No it’s totally untrue. If you are buying through a dealer, the bonus and prime are deducted from your order and it is the dealership who then does the necessary to get that money back, (part of my job at Renault), from the government. You shouldn’t be paying anything out in advance apart from a first month’s rental when you collect the car, and only if you’ve taken a finance deal like an LLD.
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Ahhhh thank you.
Would you say the finance deals look OK then? For the Spring they were sounding almost interest-free provided you could come up with about half the net cash cost upfront?
I couldn’t honestly say without looking into it but it’s true that the DIAC, Renault’s finance company, has been making a lot of effort to be competitive on leasing and other credit deals. If you are leasing, then it may not be worth putting in too big a deposit as you will still have a balloon payment at the end of the contract. If you are.going for a classic loan, then the more you put in up front, the better your monthly payments will be.
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Thanks Deedee. Like Tory I’m very wary of finance but worth understanding. Tx
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I was a client before I worked for them and most of what I know is a mix of personal experience and what I’ve learnt from the inside.
My first 2 cars were leasing. The first I put a deposit down on to have smaller monthly payments but it didn’t work in my favour when I decided to change for my next car. It’s worth knowing that a leasing plan, although set up for 4 years, doesn’t have to be that long. I didn’t put a deposit on my second car but paid more monthly. The 3rd car was a recent second hand that I took out a classic loan on and it’s much better for me long term, even though it’s costing a bit more per month.
You are right to be wary, particularly if your salesperson doesn’t explain everything as well as they should/could. The reason I bought where I now work, is because everything was laid out for me in black and white before I signed the order form and they also helped me get the deal I needed/wanted by being generous about my part exchange.
A lot depends on the type of people you are dealing with. We are a small dealership with a very loyal customer base. The loyalty has been created because of the honest approach we have and the way that this loyalty is rewarded. It isn’t the same everywhere.
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We were put off by the idea of a hybrid as It seems that you are getting the worst of both worlds, rather than the best. So underpowered petrol engine and electrics. Plus fuel efficiency seemed poor.
We were also concerned about reviews about poor handling. Which is probably not an issue for people who live in towns or fairly flat/ smooth contoured rural environments - but we drive on wiggly mountain roads. (This is also a concern of our with a pure electric)
Most pure electric vehicles have a handling advantage due to the low centre of gravity caused by the weight of the batteries (usually being under the floor). I regulary see cars behind slow down for corners that I just keep going around.
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Well since French drivers don’t seem to understand how to use gears when going round a corner that doesn’t surprise me! They probably slow in an electric car too🙂
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Hi @JaneJones - as an option instead of buying a second “larger” car for longer journeys have you considered just renting one for the days this would be needed and keep the new EV car for everyday?
We’ve found the E.Leclerc rental scheme exceptional value for money and you get to choose a different car (or not) on each rental occasion.
Just a thought.
Agreed, having driven both now, my feelings are EV have much heavier and lower Centre of gravity and handle much better.
The finance offer with the Spring EVgives you 6 weeks per year of hiring another car as an extra : presumably for longer distance holidays
Good thought, but our nearest rental place is a long way away! And we use our diesel estate like a dustbin, so not sure that would go down well with rental companies!
btw note tax on cars now has a weight component introduced from, I think, next year. IIRC anything over 2 tonne will cost more tax, 1.5tonne ok for now But I suspect over the years they will ratchet costs up more for less weight.
WoW not seen this taxation on “weight” as this will seriously impact all EV cars and especially those with larger batteries and increased range. Goes against everything the EV industry is trying to promote.
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No, electric care are completely exempt from this.
(Edit…see here
Malus au poids : les voitures électriques ne seront pas concernées )
So, having thought about all this we took our first step today to changing our car and headed off to a nearby dealer… to find that new cars are as rare as hen’s teeth and the average wait is 9 months if you want to configure one to your personal desires. They had a couple of showroom cars available, but nothing that we actually wanted (or our dog as he has requested a sunroof…).
Why?
All through last year there were stories of car manufacturers running out of space to stock their cars. Despite reduced workforce the number of cars being manufactured outstripped sales by a massive amount. And they were hiring land to put them on.
And yes there are now stories about a shortage of parts, particularly micro bits, but even so have all the stockpile of cares been sold?
Is this just a salesperson’s schtick? Or is it true.
(And talking of salespeople! We practically had to prod him to get him to show any interest in selling a car)
I’ve just waited over a week for a Mini Cooper thermostat, but on the plus side they gave me a BMW 1 M series as a courtesy car so I’m not complaining!
Pony and Trap anyone?
Ah well I didn’t want a Toyota anyway😁