Deal of the month | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Tue 8 Apr 2003 20:53

Deal of the month - DavidHM

A friend of mine had an N plate, 110,000 mile Corsa. One morning, it wouldn't start, so rather than spending £6 on changing the plugs, he traded it in for a new one.

Here's the deal.

01Y Corsa 1.2 Comfort with 41k - cost to change £7495
"Fire and theft insurance" (Gap insurance?) £29.99 per month
Finance at 20.9% APR - £195 per month
Total cost to change - £13499.40
Value of car in 5 years' £1200
Net cost including depreciation - £12300

The car's worth about £5500, less at auction. The sad thing is, he doesn't even have a bad credit record.

Or he could have done:

03 Corsa 1.2 SX - £7838 with a year's free insurance (£600)
Trade in for the old car - £850 (pessimistically, more privately)
Finance at 6.7% APR - £136.97 x 60 or £214.55 x 36
Total cost to change - £8218.20 or £7723.80
Value of car at end - £4200 or £2800
Net cost including depreciation - £4018.20 or £4923.80

So, a deal that could have cost him less than £5k over 5 years on a brand new car has cost him over £12300!

No, he didn't come to me first!

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Tue 8 Apr 2003 21:34

Deal of the month - SteveH42

Of course, it's people like this that mean there are some good deals around for those of us with a bit of nouse and the common sense to do a bit of research. It does make you wonder though, and of course also makes car dealers all over rub their hands together with glee.

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