Which car?

Buchanan0204

Buchanan0204

Buchanan0204

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Joined
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Scotland
Well I have a dilemma!

I'm intending to buy a focus ST. Im stuck between two and unsure what to do.

PCP deal on a 59 plate, 16000 miles

£247 per month for 48 months, £4k final settlement fee.

Or...

£7500 private sale, (friend of my dad)

07 plate, 40k miles. Mountuned.

I would take out a £9000 loan over 3 years and pay around £700 in interest.

The thing is... Guaranteed in two years I'll want to change cars. So how much are these going to depreciate? If I sold both in two years, would I be at a loss, breaking even or profiting from the cars?

Hope I've made this clear and thanks for any advice.

P.S I have no intention of keeping the PCP car for the 4 years. I'm led to believe once half way through I can sell it, give it back etc.
 
One is half the price.

One won't be tied to any kind of finance deal.

So it's quite obvious which is the best choice if you want rid in 2 years.

You will never profit on a car, don't forget you have to run it, not just pay for it...
 
I would take the latter purely because it is £7k cheaper to your pocket and the bulk of the depreciation has been done.

If you sell it the 07 plate one in 2 years for £5k (I realise i am guessing), you lost £4k plus running cost

If you sell the 09 plate one in 2 years for £7k (same age as the 07 plate one now), you've lost £9k plus running cost.

It is probably way wrong as someone will no doubt point out but to me it seems like £5k difference.
 
Buy the car off your Dad's friend.

Also, why the hell are you getting a £9000 loan for a £7500 car?
Do you literally not have a single penny towards the car plus the insurance costs?
This rings alarm bells as if the above is true then I have no idea how you will afford to run it.
 
Buchanan0204 said:
Well I have a dilemma!

I'm intending to buy a focus ST. Im stuck between two and unsure what to do.

PCP deal on a 59 plate, 16000 miles

£247 per month for 48 months, £4k final settle.
Click to expand...

Are you absolutely off your rocker!!? Have you worked out the total cost of that "deal"

Got to be honest you sound like the kind if person who shouldn't be taking a loan out for anything - you're talking about taking a 9k loan out for a car that's 1500 quid cheaper than the loan you want to take and somehow paying 700 quid in interest (which is what, 4/5% apr??) when the best pcp deal you can get ends up with a total payout ofabout 16k on a 9k loan - you're kidding yourself
 
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OpenToSuggestions said:
Buy the car off your Dad's friend.

Also, why the hell are you getting a £9000 loan for a £7500 car?
Do you literally not have a single penny towards the car plus the insurance costs?
This rings alarm bells as if the above is true then I have no idea how you will afford to run it.
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I should have mentioned.

I do have cash and have a steady income that could easily pay for either option. I just don't mind paying £1000 interest over 3 years, so I have steady monthly payments that I can pay without a sweat and keep my savings.

The extra £1500 was for insurance and road tax and a tank of petrol.
 
rodenal said:
Are you absolutely off your rocker!!? Have you worked out the total cost of that "deal"

Got to be honest you sound like the kind if person who shouldn't be taking a loan out for anything - you're talking about taking a 9k loan out for a car that's 1500 quid cheaper than the loan you want to take and somehow paying 700 quid in interest (which is what, 4/5% apr??) when the best pcp deal you can get ends up with a total payout ofabout 16k on a 9k loan - you're kidding yourself
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I am off my rocker haha, that's why I asked for the advice. I know im bonkers!

I made a mistake with the interest, 700 quid was on £7500. Loan works out at 5.9% APR.
 
You cant afford an st if you need to take a loan for the insurance. Save up and buy something cash

You wont be getting 5.9% when you were quoted something crazy like 50% on the pcp loan of effectively 5k
 
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Would it be such a bad idea to buy a 3 grand mondeo outright and have no monthly payments?

My third option in the list and the most sensible according to dad and girlfriend.

Would be nice to have extra cash each month to save for an American holiday etc. the drive to tesco would be as much fun as a car crash though!

How reliable is a 55 plate mondeo with 70-80k on the clock?
 
You'll get a 2005 mondeo for about 1500.

I think you need to go and think about what you can actually afford then buy something accordingly. Mondeo would be fine
 
rodenal said:
You cant afford an st if you need to take a loan for the insurance. Save up and buy something cash

You wont be getting 5.9% when you were quoted something crazy like 50% on the pcp loan of effectively 5k
Click to expand...

I've said I can afford it, trust me. I just don't like spending large amounts of cash in lump sums.

Interest is low, so why not? I'm well aware of the running costs and fully prepared to accept them.

I've been accepted for the loan, it's not speculation.

I wasn't quoted on my personal circumstances, it's the figures he has for everyone.

Please don't pass judgements when you don't actually know anything about me. I understand where your coming from though.
 
rodenal said:
You'll get a 2005 mondeo for about 1500.

I think you need to go and think about what you can actually afford then buy something accordingly. Mondeo would be fine
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£1500!

Show me please.

To clear this up ... I can afford both, one option just leaves me with more money in my pocket at the end of the day.

Mondeo leaves me with a lot... It's about sacrifice, either boring mondeo and plenty dining out and new computer bits regularly or a focus ST and don't eat out every week.

Hope this clears it up.
 
A quick look on autotrader / gumtree / ebay shows plenty of mondeos from 2004 to 2006 for anywhere between 1300 and about 2k - they aren't hard to find

I bought one privately around 2 months ago for either 1500 or 1600 - slightly rough on the bodywork front, mechanically fine. 3K is way too much to spend on one unless you're trying to buy an st
 
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rodenal said:
A quick look on autotrader / gumtree / ebay shows plenty of mondeos from 2004 to 2006 for anywhere between 1300 and about 2k - they aren't hard to find
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I just felt the ones under 2k didn't have a FSH or had something else wrong with them.

What sort of milage is acceptable on a mondeo? Upto 90k?
 
Its a mondeo what are you really expecting? Mileage doesn't really matter - say under I dunno 120k to keep it relatively easy to short in a couple of years but lets face it its worth nothing anyway!
 
Buchanan0204 said:
I just felt the ones under 2k didn't have a FSH or had something else wrong with them.

What sort of milage is acceptable on a mondeo? Upto 90k?
Click to expand...

How much mileage matters completely depends on how the car has done these miles:
- Have they been long trips, where the engine is hot, the clutch/startermotor/brakes get little use, with one driver so not all the seats are worn? Or have the trips been taking kids 2 miles to school on a cold engine with them eating KFC in the back?
- Has it been serviced on time? Serviced correctly?
- Is it full of carpark dings?
- Is the owner selling it because on the last MOT he was notified of an upcoming £1000 bill?

I have a 2007 Focus on nearly 80k and the bodywork is fantastic. I have seen newer cars on half the mileage that are a real mess both inside and out.

With a car on higher mileage, you have to be confident that it has been cared for!
 
Wow, what a thread.

The 59 plate Focus is a comedy ripoff but then the idea you can just pay £1500 for an old 2005 Mondeo and expect it not to be a pain in the backside is just as hilarious.

The Mondeo option is sensible but be careful and don't buy from the sediment at the bottom of the market. Find out what the going rate for a 2005ish one is and pay that, not the bottom end.
 
Buchanan0204 said:
How does this look?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201218468444256
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I really cannot tell very well as there are no close up photos, but it seems fine.

With a Mondeo, go for one that has all the toys as you will pay naff all extra the car with them. A Ghia X has the hideous wood effect on the steering wheel but the Titanium X will be quite nice.
I really do think you should be looking to spend £2500-3000 on one not <£2000.

I know you did not say what engine you wanted, but keep in mind that the 2.0 and 2.2 diesels come with injector issues and the ST220 will spank you for the top tax bracket if it is an 06 plate.
 
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