Lexus Deal

[SMW]

I’m now getting close to sealing a deal on a new IS and would be interested to hear other people’s views on the offer available.

I’m looking at a brand new UK supplied IS200 SE manual with optional paint. Supplied by UK dealer so price includes 3 year warranty and RAC cover, delivery, plates, registration and 12 months road tax.

The full UK list on this is £20,610.

The dealer has cut this by 5.51 % - taking off £1,159 to get a new price of £19,451. This is comparable with the best UK on line broker price I can find – which is at

http://www.broker4cars.co.uk/lexusprices.htm

The dealer can get the car in 3 weeks and will also include and fit mats.

I have £1500 deposit which means that I am looking to finance the remaining £17,951.

In relation to this the dealer has said that if I do 9 000 miles a year he will guarantee that in 3 years time the car will be worth at least £9,382. This is 48% residual on his ‘discounted’ price or 45% of the full list.

The dealer believes the car will actually be worth more than this and it has been set artificially low – however I think it’s fairly reflective of what the car will actually be worth.

I then pay the interest on the whole amount financed and the capital of the depreciation – in other words everything except the guaranteed future value. In 3 years time I have 3 choices:

Option 1

Pay the future value (£9,382) and I then own the car. I can pay that amount with another loan if I want.

Option 2

I can hand the car back, pay nothing more and provided I haven’t exceeded the mileage agreed and the car has been serviced by Lex and is generally in good condition that’s it – this option means that I will have paid £12,057 to effectively ‘hire’ the car for 3 years. There is a charge of £117.50 if I want the car collected from my house rather than me taking it to the dealer. There is a charge 10.5 pence for every mile done over the agreed 27,000 miles.

Option 3

I can enter into another agreement – Lex value the car and pay off the finance ‘owed’ (the future value) they then give you any additional value towards your next car – although as previously said I don’t think this will generate much.

Over the 3 years the APR for this finance is 8.6 % and the total charge for credit is £3,399.34. The credit charge includes a one off £90 paid with the first payment and £40 one off payment at the end if I decide to make the final guaranteed future value payment (option 1).

Obviously the APR is a bit high but you are paying for the ‘privilege’ of deferring a big (nearly half) chunk of the capital. This makes the monthly payment much lower. In this case it’s £334.94.

Sorry this post is a bit long – what I really want to know is:

1. How does 45 – 48 % 3 year residual sound? Is it likely to be more or less than this?

2. Is the selling price of £19,451 good or is it likely the dealer can ‘give’ a bit more.

3. Is the APR acceptable for this financial product?

4. Anything else I should know that I haven’t mentioned?

Thanks in anticipation of your help – greatly appreciated

[TheNissanMan]

You r best bet is to post this over on the sister site LO, they'll know exactly what deals are available and what extra's you can get, I'm sure they'll be more than helpful :D

[SMW]

I'm cheating a bit - it is on LOC as well - I'm just 'casting my net' for max coverage.

Noticed on LOC it's your birthday tomorrow - expecting some funny posts Thursday then (already seen Fidgits)

[TheNissanMan]

And unfortunately I will be in a meeting in Bristol all day so not on the web again....