Still here and still looking for the perfect big estate car. We have a lump of cash in the upper teens that gives us a good choice of 1-3 year old cars, but another possibility has occurred to me.
We ideally want a car we can keep for six years, maybe longer. That makes a 2009 car less appealing, since we'd probably want a newer one in another three years. Meanwhile, there are some sweet-looking finance deals on new cars at the moment, some of them featuring a 'deposit contribution' of as much as £4,000.
Some intermediate-level man-maths tells me that our cash lump would get us most of a new car, with future income more than adequate to cover the remainder. That gives us one car that will comfortably last us the full period, and we get to choose colour and options ourselves.
The Mondeos-with-everything purists here may not like it, but my impression is that the car makers (Audi, Mercedes, Skoda that I know of, probably others I don't) are throwing money at finance deals in the hope of shifting new cars, especially big ones, and that some of these deals make the prices of two-year-old cars look a bit silly.
What I'd like to understand is what these 'deposit contributions' mean to the deal as a whole. Is this, say, Mercedes-Benz UK money that still leaves the dealer scope to discount the base price of the car? If so, these deals look sweeter still.
Experiences, advice, scepticism all welcome.
}:---)
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You need a very nice BMW X1 2.0Xdrive - white, unmarked, 3 years free servicing, 2.5 years warranty and er...winter tyres..! (Lovely leather interior, nice colour as well !)
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>> What I'd like to understand is what these 'deposit contributions' mean to the deal as
>> a whole. Is this, say, Mercedes-Benz UK money that still leaves the dealer scope to
>> discount the base price of the car? If so, these deals look sweeter still.
>>
The 'deposit contributions' come from the manufacturers, and dressed in a different style is why one can lease an E-class so cheaply these days. I am afraid I don't know if the dealers are on reduced commissions on these cars, or whether one can try to have a second bite at the cherry. But yes, they do make a new car look good value compared to some used ones.
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Slightly disappointed with my findings so far. The one Überwagen dealer I've asked thinks they've sold all of the special model to which the biggest incentives apply, and didn't have anything so appealing to offer on the regular catalogue model. Early days, though, so I'll make a few more calls and see what turns up.
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WdB, a thousand pardons if you already have this aspect covered, but I'll mention it just in case you haven't...
Beware of high costs of "excess mileage". Looking at the Mercedes website for an E class Estate, for example, it quotes a lot of figures for a finance deal, then says in the small print.
"Based on 10,000 miles per annum. Excess mileage charges may apply".
These can sometimes be punitive!
It's your money WdB, but my old-fashioned working class mentality screams at me to consider only what your budget will let you buy outright. Apart from the odd exception (and I'll grant you that what you are looking at might fall into this category) there is no such thing as a "good finance deal". There are only some that are not-as-bad-as-others.
Last edited by: Londoner on Fri 13 Apr 12 at 12:56
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Not even one pardon required. You're quite right that I need to consider all the elements, but the mileage limit would only really matter if I wanted to return the car at the end of the term. I'm looking at this as an alternative to buying a 3yo E estate now and another one in three years; in effect I'd be buying the second car now. Any difference in the total cost I set against the benefit of having a single, unmolested car right through.
You're right to treat financing with suspicion; I do the same. In this case, the best MB contribution amounts to more than the interest. That, to me, makes it not-as-bad-as-the-others.
}:---)
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Drivethedeal is still showing a 17% discount available on MB E class estates, not tied to any finance deal. This is roughly the same level of discount available in October when I bought mine, though the dealer's initial offer was nearer 10%...
HTH
Peter
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'Deposit contribution': how sweet a deal? - R.P.
