Good day!

So, being new to this forum and looking for a Skoda Superb I am wondering how people have financed their cars?

Normally, I prefer to save for what I buy - that includes my motorbikes, previous cars (always used) and anything else that I purchase, my only debt being the mortgage.

So, when looking on popular money sites from the UK and finding out how much it would actually cost, per month, to fund a 25k car I was shocked to say the least!!!

If you have bought your car new how did you finance it?

If I were to save for it, I would have to save for 2 years (roughly) @ 1k per month - doable, but its a long time to wait for a car!

Cheers

ice.

A 25K bank loan without PPI will cost around £490 PM for 7 years, if you have 1K PM spare then you should be able to do a good deal with the bank. 1K PM would reduce the payment term significantly.

Hi Ice,

Money's not cheap anymore as you have found out, with a Bank Rate of 1/2% you would expect loans to be 1 or 2% above that but no, the best I have seen is with my own high st. bank at 7.8%, well it is the credit crunch and won't get any better for some years yet. Save the old fashioned way and set your sights on something more affordable. I don't think even main dealers do cheap or 0% loans anymore.

Here in Ireland, main banks can be over 10% apr, on finance, however Skoda Irl, through Volkswagen bank, are offering 4.9%, which is a big saving, and you can then tell the main street banks what to do.

It is true that money is not cheap! I have the ability to save 1k/month and still 'live' - but if anything comes up that requires an unexpected spend then it is possible I would have to dip into it.

I have a honda accord 2.2 tdi executive at the moment, so I was looking at the Superb 2.0 140ps dsg as a replacement. Initially I was looking at the older model superb but with the various issues I decided to look at something newer. The reason I was going for the superb was the rear legroom. Being 6ft6 I generally have the seat way back and there is usually no room behind me. I guess if I start the long road of saving now, there could be some good bargains in 1/1.5 years time anyway.

Cheers

ice.

There are already some bargains, this generation of Superb is just coming up to 3 years old now. If you shop around you can get a really good deal on a 58 plate, depending on the spec that you want.

Hi,

I've not used Skoda's finance "offer" (in England anyway) but here's a thought for you depending upon how you're fixed. If you've overpaid your mortgage or have a low borrowing rate against the house, then you could use the mortgage if flexible.... with Nationwide if you've got a mortgage (ours was a repayment mortgage) the rate is 2% over Base.... (so currently still 2.5%... phew - but only valid if your mortgage is well over 2 years old. Once the recession hit this 2% over base rate was withdrawn for new applicants & the rate went up to about 4% above base. Can you/your bank be flexible with this - its probably worth asking.

This is probably the cheapest way to finance your car if this options available to you. I agree it looks like most other rates are around the 8% mark or so.

Hope it helps....

As Mannyo says, a 2year old car would be ideal for not getting clobbered on depreciation. I gave up buying new cars a long time ago, shocked myself when I totted up the thousands I lost that should have gone into a house, but all sorted now.

From all the shopping about that we did the best overall package was to ....

1. Buy brand new on a Personal Contract Plan
   
2. Take the Skoda Finance @ 7.9%
   
3. Put down the maximum 30% deposit
   
4. Set you mileage higher on the PCP than you will actually do to preserve the final value
   
5. Make the scheduled payments and at the same time save
   
6. When the savings equal the outstanding balance pay it off.
   

Even if you run the whole term on the contract your car will be worth more than the guarented value if your mileage is lower (point 4 above)

Things to check (well what we looked for anyway)

1. No early repalyment fee - perhaps £25 admin but that is all
   
2. Fixed interest over the term
   
3. No stupid (read BMW) finance set up fees
   

No advice given just my 2pence worth

Edited 25 May, 201115 yr by Picturesports

Does setting the mileage higher not mean you are paying more per month (whether you use the extra mileage allowance or not), which then offsets the "potentially" higher future value?

A lot of HP deals are cheaper than (bank) loans at present.

I have been a loyal customer of my bank for 20 years and was offered 8% apr (give or take 0.1%) for a £22000 loan. HP at 6% apr for same amouint

I am going to finance mine via HP as with 2 kids and mortgage have no chance of saving anything!

After selling our old apartment we had approximately 120.000 Euros in cash. Spent 55.000 on the Superb (yes they are VERY expensive here in Norway) and the rest on our current house

So basically it is a an ordinary "loan", but at 3,15% instead of 8%

Edited 26 May, 201115 yr by thnp

Does setting the mileage higher not mean you are paying more per month (whether you use the extra mileage allowance or not), which then offsets the "potentially" higher future value?

Yes it does ... Our logic was that the "worst" bit of the loan was the bubble on the end. This you are financing and paying interest on. If the bubble is £8,000 over 3 years at 8% then that is £2,077 in interest at the end of the 3 years that has been included in the payments (£8K x 1.08 3 times - the £8K = £2,077) if my maths is right.

Get that to £7,000 and the cost of the bubble falls to £1,818 or £259 in my bank account.

Putting some silly numbers on it ....

If I buy the car for £40 and finance it £10 per year and a £10 bubble then at the 1st anniversary the loan outstanding is £30. If I've done less miles that forecast, hopefully the car is worth £32 and if the trend continues in the 2nd year then the loan is at £20 and the car at £23.

Hopefully I've not confussed the heck out of everyone - I makes sense to me but that isn't any sort of guarentte

A lot of HP deals are cheaper than (bank) loans at present.

I have been a loyal customer of my bank for 20 years and was offered 8% apr (give or take 0.1%) for a £22000 loan. HP at 6% apr for same amouint

I am going to finance mine via HP as with 2 kids and mortgage have no chance of saving anything!

But if you don't pay the HP, they'll take your car back. If you don't pay the bank its much harder for them to get their pound of flesh so it's no wonder that unsecured finance rates are higher at the moment. Rates have more to do with the likelihood of getting the loan money back than low CB rates.