Help my daughter buy the right car and finance EV probably
Discussion
My daughter and her husband and two small boys . Both work both struggling with money like any young family and run a 15 year old diesel Kuga . I keep the car safe and maintained but I can see the direction of travel with diesel, RFL and age of car . They want to replace their car. Two small boys both growing they want something bigger than the early Kuga .
They are impulsive and a bit inexperienced with car buying , albeit like most dads she is my daughter and I want to magic it all right for them They went to a Ford main dealer today and came out after looking at a second hand new shape Diesel Kuga and telling me how good PCP is . I am an old fart always bought cars for cash and appreciate its 2026 and there are changing times and PCP or similar has advantages at some points in your life . I think she said they were looking at about £250 a month on the Ford they looked at today , I think that's manageable . Albeit if it was an EV tax and running costs would help them here .
May I have some advice almost like a use case I can pass on and it came from someone who has done it .
They drive about 200 miles a week , they have their own drive . I think they are prime for an EV.
So what should they do . They will have a small deposit from the old car and some money we can give them say £3000. Do they go to a garage an online company a broker is it PCS or PCH or leasing or what is it ? In addition any vehicle suggestions would be good. Its big SUV type car please, they like the height , sense of security for the boys and size for all the stuff. Camping soon I expect so they will need a big car . Longest single journey they do today is 40 miles . Shortest about 4.
Thanks in advance any links advice, experience I can send them would be most welcome .
They are impulsive and a bit inexperienced with car buying , albeit like most dads she is my daughter and I want to magic it all right for them They went to a Ford main dealer today and came out after looking at a second hand new shape Diesel Kuga and telling me how good PCP is . I am an old fart always bought cars for cash and appreciate its 2026 and there are changing times and PCP or similar has advantages at some points in your life . I think she said they were looking at about £250 a month on the Ford they looked at today , I think that's manageable . Albeit if it was an EV tax and running costs would help them here .
May I have some advice almost like a use case I can pass on and it came from someone who has done it .
They drive about 200 miles a week , they have their own drive . I think they are prime for an EV.
So what should they do . They will have a small deposit from the old car and some money we can give them say £3000. Do they go to a garage an online company a broker is it PCS or PCH or leasing or what is it ? In addition any vehicle suggestions would be good. Its big SUV type car please, they like the height , sense of security for the boys and size for all the stuff. Camping soon I expect so they will need a big car . Longest single journey they do today is 40 miles . Shortest about 4.
Thanks in advance any links advice, experience I can send them would be most welcome .
I'd look at an approved used Enyaq. I chose the cheapest, but there should be loads available within budget.
https://www.skoda.co.uk/apps/stock/carDetail/GBR26...
https://www.skoda.co.uk/apps/stock/carDetail/GBR26...
Either a used Mach-e for £250/month (no deposit) or a Capri for around £400/month new PCH
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512178...
https://www.leaseloco.com/car-leasing/ford/capri/2...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512178...
https://www.leaseloco.com/car-leasing/ford/capri/2...
chip* said:
Does your daughter fully understand that they won't own the car at the end of the term for a PCP / PCH?
I don't know. I dread to think what the salesman said to them . I will talk to them next week and I hope to have a few suggestions from here at that point.
As I mentioned I have only ever bought cars outright however, many friends of my daughter and her husband have smart cars on the driveway and seem to think little of paying £100's of pounds each month for that . As I understand it PCP could lead to owning the vehicle with a balloon payment and PCH just a daft name for renting.
My parents rented a TV when I was a lad
Yes they could get a bank loan and buy a car . There are some attractive consumer rights associated with the finance deal from the dealers .
Whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable to be honest. It would be good to hear from someone who has done this ,as per my original post .
I thought I should mention it as you stated they are long term car keepers (15 years) and moving onto a PCP contract is a significant change to car "ownership".
Here's a short video which explains the various financing options.
https://youtu.be/sOl29EvwGsE?si=CC4LWtNfU0q-Rpns
Here's a short video which explains the various financing options.
https://youtu.be/sOl29EvwGsE?si=CC4LWtNfU0q-Rpns
cliffords said:
They are impulsive and a bit inexperienced with car buying , albeit like most dads she is my daughter and I want to magic it all right for them They went to a Ford main dealer today and came out after looking at a second hand new shape Diesel Kuga and telling me how good PCP is . I am an old fart always bought cars for cash and appreciate its 2026 and there are changing times and PCP or similar has advantages at some points in your life . I think she said they were looking at about £250 a month on the Ford they looked at today , I think that's manageable . Albeit if it was an EV tax and running costs would help them .
You say they are impulsive, it sounds to me like they are going to get the first car they look at and agree to anything the salesperson says.First of all we need to know the figures, how much is the car, how much is the deposit, what is the Apr, what is the term and what is the balloon.
Saying £250 a month is manageable is exactly what a PCP is designed for, hiding the actual cost. As I say above, £250 a month means nothing without knowing the deposit and balloon.
Finally are they going to be able to pay the balloon at the end or will they need to finance that too? These products are designed to convince you to just get another car rather than pay it off as the sales people almost make it seem cheaper to get another car (it isn't)
Finally the Apr on secondhand cars is always higher than on new. I have seen deals on brand new cars that actually work out cheaper than buying a year or two old car.
As always, maths don't lie, you need all the figures to make a proper decision. Hopefully they won't just sign up to the firs deal they see and regret it later.
Also don't quote me on this, but I believe some of the Ford Kuga diesel engines have a wet belt.
Do your research, and if it does I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole personally.
The boring answer to this is keep the car they have, especially if they don't have lots of spare money and dad can fix and service it for free.
Do your research, and if it does I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole personally.
The boring answer to this is keep the car they have, especially if they don't have lots of spare money and dad can fix and service it for free.
If your daughter is not a badge snob, maybe the Dacia Jogger 1.0?
Quick look on AT, and you can pick up 3-4 years old low milers for £12-14k. Fold down the 3rd row to provide the huge storage space to hold all the camping gears, plus they are SUV like (technically an estate?) with highish seating position.
Quick look on AT, and you can pick up 3-4 years old low milers for £12-14k. Fold down the 3rd row to provide the huge storage space to hold all the camping gears, plus they are SUV like (technically an estate?) with highish seating position.
Personally, and I appreciate it's just my opinion, if they have say a 6k deposit (their car plus your gift) then I'd look at a 10k personal loan, easily achievable at less than £250 a month.
A pcp on a 16k car, coating the same monthly, I partially feel will cost them a lot more.
I like the suggestions given of the approved used enyaq or mach-e, for around the 16k mark.
If they can charge at home on low rate is a no brainer... even if they don't do low rate then 22p a kwh is still cheaper than petrol etc.
A pcp on a 16k car, coating the same monthly, I partially feel will cost them a lot more.
I like the suggestions given of the approved used enyaq or mach-e, for around the 16k mark.
If they can charge at home on low rate is a no brainer... even if they don't do low rate then 22p a kwh is still cheaper than petrol etc.
Off-street parking + longest journey 40 miles definitely sounds like they'd benefit from an EV.
Big + cheap says VW ID4 to me, something like this perhaps?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512148...
That's the smaller battery but should be fine for the usage you describe.
I think PCP is fine in that you have a known monthly cost for a fixed term, at the end of it an optional final payment. In this case £5400 after four years, if they want to keep the car longer they could presumably get a bank loan for that.
Not saying they should take AT's recommended finance but the £210 a month on the above gives a reference.
The things to be aware of are
- you're paying a chunk extra for the finance, in this case you are paying £16k for a £13k car. But obviously you get the use of a newish reliable car immediately and pay later.
- if you buy a car outright you have a chunk of value in it which you could access by selling if needed, on a PCP you don't.
- if you change your mind after six months you can spend thousands getting out of the PCP as the car's worth less than the finance owing, although this should be less bad starting with a used car.
Big + cheap says VW ID4 to me, something like this perhaps?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512148...
That's the smaller battery but should be fine for the usage you describe.
I think PCP is fine in that you have a known monthly cost for a fixed term, at the end of it an optional final payment. In this case £5400 after four years, if they want to keep the car longer they could presumably get a bank loan for that.
Not saying they should take AT's recommended finance but the £210 a month on the above gives a reference.
The things to be aware of are
- you're paying a chunk extra for the finance, in this case you are paying £16k for a £13k car. But obviously you get the use of a newish reliable car immediately and pay later.
- if you buy a car outright you have a chunk of value in it which you could access by selling if needed, on a PCP you don't.
- if you change your mind after six months you can spend thousands getting out of the PCP as the car's worth less than the finance owing, although this should be less bad starting with a used car.
samoht said:
Off-street parking + longest journey 40 miles definitely sounds like they'd benefit from an EV.
Big + cheap says VW ID4 to me, something like this perhaps?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512148...
That's the smaller battery but should be fine for the usage you describe.
I think PCP is fine in that you have a known monthly cost for a fixed term, at the end of it an optional final payment. In this case £5400 after four years, if they want to keep the car longer they could presumably get a bank loan for that.
Not saying they should take AT's recommended finance but the £210 a month on the above gives a reference.
The things to be aware of are
- you're paying a chunk extra for the finance, in this case you are paying £16k for a £13k car. But obviously you get the use of a newish reliable car immediately and pay later.
- if you buy a car outright you have a chunk of value in it which you could access by selling if needed, on a PCP you don't.
- if you change your mind after six months you can spend thousands getting out of the PCP as the car's worth less than the finance owing, although this should be less bad starting with a used car.
. Big + cheap says VW ID4 to me, something like this perhaps?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512148...
That's the smaller battery but should be fine for the usage you describe.
I think PCP is fine in that you have a known monthly cost for a fixed term, at the end of it an optional final payment. In this case £5400 after four years, if they want to keep the car longer they could presumably get a bank loan for that.
Not saying they should take AT's recommended finance but the £210 a month on the above gives a reference.
The things to be aware of are
- you're paying a chunk extra for the finance, in this case you are paying £16k for a £13k car. But obviously you get the use of a newish reliable car immediately and pay later.
- if you buy a car outright you have a chunk of value in it which you could access by selling if needed, on a PCP you don't.
- if you change your mind after six months you can spend thousands getting out of the PCP as the car's worth less than the finance owing, although this should be less bad starting with a used car.
That's a really helpful and practical reply. Thank you.
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