Used cars

Used cars are a different proposition to finance companies and the deals reflect this.

Finance companies hold more risk in used cars with respect to depreciation and condition.

To this end you PAY them EXTRA to account for the risk and the interest rates are typically higher and the residuals lower than if you purchased a new car.

If you are comtemplating buying a nearly new car,  thinking that you avoid the initial depreciation,  compare the PCP deals closely between new and used to see what cost you are paying extra for buyin used.  

It can often be better to buy new if you are looking at cards less than a year old.

As rates are higher and residuals lower you need to carefully evaluate the entire cost of the deal to ensure you actually have a good deal.

PCP on older cars can invariably leave you with a final payment which could leave you in negative equity when you hand the car back.  This is a cost people put to the back of thier mind at the point of purchase and car sales people know this.  Therefore Residual payment risk is a point to seriously evaluate.

People do not often buy cars from the same dealer more than once,  hence when a customer becomes annoyed at the end of a deal due to the final payment / negative equity,  no value is lost to the salesman who already has your money.