Car finance terms explained
The most popular PCP deals are through the dealership that you are purchasing the vehicle from. Although there are brokers that can be found online who offer PCP deals as well. It’s probably a good idea to check these against the dealership offer to ensure you are getting the best deal for you.
Online finance brokers
The online brokers can offer a large number of deals as well as those for people with a less than perfect credit history. Using these sites gives you an upfront idea of your projected monthly payments that is important when looking at what you can afford.
All these online brokers do is offer finance deals through a variety of lenders, which in theory offers you a more varied search.
One point to be aware with this option is that some searches performed by these brokers appear on your credit file and may affect future loan attempts if they appear regularly.
There are quite a few brokers online so shop around and see which one will suit you current circumstances. You can still buy your car from a mainstream dealer but finance it through a separate broker.
Dealer finance
Dealer car finance is offered by almost every dealership in the UK and the PCP deal is one of the options they offer. There are three main types of dealerships, which are known as:
- Franchised – These dealerships are manufacturer specific, e.g. Audi or Ford
- Independent – No manufacturer ties
- Car Superstores
Procuring PCP through the manufacturer's finance arm
In the case of a franchised dealership the manufacturer finance division more often arranges the finance deals. For example Audi is Volkswagen Financial Services or Vauxhall Finance.
It’s advisable to look at the dealerships and see what offers they have as new car sales attract some good deals.
Offers include dealer contributions from £500 to £2000, depending on the car, and 0% finance is not uncommon. Your credit history will have an impact on the finance offers the dealer is prepared to give you on the deal.
Going back to an earlier point it’s worth noting that if you have no intention of owning the vehicle at the end of the deal the PCP contract including it’s ‘Balloon Payment’ will most likely be a more expensive way to finance a car. In this instance it may be worth looking at a personal car loan or hire purchase.
Getting a PCP through an independent dealership or car supermarket
If you choose to go through an independent dealership for your finance you will find that they can offer very similar deals to the franchise finance options as above. This is because they use finance from large lenders allowing them to be competitive. For example Black Horse and Santander supply the car supermarkets and independent dealerships with these finance deals. Unlike the main dealerships these finance providers cannot offer the subsidised deals that you will find through the car companies PCP deals. As a result of using the dealership finance you can generally expect to see a slightly higher APR and this may increase even more if you have a poor credit score.
In closing, the market for these types of loans is very competitive so you need to take a look around to see which deal is right for you. The most important thing is being able to make the monthly repayments so you keep a healthy credit score, which will only help for the future and the procurement of your next vehicle.