u/Haslerdesigns

I think it’s fairly common for people on a PCP to assume they have limited options: stay in the PCP loop or hand the car back.

PCP is great for car dealers as it works well at creating repeat business. But it also has benefits for the consumer- your monthly payments are low, and the car is essentially insured against depreciation (past the point set out at the start of the agreement).

If you’re nearing the end of an agreement, a good next step is to evaluate your position. You essentially need to know two things- what your finance settlement figure is, and what your car is really worth. The difference between this is your equity (positive or negative)

As used car values have boomed in recent years, it’s possible that your car is worth more than the ‘balloon’ payment at the end of the deal. Things have balanced over the last year so the huge equities of agreements that ended 2022-24 might be over but if you don’t explore options you may be missing out on money. So some potential options might look like:

1. Sell the car and pocket the equity, then use that cash towards your next car. Selling a car privately with finance adds a complication, but there are ways you can do this that are safe for you and the private buyer. Dealers will have no problem buying a car with finance, they’ll settle it themselves and pay you the difference.

2. Get a bank loan or use other funds to pay the balloon payment and keep the car so you upgrade it when suits you, rather than upgrading on their schedule. If you know that car is worth thousands more than you’ll be able to ‘buy’ it from your finance company for, and you like the car, why would you not keep it? You’ll probably be able to get payments equal to or lower than your existing PCP payment, but instead you’ll be working towards a paid off car.

3. Trade the car in for another one. Lots of people do this anyway but if you’re in possession of the facts around equity in your car and have other estimates on its value, you will be in a stronger position to negotiate. If the car is worth less than the finance settlement do not be convinced to roll negative equity into another deal. It makes more sense to…

4. Return the car as per your original agreement If the car is worth less than your balloon figure. You will have to pay a fee if the car is over its agreed mileage or if it is damaged. If those things apply then you might be better off choosing option one even if the car is worth the a little less than the balloon- balance the loss there against the potential fees to determine best action.

TLDR: don’t just assume your car is worth the same as the balloon payment, get a settlement figure and a valuation to determine your best next step

I used to really like the Qtr Deluxe. It was the closest thing McDonald’s did to the Whopper, and it was great having fresh ingredients in the burger.

I was gutted when it stopped being a main menu option, but enjoyed it as a promo when they did monopoly etc, and even without promo you used to be spec up a normal quarter by adding lettuce, tomato and mayo (although not a true deluxe as there was too much cheese and customisation did not allow to go down to one slice) but now you can’t even do that modification so you simply cannot get a deluxe anymore, despite all the right ingredients being in the kitchen.

I get that having tomato and lettuce in means timing is more of an issue, balancing hot and cold, but the challenge of timing should be improved by the Argos-for-burgers format they do now, as they can prestage the meat and build to order, rather than holding a bunch of made up burgers in the production shelf.

I am open to trying new sauces but I think they’re overthinking it with the tasty/arch sauces, trying to create the next Big Mac sauce, but honestly the tasty/arch sauces are divisive, I don’t like them and it’s hard to beat the original ketchup/mayo/mustard combo of the deluxe.

Am I completely alone here? I’d swap all these promo burgers for the deluxe if I could.

I drive a mk3 focus around Milton Keynes a lot. Milton Keynes has a lot of roundabouts (you may have heard). This doesn't happen often but I have had a couple of incidents over the years where someone has pulled out on me on the understanding that I was indicating, which transpired to be the cornering light activating as I turn the wheel left then right to follow the path of the roundabout. I'd turn the cornering light off but I don't think you can in a mk3 focus. Am I wildly alone in this situation or has anyone ever had it happen to them before? Yes I know indicators are yellow, but that did not change the attitude of the woman who pulled out in front of me