Thinking of buying a Z4

What they offered is likely PCP (Personal Contract Purchase). Many banks lend on cars this way - the big ones are RBS, Santander, Close Brothers, Black Horse (Lloyds TSB), Lombard (though not so much now) etc etc. BMW dealers simply offer the BMW Financial Services 'branded' version of PCP. It make you think it's a bespoke product from them and less clear you can get the exact same thing elsewhere for less money. Every major make has it's own finance arm and it's always got a name - 'Select', 'Options', etc etc. If you sell your MG privately and get a better price, you can then speak to a car finance broker, who will get you the same kind of scheme for a lot less money.

Thank you for that, yes that is exactly what they have offered PCP! I'm not sure that I know what you mean when you say the banks do the same deal for less? Would that be exactly the same sort of scheme then where I lend the full amount from the bank and buy the car but the bank keep my payments low and then at the end of the 3 years I would owe a balloon payment to the bank? When you say a car finance broker? Where do I find one of those or would that be Santander which is my own bank? With the BMW PCP scheme I would pay almost £12,000 over 3 years which would include the £2.300 part exchange for my MGTF + £2000 deposit which would work out to £2,000 interest on a £17,000 car. At the end of the 3 years I would still owe a balloon payment of £7,000 and the salesman reckons that depending on the car market prices I could end up with about £1,500 over and above this as a deposit on my next car. That to me is useless when I've started now with £4,300 and struggling to get on the BMW ladder. But in my mind if I sell my car and take a personal loan which will be fully paid off in 3 years then I'll have the Z4 to sell for around £7,000 or trade in I suppose for around £5000 which has got to be a better deal hasn't it??
 
One thing to watch for is the sticky steering prob do a search on here its not a cheap fix unless you are lucky and get it done under goodwill.

Looking at what you are spending you will be getting a facelift car so should be OK not sure when the changed the column and ecu

You wont need a hardtop just take care of the soft top and you will be fine mine has lived outside since buying her two years ago snow and ice hot sun and still looks the same.
 
GAZA62 said:
One thing to watch for is the sticky steering prob do a search on here its not a cheap fix unless you are lucky and get it done under goodwill.

Looking at what you are spending you will be getting a facelift car so should be OK not sure when the changed the column and ecu

You wont need a hardtop just take care of the soft top and you will be fine mine has lived outside since buying her two years ago snow and ice hot sun and still looks the same.


Thing is I won't be buying that £17,000 car cos I don't want to go on the PCP scheme which is what I would have to do for my first Z4 or I wouldn't be able to afford it. I think I have to be realistic for my first one and can only spend I think about £11,000. I will have a deposit of around £5,000 so would look to borrow £6,000 (I could probably afford more but want to be sensible and not overstretch myself).
 
Donzie said:
Would that be exactly the same sort of scheme then where I lend the full amount from the bank and buy the car but the bank keep my payments low and then at the end of the 3 years I would owe a balloon payment to the bank?

Yes. :)

When you say a car finance broker? Where do I find one of those or would that be Santander which is my own bank?

Google brings up a few....personally I use http://www.tvaf.co.uk . Guy named Andy Wise. He's always worked hard for me, I've recommended him to friends. Should be on referral commission but I'm not sadly! Most car finance companies (though arms of banks you recognise) don't deal with the public direct, or at least not anymore. Always through dealers or brokers.

With the BMW PCP scheme I would pay almost....

PCP is real easy to explain:

1) £12,000 Car on Bank Loan

A) £2000 Deposit
B) £10,000 Borrowed
C) £248 a month x 48
D) £1,944 Interest
E) 9% APR

2) £12,000 Car on PCP

A) £2000 Deposit
B) £10,000 Borrowed
C) £3,000 Balloon Payment
D) £196 a month x 48
E) £2,441 Interest
F) 9% APR

It all depends on what you want achieve. As you can see, PCP costs more in interest as you are borrowing more of the money for a longer period. If you budget £xxx per month to have a car and tend to change them every 3-4 years, then PCP makes more sense (newer car for less money, and you don't pay out lots of cash you don't need to). If you want to clear a loan as quick as possible and keep the car, go for a bank loan or HP.

As for your figures - the dealer is confusing the details...they do that. For starters, ignore the 'car + £2000'; what he really means is a £4300 deposit, because he is essentially writing you a cheque for £2300 for your car and then you are giving it back. In this way if you can sell yours privately for more than £2300, you can walk right back in and offer a bigger downpayment. Secondly, my quick calculations don't add up for your figures as it suggests about £220 a month and 6.6% APR, which is very low for a dealer to offer! I think he's been unclear on the interest. Get all the items above (A to F) for the deal and you will see if it's fair.
 
Donzie said:
m44rrt said:
You can avoid most of the bad weather on your hood by sticking a lid on it from November to March.
You can also pick-up a spare set of 3 series wheels and put winter tyres on it and enjoy the snow :driving:


Good idea!! I have got a hardtop for the MG but to be realistic I think it will take most of my money to get the car let alone a hardtop and new wheels. Nice thought I know

You'll find the hood on a Z4 is a whole different thing to the one on the MGF. I borrowed one for a few weeks once. I remember it being only one layer and you could see the mechanism?

The Z4 has a 3 layer one, and I've never seen the point in a hardtop? In the Winter it keep you as warm and dry as any tin top I've ever owned :thumbsup:
 
Soft top is definetly the way to go, i have had numerous and the quality of the Z one is outstanding :thumbsup:

As for the dealer - tell him you have got a better deal else where for the finance. I was fortunate that i did not need it, but they got down to 3.5% over three years with a 25% deposit. The more i told him i did not need it the more he pushed and the lower he went, even to the point of knocking £200 of the price agreed if i took their finance deal. Perhaps they had some finance package targets to meet, this was a year ago and interest levels where not as low as they are now? Mind you, it is always the way, when you do not need it they are falling over themselves with great offers, when you really could do with a good deal, they dig their heels in or run for the hills.

A friend got her mini interest down by a couple of %, 1st dealer she admited up front she needed fiance and they would not move, 2nd dealer she tried the - You will never match what i have got and hey presto 1.75% reduction, it is worth haggling, the worse the answer can be is no.

So when they ask, if you need finance say you have your own means or you have already been offered a great deal by your bank, the salesman loves nothing more than a challenge to get your business, regardless of whether it is the car, finance or warranty etc.

Go and test drive a few, but be warned you will be hooked once you have tried one. :D
 
I have had to replace the steering coloum on my zed wich is fairly comon and it could be an issue with your buget as the latter cars had a upgraded part make sure you have a good warrantee for 12 months as the sticky steering won't show up untill the weather gets hot I was lucky I had a good one through the dealer as the bill was over £2k . as said before rear springs and roof motor are the only other things likly to give problems , ps I don't regret buying my zed go for it :driving:
 
z4phill said:
I have had to replace the steering coloum on my zed wich is fairly comon and it could be an issue with your buget as the latter cars had a upgraded part make sure you have a good warrantee for 12 months as the sticky steering won't show up untill the weather gets hot


Mine was fine all through the first year no probs in warm weather it started early last year around March time when i would go for an early morning drive top down so i had the heaters on full blast to keep me warm and after about an hour it would start but heaters off top up no probs at all.

The ECU sits just behind the dash near the heater vent on the right i think so that would explain why it happened.
 
z4phill said:
I have had to replace the steering coloum on my zed wich is fairly comon and it could be an issue with your buget as the latter cars had a upgraded part make sure you have a good warrantee for 12 months as the sticky steering won't show up untill the weather gets hot I was lucky I had a good one through the dealer as the bill was over £2k . as said before rear springs and roof motor are the only other things likly to give problems , ps I don't regret buying my zed go for it :driving:

Oh dear, that worries me a bit bout the sticky stearing column. I was sort of hoping for a bit of trouble free motoring for a while if I buy a BMW!! I think I'll be looking at 06/07 but more likely 06 so is it more than likely I'll have that problem then?
 
Donzie said:
z4phill said:
I have had to replace the steering coloum on my zed wich is fairly comon and it could be an issue with your buget as the latter cars had a upgraded part make sure you have a good warrantee for 12 months as the sticky steering won't show up untill the weather gets hot I was lucky I had a good one through the dealer as the bill was over £2k . as said before rear springs and roof motor are the only other things likly to give problems , ps I don't regret buying my zed go for it :driving:

Oh dear, that worries me a bit bout the sticky stearing column. I was sort of hoping for a bit of trouble free motoring for a while if I buy a BMW!! I think I'll be looking at 06/07 but more likely 06 so is it more than likely I'll have that problem then?


I thought the later cars were OK but do not know when from my column was replaced with a new 2008 unit
 
:hijacked:

What you really need to do is buy my 2.0 56 post facelift white z4 roadster for £12,000.

It's already had a new motor on the soft-top and 3 new 108's, and you'll get an excellent low mileage car that also happens to look beautiful. Should give you plenty of trouble free motoring. Search the classifieds.. :hijacked:
 
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