Ford Options - your opinions please!

rich_g85

rich_g85

rich_g85

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This kinda follows on from my "My engine's had it" post!

I've been looking around at getting a new car for some time now, and now that my girlfriend's engine is in serious trouble, and my car not getting any younger (S-reg 306 1.9TD) I have been considering selling both and buying an 'All new Ford Focus', probably the 1.6TDCi Zetec Climate model.

My question is: what thoughts have people got of manufacturer's finance, the APR seems low enough (4.9%?) and the theory seems good. Variable deposit, pay the rest back over 24 or 36 months.

I don't want this to turn into a "let's **** off the new focus/Fords/etc ;) "... I'd like a balanced discussion on the pros and cons of finance :)
 
Don't buy a brand new car you are paying more for the car on finance, and losing massive amonunts on depreciation. :)

e.g 12k on new car 15k including finance, cars worth after 3 years 7k total lost= £8k over 3 years ouch.
 
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rich_g85 said:
This kinda follows on from my "My engine's had it" post!

I've been looking around at getting a new car for some time now, and now that my girlfriend's engine is in serious trouble, and my car not getting any younger (S-reg 306 1.9TD) I have been considering selling both and buying an 'All new Ford Focus', probably the 1.6TDCi Zetec Climate model.

My question is: what thoughts have people got of manufacturer's finance, the APR seems low enough (4.9%?) and the theory seems good. Variable deposit, pay the rest back over 24 or 36 months.

I don't want this to turn into a "let's **** off the new focus/Fords/etc ;) "... I'd like a balanced discussion on the pros and cons of finance :)
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There was a huge thread on finance recently, see if you can dig it up. Personaly I don't like it, and would far rather get a loan which are available with simmilar rates.
 
Right, now.. here's another question for you. If I walk into my local Ford dealership and say I'm interested in buying a Focus- do I have to pay the book price, or is it expected that I will try and negotiate a deal and a few extras?
 
rich_g85 said:
Right, now.. here's another question for you. If I walk into my local Ford dealership and say I'm interested in buying a Focus- do I have to pay the book price, or is it expected that I will try and negotiate a deal and a few extras?
Click to expand...

never, ever pay the book price. esp on something like a focus, check out broadspeed for some good deals
 
Conanius said:
never, ever pay the book price. esp on something like a focus, check out broadspeed for some good deals
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Hmm.. just had a look on Broadspeed- some pretty good deals. Is it really as good as it sounds?!
 
does it have to be brand new, would a focus say 6 months to a year old be ok, it will be cheaper to buy and your loss in the long term won't be as much.

thedazman
 
thedazman67 said:
does it have to be brand new, would a focus say 6 months to a year old be ok, it will be cheaper to buy and your loss in the long term won't be as much.

thedazman
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I guess it doesn't have to be brand new, it's just I've had enough of buying older cars and getting shafted on the servicing costs! Now I'm 21, I'm earning a sufficient wage to be able to afford a newer car and a bit of luxury for myself and my future wife.

Are there any good sites around for finding 'nearly-new' Fords, similar to Broadspeed? In fact, saying that I'll go back and check broadspeed myself.. :)

I also came across Ford Direct, you do seem to get quite a well prepared car with them although I'm not sure how well the prices compare....

Decisions decsions... :confused:
 
A little search of ford direct gave me 200 all new ford focus ranging from £9,090 to £9,750 within yeovil :) i don't know how that compares with broadspeed

thedazman
 
make sure you try the 1.6tdci first. might have been a one off but the brother in law has just rejected his focus due to vibration and loss of power. 1.6 tdci.
 
gc123 said:
make sure you try the 1.6tdci first. might have been a one off but the brother in law has just rejected his focus due to vibration and loss of power. 1.6 tdci.
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Thanks mate, i'll be sure to watch out for that. Had one as a hire car which was fine though :)
 
If you want to buy a new car, buy it through somebody like Broadspeed.com who can offer substantial discounts.

Buying a new car is rarely a sound idea (There are exceptions, such as New Mini, Merc SLK, Aston V8) but if you must do it, it begins to look almost sensible when you do your homework and do it through a broker.

I like to use the Mondeo ST220 as a great example of why brokers are good (Not recommending one for you, it's just an illustration). Here is a car which has a list price of £24,000. Thats £24,000, for a Ford Mondeo. Oh dear.

But through a Broker, you can have a brand spanking new one for £17000. Much better. And it's the same car, from a UK main dealer. All the OMG RESIDUALS SUCK tales of woe are based on depreciation calculated as a percentage of LIST price... not the discounted price.
 
Right, I have a question about broadspeed then.

How can the list price for a particular car be £15000, and they offer it for £11000? Surely 'middle-men' ADD to the price, not lower it?
 
They can take advantage of bulk buying discounts. You cannot.

They will purchse dozens/hundreds of cars per years through a select network of dealers, and because of this the dealer is prepared to offer discounts to customers they introduce to them.

It's a bit like me going to a high street electrical shop and saying "If I can bring 100 customers to you, will you sell us all this Tv at 25% off".

It really reduces the dealers profit margins, but because of the volume of sales it becomes worthwhile.
 
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