Car buying adice needed - how to haggle for better PCP deal

[Jennings]

Good & knowledgeable people of the GF, I turn to you for help. There is no point going to a car forum when you need street wisdom. That is when the GF is THE place! So...

 

How do you haggle for a better PCP deal on a family car?

 

When buying a used car it is easy - either get more for my old car knock a few grand off their asking price.

 

With a new car on PCP it seems a little more complicated. There seem to be more variables - APR, customer deposit, dealer deposit, guaranteed-final-value etc etc.

 

To me, it's all about the economics. I don't want fancy shit, like bleeping if there is a car behind - I am prepared to use my mirrors in such situations. I just want to get the costs down.

 

Any advice will be well received - just posting the haggling scene off Life of Brian will not be considered 'help' - you know who you are.

[Jennings]

Oh no. I spelled advice wrong in the title...this isn't going to end well.

[General Dryness]

Make your mind up, are you buying some PCP, or a car? To be fair, most things are quite complicated when you're on PCP. Probably best to leave the celebrating until after you've concluded the sale.

 

I have no real advice to offer.

[Anny Road]

[Oh Buoy]

Start off at 1p. 

 

And if he says no, start working your way up to £1. 

[mattyq]

I don't even know what PCP means

Thought it was a drug of some sort

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

Steal a car. Stealing makes everything cheaper.

[rubble-rouser]

I don't even know what PCP means

Thought it was a drug of some sort

PCP doesn't make people any stronger than they are normally, but it does keep them from feeling the pain associated with overworked muscles and bones subjected to extreme stress. This is how PCP users have occasionally broken out of handcuffs. Many people could do so, but not without causing themselves extreme pain and possible wrist fractures. PCP users do not feel the pain associated with these until they have recovered from the effects of the drug.

PCP also tends to make people extraordinarily sensitive to light and sound stimuli, hallucinatory, and psychotic. They will see dragons, demons, all sorts of things that aren't there. A PCP user might sit by himself , staring off into space, and seem very peaceful and tranquil.

 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-terrifying-signs-that-somebody-is-high-on-angel-dust-2014-5#ixzz3jAac88uf

[Champ]

*pops head round door to see if any sensible advice has been offered. See nothing. Closes door quietly*

 

Well, it was always the risk, Jennings

[Jennings]

*pops head round door to see if any sensible advice has been offered. See nothing. Closes door quietly*

 

Well, it was always the risk, Jennings

Good point, Champ. Sometimes I prefer the GF advice. It allows a break from reality...still haven't got a car yet tho.

[Champ]

I may be in line for an upgrade shortly so was looking forward to some sound manly advice

[Rico1304]

Kick the tyres before making any vehicular purchase

[Jennings]

I may be in line for an upgrade shortly so was looking forward to some sound manly advice

You say manly...but I think the negotiations can be done by honeys too. Now as you know I am a proper bloke, but I see my job as...chopping wood, fixing engines and rugby tackling burglars.

[mars]

https://www.carwow.co.uk/

 

Just type in what you want and dealers make offers. You have  to know exactly what you want (accessories, etc) and be prepared to drive some way to collect your new car depending on how much you want to save. I got my car for £2000 less than the local garage offered (and that was after haggling them down). Despite my skepticism, I have to admit I was impressed with how simple it was (and got a nice thank you and a £20 amazon gift voucher, which they didn't have to do). And "No", I do not work for carwow.

 

I would go on a forum for the make and model of car you want - often the forumites know where to get the best deals.

[Lario]

It's a very vague question to answer.

 

What kind of car is it?

How much are you spending?

How much deposit?

etc.

 

The thing about PCP is, they give you a minimum value for the car in 3 year's time. But it's only if they value the car at more than that figure at trade in time do you get to use that as deposit. At that stage, they have you by the balls as you've already shelled out on a deposit and 36 months of repayments.

 

Cash is king, so if you can get a loan and walk in with a big wad of fifties, you'll get the best deal.

[Furmedge]

You say manly...but I think the negotiations can be done by honeys too. Now as you know I am a proper bloke, but I see my job as...chopping wood, fixing engines and rugby tackling burglars.

Jennings, fear not as I am a former motor finance underwriter and know all about this stuff. You'll have to wait a few minutes though whilst I read through your first post again.

[Elite]

Offer less than they say if they don't accept, walk away and they will very likely phone you stating they have "had a word with the manager" or some other bullshit and will accept the offer. Providing your offer Isn't something ridiculous.

[Furmedge]

Good & knowledgeable people of the GF, I turn to you for help. There is no point going to a car forum when you need street wisdom. That is when the GF is THE place! So...

 

........

 

 

 

How do you haggle for a better PCP deal on a family car?

***Well this is the right time of year to do it.  Dealers have targets and August is one of the busiest target months (along with February).  They will have the standard new car target that they have each month but on top of that the new reg comes out in September and they'll want to have cars ready to go on the 1st, so want to knock the deals out now.  This gives you a bit of leeway, so if you need your car now go out and take a look round, but if you're willing to wait a couple of weeks and wait for them to offer you a better deal then what I would say is go down, take a look at a car, umm and arr about it, give them your number and wait for it to start ringing because once they have your details they won't stop for a couple of weeks trying to get you back in and offer you better deals, in the hope you help them hit their target.***

 

When buying a used car it is easy - either get more for my old car knock a few grand off their asking price.

 

With a new car on PCP it seems a little more complicated. There seem to be more variables - APR, customer deposit, dealer deposit, guaranteed-final-value etc etc

***Deposit, unless you're going to keep the car long term, keep it low.  You have the option to hand the car back when the initial period is over, so if you fancy changing your car every 2-3 years then try to keep the deposit low otherwise you'd have paid a big deposit up front and handed the car back with nothing to use for your next deposit.  It's known as equity burn and it's quite popular amongst some dealers so you borrow more next time.  The problem with putting a big deposit in is that all it will do is reduce the monthly payments but the final 'balloon' payment will stay around the same regardless how much you're putting in up front.

 

APR - If the dealer tells you it's set by the finance house, then it's bollocks (unless the dealer and the finance house are the same i.e Vauxhall & BMW do their own).  The more APR they charge, the more commission they earn when they go to someone else (i.e going to Black Horse Finance).  Yes, they have a minimum APR they're have to charge but it's usually around 4.5%-5.5%.  If they offer anything less than 8% I'd be happy to go ahead with a deal.  Unfortunately you can't go to a bank for a loan when it's PCP so the advantage is with the car dealer.

 

Guaranteed Final Value - This is usually calculated on the mileage you agree not to exceed.  They will forecast it's worth when the initial term is over and then take 85%-90% of that to guarantee that.  The beauty of it is if the arse falls out of the market and the car is worth less than they forecasted you can just hand it back, hence why you should try to offer a low deposit.***

 

To me, it's all about the economics. I don't want fancy shit, like bleeping if there is a car behind - I am prepared to use my mirrors in such situations. I just want to get the costs down. -

***To lower the cost then you'll need to agree to a lower annual mileage, but a lot of the dealers now work out the offers based on 5000-6000 miles per annum, which is fuck all so when they do make an offer make sure the mileage fits within your budget or you could be left with a decent payment at the end of the initial term if you decide to hand it back, it's usually 6p-12p per excess mile depending on car, engine size etc.  If you decide to keep the car (so pay the final amount in full or refinance it) then the excess mileage charge doesn't come into play.***

 

Any advice will be well received - just posting the haggling scene off Life of Brian will not be considered 'help' - you know who you are.

***In terms of the car, then if it's just something that fits the family in, take a look at the usual suspects and play the dealers against each other.  Peoples, Lookers, Arnold Clark etc are all fighting for business so have a look at what they're offering.***

 

 

Added my comments to your orignal post in bold above, or if you're reading on tapatalk I've added *** around my comments.  Anything else I can help with, give me a shout.

[Jennings]

Great reply mate....really appreciate it. Got an offer today on a car. Very close to agreeing to it...but just feel that £1000 deposit is too much...that's my savings. Hoped I could encourage him to pay some towards it.

 

I'll wait to see if he calls...I didn't test drive...so he may think I am not interested....whereas I think we are very close to a deal really.

[General Dryness]

Good point, Champ. Sometimes I prefer the GF advice. It allows a break from reality...still haven't got a car yet tho.

 

Did you get sorted for PCP?

[Dr Nowt]

Can get you some ketamine.

 

Final offer.

[RJ Fan club]

 

It wasn't heroin, it was angel dust, PCP!