Toyota car finance explained

Buying a car is complicated, right? Wrong.

When you decide to buy a new car, the hardest decision you have to make might be which colour paint to choose, thanks to Toyota Financial Services.

Available at every Toyota Centre, Toyota Financial Services (TFS) finance solutions mean you can get behind the wheel of the car that’s just right for your budget.

TFS provides a selection of flexible finance options for new cars and Light Commercial Vehicles as well as for Toyota Approved Used vehicles. So, whether it’s a new or nearly new Toyota you’re considering, spreading the cost could be more affordable than you might think.

The two most popular ways to finance a new or Approved Used Toyota are AccessToyota and Hire Purchase.

AccessToyota is Toyota Financial Services’ version of a Personal Contract Purchase, often known as a PCP.

How Personal Contract Purchase works

Simply, you pay for your car in fixed monthly installments over a set term, and at the end of the term, choose how to end the agreement.

A PCP is different from other finance agreements as you do not pay off the whole value of the car during the term of the agreement – so a PCP mean lower monthly payments, a smaller deposit and/or a shorter repayment term. At the end of the term, you can pay the remaining balance and keep the car; take out a new agreement on a new car; or simply hand the car back to the dealer.

It’s simplest to explain the PCP agreement in three parts: Deposit, Term and Guaranteed Future Value.

Deposit

You don’t necessarily need to put down a deposit with AccessToyota, but most customers do as it lowers the amount left to pay. A deposit can be cash, your current car, or a combination of both.

Term

During the term of the agreement, you will pay a fixed amount for the car every month.

PCPs typically last for a term of between 24 and 36 months, but many of the AccessToyota plans are flexible enough to accommodate any monthly period between 12 and 60 months.

During the term of the agreement, you will need to stick to an agreed mileage limit, or pay for excess miles at the end of the term, on a ‘pence-per-mile’ basis.

Guaranteed Future Value

The Guaranteed Future Value (referred to as the GFV) is an important part of how a PCP works. As you are not paying the whole value of the car during the term, Toyota Financial Services calculates a predicted value for your car when the agreement ends.

The guaranteed future value (GFV) is the amount you’ll have to pay to take ownership of the car at the end of the agreement. If your car is worth more than the GFV at the end of the contract, you can use the difference in the two figures (or the ‘equity’) as a deposit on your next car. If you choose to hand the car back, the finance is settled.

The benefits of an AccessToyota agreement include:

It’s affordable. There’s no need for a large initial outlay, and the monthly payments can be more reasonable compared with other forms of finance.

No surprises. Payments are fixed during the agreement term, so you know how much you need to pay each month.

Getting the car you really want. With affordable monthly payments you may be able to upgrade your choice of vehicle or add extras.

The future value of your car is guaranteed, so you won’t lose out if trade-in values fall.

Choice. With flexible options at the end of your agreement, AccessToyota is ideal if your needs change as you’re not locked into a much longer term agreement − if you upgrade to a new car every two or three years, your maintenance costs will be lower.

You may never need an MOT and you may still be covered by warranty.

How Hire Purchase works

Hire Purchase is a good option if you have a reasonable deposit, or if you know you want to keep the car at the end of the term.

It essentially works like a mortgage on a house – you decide how much you’d like to pay as a deposit, and how long you want the agreement to be (up to five years), then pay monthly installments until the car is paid for.

The benefits are the simplicity and flexibility of the agreement, the ease of managing your budget with fixed monthly payments and the possibility to spread the cost of the car over a period that suits you. On top of that, you’ll own the car outright once the agreement is complete.

You can read more about Toyota Financial Services and Access Toyota on the Toyota website.

By Will McManus