S3 PCP querie

[AndyMacD]

Hi

Has anyone got any experience of Audi's PCP deals? Got a new S3 a few months ago on PCP. Never had a new car before, always bought outright (with bank loan) and never done PCP before. The deal is over 4 years but I've been told by a few people that the dealership will get in touch well before the end of the term to offer me a new car for the roughly the same monthly payments. So they get a still quite new car to sellsecond hand and I keep paying the same but get a fresh S3..... Seems like win/win.....

Does this actually happen or do Audi prefer to let the deal run to it's conclusion so I'll have to hope the car is worth more than the GFV in order to have my next deposit?

Any tales/experience/advice appreciated!

Thanks

AndyMac

 

[NATOuk]

It depends, but the salesman I spoke to said that they get notified from time to time when a customer is at a favourable financial position (ie, the car value vs finance outstanding is in a good place to make changing the car a possibility).

They'll then contact the customer to see if they are interested in changing the car.

Likewise, if you are interested in changing the car but they haven't contacted you, they can still work out whether you're in positive or negative equity and work out a deal to allow you to change if possible.

At the end of the day Audi want to sell new cars, the dealer wants to sell new AND used cars so they're happy if people change before the end of the PCP term. It all depends really on what car you have and how it depreciates in relation to your finance outstanding as you keep making monthly payments.

 

[vacant]

Just bear in mind that any deposit is going towards a reduction in your monthly amount, so you would need a similar deposit at the point you change. Don't put a huge deposit in, and expect to change next time without handing any deposit over.

I've seen countless people not realise that, and unable to understand why their payment is going up on the next car.

 

[NATOuk]

Just bear in mind that any deposit is going towards a reduction in your monthly amount, so you would need a similar deposit at the point you change. Don't put a huge deposit in, and expect to change next time without handing any deposit over.

I've seen countless people not realise that, and unable to understand why their payment is going up on the next car.

I have heard of people being called by the dealer and offered an identical model for the same monthly payments (ie, just restart a new PCP term), these would likely be people who haven't put a significant deposit on their original car? Otherwise they'd still need to put in a chunky deposit to get the payments down to what they're paying already?

 

[vacant]

Yes, pretty much. If you've put a large deposit in you finance less, but are paying less off each month, meaning that over the term the person who put no deposit in ends up owing the same at the end.

So, if someone put £0 deposit in, and is paying £500 per month, then (asuming deals/discounts are the same) as soon as that person reaches the point where their car is worth what they owe as a trade in, they can change.

The person who puts £7,500 in and is paying £300 (total made up figures) will just never be in a position where they will have enough equity to change without putting more money in.

Of course, if the Dealer offers a big discount, or the car holds its value particulary well, the interest rate drops, the GMFV increases on the new car etc etc then it may sometimes work out that someone who put £1-3k in changes without finding money, but it can of course go the other way too.

 

[NATOuk]

I think the lesson here is if you are likely to want to change your car mid-term then you really don't want to be putting in a hefty deposit.

I always put the bare minimum in up-front and I've changed twice now while only half way through each 4 year PCP term, so that makes sense.

 

[jaypers777]

If you have a car with a lot of equity (owned outright) and wanted to take out a PCP deal, does the dealer just give you a cheque?

 

[AndyMacD]

Thanks guys, appreciate your answers. I think I have messed up by putting down too large a deposit... Vacant, your made up figures are strangely accurate - I put in £7,400 and pay £286 a month over 48 months.... So I guess to change vehicle and keep a similar monthly payment, I'd need to find more deposit? Not good, as I don't have it. I was hoping I was driving my next deposit and could just keep getting new cars..... pretty naive.

jaypers777 - I traded in a paid off jaguar xfs, used £7,400 as the deposit on the s3 and got the rest back as a balance transfer from the dealership.

 

[DrEskimo]

When I was looking at potentially going the PCP route I asked the dealer to give me a valuation of the car I was going to buy, but in three years time (do 10k a year so a 2012 S3 with 30k on the clock). I then used that valuation as an indication of how much deposit to put down to get roughly the same amount back in equity at the end. Unfortunately the monthlies were too high and I wasn't prepared to put more down so walked.

I was looking at the A5 as well, and because of the new models coming out you can get some stupid discounts. Problem is, would you get the same discount in 3yrs time?

Tempted by the s3 saloon still though..!

 

[NATOuk]

Best thing I've found is to use Audi's PCP Finance Calculator to work out what the monthlies are for a given car.

Ie, if you're on a PCP deal right now and you owe roughly what the car is worth then you'll be able to switch to a new car for the same figures as the calculator shows (obviously less if you can haggle a discount with the dealer on the car, or more if you add options to the car)

You can use Audi's Car valuation tool (click the red 'value your car' button) to get an idea of what your dealer will offer you so you can do some calculations in advance to work out whether you're in a good position to change or not.

 

[Jassyo06]

Yeah but with the lowest deposit say £2,500 on a very high specced S3 say £40k your monthly payments are going to be megabucks in the region of £600/month.

 

[DrEskimo]

Yeah but with the lowest deposit say £2,500 on a very high specced S3 say £40k your monthly payments are going to be megabucks in the region of £600/month.

I think that's was when I realised I can't afford/don't want to spend that much money on a car at this time in my life!

When you consider you're paying upwards of £300 per month and potentially needing to find an additional £2k every renewal, you're ending up spending nearly £5k a year on just renting (I say renting since I'm assuming you're given the car back at the end of each agreement) the car...all a bit bonkers really....

Probably still do it at some point mind....

 

[Jassyo06]

I think that's was when I realised I can't afford/don't want to spend that much money on a car at this time in my life!

When you consider you're paying upwards of £300 per month and potentially needing to find an additional £2k every renewal, you're ending up spending nearly £5k a year on just renting (I say renting since I'm assuming you're given the car back at the end of each agreement) the car...all a bit bonkers really....

Probably still do it at some point mind....

Hi mate my monthly's are £389 just checked the other day,l can easily sleep at night,but the next time l change for another Audi in say 2 years time, l will up it for a different car.........RS3 Saloon??....Bucket list.....lol

 

[DrEskimo]

Hi mate my monthly's are £389 just checked the other day,l can easily sleep at night,but the next time l change for another Audi in say 2 years time, l will up it for a different car.........RS3 Saloon??....Bucket list.....lol

Haha that's the problem isn't it! All sense and sensibility gets thrown out the window as soon as you walk into the dealership...!

For the sake of my bank balance, I sincerely hope they never make a RS3 Saloon!!

 

[Jassyo06]

Haha that's the problem isn't it! All sense and sensibility gets thrown out the window as soon as you walk into the dealership...!

For the sake of my bank balance, I sincerely hope they never make a RS3 Saloon!!

Lol............ fingers Crossed,but its a must for Audi, considering Beemer have the 4 door M3 yukkkk

 

[AndyMacD]

or what about a golf r400?

 

[Jassyo06]

or what about a golf r400?

No mate, l want something Classy

 

[martin_s3]

I went to audi but didn't find them very helpful so decided not to buy a car from them then a few days later came across my 1 it was a year old with 6k miles on it in immaculate condition quite basic spec i suppose (s-tronic, comfort pack, black pack, sat nav sd etc) and was giving me a good price for my trade in (8p s3) it was 30k so i put down 5k and am £400 a month on a 4 year deal at the time i thought it was quite a good deal but now i'm thinking i should maybe have just dealt with audi and got a new car with similar spec for that price am i right in thinking this? not that it matters now as i cant do nothing about it but just interested to find out

 

[vacant]

Possibly, but nearly new starts to make more sense if there are lots of options you like, so I wouldn't worry about it.
I ended up buying a second hand S3 too cos it had all of options I couldn't live without.

 

[martin_s3]

Yeah know what u mean mate I think if I ordered new I would of got carried away with the options! only thing I'm disappointed it doesn't have is b&o as it just has basic sound system but hey ho!

 

[DrEskimo]

I went to audi but didn't find them very helpful so decided not to buy a car from them then a few days later came across my 1 it was a year old with 6k miles on it in immaculate condition quite basic spec i suppose (s-tronic, comfort pack, black pack, sat nav sd etc) and was giving me a good price for my trade in (8p s3) it was 30k so i put down 5k and am £400 a month on a 4 year deal at the time i thought it was quite a good deal but now i'm thinking i should maybe have just dealt with audi and got a new car with similar spec for that price am i right in thinking this? not that it matters now as i cant do nothing about it but just interested to find out

Depends what kind of discount you could of got on a new S3.

For example, on a 2.0TFSI Quattro s tronic, Black edition A5, basically fully loaded at £40k, I managed to get £7500 discount through carwow. With £4k down over a 4yr deal it was £370 per month.

That meant a similar price to a nearly new car, but got the low APR having the finance on a new car. If those sort of discounts don't exist on a new S3 then you've probably done alright (only looked at A5 and S3 saloon on carwow. S3 saloon was too new so didn't get much off that).

 

[NickyF]

There's nothing wrong with big deposits whether you plan to change mid term or not. If you keep the car until the end of the term you are in the same boat as someone who put down nothing, but you paid less than they did to get there as you only pay interest on what you borrowed (including the final payment). You could leave the money in the bank instead or invest it but you'd have to get more than 7ish % return which is far from guaranteed and would probably take some work/effort.

If you want to change car mid term it's fine, the settlement figure will be lower than if you'd put nothing down, meaning that the payments on your next car will be lower than they would have been if you'd put nothing down on the first. Maybe not as low, but that depends on all sorts of factors.

The car companies don't want you to put down big deposits as they make less money. If you look at carwow or similar the price is higher for cash only deals.

I put down £12k and pay £209 a month for 36 months. £34k S3 (RRP £38.5k). I'll end up paying £37k all in, If I'd have financed the lot in would be about £40k.

 

[Trev241]

There's nothing wrong with big deposits whether you plan to change mid term or not. If you keep the car until the end of the term you are in the same boat as someone who put down nothing, but you paid less than they did to get there as you only pay interest on what you borrowed (including the final payment). You could leave the money in the bank instead or invest it but you'd have to get more than 7ish % return which is far from guaranteed and would probably take some work/effort.

If you want to change car mid term it's fine, the settlement figure will be lower than if you'd put nothing down, meaning that the payments on your next car will be lower than they would have been if you'd put nothing down on the first. Maybe not as low, but that depends on all sorts of factors.

The car companies don't want you to put down big deposits as they make less money. If you look at carwow or similar the price is higher for cash only deals.

I put down £12k and pay £209 a month for 36 months. £34k S3 (RRP £38.5k). I'll end up paying £37k all in, If I'd have financed the lot in would be about £40k.

With these figures you must have a high final payment, £17 or £18k.

 

[NickyF]

You're right, £17,500 or close to that. GFVs should all be very similar though. They may vary over time, but they don't take options into consideration, just length of term (mine is 36 months) and mileage (I think I'm on 10k miles pa). I've done 14k in 10 months mind, but there's no way I'll hand the car back so it doesn't really matter.

 

[S32B]

I told him I wanted to pay no more than £400 per month on a 48 month PCP. He told me to put £1000 in and that came out at £381 per month, then said you will be changing at 2 years if not before on those figures!

 

[Jassyo06]

l paid £7k deposit £389/month the GFV is £18k as you say most GFV's will be the same.....over 4 years.Swings & roundabouts really,my sons says l should be able to change 2 years into the deal for a RS3 Hatch/Saloon with a similar deposit.

 

[NATOuk]

My GFV is around the same too, something makes me think that's quite low? I imagine there might be quite a bit of positive equity after 4 years if they're basing it on a GFV of £18k

 

[Jassyo06]

My GFV is around the same too, something makes me think that's quite low? I imagine there might be quite a bit of positive equity after 4 years if they're basing it on a GFV of £18k

Agreed mate,my son is a Audi sale exec,options only help them sell the car faster

 

[S32B]

Agreed mate,my son is a Audi sale exec,options only help them sell the car faster

Yeah but I bet when they look at the CAP price they don't add much on for all the options you paid for!

 

[Schuey]

You're right, £17,500 or close to that. GFVs should all be very similar though. They may vary over time, but they don't take options into consideration, just length of term (mine is 36 months) and mileage (I think I'm on 10k miles pa). I've done 14k in 10 months mind, but there's no way I'll hand the car back so it doesn't really matter.

GFV or final payment can be altered though by paying in more deposit. ( Obviously doesn't impact the actual value of the car)

For me, I prefer a lower monthly payment so I put in a 50% deposit, that way I always hold strong equity from day 1

 

[DrEskimo]

Yeah but I bet when they look at the CAP price they don't add much on for all the options you paid for!

You know they will when they stick on the forecourt as approved used though!

 

[NickyF]

As far as I'm aware deposit has no impact on GFV

 

[NickyF]

I'm still not with you. I agree with your definition of GFV but I'd have the same GFV of £17.5 K if I put down £12k or £1k. I suspect we're at cross purposes!

 

[Simonb1975]

Lost me too. The GFV shouldn't be affected by the deposit in any way

 

[Foxtrot_Oscar]

GFV is worked out on two factors. List price (without options) and mileage. Deposit amount has no effect.

*Sales Managers have some movement with GFV figures to tailor a deal, but this has nothing to do with any deposit.

 

[DrEskimo]

GFV is worked out on two factors. List price (without options) and mileage. Deposit amount has no effect.

*Sales Managers have some movement with GFV figures to tailor a deal, but this has nothing to do with any deposit.

+1

 

[Jassyo06]

We all know we lose lose,at the end of the day we still jump into the loop again

 

[NATOuk]

You know they will when they stick on the forecourt as approved used though!

This is why I'm not looking up what they're planning to sell the A4 I just traded in today, it would probably depress me...

 

[DrEskimo]

This is why I'm not looking up what they're planning to sell the A4 I just traded in today, it would probably depress me...

Sounds wise...!

If I ever did go the PCP route, I would try and see if I could find a buyer that wouldn't mind paying off the finance prior to buying it. Could at least get a bit more money back for it. I would imagine doing this when buying a used private car is becoming more common given the increase in PCP, but it does add another layer of complexity to what already is a horrible and paranoid process....

 

[buz]

My previous S3 was my first............and last PCP deal.

They are a fantastic way for people to get into new cars that they can't afford to purchase outright and if you're happy to be in a cycle of constantly paying a monthly figure then it works very well. Putting in a large deposit is fine for getting lower monthlys but be prepared to take a massive hit in that equity within the first 2 years! The equity only starts rebuilding to a worthy amount in the latter stages of the PCP term. Then at renewal time you'll have to stump up a similar amount of deposit as before to keep payments similar, yes part of that deposit will hopefully be equity from the previous deal but it's still going to be a few grand.
I ended up getting a bank loan to pay off the finance and then sold it privately for a considerable amount more than the px price so fortunately I didn't too bad and would recommend this to claw back more of your deposit.
Yes I was prepared to enter another PCP as I was blinded by the draw of a new S3 but circumstances changed for me and I'm now back to the good old fashioned way of owning my car.

I'm not knocking PCPs or people who have them but one word of advice would be to actually sit down and work out how much they actually cost over the whole term with monthlys/depreciation etc and realise it's a hell of a lot to basically 'rent' a car.

Now I don't want to ruin another thread with the G word but hell I love my R32 and it's even got extended mono pur in the rear