(G) I deal - PCP help

...just wondering if anyone has experience of the I deal or PCP's in general.

I decided to go for the I deal 3 yr plan to purchase my 500, have never had car finance before, but it seemed like a good deal and keeps the payments down to a manageable amount.

When I bought the car I asked about whether it was possible to pay it off early and the dealer said it was ...no doubt there is a penalty though

I keep wondering ...as you do ...what happens if in say 2yrs they bring out a new model and I decide I want to change...do you know if I would have to wait for the 3yrs to be up before they would let me do that?

...advice appreciated

mother has a similar arrangement with Fiat and recently changed her Grande Punto 6 months early

I deal is OK, but you need to be realistic about the GFV (guaranteed future value) if you intend to purchase at the end - lots of deals leave a high GFV to keep the monthly costs down, you then have a shock at the end cos it costs more to buy your car than another of similar age !

Ditto if they work it the other way - low GFV to encourage you to buy at the end, but higher monthlies in the meantime.

You should also look at a personal loan - even if you take the loan over a longer period you might find the same monthly payments and less to pay out after 3 years as a one off loan settlement to keep the car.

You won't get a better interest than the I-Deal at the moment if you go the unsecured loan route as you are leaving a balance at the end. The GFV is pretty decent, but if the car is worth less than this hand it back, if worth more than the GFV sell it or get the extra value when you part exchange.

If you buying another Fiat to replace the old one before the end of the deal, I am sure they will work with you on it.

We were looking at the ideal. The low mothly payments are brilliant and the interest rate appeared good at first glance.

But you pay a premium at the end so it ends up costing you more if you buy the car than a loan up front.

Check the total payments for both and decide on what you are most likely to do.

We are most likely to keep the car so a loan is better than the ideal for us.

crabman

I am not sure how you work out there is a premium, you pay more interest on the I-Deal as you are not paying the capital off on the GFV, just the interest. At a 8% personal loan on a 1.2 Lounge, you would be £500 worse off in interest as a total, but you will have had £114 a month less in payments per month and the comfort of a GFV.

Okay... From the fiat website...

£9700 lounge... total to pay on ideal@7.9% is £11283.88

£9700 lounge... personal loan with same deposit is £10770.11

So, you are paying more for ideal because you pay the capital off slower. I agree there is no 'premium' and as such I miss spoke. But you still pay more.

I just don't want people to think 7.9% APR on ideal will mean you pay the same as a presonal loan of the same value.

crabman

...that sounds encouraging ..thanks

I am quite happy with the deal and the money I get back from my current car will more or less cover the GFV at the end of the 3yrs. It just occurred to me yesterday that should a better model come onto the market...or I cant live with the ride ...which I'm sure I will ...would I be able to change it

If I wasn't at work (errr, naughty, I know!) I'd go and grab my paper work and have a look about penalties, I have my car on the I-deal plan. It works out great for me because I'm young and in 3 years time I might want something completely different and have the flexibility to do that or if I decide to keep it, I've been able to have the car I want now in an affordable way. I guess it depends what you want it for :P I'd have thought if a new model came out they'd just scrub you up a new finance deal depending on what you wanted to do (may also be a penalty for this).

I-deal is perfect for us as we have no intention of keeping the 500 after the three years - the kids will be too big for it by then

BTW - for those that are thinking I-deal - the deposits & monthlies are flexible - so you can pay a bigger deposit and much lower monthly payments.