Which EV would you get?

[Jameshow]

Yet people can afford to pay PCP, the far more expensive option.

If you cant afford the chunk get a Tesco loan and do it that way, likely one of the lower bank rates.

But people don't because unlike me they do want a new car every three years. Theyre happy to spend money they haven't got on a vehicle they cant afford to impress people they've never met. Theyre eejuts.

But thats fine really. If people arent prepared to take the strategic view of their finances and are happy to spend unnecessary sums every month, year upon years, over many decades, that's absolutely up to them. Its entirely their business. But dont expect me to care when they bleat about stuff like not being able to afford the deposit on a house, or being skint again a week after pay day, etc.

PCP is the crack,cocaine of finance, once youre in it becomes financially difficult to get out, and the whole cycle perpetuates.

People take a very short term, not even tactical view of their finances. Most things people buy today will not be in their possession in 5 years time, but theyre beggaring themselves to acquire it all. If they were sensible then by the time theyre my age they will be able to afford to drop 50k on a car, boat, call girls, etc, but instead they'll be moaning about having ti work into their 70s to pay for it all.

Life choices.

People don't want the hassle of MOT tyres, brakes clutches etc stuff that won't tend to go wrong within 3 years ..

 

[Drago]

People don't want the hassle of MOT tyres, brakes clutches etc stuff that won't tend to go wrong within 3 years ..

Yet on a PCP theyre still paying for serivcng and tyees. Even worse, theyre paying for all that on a car they dont even own!

Trust me, theyll find working in to their 70s a lot more hassle than booking an appointment at Krap Fit for a clutch. Picking up a phone and then driving the vehicle there at the appointed time is a morning gone, al lot less hassle than an edtra 15 years or 2 decades of being a wage slave.

There is no argument that bears scrutiny by which any of this is less expensive or less hassle over the long term.

 

[Buck]

After much head scratching we went for PCP for funding the Renault 4. The main reasons were we were unsure about whether an ev would suit us (it does !), what to look out for in terms of features and whether tech changes over three years could cause significant depreciation. Next time around I will be more prepared to pay cash as we have done with all our cars in the past.

We took the R4 out in the wild last week on a tour of Scotland. It’s a brilliant car, perfect size for us and very nice to drive. Getting used to charging away from home was another learning experience but it soon became easy to build into our days.

It’s great once you get used to the different way of fuelling and running an EV isn’t it?


If you plan on keeping the car, ask for a settlement figure.

It will very likely be much cheaper than the monthly payments remaining and the final payment and then you will own the car outright with no debt to service.

If you decide to change the car in the future, all options are open to you without having to settle finance at that point or realise you have little to no money to trade in etc.

 

[Buck]

People don't want the hassle of MOT tyres, brakes clutches etc stuff that won't tend to go wrong within 3 years ..

That’s an expensive luxury - you still pay for it but in a different way.

At least EVs don’t have clutches and brake wear is negligible - just to keep on top of the tyres and fluid changes.

 

[Jameshow]

Yet on a PCP theyre still paying for serivcng and tyees. Even worse, theyre paying for all that on a car they dont even own!

Trust me, theyll find working in to their 70s a lot more hassle than booking an appointment at Krap Fit for a clutch. Picking up a phone and then driving the vehicle there at the appointed time is a morning gone, al lot less hassle than an edtra 15 years or 2 decades of being a wage slave.

There is no argument that bears scrutiny by which any of this is less expensive or less hassle over the long term.

I agree as I sit in a £1k mini🤣

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Sorry to spoil the anti-PCP rhetoric.

We use a PCP to fund our car.

We are neither poor (far from), nor are we desperate to have a shiny new toy on the drive and are certainly not dumb.

Our next PCP once again has an interest rate that is lower than our overall investment return rate. Factoring depreciation into the argument for PCP vs cash purchase the outcome is more or less even.

Re shiny new car beyond their cash purchasing capability may apply to some people (and so what if it does?) but for us we buy at a price point way below that which we could afford with cash. We can easily put a Porsche or Range Rover on the drive for cash and without breaking sweat. But, we neither need nor desire either. We just 'buy' what we need, a safe, comfy, reliable car that is easy to live with - VW Polo this time around.

We are not bothered that technically we do not own a car on a PCP. It is simply a 'thing' that fulfills our transport needs at a price that we can easily afford without leaving us in penury.

We have plenty of friends who do the same, too.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Re Polo ID.

We did explore this option but went for the ICE option instead.

The software architecture is all new on the ID and we decided to let that be debugged before considering the option.

Ditto, likely residual values are a total unknown and the sales guy was blank on the matter, too. Wasn't very confidence inspiring.

We will see how things are transpiring a couple of years down the track.

Other than the above it would be an ideal car for us at what is projected to be a sharp price point.

 

[geocycle]

It’s great once you get used to the different way of fuelling and running an EV isn’t it?


If you plan on keeping the car, ask for a settlement figure.

It will very likely be much cheaper than the monthly payments remaining and the final payment and then you will own the car outright with no debt to service.

If you decide to change the car in the future, all options are open to you without having to settle finance at that point or realise you have little to no money to trade in etc.

The charging while on holiday was an interesting experience and one I now understand much better. The ideal is to plug it in for a long relatively cheap charge in a car park while you stroll down the beach, which we did at St Cyrus. If that doesn’t work a relatively expensive 30 min burst from one of higher power systems near major roads filled it up while we bought tea in Lidl. The number of suppliers and ways of paying is a bit baffling. We did use one of the motorway services which was almost too quick, it charged in 15 mins and not long enough for a coffee!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Sorry to spoil the anti-PCP rhetoric.

We use a PCP to fund our car.

We are neither poor (far from), nor are we desperate to have a shiny new toy on the drive and are certainly not dumb.

Our next PCP once again has an interest rate that is lower than our overall investment return rate. Factoring depreciation into the argument for PCP vs cash purchase the outcome is more or less even.

Re shiny new car beyond their cash purchasing capability may apply to some people (and so what if it does?) but for us we buy at a price point way below that which we could afford with cash. We can easily put a Porsche or Range Rover on the drive for cash and without breaking sweat. But, we neither need nor desire either. We just 'buy' what we need, a safe, comfy, reliable car that is easy to live with - VW Polo this time around.

We are not bothered that technically we do not own a car on a PCP. It is simply a 'thing' that fulfils our transport needs at a price that we can easily afford without leaving us in penury.

We have plenty of friends who do the same, too.

Yes, exactly this. Someone will take our Tesla away at the end of the lease (at least I hope they do, but that's another story...) and someone else will bring something different, which may be a purchase, or PCP, or lease. Exactly which depends on what the rates are and what we fancy at that time.

 

[ivegotabike]

Having the use of a brand new car every few years is not (and will never be) cheap motoring.

But, if that is what someone wants to do, there is nothing wrong with comparing the different ways of funding it.

In many cases, an outright purchase of the vehicle can be the best value option.

In other cases, there are PCP deals and lease deals that are better value.

It varies continuously based on all sorts of factors.

I recall a deal on a car that was offered only on 75 in stock cars that were a colour that simply wasn't selling. The UK part of the global manufacturer wanted them gone and the incentives it offered on them, through its in house finance provider, were big enough that they were all gone on day 1 of the offer, when none had gone in the previous 180 days.

For someone with no interest in the colour of their car, that was a great deal. It wasn't a deal that someone who needed to think about it, go to a dealership to have a test drive and see if the boot was big enough for their dog basket and pram to fit in could take advantage of though, because by the time they had done all that, the cars were all gone.

 

[geocycle]

Although I went for PCP for the R4 for the reasons in the previous post, it’s not an easy one. We have previously kept cars for 5-10 years which sits better with me in terms of sustainability. I may well keep it after three years although it would be a good resale option for someone. I also think it encourages folk to go for the top end models because the extra per month seems very small. We didn’t have much choice on model as the dealer couldn’t source a more basic version and an order would have taken 6 months plus, which wasn’t possible given the state of our Ford.

 

[Drago]

Sorry to spoil the anti-PCP rhetoric.

We use a PCP to fund our car.

We are neither poor (far from), nor are we desperate to have a shiny new toy on the drive and are certainly not dumb.

Depreciation is only an issue if you're ever planning to sell.

If you intend to keep it until the wheels fall off and nature reclaims it, its not a factor whatsoever. If the cash value of the asset in time is a condern then buying cars is the wrong game entirely.

And in a PCP you need to factor that depreciation across 5 or 6 vehicles over 3 years each to add up to the lifespan of a properly maintained car you simply bought on way one, not merely the one.

I wouldnt suggest you're dumb, that would be awfully rude and yoyre a nice chap! Nevertheless, financially that its inarguably the modt expensive means overall of having a vehicle.still, its a free country, if you're aware of all that then thats absolutely your choice, but justifying it with maths judt doesnt work.

Remember. The shiniest of cars is grubby at 6 months old. If shiny is what you desire than buy a bucket and sponge. My 22 year old C70 would put most month old cars to shame for cleanliness and presentation.