VT-ing a PCP - the ball is rolling. My experience.....

[Orville]

In fairness to Dealers they do have expensive airconditioned showrooms and coffee machines to maintain, not to mention demo vehicles to sit in and test drive. Unless they are chasing special incentives and are desperate it can be hard to find one who can match a broker or PCH financier.

 

Buyers like big discounts but few like haggling with Sales staff. The Dealer wants as much margin as possible from every car sold so there tends to be compomise. Buying online requires no haggling or finanical compromise. Sure you lack the personal touch, but the same Dealer will service and provide warranty work for your car, whether you buy from them or via the internet.

 

With used cars Dealers demand & deserve a small premium because you are buying from safe source, and the car will have some form of warranty. It will also be nicely polished, cleaned, and touched-up whereven needed to make it look more special than when buying from auctions or private buyers. For many people this is well-worth a grand or two more.

[999pooch]

Because BCA simply dispose of them through auction, taking their cut and sending the balance to VW/Ford/whoever. I doubt a returned PCP vehicle ever sees a dealer forecourt.

Not true. My Golf R was picked up recently by BCA.

When I asked which auction it would go to, the guy said it was too good to go through the auction & they would sell it direct to a main dealer

[SkodaVRS1963]

Not true. My Golf R was picked up recently by BCA.

When I asked which auction it would go to, the guy said it was too good to go through the auction & they would sell it direct to a main dealer

 

BCA = British Car Auctions.

 

It's what they do, they hold auctions for cars.  They don't sell cars directly.

 

If you register on their site, you can see upcoming auctions and the vehicles (complete with reg nos, condition reports etc) that are being sold.

 

I've just registered to see when mine appears - I might even take a day off and visit just for kicks (my local site is only an hour away down the M4/M5)

[999pooch]

BCA = British Car Auctions.

It's what they do, they hold auctions for cars. They don't sell cars directly.

If you register on their site, you can see upcoming auctions and the vehicles (complete with reg nos, condition reports etc) that are being sold.

I've just registered to see when mine appears - I might even take a day off and visit just for kicks (my local site is only an hour away down the M4/M5)

I know exactly who BCA are!!

I'm not sure you know that they are much more than just an auction house.

They have many arms to their business. One being BCA logistics. They pick up, deliver, deal & trade with many businesses.

I had a long talk with the guy who picked up my car, & he was very sure my car wasn't going to Auction.

[silver1011]

Don't assume just because BCA are collecting the car that it is getting flogged cheap through a public auction. This isn't the case with the vast majority of ex-PCH cars. Your vRS is unlikely to ever make the public lists.

 

BCA hold closed auctions, open only to main dealers. At these events the main dealers secure the cars they want for their used forecourts.

 

They are specific to manufacturers too, only dealers from that manufacturer can attend.

 

Mercedes also use BCA to collect their ex-lease cars. The only time they are made available to the general public is once it lands on a Mercedes main dealer forecourt, at main dealer prices of course.

Edited 6 September, 2016 by silver1011

[andyvee]

Don't assume just because BCA are collecting the car that it is getting flogged cheap through a public auction. This isn't the case with the vast majority of ex-PCH cars. Your vRS is unlikely to ever make the public lists.

 

BCA hold closed auctions, open only to main dealers. At these events the main dealers secure the cars they want for their used forecourts.

 

They are specific to manufacturers too, only dealers from that manufacturer can attend.

 

Mercedes also use BCA to collect their ex-lease cars. The only time they are made available to the general public is once it lands on a Mercedes main dealer forecourt, at main dealer prices of course.

True, I have attended a few of these in the 90's when working for Vauxhall - all the good retailable stock gets bid on by the main dealers, the crap eventually ends up on the auction house floor

[spacenase]

And that last point is what will catch most out - especially those traded in something worth a few K or paid a few K deposit on the assumption that they would see some of them money back again at the end of the term as deposit on the next one ......

 

I must admit I don't understand the benefit of having equity in the car when you are planning to hand it back. It makes perfect sense if you plan to keep it, but if you're handing it back, surely it means you've paid more for it than you needed to and you're just getting your money back?

 

I think, just like with a PCH deal, you should save for your next deposit alongside the payments for your current car.

[AllanDJ]

Nobody would hand a car back that had equity left in it, as others have stated main issue is over supply, huge discounts available on brand new and pre registered cars/ ex Demo's/ ex Hire cars etc. A local dealer explained PCH to me as being quite literally only worth a small handling fee in the low hundreds of pounds to the main dealer supplying the car, i.e. no big bonus for Mr Salesman or dealership. That being the case, is it any wonder that most of these cars were originally supplied on PCP deals than PCH? When I looked into it at the time, the salesman definitely nudged me towards PCP and not PCH with his 100% certain guarantee of good equity in the car at the end of the deal and the choice of buying the car if I wished to, which you can't do with PCH deals. It seemed like the better deal at the time, as even though I knew I would be paying more per month, I would be getting some of that back when/ if I traded the car at the end of the deal, or so I thought at the time...

 

The Skoda dealerships want to sell the second hand Octavia's at pretty much the GFMV's that Skoda set at the start of the PCP deals, which pretty much means that anybody who bought one of these cars in and around 3 years ago is up that proverbial creek minus paddle!

 

Call it what you will, it is still blatant mis-selling, driven by the bonuses earned by individual salesmen and dealerships to push customers into taking cars on PCP rather than PCH deals; good for them but not for us as customers. When I visited a local dealership recently the salesman there was trying to push me towards taking out another virtually identical car on a PCP deal, I told him that I would never buy another car that way ever again but he was quite reasonable and perfectly happy to supply cars on PCH too.

 

I visited a Ford dealership on the same day over in Motherwell and was told in no uncertain terms that they absolutely did not do PCH deals at all and would I like to sign up to a nice, new PCP deal! Strangely enough shortly after that I also visited another branch of that same dealership (Evans Halshaw) over in East Kilbride, they were just closing up for the night but they had a brand new Mondeo sitting out in front of the garage covered in decals advertising how cheap their deals were on PCH. Obviously a rogue salesman in the first branch, who didn't want to know about PCH deals.

Edited 7 September, 2016 by AllanDJ

[andyvee]

I must admit I don't understand the benefit of having equity in the car when you are planning to hand it back. It makes perfect sense if you plan to keep it, but if you're handing it back, surely it means you've paid more for it than you needed to and you're just getting your money back?

 

I think, just like with a PCH deal, you should save for your next deposit alongside the payments for your current car.

But the dealers tell you that you will have money in it when you trade it in as it will be worth more than the GFV .............

[LHVRS]

I thought thr GFV was guaranteed 

[spacenase]

But the dealers tell you that you will have money in it when you trade it in as it will be worth more than the GFV .............

 

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about the honesty of the dealers! 

[Geek42]

I thought thr GFV was guaranteed 

 

Yes, it's the guaranteed price that the dealer will effectively buy it back at, irrespective of its actual value. Nobody can guarantee the value. I've never done it but from what I understand about PCP you are taking out a contract to buy a car in its entirety, including the balloon payment. The option to hand the keys back at the end is basically the dealer buying it off you for the GFV which happens (by design of course) to be the amount needed to clear the balloon payment.

 

Obviously, if it's worth more then you don't take the GFV and haggling over the exact terms begins, effectively linked to a new PCP, which looks like rolling equity into the next car, but I bet legally they're two separate transactions. If it's worth less then that's their problem, which is kind of the sales pitch I suppose.

 

I'm no contract lawyer, but I guess that this is also why the mileage adjustment can be applied when handing it back at the end, but not when VT-ing. At the end the GFV is invoked to clear the debt, but GFV was linked to the mileage in the contract and is a transaction in its own right based on the agreement, whereas VT-ing is genuinely just handing it back, doesn't constitute a new transaction and rips up the agreement.

[KarlO3V5]

Being someone that buys a new car every year of so I'm a little confused by the VT. If it's how I'm reading it then I can't see why more people don't take advantage of it. Has anyone got a clear resource for finding out more or does it entirely depend on the contract you signed in your PCP deal?

[CFBScout]

Interesting thread, in terms of reaching the 50% point for a VT, on a PCP is that 50% of say the 36 months of payments or does it include the deferred final amount too?

[themanwithnoaim]

50% VT point is 50% of the total purchase price, how that 50% was made up doesn't matter but the higher buying discount from RRP the better

[andyvee]

Being someone that buys a new car every year of so I'm a little confused by the VT. If it's how I'm reading it then I can't see why more people don't take advantage of it. Has anyone got a clear resource for finding out more or does it entirely depend on the contract you signed in your PCP deal?

No, as I said earlier in the thread, all PCP and HP agreements. Read your contract.

 

If you buy a fridge, telly, washing machine etc. on HP the same terms apply. It is a part of the Consumer Credit Act as far as I am aware.

[andyvee]

50% VT point is 50% of the total purchase price, how that 50% was made up doesn't matter but the higher buying discount from RRP the better

Not quite, it is 50% of the total agreement value, which is purchase price plus any interest and charges.

 

The more discount the better

 

And any deposit you put down counts towards the 50% as well

[andyvee]

Interesting thread, in terms of reaching the 50% point for a VT, on a PCP is that 50% of say the 36 months of payments or does it include the deferred final amount too?

50% of the total agreement value, it is on your contract

[andyvee]

Maybe an example (with completely made up numbers) would help

 

Purchase Price - £19000

Interest and Charges - £1000

Total Agreement Value - £20000

50% for VT - £10000

GFV - £9000

Deposit - £2000

35 monthly payments of £257.14

 

You can VT after 31 months, you have paid 50% of the agreement (almost) - £2000 deposit + 31 payments of £257.14 = £9971.34 - you would have to pay the £28.66 difference as a final payment.

 

If your car is only worth £8k as a trade in at 31 months, why would you continue to pay for another 4 months and then hand it back?

Why not just exercise your right of termination and get another new car with maximum discount from list as you don't have a trade in.

 

What a lot of people get sucked in to is effectively trading the car in (but actually just handind it back with the dealer laughing all the way to the Leeds as Arthur would say) - going full term, go to buy a new one, the dealer says 'We will give you the GFV as a trade in value" and selling you a new car at full list as you are trading in. Dealer then just hands the car back to VWFS and terminates your agreement for you, and has made maximum margin on a new car sale. This is how they want it to work

[JKW]

My 3 year old Octy 3 went back on Friday, & although I wasn't present at the dealership where the car was collected from, I received the Collection Report via email (from the dealers) today. This was the final step in the VT process, all of which progressed without difficulty.

I must admit, it was a very comprehensive report - it appears EVERYTHING was checked, not only external / internal condition & appearances, but photos of each alloy, tyre depth of each tyre, all warning lights, V5, Service Record, Handbook, photos of the rear & front quarters, mileage (photographed), spare wheel etc, in fact the list is endless, even the windscreen washer fluid level was checked !

With that said, my car sailed through, without any penalty or charges thankfully, but from believing from others that only a cursory glance for bodywork damage was needed, the truth is somewhat different !

Anyway, some lucky person will buy FV63 HWF, with 30k miles of trouble-free service under it's belt, I just hope they look after it  .

JKW

[spacenase]

I rang Skoda Finance today, having picked up my new car yesterday, intending to pay the remaining 2 months and return the vehicle. The chap on the phone automatically assumed I was VTing and even mentioned that some dealers recommend it rather than part-exchanging. He said it would be on my credit file for 6 years but would not affect my ability to get credit, even from VW Finance.

 

As I said, I wasn't intending to VT, but since they seemed to accept it as the default approach, I'm letting them get on with it. Saves me a couple of months payment!!

 

If my experience is normal, it looks like VW Finance is just accepting a VT as normal practice.

[Hollinshead]

If my experience is normal, it looks like VW Finance is just accepting a VT as normal practice.

Given the dieselgate scandal and the pushing of PCP deals with inflated GFV's I bet they are getting quite a few at the moment.

[SkodaVRS1963]

Given the dieselgate scandal and the pushing of PCP deals with inflated GFV's I bet they are getting quite a few at the moment.

 

The guy from BCA who collected mine last week said they were "snowed under" with work.

 

If you go to the British Car Auctions website and search for vehicles owned by VWFS that are due up for auction you'll get 883 vehicles (as of 19:47 tonight).

[mrj2k8]

I'm due to PX my car to a dealer against a Golf R estate, my pcp comes to an end on the 1st of March 2017, they are offering me £14800 for my car, it's got 14700 on the clock and about every extra bar sunroof & the Adaptive Cruise Control.

 

But to be fair i got the R at a steal of a price , and a guaranteed px price which is just as well as the car could take anywhere up to 6 month to get to me after VW's recent parts scandal.

 

Ok i guess i could get more for it but it would have to be a private sale, so who knows when i see the R being built i may bang it on eBay see if i can get more.... 

[SkodaVRS1963]

So just to conclude this, I got emails today from Noddle and ClearScore telling me my latest credit report was available.

 

Happy to say that both sites acknowledge that I have "closed or settled" my financial agreement with VWFS.

 

No mention at all about voluntary termination and my rating on ClearScore actually went up by 10 points.