Hello,
I am about to buy my first ‘luxury car’ - woohoo!
Paid a deposit to hold it and going in to make the purchase in the next couple of days.
It will be a pre-registered car, so essentially brand new 20 plate with a few dozen miles, but with a hefty discount.
I have several queries;
1) cash vs finance. I would prefer to pay in cash, but I believe finance may unlock better deals (eg free service packages). If I did take finance for this reason, I plan to pay it off in full the next day. Other than a mark on my credit rating, would this have any other problems as a strategy?
2) what am I likely to be sold by the salesman, and which are good value, which aren’t and which are better bought elsewhere?
- Gap insurance?
- super guard type products
- alloy insurance
- any other products I’m not aware of
3) I have seen threads here about special coatings for new cars - please could someone advise on this. Do they do it at dealership or should I go privately? Should I get those clear stickers applied to stop chips?
Anything else I should be aware of before I go in?
THANKS as always to the amazing knowledge base and helpful folk of TZUK!
1st, congrats on your new car, a lot of people take the finance option to achieve a bonus of some sort then pay it off right away, never heard of a black mark on your credit score if you do this, never affected me, don’t buy the options you’ve mentioned from the dealer, all can be purchased much cheaper away from the showroom, ie superguard type, I bought the product in at £59 (maybe £69), sales desk charge £299. Enjoy.
Hello and good luck with your purchase, exciting times!Originally Posted by ach5
I've never paid for either of the above, been lucky not to need them I guess.
However, a few months ago I bought and insured a VW T6 campervan. When getting a quote for the insurance I opted for the minimum £200 excess initially, then near the end end of the call the insurance agent offered me excess protection insurance for an extra £28 which basically promised to pay the excess in the event of any claims, a promise I was somewhat cynical about. But I asked him for a quote with that included and the excess raised to £500 and the bill came to about a £80 less than before. I dont normally pay for any insurance extras but this was a no brainer.
Fast forward a few weeks and I catch the rear wheel arch and the rear wheel on a car park spacing boulder that 'jumped out at me'. They invisibly repaired the arch and replaced the alloy for a brand new one (despite it only being a gouge on the wheel) and it didn't cost me a penny. The van was picked up and delivered back in two days. I'd never heard of this extra on a policy before, but heartily recommend it.
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Gap insurance
Ceramic coating
Tyre insurance
All avail for much less from third party firms
Plus if they prep the car below standard (most do) you’re pretty much stuck with the crap finish for quite a while
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Buy on finance and clear as soon as you are allowed in order to get the best deal.
Don’t buy any of the additional products - all upselling with high margins. If you can afford to pay cash for the car, then these should be risks that you can bear.
What are you buying?
As others have said don’t take the dealer’s gap insurance. Shop around. I always tell them they’re wasting their time trying to flog it me as I always get it cheaper elsewhere.
Think the last dealer quote for gap was about 400. I got it from ALA with a piston heads 12% discount for 125 ish. You can get the same discount on the piston heads forums where ALA publish the code themselves.
NB Audi once quoted 499 and when I showed them the ALA price they matched it, shows how much margin is in these products.
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Thanks everyone so far.
Any recommendations on interior / exterior protection companies around Manchester / South? Someone who can do the Scotch Guard as well as the exterior paint protection / chip protection? And what sort of cost is this treatment?
I’m afraid I really don’t know where to start and I don’t know what’s available.
Do you actually need all that protection and Scotch Guard? A decent after sale clean and detail would be just as good, if not better.
And for the interior, we have kids plus a dog and the interior of our cars has also been absolutely fine without treatment. Cleans up just fine.
Alloy insurance I do agree with if you can get it cheap enough. Big wheels are expensive to refinish.
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What car you having ?
I took the finance on my wife’s RR as they offered a big deposit contribution and gave us a good deal on her PX as well as including the plastic car and boot mats. Paid of the finance after first payment and had no complaints. Only extras I took were the dent damage as I know my wife and gap insurance.
He said in his original post that it’s his first luxury car. Of course he’s going to want anything and everything to help keep it in tip top condition and to be honest I don’t blame him. Pride of ownership and all that.
I know. I read that. My point is whether luxury or bog standard the manufacturers design and test the interior to not fall apart and look rough in the blink of an eye. Pride is keeping the car clean in the first place and regularly hoovering it out properly.
This is why it’s harder now to spot a clocked car as the interiors wear big miles so much better.
IMHO it’s more beneficial to a dealer to up sell these interior protection products than the buyer. Better to concentrate spending cash on items which are beneficial like GAP, minor dents and alloy insurance - because these are far more likely to come into use.
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I agree. I am not convinced by additional paint and interior protection, but I suppose it depends on how long the OP plans to keep the car. If for 2-3 years, is it really going to make a difference, and will it make it more saleable at that time.
If you are buying a nice car get the gap insurance.
Don't buy the cheapest, buy for a solid high street name.
My gap insurer went bust a month before my car was stolen leaving me a £lot out of pocket.
You can't post a thread like this and not tell us what you are getting!
I have never bothered with any extras but I'm tempted by alloy/dent insurance, anyone know where best to get this?
I have used ALA for a few years now. MSE25 gets you 25% off too
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/in...gap-insurance/
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Sorry, I need to maintain some air of mystery :-) I’ll tell you that it’s big and German Though!
Regarding GAP, ALA quoted me around the same as the dealership quote. However, that doesn’t include the 25% code above (thanks!).
As I’m buying a pre-registered car, thus almost as ‘new’ but discounted, I’m not sure how to calculate the GAP since a chunk of the ‘from new’ depreciation has already been knocked off the sales price...
For the purposes of man maths, let’s say the car list price is £60k, and I’m paying £45k and I plan to likely keep it for a good few years, what level and what type / level of GAP insurance from ALA would you use?
Main choices are return to invoice or vehicle replacement (assuming you pay it all off).
When you get a big discount, I'd go vehicle replacement. You pay more for it, but you can't guarantee you'll get a good price again.
Agree. I think as well as covering you for any discounts the OP got when purchasing the car Vehicle Replacement will cover off manufacturer price rises.
Did the same. Had to take a small amount on finance to get a £1k contribution from JLR. Then paid it off after first payment. Seems so silly.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Question from across the sea. Can someone explain 'insurance gap' to me? (PM will do). Thanks.
Menno
GAP insurance covers the difference between insurance valuation-payout- after an accident and the sum insured, ie insured to replace vehicle or the invoice cost.
You paid £50k after accident insurance offers £35k, GAP will payout the £15k difference back to purchase price. Much simplified explanation, always check insurance small print for get outs and/or reductions.
Thanks for that! Here, when you buy a car, between 0 and 3 y/o can be insured for the price you've paid. Costs are pretty low only a few euros/month. The total annual amount depends: age of the driver, number of years without damage - the so-called 'Bonus/Malus rule' , location, < or > 50K (alarm) etc.
M
Wow, don't think we've had a TZ-UKer with a Maybach before.
:-p
I’ll give you a ride when it arrives! Or rather my chauffeur will!
My NFU insurance will pay out new price for the first year in the event of total loss, so no need for GAP.
I would have a proper ceramic coating done by a specialist detailer, makes a lot of difference to the look of the car, and makes it easy to keep clean for years to come.
Someone like this as you are in Manchester area https://www.instagram.com/centraldetailing/
Last edited by plw; 22nd October 2020 at 19:34.
Congratulations on the new car.
I’m guessing A6 estate.
I would advise a detailer for applying ceramic coating etc for paint and windows. You can even get the interior protected.
Be careful with this, many policies don’t cover this if the car is pre-registered (as in the op’s case) or a lease car. As ever the devils in the detail.
Give Jay a call @ https://miglior.co.uk/ if you want a top quality detailing job.
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