Advice On Purchases

[discodom]

Hi All,

I thought I would pick your brains on a few questions I have.

We are in the process of looking to change our cars - PCP contracts are up. My other half is looking at getting a second hand relatively newish (but not the new CLC) C220CDI Coupe. She is looking to do quite a lot of mileage in it - new job - potentially 30k a year. Is there anything to look out for on say a 06 Plate, any suggestions on what to look out for / make sure we get on the new car. We would be looking to extend the warranty - and take out the new Total Car package that Merc now offers instead of the Service Plus option.

As for my car - am looking at an 08 E200 Kompressor Sport - ex demo with 6k on the clock. Any one got one of these - anything I need to get / look out for etc? I wont be doing any more than 8K miles in it a year.

Finally - since we are buying two cars - and with the current climate / economy - how much bargaining power have I got with the Dealership? The E200 is around 25k - the C Coupe will be about 15k - Should I be looking to;

a) Haggle the deposit down?
b) Haggle the overall price down and thus lowering monthly payments.

How much should I be looking to knock them down by - as we didnt do this on the last two cars?

Has anyone taken out the new Total Care packages?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

DOM

 

[st4]

Are you buying both these cars on a PCP.

The E200k is not the one to have and for that money you could get a diesel. Although you're not doing many miles why not go for an E240 or E350. I even saw an E500 with not many miles on it for the price you quoted the E200k. I personally wouldn't go near the E200k unless you can see a large 4 digit discount on that price.

With the C coupe thats quite a large milieage, will you get a PCP for that? If not haggle hard on the price alone, and if you HP it get a good rate, ideally below 8%APR.

I'd haggle the overall price of the car(s) down and also haggle hard on the interest rate of the finance you are offered.

 

[discodom]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

The E Class would be on PCP - although we did get a quote for the C Coupe on HP - was over 5 years..... seemed like a long period. They wouldnt do it on PCP with that mileage involved. They then mentioned capping the mileage at 30k Per annum, unsure if thats wise.

With the E Class - I liked the facelifted E200K Sport - I dont really want a huge engine; a) fuel costs and b) Tax - although I do fancy the power - but just want to be practical. The dealer did say the E200 was not really the model everyone went for - and thats why it was quite low priced in his view. The residuals would be a lot lower at the end on the petrol model.

When you mention 4 digit on the E Class - 2/3K off the marked price? Put it nearer 20k...? 2/3 K off both cars then?

D

Are you buying both these cars on a PCP.

The E200k is not the one to have and for that money you could get a diesel. Although you're not doing many miles why not go for an E240 or E350. I even saw an E500 with not many miles on it for the price you quoted the E200k. I personally wouldn't go near the E200k unless you can see a large 4 digit discount on that price.

With the C coupe thats quite a large milieage, will you get a PCP for that? If not haggle hard on the price alone, and if you HP it get a good rate, ideally below 8%APR.

I'd haggle the overall price of the car(s) down and also haggle hard on the interest rate of the finance you are offered.

 

[st4]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

The E Class would be on PCP - although we did get a quote for the C Coupe on HP - was over 5 years..... seemed like a long period. They wouldnt do it on PCP with that mileage involved. They then mentioned capping the mileage at 30k Per annum, unsure if thats wise.

With the E Class - I liked the facelifted E200K Sport - I dont really want a huge engine; a) fuel costs and b) Tax - although I do fancy the power - but just want to be practical. The dealer did say the E200 was not really the model everyone went for - and thats why it was quite low priced in his view. The residuals would be a lot lower at the end on the petrol model.

When you mention 4 digit on the E Class - 2/3K off the marked price? Put it nearer 20k...? 2/3 K off both cars then?

D

I'd say thats about right. As your PCPing the E200k, ask for as a high a possible a GMFV (i.e. the baloon payment) as this will reduce the monthly repayments. As you pay interest on both the GMFV and the monthly repayments haggle in a low rate. on some deals MB are offering a 4.2% APR deal (only on diesels).

For what your going to pay for that E200k, you could get a CDi which will save money on the long run. The E200k isn't very economical BTW and probably a 350 won't be much worse. VED is about the least consequention cost of running a car.

HP the C coupe over 5 years, you don't want to enter the world of excess milage fines in PCP deals. You can get out of an HP deal after half the term is up, and pay nothing more - just hand the car back.

 

[hawk20]

Hi All,

I thought I would pick your brains on a few questions I have.

We are in the process of looking to change our cars - PCP contracts are up. My other half is looking at getting a second hand relatively newish (but not the new CLC) C220CDI Coupe. She is looking to do quite a lot of mileage in it - new job - potentially 30k a year. Is there anything to look out for on say a 06 Plate, any suggestions on what to look out for / make sure we get on the new car. We would be looking to extend the warranty - and take out the new Total Car package that Merc now offers instead of the Service Plus option.

As for my car - am looking at an 08 E200 Kompressor Sport - ex demo with 6k on the clock. Any one got one of these - anything I need to get / look out for etc? I wont be doing any more than 8K miles in it a year.

Finally - since we are buying two cars - and with the current climate / economy - how much bargaining power have I got with the Dealership? The E200 is around 25k - the C Coupe will be about 15k - Should I be looking to;

a) Haggle the deposit down?
b) Haggle the overall price down and thus lowering monthly payments.

How much should I be looking to knock them down by - as we didnt do this on the last two cars?

Has anyone taken out the new Total Care packages?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

DOM

Several points: -
1. Total Care is not an extended warranty like Service Plus was. It is just a defined list of maintenance jobs paid for monthly.
2. An extended warranty will cost her a packet for 30k miles per annum. Better in my view for a high mileage person to buy nearly new and use up the 3 year warranty. By then she'll have done 90k!. And the warranty is unlimited miles. Presumably her firm will pay for the miles so should have ample budget?
3.Trouble with PCP's on secondhand is that the APR they charge is often outrageous. On your car, the E class, I would look at the offer on the MB website for the E220cdi. The 'retailer contribution' actually comes from MB so you can haggle a discount on top of that. And the PCP is at a very low rate (4.2%). Get a PCP quote after you've haggled the discount and check that the APR (they must tell you this by law if you ask) is still 4.2%. Take the deposit and payments as your benchmark for other deals on the 200k or whatever. You just might find the MB Offer too good to miss as the GFV is excellent so your depreciation will be low despite the new model coming.

4. Check out the AA, Lombard Direct, Tesco, Sainsburys and others for straight loans to buy a car. APR probably better than a dealer on secondhand.
5. You will find an E220cdi saloon with under 10k miles, Avantgarde, for under £25k at the moment. I just got an estate (which are dearer) for that money, 6 months old and only 6k miles. Great deals around.
6. Sport versions offer no more performance than the basic model. Avantgarde offers all the useful extras.