How did PCP work out in the end?

bazz26 wrote: »

I think the LCI model is due in the next few months. I wouldn't hold my breath on BMW offering 2.9%, I think the lowest they normally go is 3.9%.

Before 2021?

Oh yeah ..just saw it's 3.9% on that link. I was looking at an older brochure from 2019 where it lists 2.9% APR https://www.discoverbmw.ie/191/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/191-5-Series.pdf

fifth wrote: »

So I'm thinking of getting a new car for the first time and using PCP to finance it, in 2021.

I'm looking at a BMW 530e (or 545e if the rumours are true they will be adding this variant), M Sport, lci/facelift model.

Does anyone know if BMW's GMFV values have been adjusted to give a better chance of having some residuals left in the car when it comes time to trade in? I've read on here people who took low monthly PCP deals from 2016 onwards with BMW were left high and dry.

That would be a poor choice.
Get a used one from the UK, they depreciate heavily in year 1 and 2.

Buying a brand new 530e makes very little sense as depreciation is steep due to cheaper ones coming in from the UK. I do get it though that access to a brand new one via PCP is probably easier though.

Seems to be a lot of knowledge in this thread so might as well ask. I am driving a 182 3 Series BMW. PCP deal ends in July 2021. I pay €757 a month and paid a deposit of €5,000. GMFV of €16k (can't dig out the exact number down to the euro right now on my phone).

I have no problem continuing with the payments thankfully at the moment but my question is more so is this a time to be looking to upgrade early and roll in to another PCP, or what would your game plan be? I still like the car etc but will want to certainly chance it in 12 months time.

That said, if I have made a mistake and been burned on depreciation etc, I will just finance the remaining 15k over 3 years with a bank loan, would be a lower monthly repayment and just keep driving the car. Ultimately I'm trying to make the best financial decision this time.

sdevine89 wrote: »

Seems to be a lot of knowledge in this thread so might as well ask. I am driving a 182 3 Series BMW. PCP deal ends in July 2021. I pay €757 a month and paid a deposit of €5,000. GMFV of €16k (can't dig out the exact number down to the euro right now on my phone).

I have no problem continuing with the payments thankfully at the moment but my question is more so is this a time to be looking to upgrade early and roll in to another PCP, or what would your game plan be? I still like the car etc but will want to certainly chance it in 12 months time.

That said, if I have made a mistake and been burned on depreciation etc, I will just finance the remaining 15k over 3 years with a bank loan, would be a lower monthly repayment and just keep driving the car. Ultimately I'm trying to make the best financial decision this time.

I'd say a BMW dealer will want very strong cost to change money as your 182 3 Series is probably the old model. The new model jumped significantly in price over the old model plus BMW dealers are not known for being charitable when it comes to pricing trade ins so you might not have much equity in your current car.

At the end of the day you need to work out how much the new car is actually costing you over the 3 years as these costs can easily be hidden in monthly figures which most people only focus on.

If its an old model 3 series, you wont be doing well by trading now or at end of term. If you bought the old model that late in its life, this is what is going to cost you money. If you have the new model (not sure when first available), you should do ok at end of term.

carsfan2 wrote: »

Can you be more specific on what model 3 series you bought?
Also, are you someone who likes to change cars every few years or are you happy to keep a car for a long time? Do you like cars or is it just a way to get from A to B?

182 BMW 318i 1.5litre. Black Sapphire & Black Dakota Leather. Automatic.

Professional Media Package (professional navigation system and digital cockpit), 17inch wheels, Reversing Camera, electric folding mirrors, sports seats, Park Distance Control (front and rear), Adaptive LED Headlights, High-Beam Assistant, Apple Car Play.

30,000km on the clock. (20,000km per year allowed)

This was my first car as it happens but generally with most things I'd like to keep pace when it comes to technology etc. I like my car, I like to keep it in good nick etc but I'm not the type who goes to Cars & Coffee etc. Being honest the tech and user interface in the car is probably more important to me than it's engine size or 0-100kmp/h time.

It has to have its first service soon so I'm going to ask Frank Keane what they think. Tbh I'm leaning towards just keeping it and financing the remaining 15,500. If I keep paying off at 800 a month I'd own it outright in no time.

sdevine89 wrote: »

182 BMW 318i 1.5litre. Black Sapphire & Black Dakota Leather. Automatic.

Professional Media Package (professional navigation system and digital cockpit), 17inch wheels, Reversing Camera, electric folding mirrors, sports seats, Park Distance Control (front and rear), Adaptive LED Headlights, High-Beam Assistant, Apple Car Play.

30,000km on the clock. (20,000km per year allowed)

This was my first car as it happens but generally with most things I'd like to keep pace when it comes to technology etc. I like my car, I like to keep it in good nick etc but I'm not the type who goes to Cars & Coffee etc. Being honest the tech and user interface in the car is probably more important to me than it's engine size or 0-100kmp/h time.

It has to have its first service soon so I'm going to ask Frank Keane what they think. Tbh I'm leaning towards just keeping it and financing the remaining 15,500. If I keep paying off at 800 a month I'd own it outright in no time.

Sounds like a lovely nicely specced car.
the new G20 is a big improvement on the f30 and a lot more tech in it.
If post lockdown , to promote sales BMW were offering deposit contributions and lower apr and you could get the 5k deposit back out of the car as equity it might be a good time to pounce on a deal and get into the current model.
Otherwise hold on to what is a good car.

Augeo wrote: »

oh lol, we/ve a real smart arse don't we.
I'd say you'd not be buying much new yourself either .........
There are countless new cars that don't cost 40k over the first 3 years in depreciation BTW, I'd have thought a car sales professional would have realised that the 530e on PCP was appalling value. It mustn't have been in your training manual.

I wasn’t trying to be smart I was more having a go at the depreciation rate of any new car and it’s relative. Someone who can afford a 30k car to lose 15k is as much as someone who have afford a 60k car to lose 30.

carsfan2 wrote: »

As someone who sells new and used cars, do you find people go in with their eyes open to big depreciation on new cars?
Years ago I remember meeting people that would change every year for minimal outlay on say a golf or Passat maybe 3/4K punts at the time. Never had to pay for services or tyres and got that new car vibe every year. Back then fewer cars were sold so I suppose a good second hand one year old car was holding value. I don’t think it’s financially feasible to do that nowadays.

That’s a good point about changing every year. I’d imagine on average a €40,000 car could be bought for €30,000 a year later. Not sure it makes sense to pay 10 grand every year for the pleasure of a new reg.

At present, a new Passat Highline (Elegance) is 41k.

Look up a 191 Passat Highline, you’d probably get one for 29/30k if you’re lucky.

Taking margins into account even getting 11k off someone for 1 year it wouldn’t make sense.

That said a 3 year change could be done for maybe 18k.

Honestly the day of the “cash” buyer trading up 2/3 year’s on that kinda stuff is long gone.

Polos maybe, but that’s it.

Mortgage shouldn’t matter whether it’s PCP or HP if you’re borrowing the same amount, they’re the same thing anyway.

The first part of your post is very confusing.

If you tell us what you’re buying it might help.

mailspaining wrote: »

There's alot of knowledge and info in this thread so any thoughts on this would be welcome if you've a chance

One thing I'm looking at is Corolla Luna sport - sticker price €31,165. Have c. €5,000 deposit. Was looking at HP but chat with dealer makes me think PCP @ 3.9% might make more sense. I presume I can still negotiate the sticker price down?

Alternative might be HP or PCP on a 201 demo which has a €28,000 sticker price. I understand only offer PCP on demos.

So would I be better off with PCP on a new car or demo overall do you think?

Spoke to bank about mortgage before when I was paying €300 a month in a HP repayments, presume they don't car if it's HP or PCP once I show I can afford that amount per month?

The thing I like to do personally is to look at car/cars I am interested in, then when sitting down, I would ask then to print out in detail what they offer me with a break down of deposit, monthly payments, apr values, balloon payment. So in your case, I would ask for it on both cars. Its not hard for dealer to do it. Then take it it with you, go to a nice pub/cafe during the day, sit down and go through numbers without any pressure.
You can do maths on how much car will cost you in total. Important number to pay attention is not monthly payments, but over all cost. Newer car can have lower Apr or better deal, which will make new car same price or even cheaper in total.
When looking at hp vs pcp, you need to do a bit more thinking on what suits you better. If you don't plan on changing car in next 5 years and want straight forward traditional finance, then hp might suit you, just keep in mind, hp finance has usually bigger apr.
Pcp is handy if you not sure what you will do in 3 years, you might get an itch to change, or you will just keep the car, you will get better apr in general on new car with pcp. Pcp will have lower payments, which means you can open savings account and throw a few quid there each week for the next 3 years. When time comes, you can use that money to pay off car and own it ( at very least, you will have a good part of ballon saved up, and will need to refinance just a few grand ) or use that money for next cars deposit to keep same payments etc.

Whatever you do, don't make decision in front of salesman. Get your numbers printed out and have a good look at them at your own pace.

ShadowHearth wrote: »

So my turn to give my experience with pcp.

Bought brand new Seat ibiza cupra 171 for 24500eu in 2017, end of May.

3000eu scrapage for my 04 Alfa GT ( was worth less then a grand at best )
3000eu cash added
Deposit (6k eu)
Monthly 272eu
Balloon 8600 ish.
0% apr.

Plan was completely pay off car in 3 years, so as soon as I got the car I made a savings account and started putting 50eu a week, later I got wage increase and started putting 70eu instead.
Half way in got an itch to change to something with 4 doors as daughter started to get bigger. So plan was to get Leon cupra next. It was planned for March - April window of this year lol. We all know what happened.
So when locked down kicked in, Hotel I worked in shut down and 350eu became my income. By that time I had 10k eu in that pcp saving account, so stopped putting money there. Decided to pay off my car when time comes, then see later this year how's work situation and then start looking.

Today was the day VW Bank took last 8.6k payment and I officially own my car and its fully payed off. Had zero stress and was fully prepared for worst case scenario. Which ironically happened.
Already back to work since Monday too. So all back on track.

In the end, whats my opinion of pcp? Well, I fecking love it. Its my favourite way of buying cars now and if I can ill buy my next one on pcp again. It gives you a lot of freedom and options, if you undecided about next car or if you want to keep it or not.

It sounds like you fully understood what you were entering into and made the best use of the 0% interest. I have had a similar experience and am now on my 3rd PCP car. If at any stage I wasnt happy with a deal I was getting at trade in, I would have paid the balance owed and walked away with my car.

rustynutz wrote: »

It sounds like you fully understood what you were entering into and made the best use of the 0% interest. I have had a similar experience and am now on my 3rd PCP car. If at any stage I wasnt happy with a deal I was getting at trade in, I would have paid the balance owed and walked away with my car.

If there would be a car I want and I can afford, I would be on pcp again, instead of paying off balloon.
The thing is, i always advice to people who go on pcp to make that savings account and put away at least some money. Those savings put you in waaay better position in 3 years time. If you not happy with low ball trade in you getting, you can just pay it off and walk away. You are not at mercy of dealers and hoping they will cut you a better deal.

I still believe in the half value over 3 years unless you do something stupid like buy an end of life model or something like that.

Gael23 wrote: »

What I see as the biggest disadvantage of PCP is if you want or need trout before the end of the 3 years, that seems a little difficult to do.

That could be said for buying a new car in general, funding it through any type of loan.

DaveyDave wrote: »

But with a credit union loan or bank loan at least you OWN the car and can magically just get rid of it and clear your loan just like that without any issues selling and with PCP you're stuck rolling into new cars every 3 years and in the dealer's pocket with a lifetime if debt you can't pay off...

Have you read any of the thread?

Whatever way you look it's finance at a cost to purchase a heavily depreciating asset. Brand new bog standard cars/crossovers Tuscon, Qashqais etc etc

Lol okay

Never mind the 50 percent depreciation after 3 years.. Which is c.15k but yes the brochure says "0 percent finance" and a signing up bonus

DaveyDave wrote: »

What's the alternative?

Are you seriously asking that question?