bringing back this old thread. Anyone used https://streamlinecarfinance.co.uk/ for PCP financing?
It’s interesting to read this thread, glad you brought it back. Shows how much of a different world it was then.
Consider this great comment from Dave_P above
‘Oh and just to put a spoiler in ask about the £2000 extra discount on a 2.0, I have just bought one, £600 carwow discount, £1500 deposit contribution and £2000 discount on a 2.0 SEL Nav’
Compare and contrast to now!
I actually thought (and hoped) the sky high interest rates, with the old ‘three hundred a month’ going far north of that would make PCP far less appealing, lead to a big decrease of people getting finance on cars, and maybe seeing big discounts like ‘the old days’. Especially once the chip shortage settled. Instead, PCPers still renew pretty much as normal (maybe having the term at 4 years instead of 3), and with the arrival of the ZEM, ICE car supply seems(??) artificially restricted and big discounts only seem prevalent with EVs, presumably to get the ZEV yearly sales mandate. Remember those days when you could see copious £5-6-7K off pre regers on the likes of AutoTrader! I recall when I got my ND (2018), there were about 5 on there, withing 80 miles of me, to pick from. To think I probably moaned then too lol
And also, any decent money off as a finance deal, or a cash pre reg was typically off a much smaller base price. The price of cars since those 2018 comments, phew. I mean, I got mine for about £17K pre preg from a new price of £22K. Granted inflation has blown a cold wind since then, but £5K off say a 2L Exclusive line in 2024 gets that to, what, £27K? Don’t know about you, £27K seems a looooot more than £17k, pound for pound in my pocket and bank, comparing '18 to '24 and how car prices v inflation v cost of living has effected things.
Using the BoE inflation calculator, £17k in 2018 is equivalent to just short of £21,700 now.
So it still goes to show, those were good times for car purchasing. If you take that arbitrary £27k figure, where’s the additional £5.3k accounted for? Heightened cost of materials, manufacture costs, transport & logistics perhaps?
1 Like
Yes, good points.
And I’d like to also like to thank the poster Carlover24for resurrecting the topic. It’s really made me think retrospectively, probably as it’s a gloomy wet afternoon.
Considering your comments Wardy, yes, I recently did that BoE algorithm to see what the £17K ‘feels like’ today and I was surprised. More a case of it didn’t ‘feel like’ the equivalent of today’s £21K. If that makes any sense.
In fact, and even more depressingly, the thread has made me think of any aspects of day-to-day life where I think today is ‘better’ than in 2018. I don’t mean health,relationships etc (hopefully everyone’s fine!), but just my general outgoings,news, day to day life, hobbies etc. Depressingly I can’t think of any area which is ‘better’. Cars even, how can I think that aspect is better when basically everything I would have been interested in buying is basically ceased and pretty much nothing coming though now interests me. Look at the smaller hot hatch world etc. Car reviews on youtube are granted not for everyone, but I used to watch, but now are pretty much singing form the EV songsheets etc And where I live etc, the amount of car despising road stuff like ‘calming’ measures, restricted speed stuff, ‘active travel’ ornamental projects deserted like a ghost town etc, but eating onto road space is much more. 2024 v 2018. Sorry to the world if I moaned then 