Its a way of renting a car for a few years.

Usually expensive for a used car and if the loan extends beyond the warranty you can be faced with paying for a loan and expensive repairs and maintenance on a car you don't own.

You will also probably have to use the dealer for repairs and maintenance.

Cash is king in car buying.

That part so out of date - dealers make more money on the finance than buying/selling cars

That's interesting I just sold a Swift booster jet two years old. Utterly brilliant car.

1 litre or 1.4?

It's a red 1 litre, be mad if it's the same one!

This, it all depends on the deal. If someone is giving away free cash and you’re not paying over the odds to compensate why would you not take advantage? Loads of 0% deals around on all sorts of things at the moment. Make the most of it.

No. They dont do the 1litre turbo anymore. Your choices are 1.2 and the rather more expensive 1.4t both mild hybrid. The 1.4t is less powerful as well than the older K14C variant I have in my Vitara. If you want better economy lower insurance and 90% of the power of the 1.4t swift sport you need to buy used. Plus the ride is comfier too. The 1.2 is probably OK too but that 1litre turbo is a belter.

In principle PCP should always be more expensive than cash purchase - if for no other reason that you are paying interest, admin, overheads and profit for the finance company. They are also taking a large part of the risk on trade in values.

A two year old car on a PCP deal will always be a higher risk for the vendor - when the lease ends it may be 5 years old, outside most manufacturers warranty period, and higher mileage.

Apparently 9 out of 10 new cars "sold" to the public are on a finance deal. So I suspect car manufacturers and dealers often prioritise PCP deals for promotional and marketing activity, discounting overstocked models, managing production volumes etc etc.

So basically you need to do your homework. Personally I would rather buy than do a PCP deal - but I am also happy to wait for a decently discounted deal and don't get obsessed with precise spec or colour!

I have no set rule on how to buy a car, I simply do the sums and do it the cheapest way.

PCP's have been very good for us with their contribution and your right to pay them off instantly with no penalty, but we have only used them on a new car.

0% finance is great providing it does not result in having to pay full list, again check your sums.

Pre-reg can be great as well but sometimes it can be no cheaper than buying new with manufacturers incentives. We saved a large sum on our recently bought Superb iV which was 3 weeks old with 8 miles on the clock. There were no finance deals on this model and broker deals were not as good a they were for ICE Superbs (there were no broker deals on our chosen trim spec at all). Then there was the fact that waiting lists were long for a factory order, it was a no brainer.

But when we bought a brand new Micra with 29% discount I spotted some pre-reg ones in the corner and asked how much, the dealer said they owed him money and would be more expensive. Similar with a C-Max, went to buy a pre-reg and the salesman asked if we would be interested in a brand new car for the same money, who wouldn't.

So do your sums, its only simple maths.

Agree with others here. Second hand car on PCP is not a good idea. Make the stretch and go for new. Any PCP, Lease, HP deal can be good if it suits you. But you need to carefully examine the T&C's. The devil really is in the detail. If you are determined on this used Suzuki then get a cheap loan. easy if your credit rating is good.

Cheers Concrete