Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

More on lending and the UK car market. Interesting box-out at the end about German manufacturer in-house banks.

https://www.ft.com/content/d340ea28-5040-11e7-bfb8-997009366969

^ paywall

Can you copy paste?

Google link, and select "Cached" on drop down on right of link, read.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2k20S-01G7AJ:https://www.ft.com/content/d340ea28-5040-11e7-bfb8-997009366969%3Fmhq5j%3De3+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

That air brake is amazeballs...

l33t

All I read was cheap 3yo cars.

Same here. From a society p.o.w it seems worrying, but if I'm being egoistic it sounds like there'll be more and cheaper 2nd hand cars around in a few years

Finally finished getting the rest of the rot in the engine bay sorted.

New section in the battery tray, they all go there though and mine wasn't so bad.

also repaired the bulkhead where i'd had to weld the throttle pedal back on in the past, which was something i'd been putting off and in the end wasn't that bad to do.

There are 4 more gussets to weld into the engine bay which i'm waiting to get water jet cut, then the engine can go back in for a trial fit and the front panel and wings can go back on.

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Oh and i've also trial fitted the gold wheels. They might end up white at some point

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@Dammit Wouldnt it be easier to buy this for around £11k to fill the gap until you can get and electric/hybrid? How fast do you actually need it to be when you already have a 911?

If you can find them down there, the "steelies" fitted to Citroen C5s are actually alloy, nice looking/stealthy upgrade, light and wide.

15 x 6", et 18. 4.7kg each (Cyclones are 9kg each)

You want the later ones stamped "ps815011".

http://www.306oc.co.uk/forum/archive/index.php?thread-10796-2.html

...to clear up confusion..

C5's that were shipped from Europe came with these wheels as transport wheels to save weight for shipping costs. Many were given hubcaps and sold on with these wheels fitted, but the early ones were found to crack around the bolt holes, hence needed the specific part number stamped into them that Scott mentioned.

Also they're almost a ceramic kind of alloy. If anyone's ever shotblasted them like I did with mine, you'll see they're actually quite porous and brittle looking.

Amazingly light though, I nearly fell over lifting them, when I sold them I carried all four wheels at the same time to the courier van.

I think the stats are because of PCP 3 year old cars with have a value of around 57% instead of 61%.

Thanks, I did manage to read the article tho.

I don't understand PCP - specifically I don't know where I'd be at the end of the hire period with regards to money/equity. If I had the car back, does any cash come my why? If not, how can I use the car that isn't mine as a deposit on a new vehicle?

Here's an interesting comparison which is relevant to my interests:

1. Tesla Model S for £65,923, which I could obtain via "Tesla arranged financing", but it would appear that I'd need to apply for it to get the details, so I won't do that. Pass.
   
2. Volvo V90 R Design T8 Twin Engine, £58,734, but the Volvo websites finance calculator is borked so no idea what that would cost, and as I don't understand PCP I don't know what, if anything, I'd have left at the end of three years
   
3. The AMG estate that Hefty found, for £19,995, which would be £583.84/month for three years and I'd own the car from day one.
   

PCP agreements will give a 'guaranteed future value' at the start of the term (in the contract) which is the minimum value the dealer will 'buy back' the car from you.

That number is usually 80-90% of the actual used value after three years (so the dealer isn't in negative equity).

Example sums:

Car value: £50,000
Deposit: £5,000
GFV: £25,000
36 payments of: £555.55
Acutal value after three years: £29,000
Money left for new deposit: £4,000

Of course, if the actual value at the end of the term is £24,000 as the arse fell out of the market, then the dealer would just buy it back at £25,000 and you'd walk away.

Ok, that makes sense - thanks.

Does the dealer wring in the contract "80-90% of the actual used value"? Who then sets the used value?

No, dealers generally can't change the GFV. It gets spat out of their system and is calculated at 'group level'.

The calculations are usually a mix of market depreciation rates and historical used sales from their own database.

The only real change you can usually make is to pay more than the minimum amount (to get you to the GFV) so that you have a higher level of equity in the car at the end of the term.

Switching to ordering a new Tesla gives this:

Tesla Model S, 75
Deposit of £11,000
Monthly payment of £645
GFV of £37,328 (48 month term)
That's on a £61,500 car.

You'd then be hoping that the dealer would give you (say) £45,000 for it for your next deposit, which strikes me as optimistic.

Are there any 3yr old examples you can look at on the market? Be interesting to see what they go for.

Because that model is still from the crappy quality days. The 20k one will be streets ahead in quality and reliability, as well as looking much better.

You seem very angry, maybe it's time to go and wash your car?

But which headbolts has it got?

I don't know (or care). Is that a thing?

Two versions of head bolt, changed from v1 in approx 2009 to v2 subsequent to that.

V1 tends to snap, head lifts, replacement engine needed.

The AMG under discussion is a MY 2010- but does it have an engine produced in 2009?

New on the left, old on the right - the head of the older design snaps off: