Buying a car on PCP in end of year

kma1987

Hey folks.
In September, we decided to purchase the new VW golf on PCP. We were really excited about the car, but the delivery is taking far too longer than be expected, and honestly our dealer wasn't very forthcoming about the delivery timelines.. we were expecting the car to be here in a month, but its been 2 months now, and we are really frustrated and tired of waiting.

We just got the update that the car has finally reached Ireland, and now the dealer suggested that since its near the end of the year, it might be better to just wait till January to register the car. I was really tired of waiting, so I just told him to get it over with now.

I understand that a 21 plate means the car appears newer which will increase its value, but since I am buying on PCP and I have to return it to the same dealer, will this really matter?

JoeA3

kma1987 wrote: »

I understand that a 21 plate means the car appears newer which will increase its value, but since I am buying on PCP and I have to return it to the same dealer, will this really matter?

You don't have to return it to the same dealer. You never have to deal with them again if you so wish. At any time over the next 3 years you could negotiate a trade in with any other dealer. That dealer would give you a cost to change and he can clear your existing finance. If you have any equity in the car above what's owed after finance is cleared, then you can put that towards your next new car.

So yes, it does matter. In 6 weeks time your new car is "a year old". It will always be worth a bit less than the exact same car that was registered in January 21. So you'd be wise to wait imo.

kma1987

JoeA3 wrote: »

You don't have to return it to the same dealer. You never have to deal with them again if you so wish. At any time over the next 3 years you could negotiate a trade in with any other dealer. That dealer would give you a cost to change and he can clear your existing finance. If you have any equity in the car above what's owed after finance is cleared, then you can put that towards your next new car.

So yes, it does matter. In 6 weeks time your new car is "a year old". It will always be worth a bit less than the exact same car that was registered in January 21. So you'd be wise to wait imo.

But what if I choose to return to the same dealer? Will the value still differ by a lot just because I registered it in January rather than December? I am just so tired of waiting.. it is pretty much the only thing I am looking forward to during this bleak lockdown

un5byh7sqpd2x0

kma1987 wrote: »

But what if I choose to return to the same dealer? Will the value still differ by a lot just because I registered it in January rather than December? I am just so tired of waiting.. it is pretty much the only thing I am looking forward to during this bleak lockdown

Yes it will. Don’t buy it now.

A month, or even 2 months, was never realistic for a factory order.

Oops!

As said already.... Wait till January.

JoeA3

kma1987 wrote: »

But what if I choose to return to the same dealer? Will the value still differ by a lot just because I registered it in January rather than December? I am just so tired of waiting.. it is pretty much the only thing I am looking forward to during this bleak lockdown

Yeah unfortunately it will matter, but if you're happy to accept that in 3 years time the car will be worth a few k less than what it would have been had you waited till January, then go ahead

Maybe the dealer could sort you out with a temporary car / dealer demo in the meantime...

bazz26

kma1987 wrote: »

But what if I choose to return to the same dealer? Will the value still differ by a lot just because I registered it in January rather than December? I am just so tired of waiting.. it is pretty much the only thing I am looking forward to during this bleak lockdown

Returning it to the same dealer or a different dealer doesn't change the fact that it would be a 2020 registered car versus a 2021 registered car. This will impact the value of the car irrespective of which dealer you return the car to.

Regarding waiting unit January, just make sure that you understand that your car's price may change due to the recent VRT budget changes that come into effect on January 1st. The price of some cars will come down and others will go up. Did your dealer mention any of this to you? It's a double edged sword here, if your car goes up in price in January the dealer or VW might be absorbing the price difference from now, stick to the original PCP rates or may look for more money from you. On the other hand if the price of your car goes down in January they may be keeping the difference rather than revising your PCP deal to reflect the lower price.

spyderski

kma1987 wrote: »

But what if I choose to return to the same dealer? Will the value still differ by a lot just because I registered it in January rather than December? I am just so tired of waiting.. it is pretty much the only thing I am looking forward to during this bleak lockdown

The dealer doesn't dictate what the car will be worth - the market does that. Your car will be taken as 1 year old even if you register it on the 31st December. Only way it makes sense to register a car this late in the year is if you're doing huge mileage, which you want to average our over 1 year more..

kma1987

Thanks for the replies, guys. If its just 1 or 2k, I might not be too concerned, especially because I am trading in my own car with the same dealer too, so I am guessing he will pay me lesser for that car too. But he didn't explain anything about VRT. I am getting a 0% PCP though.

Rusky rusky

As long as your purchase price won’t increase on the 1st of January.

CiniO

Am I right in thinking that if car is registered on 1st January 2021 or later, then motortax rates will be based on new pricelist based on WLTP system ?

This might make that particular car more or less expensive to tax.

Also is that not the case that in such circumstances also VRT would be based on new pricelist so dealer's price could change?

JoeA3

CiniO wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that if car is registered on 1st January 2021 or later, then motortax rates will be based on new pricelist based on WLTP system ?

This might make that particular car more or less expensive to tax.

Also is that not the case that in such circumstances also VRT would be based on new pricelist so dealer's price could change?

Yes. It will be on the new WLTP VRT and motor tax rates.

I'd suggest that the OP studies the latest Golf product guide/price list carefully and make sure the prices aren't going to work against them if they wait until January.

Latest guide for Jan is here: https://www.volkswagen.ie/idhub/content/dam/onehub_pkw/importers/ie/models/product-guides/2020/2020-11-18/201116_RB_All-NewGolf8_MY21.pdf

Lantus

Your car when bought 2nd hand will be judged with similar of age and price. If its a 202 vs a 210 then it will worth less despite a few months in it. I would hang on if you can. Only a little longer.

3rdDegree

OP I know you're very anxious to get the car, but it's only a few weeks now. I think you'd be very foolish not to wait. If you're changing it in three years time and you don't wait until January, it will effectively be a four year old car then!

kma1987

Thanks for all your suggestions. I talked to my dealer and he assured me that there will be zero change in the price of my older car and the newer one, and he's even confirmed the date for handing over the new car (5th Jan). I guess having an exact date itself was enough to relieve some anxiety of waiting for a new car, so I just opted to wait it out.