Car loan advice

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2006
Posts
11,433
Location
Derbyshire
Hey all.
I have just started a better job and would like a car loan to upgrade my 116k Focus to a 15 Reg Focus with a few toys.

Looking to borrow around £12,000 + my Focus.
Seems a personal loan at 3.5% is the best option? Finance seems far much expensive.

Motorpoint Guarantee any good? £299 and covers all main parts (not read the all essential terms yet...).
Car is 7 months old on 7000 miles. Warranty is 3 years or 60k, which as I do 22k per year will be eaten up in 2.5 years.
 
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OpenToSuggestions said:
Seems a personal loan at 3.5% is the best option? Finance seems far much expensive.
Click to expand...

If you can get the 3.5%, probably.

OpenToSuggestions said:
Motorpoint Guarantee any good? £299 and covers all main parts (not read the all essential terms yet...).
Click to expand...

It's a 15 plate, worry about a warranty in 2.5 years surely? It's probably crap anyway if it's provided by a car supermarket.
 
What engine out of interest? Personal loan will be fine and the car will have some sort of manufacturers warranty left even if it's only got tw o years you've plenty of time to worry about

Also motorpoint tend to have zero interest in giving you a px so check out wbac first as you might be as well sticking it into them, or look at the offer add 500 on and try to quickly sell it privately
 
We Buy Any Car was a pathetic £950 for the current car.
Motorpoint was £1400.

The engine I want is a 1.5 TDCI Titanium.
As it is the mk3.5 it has an 8" sat nav, Sync 2, reversing sensors, DAB radio, privacy glass, heated windscreen and climate control.
Only optional extra is metallic paint.
I looked at a few with the appearance pack 1 and 2, but as I spend a lot of time on the woeful rippled concrete surface of the A50 I thought 16s would be a better choice.

I quite like the Seat Leon, but the 1.6 TDI engine is absolutely pathetic.
 
The 1.5tdci isn't exactly a peach either, but the Titanium is specced pretty well for a Focus. Especially considering how awfully sparsely-equipped the previous generations were.

Edit: partially beaten by Fox there
 
I'd rather the little ecoboost but if you're doing decent miles the 1.5 is tolerable and will undoubtedly be more economical (any time I've had the petrol I average mid 30's on mostly motorway runs). It's a better implementation than the vag 1.6, it feels similar to.the old psa 1.6 which I always thought was vastly better than vags attempt

Assume you've driven it? Fair to say the focus isn't my favourite hatch but as a tool it's be fine, as above theycomme equipped with the right kind of stuff in titanium trim.

Price seems decent too, £15.5k for a 120 1.5 via a broker new

Ps Howard, Mondeo could be happening - 2.5 or 2.0t to be decided
 
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I don't really agree, it's a very new car and I'd expect a real world 50mpg for motorway work for the diseasel and like I've already said mid 30's from my own experience for the little petrol.

Assuming this is just a tool that will be sold a year or so out of warranty I can see the diesel appeal
 
Drove a 2.5 estate - slightly underpowered but easily sorted on that front. Space is great, sound bit disappointing, kit is decent and the drive is ok (bigish car so didn't expect revelations). Good compromise but I'd rather have an auto so will drive the ecoboost and see what's what. Haven't enough for a 240 but again would likely just map it to a similar level anyway.
 
I had a quick go in Dad's 2011 MK3 2.0 TDCI 140 estate a few years ago before he sold it due to a new company car. I will test drive the 1.5 TDCI before buying obviously :p.

I do 22k miles per year and the 1992 MX5 is for fun.
18k of that 22k is sat on one dual carriageway so sadly I do feel the diesel is the better (albeit more boring) choice. Lots of sitting at 70mph and the occasional overtime makes me think economy is king here.

A friend has the 1.4 tsi 125 MK3 Leon. I had a quick go and it drives nicely. Gets 50mpg on a run.
 
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Yes to ecoboost/TSI

No to aftermarket warranty on a nearly new car

Yes to a decent loan being cheapest (unless you can afford to clear it in ~18 months and have a good credit rating, in which case credit card)

One thing to bear in mind with cars like this and finance - in 2 years time you'll still be paying the interest and loan on a 14k car to have one that's might be worth half that. Obviously this is the case with any car, but with fairly average nearly new hatchbacks depreciation can be a lot steeper than other ways to spend 14k
 
Spoke to a few banks.
None want to lend me the funds as I am on probationary period for 6 months (permanent position).
Obviously car finance companies are willing to lend me the cash, but then at 6.9% it is no surprise.
 
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