The 'Just Add Fuel' car deals

[SB1500]

What do you all make of the Just Add Fuel / Simply Drive options for getting a car offered by the likes of Peugeot and Citroen?

Simply, they are one payment for a new car per month for around 3 years that includes the car, insurance, servicing, tax, etc. Then, you can either pay off a final payment and own it, or continue the same or other finance deal.

I originally disliked it because you never owned the car and had to make a payment on a continual basis... but now.. I like it because,well, you never own the car so you don't need to worry about its problems technically or depreciation.

Thinking I'd go for something like that in the future due to the peace of mind it seems to promise. Who knows, maybe Fiat will offer it by then?!

 

[rallycinq]

I did one for my youngest daughter. Because she lives 120 miles away and has no interest in anything mechanical, it seems like a good idea. If I'd bought her a used car and it had gone wrong I'd be getting a call in the middle of the night.
She is doing such a low mileage just now that it might be worth paying the balloon in 30 months time, we'll wait and see.

D

 

[SB1500]

I did one for my youngest daughter. Because she lives 120 miles away and has no interest in anything mechanical, it seems like a good idea. If I'd bought her a used car and it had gone wrong I'd be getting a call in the middle of the night.
She is doing such a low mileage just now that it might be worth paying the balloon in 30 months time, we'll wait and see.

D

So you're considering keeping the car? (Or she is rather).

Can't tell if that deal works out better than say a bog standard Panda or Sandero with insurance and servicing since they're not the most expensive to insure or fix

 

[StevenRB45]

Most just add fuel deals seem to have a "you will not own this car" line in the ad. We looked at them a few years ago at the time they seemed to have very low mileage caps (sub 5k) and very strict terms on condition. Very much got the feeling it was a way of the manufacturer ensuring they have a good supply of 3 year old low mileage full history cars and getting someone else to pay the depreciation.

They do have their appeal our ds3 is a lease but similar in that for a monthly everything is covered but terms were better and being through my wife's work is pre tax deduction.

 

[portland_bill]

You have to do the sums.
Your Panda has needed some work, so add it all up, including the cost of purchase, insurance, etc., and see what you've actually spent. You do of course still have its current value available if you sell.
Any deal from the manufacturer will likely cost more than an outright purchase, although they will have negotiated a cheaper insurance deal. They are looking to make a profit, now, and when they sell it on later. However, if the lease is sorted well for them, it may be treated as an own car for the manufacturer, rather than a retail sale. This means that the value at sale is likely to be nearer the actual cost of manufacture, so much cheaper for them. This then shows on the books as a good profit when they eventually sell. Can only be done under strict rules, and must be used for a minimum time before sale. This is how dealer demonstrators were financed years ago, which is why they sometimes refuse to sell you their demonstrator. This artificial low cost allows them to offer deals that are better than an outright purchase. So it still comes back to individual sums and circumstances.

If you buy what you can afford, like you did with the Panda, it is yours, and still yours, no matter what. If you sign up for a lease, changing your mind, or any cashflow difficulties might cause problems.

As mentioned above, mileage allowances are strict, as is vehicle condition. Any neglect could cost dear. Another downside, its a Peugeot. (personal opinion)

A new car is always special, and to some worth the cost and depreciation.

Remember though, "Just add fuel" really means, fuel, oil when necessary and screenwash.

 

[StevenRB45]

As said above you need to do the maths for you. To add to my original post we have 2 cars one is our own private car the other is via my wife's work with similar things to a just add fuel scheme (no insurance tax or service costs etc.).

Having just bought new 4x tyres and brakes at the start of the month I was whining about being skint and the other half turns round and says you should get a car like mine you'd not have to pay stuff like that. Me being me this was a cue to sit down with a calculator.

Top and bottom of it was even including my initial purchase cost with manufacturers warranty, all servicing, insurance, tax and parts so far it cost less to have my (3 year old when bought but now 5) car over 3 years than the just add fuel cars monthly payments totalled by a margin. This is before you take into account that at the end of the 3 years the bought and paid for car will be worth roughly half what I paid for it . Yes it was never a new car but you make a value judgement as to whether that second of newy newness is worth it.

Then there's other things as well my insurance is considerably lower than hers by about 50% if my car had been dog repair costs can tip the balance as well. It's really a case of working what works for you in your situation.

 

[SB1500]

Having looked into it I'm starting to see that it's not really cheaper when I consider that I can get a nearly new Panda (delivery miles) from Motorpoint or such for around £6,000. The Pop, simply just as I like it.

Insurance will drop too at some point to let's hope say £30 a month compared to my current £145.....

Car Tax is just £30 on the new ones, the sweet side of the bitter changes they made to our precious 1.2 FIRE (so I hear).

Breakdown Cover, well if Peugeots is as useless as the RAC my insurance includes then I wouldn't depend on it anymore than a new car warranty as it doesn't cover many real world scenarios.

Servicing, well the Panda is cheap in Northern Ireland even to dealer service as I do it with my 11 year old Panda currently. I wouldn't take it to the dealer for work I could do myself either way. There's no such thing as a competent mechanic in my local area so if I had to, I'd fork out to Fiat. Even the timing belt quote was £242 all in which isn't bad compared to other UK areas and 'fancier' cars.

Parts seem to be easy enough, S4P and even Euro Car Parts if I'm really desperate.

The new Panda Pop is very simple and basic. Actually a little expensive for 'what it is' sure compared to others, when you're comparing the spec sheet yes but I have grown to like Fiats style and appeal so much that I'd prefer to fork out for that than a car I don't 'love'. It's mechanically very similar to the 169 too so I could possibly do basic repairs myself as I've done with the current.

I think I've made some good points, but the problem is I change my mind up to multiple times per day :') haha And of course, any new car is years away yet. I like to spectate and plan, but I have a perfectly good Panda outside. I do enjoy spending money on it but am eternally doubtful over its asset life given the fact it is 11 years old and inevitably 'won't last forever'. It's almost like I was born to be an accountant!!!

 

[Twopandas]

I keep trying to convince my other half that my 1.1active isn't just my means of transport it also doubles as my main hobby. So the cash I spend on it provides a certain entertainment value. She usually just glazes over and reminds me that she spends very little on her panda cross.

 

[portland_bill]

I keep trying to convince my other half that my 1.1active isn't just my means of transport it also doubles as my main hobby. So the cash I spend on it provides a certain entertainment value. She usually just glazes over and reminds me that she spends very little on her panda cross.

Take depreciation into account. Yours is possibly cheaper.

 

[ChrisUK]

If you take depreciation into account no one in their right mind would buy a nearly new Fiat (other than a 500).

 

[portland_bill]

If you take depreciation into account no one in their right mind would buy a nearly new Fiat (other than a 500).

If you can afford it, a new, or nearly new car just feels good. Done it once, had a rush of blood to the wallet!. A Seicento Suite in January 2000. 85,000 miles in 3½ years, poor thing.

 

[varesecrazy]

If you take depreciation into account no one in their right mind would buy a nearly new Fiat (other than a 500).

depends how long you keep it..,

my NEW TA has lost £9 k in 3 trouble-free years - servicing has amounted to @£500

6 month old panda active cost £4700 14 YEARS ago, now worth @£1k
total servicing in £84K less than £2k.

TBH - apart from it's servicing under warranty..it's less than £1K

8 tyres at £35 a go.., 2 exhaust back boxes @£35.

1 set of brakes F+R = £80

Front suspension replaced = £140

Bulbs / Fuses = £££ NOTHING , 2 x £45 bosch S4 batteries

 

[Twopandas]

I've never been without a car since I was seventeen. Sports cars , American muscle cars, a few that are now considered "classics"so why now I'm in my sixties do I absolutely love my bog standard panda active? I lavish more attention and time and yes cash on this funny little car than on any other I have owned. I go out for a drive when I've got nowhere to go just for the fun of it. Others on this forum seem to understand these sentiments while the rest of the world think I'm starting to lose the plot.

 

[StevenRB45]

I've never been without a car since I was seventeen. Sports cars , American muscle cars, a few that are now considered "classics"so why now I'm in my sixties do I absolutely love my bog standard panda active? I lavish more attention and time and yes cash on this funny little car than on any other I have owned. I go out for a drive when I've got nowhere to go just for the fun of it. Others on this forum seem to understand these sentiments while the rest of the world think I'm starting to lose the plot.

There is something about your own car that you can make your own. Not in the huge wheels and wings way but making it yours with things like upgrading bulbs, wipers, fitting park assist, splashing out on good tyres, the sort of stuff that makes your car yours. It might not even be that it could just be that moment you step back after washing it and think "that's a nice looking car that".

As I've said we have one of the "just add fuel" cars and one that isn't and the one that is leased gets no love at all its a utensil. It's my other half's she hasn't washed it since the day it arrived 18 months ago...Tbf it gets treated like a hire car and at the end of the day it is. For my wife who has no interest in cars that's fine it's the colour she wanted and all she pays is the monthly payment and diesel. Personally I'd have got something else it's like renting a house when you can buy for less but she likes having a new car and the entirely predictable monthly cost whereas I put a bit away every month for costs.

 

[SB1500]

Just as a general OP response, I've gone off the idea as far as I'll ever see based on the fact.. say I put a dent in a Just Add Fuel Car... obligation to spend hundreds fixing it.. Something a nearly new-used Panda will only torture me mentally over and not financially.

Plus some very good points here about it being a hire car essentially, and how these little simple Fiats are cheap to own and service and actually fun in some ways!