Replacement parts on a PCP car

Associate
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Southampton, UK
Morning all,

I took out PCP on a 3 yr old VW Tiguan back in July last year and having gone through its first oil service they've informed me that discs and pads need replacing on the car. They've quoted me a pretty horrendous price, so i'm just trying to see what my options are.

The car has a warranty, but obvisouly doesn't cover consumables, so my question is, do I have to get it repaired by VW or can i go anywhere and get the repairs done, do I have to use genuine parts or can i change to Brembo/Bosch instead?

This is my first time buying a car with PCP so not really sure on the rules :)
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2004
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15,688
Location
East of England
Morning all,

I took out PCP on a 3 yr old VW Tiguan back in July last year and having gone through its first oil service they've informed me that discs and pads need replacing on the car. They've quoted me a pretty horrendous price, so i'm just trying to see what my options are.

The car has a warranty, but obvisouly doesn't cover consumables, so my question is, do I have to get it repaired by VW or can i go anywhere and get the repairs done, do I have to use genuine parts or can i change to Brembo/Bosch instead?

This is my first time buying a car with PCP so not really sure on the rules :)

Out of interest, how much did they quote? Was it for fronts, rears or both? What model Tiguan is it?

My understanding of this is if you have GFV of your car, then your contract will likely insist on a main dealer history. If you have no GFV, then you can get them serviced wherever. You'll have to see what your contract says about it all. If it says "it must be serviced in accordance with the manufacturers guidance" or similar, then this can be done anywhere, as long as the correct parts/oils etc are used.

Also, it'd be worth taking the vehicle to a small garage and asking them to check your brakes. Unfortunately, the whole going in for an £120 oil service, and them telling you you need your pads and discs changed is literally the oldest upselling trick in the main dealer book. The number of times they will tell older people/women/non car people they need XYZ done, then if it's challenged they back peddle and say "oh noes, we just said to keep an eye on them and you could get them done if you wanted and we only gave a price so Mrs Miggins would know how much they would be when they needed to be done".
 
Man of Honour
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If you have no GFV

Then it surely wouldn't be a PCP, it would be HP. The entire point of PCP is that it has a GFV and the monthly payments are the difference between the purchase price (less deposit) and the gfv plus interest on the full value divided by the term.
 
Soldato
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location, location
Does it ACTUALLY need discs & pads? It's a very common tactic for main dealers to "advise" you to replace them because they are lipped. Actually it comes down to whether or not they NEED to be replaced, which is determined by the minimum thickness of the discs, or if they are in some other way compromised/damaged.
 
Soldato
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East of England
Then it surely wouldn't be a PCP, it would be HP. The entire point of PCP is that it has a GFV and the monthly payments are the difference between the purchase price (less deposit) and the gfv plus interest on the full value divided by the term.

There you go OP, shows how much I know about car finance. :p

I thought you could do it without GFV, then they just project what the trade in value would be in 3 years and you pay that amount in monthly instalments. Which now I could to think about it, sounds an awful lot like GFV.

I'll get my coat.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
18 Apr 2020
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779
How many miles have you done to need a new set of discs in a year? Are the pads down to the metal and grinding the discs?

Pics would be helpful.

I'd get your local garage to do it as well for a lot cheaper, probably use just as good (if not better) parts. When it comes to hand it back no-one's going to check what pads and discs are on it. Whilst you may need to get it serviced by a main dealer I expect non-service items can be done anywhere decent.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
19,354
Location
South Manchester
Morning all,

I took out PCP on a 3 yr old VW Tiguan back in July last year and having gone through its first oil service they've informed me that discs and pads need replacing on the car. They've quoted me a pretty horrendous price, so i'm just trying to see what my options are.

The car has a warranty, but obvisouly doesn't cover consumables, so my question is, do I have to get it repaired by VW or can i go anywhere and get the repairs done, do I have to use genuine parts or can i change to Brembo/Bosch instead?

This is my first time buying a car with PCP so not really sure on the rules :)

Is it Arnold Clark? If so they're probably lying!
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Jan 2005
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45,694
Location
Co Durham
Out of interest, how much did they quote? Was it for fronts, rears or both? What model Tiguan is it?

My understanding of this is if you have GFV of your car, then your contract will likely insist on a main dealer history. If you have no GFV, then you can get them serviced wherever. You'll have to see what your contract says about it all. If it says "it must be serviced in accordance with the manufacturers guidance" or similar, then this can be done anywhere, as long as the correct parts/oils etc are used.

Also, it'd be worth taking the vehicle to a small garage and asking them to check your brakes. Unfortunately, the whole going in for an £120 oil service, and them telling you you need your pads and discs changed is literally the oldest upselling trick in the main dealer book. The number of times they will tell older people/women/non car people they need XYZ done, then if it's challenged they back peddle and say "oh noes, we just said to keep an eye on them and you could get them done if you wanted and we only gave a price so Mrs Miggins would know how much they would be when they needed to be done".

To be fair to my main VW dealer they send you a full video of the inspection of the car and you can see they arent lying when they say you need pads and discs. The £950 price per wheel was the only problem and they refused to drive it back as it "wasnt safe" for their employee to drive it back to my workplace.

Got it done at an independent vw specialist using genuine vw parts for £350 per wheel.
 
Associate
Joined
18 Apr 2020
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779
To be fair to my main VW dealer they send you a full video of the inspection of the car and you can see they arent lying when they say you need pads and discs. The £950 price per wheel was the only problem and they refused to drive it back as it "wasnt safe" for their employee to drive it back to my workplace.

Got it done at an independent vw specialist using genuine vw parts for £350 per wheel.

£1,400 quid for brakes, glad I've not got a VW.
 
Associate
Joined
10 Nov 2015
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1,243
Wow, apart from the fact that they say you need new discs and pads in less than a year, I can't believe they are charging £950 per wheel! My Q7 after 2 years and 24000 miles was only 30% worn on the pads. How do you drive?
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
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159,619
Wow, apart from the fact that they say you need new discs and pads in less than a year, I can't believe they are charging £950 per wheel! My Q7 after 2 years and 24000 miles was only 30% worn on the pads. How do you drive?

It's a used car he bought at 3 years old.
 
Soldato
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24,861
People are missing he bought a 3 year old car a year ago. It probably has 4 year old brakes on it now.

edit - ffs Fox :p
 
Soldato
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22,220
Then it surely wouldn't be a PCP, it would be HP. The entire point of PCP is that it has a GFV and the monthly payments are the difference between the purchase price (less deposit) and the gfv plus interest on the full value divided by the term.
Just like the point about road fund license, vehicle excise duty, and road tax - people (and you know it, because you make this same point often) refer to car financing generically with the term "PCP" but could mean any of the different mechanisms.

Edit: OP, get them replaced wherever. Stick to OEM/Genuine because it is the right thing to be done.
 
Man of Honour
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Just like the point about road fund license, vehicle excise duty, and road tax - people (and you know it, because you make this same point often) refer to car financing generically with the term "PCP" but could mean any of the different mechanisms.

There is a critical difference between this and road tax though - it doesn't really matter what you call vehicle excise duty - however each different method of financing a car has key differences which affect how they work, what they cost and what you can and cannot do with the car.
 
Soldato
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There is a critical difference between this and road tax though - it doesn't really matter what you call vehicle excise duty - however each different method of financing a car has key differences which affect how they work, what they cost and what you can and cannot do with the car.
Right, so therefore the first question is to clarify that the financing model is the one stated as not everyone is tuned into the nuance (especially those who are asking questions about car financing in the first place).
 
Man of Honour
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The overwhelming majority of car finance agreements are PCP though, so I'd be surprised if it wasn't.

Generally if you've taken HP instead you'll be very aware of that as it's a conscious decision as the different payment structure means the monthly payments are considerably higher.

It's also a 3 year old car so it's not going to be Contract Hire.
 
Soldato
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We are on a forum where half the members only look at monthlies and pay their car insurance monthly. I doubt many are really aware. Lease is also close to HP.
 
Man of Honour
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Lease is also close to HP.

What?

It really isn't. With HP you are paying off the entire value of the vehicle and own it at the end. It couldn't be any less close to leasing!

I have absolutely no idea where or even why we're going with this but lease is probably most like PCP in terms of payment profiles as they both essentially do a similar thing, you're paying for the expected depreciation over the term only plus interest and admin/profit.
 
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