With news coming in that we have to give our long term Multistrada Enduro back, Alun Davies begins to consider how he can fund the purchase of the bike… Anyone looking for some new kids?
As we approach the festive time of year seasonal cheer is in short supply down at Chez Davies. As the kids and the perfumed one have been busy decorating a tree in the living room I’ve been pacing the corridors in a state of angst.
We don’t really have corridors, we have a corridor. Singular. Though I considered the addition of the ‘s’ would add to the drama of this essay and help you conjure up a picture a tortured man pacing around a medieval building ala Hunchback of Atherstone, or a more sinister Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
Anyway, the cause of the broody plod around the family home has been receipt of the email I’ve been dreading. Ducati want the Enduro back. My first thought was to go for one last ride, to somewhere like the Amazon or Congo where I could build a camouflaged hide and live off the land until I could claim the motorcycle equivalent of squatters rights over the machine.
That plan had legs until the wife reminded me that we were going Christmas shopping on the weekend, the woodshed was empty and I was the only one tall enough to plant the fairy on the top of the tree. She also explained that my wanting to hide out in a jungle would mean missing out on our box set of season seven of 24. I obviously needed a plan B.
As you may have guessed, I’ve enjoyed my time with the Enduro but it’s now time to just ‘let it go’ and move on, but not before establishing if I could afford a PCP deal after trading the kids on eBay.
PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) deals have gained momentum in the motorcycle market, though still lag way behind the car industry. In case you don’t know, a PCP deal is the modern spin on a good old fashioned loan. Like the original bog-standard loan, you still have to pay the debt back, but what differs in the mechanics of how you do so.
PRICE: From £16,826
ENGINE: 1198cc, liquid-cooled V-Twin, 4 valves per cylinder
WEIGHT: 225kg
FUEL CAPACITY: 30 litres
SEAT HEIGHT: 850 – 890 mm
COLOURS: Red/White/Grey
Essentially it’s a low-cost way of gaining the use (not necessarily the ownership) of a high-cost product, with the key being the significant balloon (final) payment being equal to, or less than, the value of the machine at the end of the contract period.
This is usually achieved via restrictive mileage.
Ducati offers a branded PCP finance package via Black Horse Ltd, a division of Lloyds Bank, and this is how the deal stacks up. The cost price of the Enduro is £16,826 and the balloon (final) payment comes in at £7,813. The remaining £9,013 plus the interest (6.9APR) of £2,128 is payable with a deposit of £4,121 followed by 36 monthly payments of £195.
So, for a total payment of £11,141 (deposit plus monthly payments), I get the use of a Ducati 1200 Enduro for three years. Now I’ve got to wait and see how much I get for the kids.