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Looking at the Alfa Guilia Veloce (280 BHP), a BMW 440i Gran Coupe or the Jag XE (300 BHP). All 3 are petrol automatics.
I've negotiated (to a point) deals on all 3 cars. The cheapest is the Alfa (£32k), next is the Jag (£33k) and then BMW (£37k).
I've had test drives in the Alfa and the XE and will do one soon in the 440i.
So far I like the Alfa best. It's quick and comes with loads of kit on it as standard. I fear depreciation though... The XE is OK - but it kind of left me a bit cold. The BMW (on paper) looks to be the one to go for and will probably hold it's value better but it is a bit more expensive.
I've got a part exchange which I've got valuations for (all 3 quote the same money) and want to do the deal this year but take delivery of the new car in March next year.
Which one would you go for?
Edited by csgmart on 11/10/2017 at 10:28
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Head says BMW, heart says Alfa with the Jag somewhere in between.
Have you looked at leasing? It would protect you from any catastrophic value drop in the Alfa and is more often than not the cheapest way to run a high end motor like this. The big leasing firms get huge discounts we can only dream of and it leaves you with a fixed payment with no fear of the used market mauling the Alfa, particularly with the firms poor reputation for building reliable automatic transmissions.
Shop around online then contact dealers to see if any will match or get clear se to the quotes you get, usually one will just to make up their numbers even if they make nothing from the deal. I saved almost £60 a month on our Honda CRV compared to Honda leasing list price and over 4yrs it'll cost less than I'd lose in depreciation had I bought it even with a reasonable discount. Remember though that any paintwork damage will cost you when you return it but then it would also if you were part exchanging it too.
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Regarding the BMW ...
I've mentioned in the past, but if you sign up to the f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=412 forums then you'll find plenty of people discussing deals, what offers are available, etc. There's one salesman in particular who has realised the benefits of being 'part of' such an online community and offering stonking deals to members, knowing that they'll talk about such deals, leading to him getting more sales, etc.
Basically, search 'TRL deals' on there (the guy's name is Tony Lewis), or post up asking for some pointers. Someone will send you TRL's direct email address. I think he works at a dealership in the Heathrow area.
EDIT : I think people were talking 23-25% off list price recently. No idea how that stands up to what you've been quoted.
Edited by RobJP on 11/10/2017 at 11:08
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Thanks SLO. These are all PCP deals with pretty hefty deposit contributions from the manufacturers, £4.5k in the case of BMW.
My fear with leasing are the punative charges for damage and I think this might be a keeper....
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"My fear with leasing are the punative charges for damage and I think this might be a keeper...."
That would rule out the Alfa in my eyes then. Alfa and auto box do not a good combination make regards longterm durability. I'd offload before the warranty was up.
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Oh, there is a 'nasty trick' you can legitimately do regarding on PCP finance, to get the additional discount.
You buy the car on finance, taking that extra manufacturer discount. Then, within 14 days, you phone up (for example) BMW Financial Services, and tell them you wish to cancel the fiance and settle the finance agreement in full.
You keep the discount. They can't even legally ask you for it back.
My attitude on that is that manufacturers or dealers would shaft you without hesitation. So doing it back to them is perfectly legitimate.
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Oh, there is a 'nasty trick' you can legitimately do regarding on PCP finance, to get the additional discount.
You buy the car on finance, taking that extra manufacturer discount. Then, within 14 days, you phone up (for example) BMW Financial Services, and tell them you wish to cancel the fiance and settle the finance agreement in full.
You keep the discount. They can't even legally ask you for it back.
My attitude on that is that manufacturers or dealers would shaft you without hesitation. So doing it back to them is perfectly legitimate.
Yes, however you would need the funds to do this.
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"Yes, however you would need the funds to do this."
PCP's are almost always at a higher APR than normal finance agreements. The cheapest way to finance a car in the absence of any manufacturer subsidised ultra low rate or 0% deal is always a bank loan. My bank currently offers loans as low as 2.8% APR. You could take the PCP, Hoover the contribution then take out a low rate bank loan over a longer term to pay it off. It'll typically save thousands in interest payments.
Do your homework before finalising any finance agreements, this is where 90% of buyers waste money needlessly.
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"Yes, however you would need the funds to do this." PCP's are almost always at a higher APR than normal finance agreements. The cheapest way to finance a car in the absence of any manufacturer subsidised ultra low rate or 0% deal is always a bank loan. My bank currently offers loans as low as 2.8% APR. You could take the PCP, Hoover the contribution then take out a low rate bank loan over a longer term to pay it off. It'll typically save thousands in interest payments. Do your homework before finalising any finance agreements, this is where 90% of buyers waste money needlessly.
Agreed. BMW is 2.9% and Alfa is about the same if not a bit less. Jag is expensive...
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Oh, there is a 'nasty trick' you can legitimately do regarding on PCP finance, to get the additional discount.
You buy the car on finance, taking that extra manufacturer discount. Then, within 14 days, you phone up (for example) BMW Financial Services, and tell them you wish to cancel the fiance and settle the finance agreement in full.
You keep the discount. They can't even legally ask you for it back.
My attitude on that is that manufacturers or dealers would shaft you without hesitation. So doing it back to them is perfectly legitimate.
You also alienate the selling dealer as they lose their commision - maybe better to cancel 3-4 weeks after and pay the minute amount of interest.
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Oh, there is a 'nasty trick' you can legitimately do regarding on PCP finance, to get the additional discount.
You buy the car on finance, taking that extra manufacturer discount. Then, within 14 days, you phone up (for example) BMW Financial Services, and tell them you wish to cancel the fiance and settle the finance agreement in full.
You keep the discount. They can't even legally ask you for it back.
My attitude on that is that manufacturers or dealers would shaft you without hesitation. So doing it back to them is perfectly legitimate.
You also alienate the selling dealer as they lose their commision - maybe better to cancel 3-4 weeks after and pay the minute amount of interest.
Doesn't work like that. You have a 14 day 'cooling-off' period, in which to withdraw from the agreement.
After that period, you no longer have those rights.
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Oh, there is a 'nasty trick' you can legitimately do regarding on PCP finance, to get the additional discount.
You buy the car on finance, taking that extra manufacturer discount. Then, within 14 days, you phone up (for example) BMW Financial Services, and tell them you wish to cancel the fiance and settle the finance agreement in full.
You keep the discount. They can't even legally ask you for it back.
My attitude on that is that manufacturers or dealers would shaft you without hesitation. So doing it back to them is perfectly legitimate.
You also alienate the selling dealer as they lose their commision - maybe better to cancel 3-4 weeks after and pay the minute amount of interest.
Doesn't work like that. You have a 14 day 'cooling-off' period, in which to withdraw from the agreement.
After that period, you no longer have those rights.
It does work like that, that's how I did it!
You don't have "rights" but in practice most PCP deals will give an early settlement figure calculating interest just for the time elapsed.
Edited by RT on 11/10/2017 at 13:14
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I think you may be won over by the straight-six in the 440i. It'll also probably be the most reliable of the three.
If you're going for a PCP, the lower depreciation on the BMW may well compensate for the higher list price. I agree in principle with SLO about bank loans, but if a dealer is getting a good rate for pushing PCPs, you may find the PCP is more easily affordable - and you could combine the two by taking a bank loan and paying off the PCP quickly, if that turns out to be the better deal.
Leasing sounds like an interesting option: it used to be confined to business users but it seems to be becoming more common with private buyers. Has anyone any experience of private leasing, and how it stacks up against the other forms of finance?
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"You also alienate the selling dealer as they lose their commision"
So, theoretically, is it best to use a broker and obtain their discounts - I understand that you can still take advantage of the PCPs, 'dealer contributions' etc. - then cancel within the 14 days and pay off with a cheaper bank loan knowing that in any case you'd be using a local dealer for servicing and warranty work?
An example - a broker who advertises here has offered me a red Suzuki Baleno (list 12k) for £8786. Even with Suzuki £2k offer and scrappage, local dealer can't match it. It would seem to me better to buy through broker, take advantage of PCP offers then pay off. Unless local dealer would have been the one supplying via brokeer deal, I'd just be a punter turning up for servicing/warranty stuff.
(Sorry about formatting, I did my best!).
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