Personal Contract Plan (PCP)

A Personal Contract Plan (PCP) is the dominant new-car finance product in Ireland. It is structured in three parts: an upfront deposit (typically 10–30% of the car’s price), 24–36 monthly instalments, and a final Guaranteed Minimum Future Value (GMFV) — a balloon payment representing the dealer’s estimate of the car’s value at the end of the term.

At the end of the contract the buyer chooses one of three options: pay the GMFV to keep the car outright, hand the car back and walk away (subject to mileage and condition rules), or roll into a new PCP using any equity above the GMFV as the deposit on the next car. The third option is what most Irish buyers take, which is why dealers favour PCP — it produces a structural three-year repeat-purchase cycle.

PCPs look attractive because the monthly payment is lower than a standard hire-purchase or personal loan over the same term — you’re not paying off the full car, just the difference between deposit + GMFV and the cash price. The downside is that the headline APR can hide the cost of the balloon at the end, and equity in the car at handover is rarely as strong as the monthly payments imply.

Use the car loan calculator to compare PCP against a straight personal loan and see the all-in cost over the term.