What do you drive?

[chrisp65]

All these conversions to auto.

I guess the people still stuck with manuals are basically retired local government types watching old episodes of Top Gear on VHS.

To be fair to them, if you still like your Austin Maestro L, manual, in sandy beige, why change?

 

[Xela]

13 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

All these conversions to auto.

I guess the people still stuck with manuals are basically retired local government types watching old episodes of Top Gear on VHS.

To be fair to them, if you still like your Austin Maestro L, manual, in sandy beige, why change?

 

Phwwwoooar!

[snowychap]

On 25/04/2019 at 19:53, Xela said:

Manual cars will soon be a very niche market for the very cheap cars or retro enthusiasts.

You'd be much better placed to judge than I would so I'll take your word for it. I wasn't arguing against automatics and for manuals though I always hated driving an automatic.

I was just expressing surprise (slightly facetiously) at the apparent growing ubiquity of them given that I'm not aware that anyone I know drives a vehicle that isn't a manual (that's including a few who have bought new cars in the past year). It's quite possible there are some, though.

Edited April 27, 2019 by snowychap

[villa4europe]

51 minutes ago, Xela said:

Its all about what is the most flashy car they can afford on their PCH/PCP plan now so they can impress their friends and neighbours. 

Would say guilty as charged when I got my 4 series beamer but my S4 now is the same cost per month

Wouldn't say I fully understand finance still after 3 cars and 5 years of doing it, I know the lower the apr the cheaper the payments will be, crazy what would have costed more than my S4, think a golf R was around £200 a month more for a car that was £15k less 

[wazzap24]

Most people don’t understand car finance @villa4europe, that’s why manufacturers make so much money from their financed PCP deals. 

Over 80% of new cars registered in the UK are done on ‘PCP’, yet over 83% of those never pay the final balloon, but have a mistaken idea that they ‘own’ the car.

I’ve said it before on here, but it’s not a popular opinion - PCH beats PCP in the vast majority of cases. I’ve never had anybody come to me with a PCP quote on a car that I couldn’t beat with PCH and I’m close to 20 years working in the finance industry.  ‘0% finance’ or ‘low apr’ are two of the biggest myths going. 

The good news for people who have had PCP deals in the past (particularly with ‘GAP’ insurance) is, the PPI mob have got your back and there will be a load of payouts coming in around 12-18 months. It’s next on the list, alongside diesel compensation. 

[wazzap24]

For anybody thinking about a PCP deal, or just looking for an enthralling Sunday morning read....

Here is the latest FCA report into Car finance - mainly PCP. 

It focuses more on dealers/brokers being able to manipulate interest rates to earn more profit/commission and the disclourse of information to counsumers, but it gives a good idea on how murky the product can be. 

The other issue with PCP is, you are in the chair for the residual/balloon. It’s all fine and dandy if your dealer has set the residual below expected market value (albeit making the monthly payments more expensive in doing so), but in order to remain competitive, these values are getting closer and closer to true Market Value, meaning any drop in used values will lead to a shortfall on the final payment. It’s all good though, the friendly neighbourhood dealer will very kindly roll that shortfall into your next deal, providing you stay with them and order another shiny new car at full retail money! 

https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/multi-firm-reviews/our-work-on-motor-finance-final-findings.pdf

Quote

In March 2018, we published an update report setting out what we had done and our initial findings. We also described the further work we would be undertaking.
Our initial findings included the following:
• Are firms taking the right steps to ensure that they lend responsibly, in particular by appropriately assessing whether potential customers can afford the product in question?
• Are there conflicts of interest arising from commission arrangements between lenders and dealers and, if so, are these appropriately managed to avoid harm to consumers?
• Is the information provided to potential customers by firms sufficiently clear and transparent, so that they can understand the risks involved and make informed decisions?
• Are firms managing the risk that asset valuations could fall and ensuring that they are adequately pricing risk?

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by wazzap24

[villa4europe]

I don't! I have no intention of reaching the balloon payment let alone paying it, hit voluntary termination and I'm out

It's a glorified car rental 

[wazzap24]

28 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

I don't! I have no intention of reaching the balloon payment let alone paying it, hit voluntary termination and I'm out

It's a glorified car rental 

I'm interested in this, have you VT'd under the old 'halves and thirds' rule before? 

We've been looking into reports that people who do this are being refused further finance? 

We've also had anecdotal reports of people being refused mortgages etc because the full value of the car is added to their credit file? Not sure how true or widespread that is though. 

Its still show PCP for what it is, when you essentially have to use a loophole to make it worthwhile? 

[Xela]

On 27/04/2019 at 10:44, snowychap said:

You'd be much better placed to judge than I would so I'll take your word for it. I wasn't arguing against automatics and for manuals though I always hated driving an automatic.

I was just expressing surprise (slightly facetiously) at the apparent growing ubiquity of them given that I'm not aware that anyone I know drives a vehicle that isn't a manual (that's including a few who have bought new cars in the past year). It's quite possible there are some, though.

I perhaps was a bit optimistic when I said 'soon'. I was probably thinking of 20-25 years into the future, when I would expect autos to standard transmission in new cars. With the move towards hybrids and full electric being the main driver of this. 

[Xela]

2 hours ago, wazzap24 said:

Most people don’t understand car finance @villa4europe, that’s why manufacturers make so much money from their financed PCP deals. 

Over 80% of new cars registered in the UK are done on ‘PCP’, yet over 83% of those never pay the final balloon, but have a mistaken idea that they ‘own’ the car.

That's quite a staggering fact isn't it? The rise of PCP has completely changed the dynamic of what people can drive around in. You can work in a bog standard office job and have a £40k car in your garage, when it once would have been a pipe dream. 

[wazzap24]

1 hour ago, Xela said:

That's quite a staggering fact isn't it? The rise of PCP has completely changed the dynamic of what people can drive around in. You can work in a bog standard office job and have a £40k car in your garage, when it once would have been a pipe dream. 

It’s an issue in many ways. 

It’s great for the consumer if they can genuinely afford it - who wouldn’t want £30-40k worth of car on the drive for £300 per month? 

The problem is, a lot of PCP ‘credit checks’ are a joke and people can easily get into bother. I spoke to someone who works in dealer finance not long ago and they laughed about their credit process - “we have 3 criteria: a pulse, a job and no CCJ’s”

The other thing is maintaining it once you’ve got it. It’s all gravy until you need £400 for a service, or £120 for a tyre, or something goes wrong outside of the warranty. People max out on their budget and forget the ongoing running costs. You can't just take these to some bloke who does it on his drive for £50 cash and get some budget remoulds when you get a flat. 

You shouldn’t take a car out on finance unless you can afford a maintenance package. That’s not to say you should necessarily take it, but you should be able to afford it, even if you decide you are going to ‘pay as you go’ for servicing etc. 

[Xela]

44 minutes ago, wazzap24 said:

It’s great for the consumer if they can genuinely afford it - who wouldn’t want £30-40k worth of car on the drive for £300 per month? 

 

Me  Why spend £300pm to have the same car on your drive as everyone else in your neighbourhood? I realise I am probably in the minority as I'm not particularly keen on new or modern cars. 

I know what you mean though, it will appeal to a lot of people. A girl at my work pays more for her car lease than her mortgage, which I find mental. 

 

[mottaloo]

2 hours ago, Xela said:

Me  Why spend £300pm to have the same car on your drive as everyone else in your neighbourhood? I realise I am probably in the minority as I'm not particularly keen on new or modern cars. 

I know what you mean though, it will appeal to a lot of people. A girl at my work pays more for her car lease than her mortgage, which I find mental. 

 

You only like cars whose engines can "burble" along country lanes.

Yes. I still remember you using the word "burble" 

[Xela]

7 minutes ago, mottaloo said:

You only like cars whose engines can "burble" along country lanes.

Yes. I still remember you using the word "burble" 

[mottaloo]

1 hour ago, Xela said:

 

[Xela]

What era do you think was best for cars? I had this debate with colleagues at work last week and there was some varying answers. For me, the sweet spot for cars was around mid 80's - mid 90's. I think that was the best era for build quality, design and technology that was actually useful and not superfluous. Cars also had better 'character' then IMO

I may be biased (bias?) as i'm not a fan of many cars post year 2000 and if I won a decent chunk of change on the lotto, I wouldn't buy a new car - i'd buy a few older ones and they'd all be from around 1990 time. This no doubt is influenced by the fact I was a 11yo car nut at the time who spent his free time reading Autocar and What Car magazines!  

The best car i've had is a '89 BMW E30 325i Sport - beautiful flat 6 and an experience to handle at a wet roundabout! What a beaut of a car and built like a tank. The Bimmers of this era (E24, E28, E30, E31, E32 and E34) were all excellent and for me, are a notch above current ones. The Merc W123/W124 platforms are arguably the best ever built in terms of longevity. Many are still used as taxis and workhorses in various parts of the world. 

While I am amazed at the technological advancements in cars nowadays, the majority seem to be a bit dull and similar in design. Obviously there are a few exceptions (advancement of hybrids and electric cars) but going back to my favourite era, most manufacturers were easily identifiable from a distance. Renaults were distinctive, Citroen still made batshit crazy cars and Peugeots were reliable (the 504 and 505 is still heavily used in Africa as a cab). Volvos and Saabs stood out a and you could recognise a Jag from a mile away. I don't see many iconic cars being built now and can't see many of these jelly mould design cars being around after 30 years. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Xela

[chrisp65]

Hmmm, really tricky.

I've had late 60's and early 70's cars that have been brilliant fun. A mini, a beetle and a pre Leyland Spitfire. All fantastic fun and you could tune them and service them yourself with the most basic of tool kits. They all felt fast when you drove them because you knew you were driving on your wits. If they crashed, they killed you.

I had a 'hot' Triumph Dolomite which was a sort of transition from old school cars, all the fun of the older cars, but with actual suspension and nice seats and decent speakers, alloy wheels and power steering. 

My current car is just a metallic blue box devoid of any design flair. But it can do over 100mph, 75mpg, it brakes if there's something in front of me and it steers itself to stay within the white lines of the motorway when I take my hands off the wheel. It has sat nav, a thousand songs on a usb, dab radio and on and on and on..

But the best sex I ever had was in the back of my Morris Marina.

 

[jim]

On 28/04/2019 at 11:38, wazzap24 said:

I'm interested in this, have you VT'd under the old 'halves and thirds' rule before? 

We've been looking into reports that people who do this are being refused further finance? 

We've also had anecdotal reports of people being refused mortgages etc because the full value of the car is added to their credit file? Not sure how true or widespread that is though. 

Its still show PCP for what it is, when you essentially have to use a loophole to make it worthwhile? 

I'm pretty sure it's bollocks, it leaves a mark but shouldn't affect your credit rating. You may have an issue if you went to the same dealer but others couldn't care less. 

I VT'd with a year to go on my last car as the market had been hit by the emissions scandal and my car was worth less than the balloon with still a year to go.

I bought my current car outright, I doubt I'd ever go back to PCP after losing a tonne of money. The only plus was knowing my monthly payment is all I would have to pay out in case anything went wrong. 

[jim]

On 25/04/2019 at 09:36, wilko154 said:

I've got a VW 2.0 Turbo Automatic with DSG gear box, it's absolutely brilliant. People argue that automatics aren't fun to drive, this car is the best fun I've ever had since I started driving.

Would never go back to manual now, although I don't know how a standard automatic would compare to the DSG with paddle-shift's.

 

Or me, my car hasn't even got a gearbox (electric) and it's the most fun car to drive I have ever had. 

[blandy]

19 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

the best sex I ever had was in the back of my Morris Marina.