Author Topic: Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) (Read 7954 times)

Hedgetrimmer · « **on:** 23 October 2013, 01:18:53 pm »

Anyone got anything on one of these schemes?
I'm thinking once the loan on my bike is paid off, it would be a good way of trying out some new bikes again. A Triumph dealer was telling me about it, and have just read an article in one of the bike mags too. Wouldn't want my only bike on the scheme, as I don't want to be limited on the mileage I can do, but like I said, once mine is paid off......

Frosties · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 October 2013, 04:08:57 pm »

If you've got a bike in mind, can afford it when yours is paid off, then DO IT! I would.

Can't think of a single reason why you shouldn't.

What bike you got in mind...curious 'cos you were in a Triumph dealer (good man).........reckon a Street Triple R or a Tiger 800 roadie!

C'mon spill

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 October 2013, 06:08:35 pm »

Well, it won't be next year so sorry to disappoint! But one needs a few things to aim for in life, and I'm getting fed up with reading about so many good bikes out there and not being able to try anything (a test ride is just a d**k tease, and will only make me more miserable at this stage!

)
I hanker after my younger days when I traded bikes pretty regularly, it enhanced my biking experience no end. Trouble is, the PCP deals seem to be manufacturer-led, and I'd want to try different brands. KTM probably do the largest no. of bikes I'd like to try, but most of them are in a similar mould, just different ccs. Would like to try the new Kwak Z1000SX, perhaps an Aprillia Tuono, Ducati Hypermotard - the list goes on. If you could get a PCP independent of manufacturer, that would be ideal. Does such a thing exist?

BBROWN1664 · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 October 2013, 06:41:13 pm »

Best bet Nick is to get a bank loan. Buy the bike you want and run it for as long as you want then chop it in for another. As far as the bike is concerned, it isn't on finance so you can do what you want with the cash the dealer gives you for it.

PCP is OK but limits you. You can swap bikes around a bit but maybe not as much as you would like as they still want a deposit paying on each bike and your unlikely to get that back at chop in time.

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 October 2013, 06:52:22 pm »

That's why I want to pay mine off first. It's on a bank loan, once it's mine I can always put the extra miles on it, and still return a PCP bike within the agreed mileage limits. Most manufacturers have a bit of leeway built into those limits (as well as initial deposit amount, monthly payments, length of contract etc, hence personal contract). You choose these things to suit your own requirements. It seems you can at least put 6000 miles a year on the bike, BMW do up to 20,000 miles in some agreements. But you can't hand the bike back with any mods on it, and it has to be dealer serviced at the correct intervals, condition of trade in bike has to be up to a certain standard too. (This makes me wonder what happens if you stack it - presumably they'd insist on fully comp?).

But if I've got my own Fazer to mod as I choose, I still think it would be a good way of trying different bikes. And if you want to get out of it, you just hand the bike back to the dealer when a contract on a particular bike expires, and walk away.

mickvp · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 October 2013, 11:23:53 pm »

I believe Black horse do an independant finance PCP deals with any of their dealers. might be an option for you to look into.

locksmith · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 October 2013, 09:07:40 am »

I'd always be worried about the arguments about at hand back time.

Read about some on a Mercedes forum. It's not a dealer who signs it off but an "independent" firm.
Now I think they make their bunce by putting the cars right, ie bodywork and wheel repairs and charge you a fair wack to do so.

One guy took photos of his car at the dealers with a member of the dealer present as a witness. The firm tried to sting him for a few hundred quid which after a lot of aggro they did back down but I imagine most just pay up.

BBROWN1664 · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 October 2013, 04:25:42 pm »

I have heard that the Merc scheme has a few problems. With them, if its not clean enough to go straight on the forecourt without touching it, they charge for it.

Tmation · « **Reply #8 on:** 25 October 2013, 06:36:15 pm »

Nick, I have test ridden all the bikes on your list plus a few more this year.

The best by far (for me) was the KTM 1190 Adventure.

There are so many different options for finance it is very confusing, it all boils down to what you can afford each month and how much in total you have to pay back. I try to save a couple of hundred quid a month into a new bike fund and then pay cash, I haven't had a new bike for nearly 10 years so I need to spend some of it before the wife needs a new kitchen.

Seriously considering one of these soon.

Was hoping to like this but it wasn't as good as the hype (same as the BMW GS)

simonm · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 October 2013, 06:52:52 pm »

FWIW My query with PCP is always asking myself the question "who is going to benefit". I can go out and negotiate myself a loan at the best rate I can. With PCP I have to take what is on offer with no negotiation. It will include their profit margin, excesses and a balloon payment on conclusion (as well as a strike in the outstanding finance box).

I'd always prefer to take out a personal loan and sell the bike on at a later date. It's personal choice and depends on circumstances and finances too.

YMMV, E&OE

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 October 2013, 07:23:34 pm »

You could be right Simon, and personal loans are the way I've always done it. It's just something I'm looking at for possible future use, weighing the pros and cons. Just wondered if anyone had experience of it, and if so, how did they find it to be in actuality.

simonm · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 October 2013, 07:30:49 pm »

Quote from: nick crisp on 25 October 2013, 07:23:34 pm

You could be right Simon, and personal loans are the way I've always done it. It's just something I'm looking at for possible future use, weighing the pros and cons. Just wondered if anyone had experience of it, and if so, how did they find it to be in actuality.

It's a contract dude. Can't sign a contract and then whine about it afterwards ;-). It's a purely financial transaction, some people will win, some will lose. The main winners are normally people who believe in renting over owning houses or people that change their cars every 3 years.

It's one of those things that has overheads but if it's the way you live your life it'll fit like a glove. You pays your money, you take your choice.

I've never done taken out PCP so I'll exit stage left.

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 October 2013, 07:53:33 pm »

Oh, I don't know - it's all just dreaming really at this stage $:\$ . I won't be doing anything about a 2nd bike next year anyway probably as I 've already set my biking targets for then. But after that, who knows? But all the talk of this new-to-motorcycles method in dealers and the magazines has piqued my interest, and I'm just wondering if it could be of any use to me.

pitternator · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 October 2013, 11:17:19 am »

you are getting warm when you ask just who will benefit...

personally I would avoid pcp schemes. They basically try to tie you to a brand. If u pay cash or bank loan you have much more freedom.

essentially a pcp is a rental .You dont own anything till u pay it all off.

as ever the best way to compare is to work out the " cost of sale" ie what is the actual cost of each transaction. PCP also tend to disguise true cost of the sale.

AND , with any new bike purchase,u have to factor in the depreciation cost too....a massive hidden cost when buying new.

paulkemp · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 October 2013, 12:28:16 pm »

I got my 2011 FZ8 on pcp.
£500 depsosit £99 a month.
3 years hand it back and get new one.

Get enough back out bike to cover deposit for new one so will just be the monthy "rent"
Happy days

paulkemp · « **Reply #15 on:** 26 October 2013, 12:29:57 pm »

PCP give u a final valuation figure at start.
Yes garage gains but you gain freedom.
Can switch manufacturers at end of term as PCP is a finance payment NOT a manufacturer contract

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 October 2013, 12:35:06 pm »

Is it with one dealer then? Or can you go to another dealer, as well as changing manufacturer? That kind of flexibility would make it much more attractive....
The magazine write-up I just read only talks about manufacturer schemes, so seems it wasn't a brilliantly researched article.

AdieR · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 October 2013, 03:51:01 am »

I personally am not one for PCP's, or other credit schemes; these are generally in favour of the finance firms who earn money via the interest / APR (a £6k bike can cost you more like £7k on finance, so it pays to check).

If you go to a bank, and ask for a loan, you may just find the interest on that is more competitive than on PCP. Plus, if you can pay outright on the bike (OK, you'll still have to pay back the bank), you can probably haggle a few hundred quid off the price. If you can save a bit, the loan doesn't need to be so big then.

When I bought mine I'd saved up enough (took a bit of time right enough, lots of overtime, and sacrificed weekends in the pub), and got £500 off paying outright (bike advertised at £4k, paid £3500, 3.5 year old), plus on a 3yo bike, I missed the hard-hitting depreciation too. Also meant that when I was made redundant, I didn't have to keep finding the money to keep up payments because it was already paid for.

paulkemp · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 October 2013, 08:05:14 am »

Im a bike snob fk depreciation I like nee bikes ;-)

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 October 2013, 08:56:03 am »

It's funny really, cos if I got a bank loan, there's no way I'd be buying brand new - nearly new second-hand to avoid the instant depreciation when you wheel it out of the showroom. But the way PCPs work mean low monthly payments, and I guess that's what appeals. Yes, you may pay more in the long run, but there again, you may pay less as you're not paying for the entire value of the bike. As I have it, you pay for a new bike less the Guaranteed Final Value (GFV), which then becomes your trade-in for the next one. And if you decide you're not going any further after that first contract expires, you give the bike back and that's it - nothing more owed. I guess it would then depend on how much deposit you put down in the first instance.

????? Flawed thinking?

VNA - BMW Wank · « **Reply #20 on:** 27 October 2013, 12:05:12 pm »

Never a borrower or a lender be.

My thinking is that if you get a loan, then you have a loan to pay for as well as the bike, and now that cash is king again, you pay more for the bike when you take a loan, and then add in the hit from depreciation.

PCP might be better than a loan or not, but surely a shroud cash buy is hard to beat. If I ain't got the cash, then I can't afford it.

Anyway what about older bikes. There's many ten year old summer sunny Sunday bikes popping up for sale now and again. If I can find some cash in the spring, now that my garage is almost finished, well I might just...................

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #21 on:** 27 October 2013, 01:26:47 pm »

If I'd gone by that philosophy VNA, I wouldn't have enjoyed half the bikes I have over the years. I don't regret any of them (well, maybe the Superdream! - but that was bought outright for cash). I never have more than one loan at a time, I've never had a credit card or other debts at the same time, and I've always paid the loans off early. And one thing that has meant, is that whenever I go to my bank for a loan, the answer has always been "yes". But I have always also saved up a good deposit to keep the monthly payments as low as I can. Works for me.

VNA - BMW Wank · « **Reply #22 on:** 27 October 2013, 02:34:36 pm »

Well theoretically if you'd have followed such a philosophy, you might have been able to enjoy half as much bikes again!

How can paying considerably more than you otherwise have to allow you to enjoy more bikes?

Of course the problem is sticking to the philosophy. It's just too easy to dip yer pocket. Whereas the bank loan gets you the bike when there's no money in your pocket.

Anyway you are speaking to a man who can quickly list all the bikes he's owned over the last 27 years;

Honda C90
Suzuki GS500E
CBR600F
Fazer600
Fazer1000

That's it! Oh dear! Had shots on a fair amount of other stuff, but I'm aware that the grass is always greener!

Bought my current bike, the thou, band new in 2004. I think it's a keeper, but now I have a garage for the first time in my life, I might add another.

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #23 on:** 27 October 2013, 02:49:49 pm »

Lol, that's why I can never save outright for a bike. Money just burns those pocket holes too deep and too fast! If I get a loan/finance, that money is committed, and then I know I can't touch it for anything else, and I'm good at the discipline about that.
Yes, garages are dangerous things, (aren't they red98?!

) Now, if only I could clear some of my ol' man's junk out of his garage.......

locksmith · « **Reply #24 on:** 28 October 2013, 09:58:47 am »

Quote from: paulkemp on 26 October 2013, 12:28:16 pm

I got my 2011 FZ8 on pcp.
£500 depsosit £99 a month.
3 years hand it back and get new one.
Get enough back out bike to cover deposit for new one so will just be the monthy "rent"
Happy days

So providing you have no "extras" to pay at hand back it's costing you a tad over 4 grand over 3 years.
Is that good or bad?
Interested in your last sentence, what do you mean by "get enough back to cover deposit for new one" ?