I got a great deal back in june on a car worth 25k and left the scheme and am disabled, have not worked since 2004 but clearly a good credit rating. I put down 2.5k and over the 5 years it will pretty much workout the same as being on the scheme and yep i am paying more, but not much when you consider everything including the residual value in the car at the end and that benefit will rise year on year and some suggest 10% in april based on sept figures.
It was at 0% apr and will save me over 6k over the next 5 years compared to the current deal they have. That has made a huge difference to the viabitly over the scheme and although it might not be for everyone. Some have to consider leaving the scheme and other options and if i was and could save 6k I would want to know.