[Deonair]

I've had my 2014 MCS for about 2 months now (ex dealers car so not mine from new) and love it to bits. BUT I was messing around on the MINI website, configurator, finance calculator etc and it appears, if I've done my sums correctly, that a new JCW which I thought was out of reach financially, is actually feasible.

Now I'm torn about what to do. If I've worked all the figures out correctly, yes I'd be losing money on the MCS I just bought (not on finance), but if I bought the JCW on a PCP my monthly outgoings would actually be less than if I kept the MCS. This is for a same spec JCW. I'm just wary about PCP as I've never had it before and I'm not sure I like the idea of still owing a massive chunk of cash at the end of the term.

Darn that MINI website. I really don't know what to do. Keep my MCS and let it depreciate in value (even though I'll be losing on what I just paid for it) or change now while it's still worth more? I do plan for my next car to be a JCW, whether it be now or in the future.

Help! Anyone? I'm hoping I'm missing something blatantly obvious which will make my decision easy.

 

[Hat]

personally i would be wary of moving from a car that is fully paid to a PCP. PCPs are designed to be very tempting, and interest rates are very low right now, but like you say its that final payment you have to consider. PCPs are really designed to help people who don't have much capital for a deposit. If you own the MCS outright you have a fair chunk to put in as a deposit so you may be better looking at straight finance.

the other consideration is that your car will lose more in the early months. it might be better to wait until the depreciation plateaus out.

have you considered asking the dealer if they would be prepared to do a straight swap? if you have a well specced car that they can easily sell on it can be a win-win in that they are shifting another new car. even if it's not a straight swap it might be closer than you think. could be worth having that conversation

 

[Hurbert II]

As Hat has said, PCP finance can be tempting but there's nothing quite like owning your car outright (my opinion of course).

The only thing to consider is "cost of ownership". Our last JCW (R56, Hurbert I) was by far the slowest depreciating car we've ever had, which is one of the reasons why we've gone for another. I *think* the MCS depreciates a little faster, so you could weigh that into the solution. If it were me and I didn't have the money kicking around to do the upgrade, I'd look around at the non-secured options (personal loans) and see if the numbers still make sense. Money is very cheap at the moment so you may be surprised.

Also, remember PCP is purely a mechanism to help manufacturers sell more new cars. Buy a JCW on PCP, zoom about in it for three years and then, MINI will start offering you the moon on a stick for a new MINI, ideally (for them) a more expensive one...

Good luck with the thinking, it's hard i know, and I'm not exactly the best person to take advice from! After all, I drive an S8... a colossal beast of a thing that depreciates like a second hand meal, but it has over 500hp and I'm a massive show off .

Oh yeah, and buying cars is stupid. they're deprecating assets.. what idiot would do that??!

 

[Deonair]

Thanks folks.

I've already put a call into a dealer just a few minutes ago to see what they come back with. But it won't be a straight swap. My MCS is 9 months old with 11k on the clock and I'd want the same spec level on the JCW as I have now.

The MCS, although not on finance, does have a bank loan against it and I don't want to increase my monthly outgoings from what they are already, so I'd have to go down the PCP route if I were changing to the JCW.

I'll see what the figures come back like and then I'll give myself a good talking to to say I'm being ridiculous in even thinking about changing

 

[Deonair]

I think I'm missing something in what the dealer just told me.

The monthly payment on a 3 year PCP is £44 more than on a 2 year PCP? How does that work?! I'm a PCP virgin so be gentle with me! I thought the longer the term the lower the monthly payment????

 

[Hat]

Generally it would be but i assume they are lowering the final payment on the 3 year deal as the car will be worth less than a 2 year old, therefore there is more to pay overall on a 3 year deal.

Also you need to realise that on a PCP although you are only borrowing the amount needed to finance the difference between your deposit and the final payment/ value, the interest is calcualted against the whole purchase price of the car

 

[Deonair]

I think I'll stick with what I've got for now. Although it will cost me no more per month for the JCW than I'm paying right now for the MCS, come the end of the term on a PCP for the JCW I'll have nothing, compared to a fully paid off MCS. I knew there would be something I was missing!

Plus, the figures given on the MINI website finance calculator are vastly different to what the dealer just told me, which has annoyed me a little

 

[noggin30]

Yeah, You suffered the same problem as I did. I had originally placed an order for the MCS, and then just a few weeks later the JCW was announced. So I cancelled my MCS order and did end up going for the JCW (which is hopefully due to arrive today or tomorrow).

Though I DID go the route of the JCW, I must admit I am already suffering a bit from buyers remorse. Part of me does wonder if I should have just stuck with the MCS.

Is it worth the remorse? Well, I have test driven both. And being an R56 owner, I can say that BOTH the MCS and the JCW seem to have lost that 'MINI-ness' that my R56 has. And frankly, the MCS in sports mode is a fantastic drive that's still fun and peppy.

So don't loose sleep over a JCW. It is a slightly better ride, but the MCS is still a lovely car.

In short...if you were still in a position of ordering...then I'd say go for the JCW
But if you already own an MCS...then stick with it and promise yourself a JCW the next time you buy one.

 

[Deonair]

I concur! With pretty much everything you said.

I remember doing the factory tour a couple of years ago and seeing an F56 hiding away where no 'guests' were meant to see it. But I spotted it and left the party to go and take a sneaky peak. I thought at the time that it was a lot less like a MINI than its predecessors. I actually swore I wouldn't have one for that reason but I have a complete weakness when it comes to MINI's and can't seem to drag myself away from them. I'm on my 7th now, I've had an R50, R56, R58's etc etc. I do love my F56, it has a lot of improvements over the previous models but I still found myself hankering after that go kart feeling that the F56 lacks a little. So about a month ago I went out and bought another R58 S and now I have the best of both worlds

I could trade in both my Coupe and my F56 and comfortably get a JCW now but I like the contrast of having the 'new and old'. I think I'd regret trading them both in for the JCW. I've decided to stay as I am (happily!) and will re-assess further down the line. At the moment my F56 has above average miles on the clock (put on it before I bought it) but my lesser usage will bring that down so it won't look so bad in the future.

Gotta love the JCW though. I'm sure you won't have a single regret once it arrives. It's a JCW after all