dishonesty.

The right to withdraw without penalty within 14 days is there in black and white on the finance agreement.

The salesman was well aware I was going to do this as I specifically asked about the wording of this section when negotiating.

I don’t care what the dealer thinks of me! He pushed the deal through before the end of the month to get his sales target bonus. We both win.

Don’t forget folks, you can always overpay your finance to reduce the cost to you (obvs makes no difference on 0%).

As per my insurance – they pay out full market in first year so GAP not necessarily needed if 0%.

Privilege.

Buy GAP for year 2+ online. Don’t let the monkeys build it into your quote automatically, as they will posh wax treatment. It’s a new car FFS , why does it need a treatment on top of its factory finish!! And then, do it yourself.

RE: Mileage on PCP, if you’re covering more miles than you had intended, is it worth contacting the Finance Company before the end of the contract and having the payments adjusted?

I’m 2 years into a 4 year PCP on a fiat 500 (I know) and I’m now doing at least 12k miles pa due to a change of work, in our little ‘run-about’ car that was on an agreed mileage of just 5k.

Also the finance is 10k, the car now worth 6k… and looks like I’m too late to GAP insure it as I’ve had it 2 years now. In the event of total write off do I need to find 10k immediately? Or could I buy another equivalent value run about and just continue the finance? I know this has been covered but I couldn’t quite grasp the gist of it.

In all honesty I’m counting down the days until I can get rid of it, but financially I think I’m stuck with it for a long time yet.

Thanks for that info – based on that I’ll have a good pick through the documents this weekend, for some reason 12ppm rings a bell but not 100% on that. It was bought without due care and attention on my part frankly, just handed in my old fiat and drove off in a new one, but times have changed drastically and I have to be much more careful with the £££ these days. Outstanding finance is currently 10k (total was 14k), car value is £5200, so a potential £5k shortfall if it got totalled is worrying, on top of excess mileage concerns. I might park it up on a relatives driveway, and go buy a £500 px’er from one of the dealerships I work for! Literally kicking myself, but as they say, live & learn.

What did you order in the end?

We’ve just taken delivery of my other half’s new MINI on a PCP – it basically reduces her fuel bills and fixes her monthly motoring costs. Her 330 had a drink problem as it wasn’t suited to her short trips and was due tyres. Plus on an older car there was the risk of something going pop. When we bought that it was the right car but things change. I know there is the depreciation argument but she wasn’t interested!

I used a broker to get a price and the nearest dealer wouldn’t entertain the fact that there were discounts to be had whereas the dealer from the same chain near my office matched the broker’s deal and got my order. They were pretty good to deal with – listened when I said no to stuff like their paint protection etc. We did order near the end of the quarter and I think they needed / wanted out car in that quarters figures because they sent a transporter to the factory to get it a week earlier.

I don’t think they expect us to see the deal through because they’ve already said that they’d call us in two or three years time. I don’t really have an issue with it as I’m not likely to keep a car forever (boredom).

We did look at leasing but it didn’t seem to be cheaper even when factoring in lowish mileage.

Hope this helps

jimwah – Member

RE: Mileage on PCP, if you’re covering more miles than you had intended, is it worth contacting the Finance Company before the end of the contract and having the payments adjusted?

Usually yes it is worth letting them know. As you are on a PCP then its calculated on a final value which tbh will be less now that you are doing more miles. I have seen these range from 6-12ppm. Easier to pay this in increased monthly payments rather than one big lump at the end. One way or another it will need to be covered unless you buy the car at the end. The good part of that is the fact that for every penny it raises your monthly, it should reduce the final payment by this much too

I’m 2 years into a 4 year PCP on a fiat 500 (I know) and I’m now doing at least 12k miles pa due to a change of work, in our little ‘run-about’ car that was on an agreed mileage of just 5k.

Also the finance is 10k, the car now worth 6k… and looks like I’m too late to GAP insure it as I’ve had it 2 years now. In the event of total write off do I need to find 10k immediately? Yes you would need to settle the finance. You cant just continue the finance on something else Or could I buy another equivalent value run about and just continue the finance? I know this has been covered but I couldn’t quite grasp the gist of it.

In all honesty I’m counting down the days until I can get rid of it, but financially I think I’m stuck with it for a long time yet.

Finally, because you are a private individual you sign a contract which is called a Regulated agreement. Basically this means it has a few protections built in for joe public. A couple of them are 1/2’s & 1/3rds. Once you have paid 50% of the total agreement (Including interest and charges) then you are, by law able to hand the vehicle back to the finance company without any issues to your credit worthiness. So i take it you have another £3k to go before you reach this position. £14k/2= £7k. £10k-£7k=£3k. Painfull to get out of tbh because i reckon your payments will be about £200 per month so thats most of the balance of your payments over 2yrs (Especially when you factor in the higher mileage you are doing will increase them payments /reduce final payment). There isnt right or wrong answer but you are going to end up having to pay on your monthlys or at the end. I would prefer monthly tbh. Then hand it back and walk away.

My wifes car was a fiat 500 on pcp. Got 0.3% finance rate and the final payment was based on car doing 20,000mls per annum when in fact it did 5000mpa. Think it was about £2500. Car was £10500 and i paid £10594.50 in total including the finance.