At The end Of The PCP Contract

[johnb80]

Be careful with that as trade value is not the same as retail. They will likely go back and look at what a dealer is selling the same car for.

That isnt relevant to them it's what someone will pay them for the car thats important. Even if a dealer is selling them at £15k theyre not going to pay any more than wbac.

In reality as others have said they will likely stick to their guns and you'll be going to the auction to get the car back.

I've had a conversation with both the dealer and the finance co, both have said the same thing we can negotiate at the time according to the market. The finance company dont want the car, they dont want the hassle of auctions and fees etc.

Remember you will have to pay in full immediately for the car so make sure you have enough on a card or enough cash in the bank.

Yep, I've used auctions a lot in my past.

It's a reason I'm actually changing my car and getting an MG4. I'm in a 4 year PCP with my Zoe, which ends next March.

The balloon payment is £10,741, however a car that is identical spec to mine, and the same age with a lot fewer miles can be had for less than £9k. There's little point in doing anything except hand it back to the finance company,

Have you tried talking top the finance company? Santander were very approachable and I had a good conversation with them.

and once the MG4 arrives I'll be doing a voluntary termination. Lesson learned, the MG won't be on PCP. I'll pay the extra a month and actually own it at the end.

PCP is not a bad route to go, youre financing the forecast depreciation thats all. If I'd bought our MG5 on a straight finance deal, I would be well into negative equity throughout, to me the smart money is on PCP.

 

[Mr Smoggie]

We have a way to go yet (3+ years) but already our MG5 is getting prices less than the guaranteed minimum price. Do MG allow negotiatio0n i.e. our guaranteed minimum value is £16k at 4 years and 24,000 miles. WBAC, Motorway and some others are only offering 13K now at 8 months and 3,500 miles. At the end of our years are MG likely to accept a lower figure as the balloon payment ?

Hi, I know your post is a year old but it was the only question I could find that was relevant to what I'm trying to find out, so I hope you don't mind me asking a question.
My mg4 trophy pcp ends next month, my balloon payment is £19k, but I can just hand the car back & get a similar one from auto trader for 17k. So I was wondering if Santander would be willing to negotiate the balloon payment down so I keep the car & they don't have the hassle of collecting/selling it.
So what conclusion did you come to from all the replies you got?

 

[johnb80]

Hi, I know your post is a year old but it was the only question I could find that was relevant to what I'm trying to find out, so I hope you don't mind me asking a question.
My mg4 trophy pcp ends next month, my balloon payment is £19k, but I can just hand the car back & get a similar one from auto trader for 17k. So I was wondering if Santander would be willing to negotiate the balloon payment down so I keep the car & they don't have the hassle of collecting/selling it.
So what conclusion did you come to from all the replies you got?

When I had a conversation with them, they said they would be happy to renegotiate near the end of my contract. My dealer said in their experience they would offer it at slightly more than they would expect to get at auction. I was also told I would be told which auction it would be at and of course, I could buy it from there as another option.

 

[Mr Smoggie]

Thanks for the quick reply,
Sounds good, think I will be giving them a ring next week, hopefully they can let me keep it at a reduced payment.
Otherwise, I like the option of giving them the car back and then buying it back at auction (if price is ok), that would be amusing. Wonder if that would keep it as 1 owner, not sure how that bit works tho. Anyway thanks for the info

 

[johnb80]

Thanks for the quick reply,
Sounds good, think I will be giving them a ring next week, hopefully they can let me keep it at a reduced payment.
Otherwise, I like the option of giving them the car back and then buying it back at auction (if price is ok), that would be amusing. Wonder if that would keep it as 1 owner, not sure how that bit works tho. Anyway thanks for the info

Let us know how you get on, may help in the future.

J

 

[JonnyG]

I'm in the same boat and will be handing mine back to Santander at the end of this September (2025). They are going to be losing a lot of ££££ on MG's !! (and probably other EV PCP's).

 

[tsedge]

Buying back a bit above the auction price makes a lot of sense. You need to allow them some margin to make it worth their while to negotiate, but in many ways you are doing them a favour.

We will probably change our car when our 4yr PCP is up in March 2027, but will consider buying it back, depending on the price and what is out there on the second hand market.

That's assuming EV 2nd hand prices are still low in 2027! At the moment I'd go 2nd hand if at all possible as the savings are enormous. But it could all change again, like it has before.

 

[johnb80]

Our September 23 MG5 Trophy with 7500 miles is valued at WBAC at:-

Our PCP has a guaranteed minimum value of £16,500 Sept 27 with 24,000 miles. Their calculations seem miles off, WBAC seem to be on the money as far as auction prices go, at this rate our 5 should be about £8k.

 

[Mr Smoggie]

Let us know how you get on, may help in the future.

J

Ok so I called Santander finance today,
Took about 45 minutes for someone to answer,
While bored waiting I checked them on trustpilot,
Average 1.1* from 230 reviews, never seen that bad before !!
Anyway finally spoke to someone, who said .....

• Payment is non negotiable
• Not their policy to tell me which auction site it will go to if I hand it back,

When I tried to explain it would be in both our interests to agree a lower price and me keep the car, she didn't want to know, just kept asking me if I wanted to keep the or not, in a rude way.
So it sounds like it's pot luck if you get the one person who might be reasonable and helpful on the phone.
Suppose i might just hand it back, and either buy similar mg4 for a couple grand less, or buy something else.
Just need to check out people's experiences of handing a car back via Santander first, may not be good !

 

[Everest]

I'm in the same boat and will be handing mine back to Santander at the end of this September (2025). They are going to be losing a lot of ££££ on MG's !! (and probably other EV PCP's).

I suspect they will not lose money. The big lease companies will have bought the vehicles on a bulk-order basis and got 40% to 50% discount compared to an individual purchasing new at a dealership.

 

[johnb80]

Ok so I called Santander finance today,
Took about 45 minutes for someone to answer,
While bored waiting I checked them on trustpilot,
Average 1.1* from 230 reviews, never seen that bad before !!
Anyway finally spoke to someone, who said .....

• Payment is non negotiable
• Not their policy to tell me which auction site it will go to if I hand it back,

When I tried to explain it would be in both our interests to agree a lower price and me keep the car, she didn't want to know, just kept asking me if I wanted to keep the or not, in a rude way.
So it sounds like it's pot luck if you get the one person who might be reasonable and helpful on the phone.
Suppose i might just hand it back, and either buy similar mg4 for a couple grand less, or buy something else.
Just need to check out people's experiences of handing a car back via Santander first, may not be good !

Thats disappointing, I'm not sure how I feel about keeping ours anyway, the brand doesnt seem to want to keep it's customers happy.