I am picking up my STi8 in March and am going to sort ou the finance with the dealer next week.

What APR can I expect to pay on a PCP plan? I want to have an idea of what I can negotiate on!

Cheers
Peter

 

I got 4.7 apr back in Dec 2001 but this was backed by IM.

 

you can get between 7% & 7.5% elsewhere !!

Gordo

 

Si,
are you sure you're talking about APR and not flat rate?
You should be able to get 4ish % as a flat rate, and what the hell is an APR anyway

simon

 

Base + 1 (4.75, not a flat rate) is the best rate I have ever managed to get, but I don't think you'd get that from a dealer.

 

A thorny question as i have just got out of a finance deal last year. It all seemed good at the start, because the attractive side of the agreement is the low monthly payments.However the sting in the tail is at the end of the agreement. You will need to put down some form of deposit, that affects your APR as its based on your commitment to the finance company.Then you have the restrictions on mileage to take into account. Finally at the end of the agreement(typically 3 years), you have option to buy the car(the ballon payment),upgrade (but remember you have no trade in value unless you sell the car yourself and use the dirrence between the sale and the final payment) or give it back and have no scooby to show for all that money!!!. Seems like a good idea but not always the best option.

 

adam give out 4.25 if you push em

 

Simon,

It was defo 4.7 apr not flat rate.

Si.

 

I got 4% flat from Subaru Main dealer in Oct Last year...

 

PCP's will always have a mucher higher interest rate than straight HP finance.

For a HP loan, not secured on your mortgage before someone pipes up with that one, then 4% flat is about the best going, anything under that is going to be subsidised by the dealer, and will come out of the profit in the vehicle.

By the way the APR will equate to roughly double the flat rate 4% flat= 8%APR roughly. APR represents the interest rate you would be paying on the loan, if the interest on the loan was charged to the account on an daily basis, but with car loans a flat rate interest charge is added to the loan at the beginning.

If you looking at a PCP then anything around 10%APR is a cracking deal, the reason why the rate will always be higher is because you are transferring the risk of high depreciation to the finance company. You know at the end of the day if the car bombs on the used market you can walk away at the end of the term not owing anything.

Other things to remember if you take a personal loan to buy a car, they finance company/bank have no title over the vehicle, you own the vehicle, but regardless of what happens to the value of the vehicle, you will have to pay back the loan. With HP secured against the car, the consumer credit act, does afford you minimal, but in some cases vital protection against an unfair finance deal, as you will get the chance to return the car to the loan company with nothing else to pay after you have repaid 50% of the loan amount.

 

Don't forget that if you get a good rate off IM they load it with a big set up charge anyway. Over £100 if I remember

 

Good Thread

I'm still pondering over the best way to finance a MY03 WRX. PCP, HP,bank loan or just car jack the thing (tongue in cheek). No seriously, I think this whole area of finance is as important as insurance say and it would be useful to know how all the Scooby owners have managed to finance, what is after all, not a cheap car. So any moderators out there, how about a section dedicated to financing scoobies. Any support for this folks?

 

I think you just have to look at the options and in general there probably won't be that much difference over the course of the term

 

Careful with saying 10% APR is good on a PCP - on PCP deals the APR may by law be calculated on the total price of the deal, not just the amount financed. If you were to trade in your old Scoob with, say, £6000 equity and £6000 balloon outstanding, that £6000 balloon would be added onto the finance on the new car (say £19000 on a new STI) and then they work backwards and calculate the APR from the £25000 total of the new finance and the old balloon they redeem - despite the fact that you've only ever got a maximum of £19000 outstanding at any one time. Very very sneaky, hence working by flat rate is always a sensible option on PCPs.

 

Excellent reply SJobson
This is a good thread.....

That is somthing I had never realised and I find it very sly.
If you pointed this out to a dealer at trade-in time do you think you could get around it. Is it somthing they get away with just because people may not realise what they're upto ?

Rumy

[Edited by ruminator - 2/13/2003 9:58:20 PM]

 

I don't think the dealer realises he's doing it really. He's got a book of APRs for different deals, he doesn't consciously work out that he's trying to rip you off.

Make sure you get the flat rate as well as the APR - if they both seem OK then you've got a decent deal. If one seems a bit suss, then have a *very* careful look at the figures. It's easy enough to see how much you have to pay in total, and that can also give you an inkling that the deal's not as good as it seems.