Do you buy your cars outright or on finance/lease?

[Daddypigsglasses]

I’ve always saved up and brought a nearly new car then run it into the ground. It was instilled into me as a child that borrowing money was bad and this is the way my parents always did it.

I need to replace my car soon and it’s become blindingly obvious to me since my kids started school last year and I began noticing the other parent’s cars that we are the only ones (and I mean only ones) driving around in anything like a 12 year old focus.

Do most other people else get cars on finance? Is it the sensible thing to do? I can’t get my head around it. I’ve got around 8k to spend so likely that would get me a 15 plate decent car, which is still going to be older than everyone else’s!

I’m not usually showy but I seem to have serious envy where the other parents are concerned.

Buy outright and keep for many years is the cheapest way of owning a car. Just make sure you don't buy one already run into the ground or an brand that's expensive to repair. Go for a popular brand/model that's low mileage (or new) and you won't go far wrong. It's what we've always done.

If you want to keep up with the Jones and want a new car regularly, then lease is cheapest, but it will cost you a lot more than buying outright and keeping it for years. It's the price you pay for wanting something new and shiny all the time!

I prefer to save up and then buy outright, and run into the ground. I'm 35 and only on my second car.

Ordinarily, outright and 2nd hand. Current car (top spec Ford B-Max) was £8K at 3 years old with only 15K miles on the clock and I planned to run it for 7 years, so I simply save £100 a month to replace it - way less than most people's finance deals.

However, my employer has just started a salary sacrifice scheme for leasing electric cars, because of the 0% benefit in kind tax rate starting in April. Through a combination of the awesome tax savings of salary sacrifice, the petrol savings from it being electric, and the MOT/maintenance savings of it being new, this will actually work out cheaper for me to drive a brand new car than the combined costs of running my current car and saving to replace it.

'Course, if the government puts BIK rates back up in a few years to where they are now, that'll undo most of that.

I bought mine on finance but second hand. Only way I could afford it. Its second hand and 10 years old but I dont care. I really need a car but couldn't afford to drop 6000 on it outright so paid half and financed half.

Always bought outright previously (or short term loan if we had a car emergency which we did a few times when driving older cars!)

When my husband started commuting he had a company car but then started his own business at which point he was driving a 1984 Porsche! Wanted to keep the Porsche but he still had a (shorter) commute so he bought a cheap car on finance. When the 4 years were up he traded it for a sporty hatchback also on finance. Paid the 4 years the bought it at the end with a short term loan as he likes it and it's only a 15 plate.

Our family car we bought outright, it's an 11 plate xc90. We're planning on a newer/new one on finance or loan later in the year once the other car loan is paid off.

So I guess you could say we did not do finance for a long time but now we feel we can afford it so we can have a nicer car.

My 11 plate Volvo is really nice though and wasn't exactly cheap so I'm in no rush!

Would never do finance, we cut our cloth according to our means. We are buying our first 'serious' car this week, 2.5 years old and v low mileage for 23k - I plan on having it until the doors fall off. Our last car was 7k and before that never more than 2k so this is a big step!

I always buy outright, and then drive it until it gives up. I don't care what other people drive, to be honest. Sooner or later I'm going to drive it into our gates (very narrow, awkward turn), so it's easier if I don't have to explain that to a finance company.

I never knew much about finance, so was shocked when my FIL had to pay to give back my MIL's car after she died. It cost him a few thousand pounds, just to literally hand it back over.

Outright. My 4 years old toyota auris was £8,500
Cracking little car
My 18 years old corolla, that I let go last year cost me £2,500 when it was 10 or 11 years old

I got a car loan from the bank for my current car for £10.5k, I'm paying it over 4 years at £208 a month and then I intend to keep it as long as possible from then on.

It was 3 years old when I got it but only has 29k on the clock, by the time it's paid off it'll be 7 years old with less than 50k on the clock so I'm praying I don't have any costly repairs

I plan to treat myself to some nice alloys when it's paid off (the car looks great, the alloys are boring) to keep it looking good for as long as possible

Everything is bought outright in my house
I hate debt and am very fortunate to be able to do this, eventhough our purchases aren’t extragavant

I know some people find them tacky and I do with some where it spells names and weird things like that, but I got a cheap private reg so you can't tell the age of the car.
The company have just brought out the new model of my car and they look pretty much identical so I'm relieved as my car won't age so quickly

Wow £500
Amazing

Both cars on 3 year finance; both high spec. We can afford to buy both outright but we do 25k miles a year in both and like being able to replace them regularly. We’ve had our own cars in the past but as soon as the warranties ran out they started to go wrong. It works for us, our budget allows for it so why not.

Mines on PCP, I got a 2016 Kia Sportage in 2018 as I was pregnant with no2 when no1 was 7 months so needed a bigger car quickly (had an older owned smaller car before) and with mat leave couldn't really afford to spend outright.

I bought a new(ish) ex-demo from the dealer. It was over a thousand cheaper than a ‘new’ new car but had less than 50 miles on the clock.

I plan on having that car for the next twenty years.

We've always bought outright for about £4k but last year we bought a 2yr-old car with about 35k on the clock - we were basically in shock for weeks! We paid half outright and are paying off the rest on finance, monthly for two years - it was hardly any more expensive and they threw in a roof box and servicing etc.

Sorry, forgot to say I paid cash. I would never finance a car.

Having lived overseas, I found that in some countries (not Europe) long term rentals were the cheapest option.

I know people who have been stuck overseas with massive debts and no legal way of leaving the country after spending far more on a car than they can afford. We are fortunate that debtors prison doesn’t exist in the Uk.

Outright for every car I've owned so far.
BUT, I'll have to get a loan from the bank for my next car as I currently have zero savings!!
I'd never lease though.

We lease our car and find it works really well. We get a brand new car each time on a two or three year lease and opt for a package that includes maintenance and breakdown (a bit more expensive but peace of mind and no need to save for the service). Someone even comes to pick the car up to take it to the manufacturer’s service centre and drops it back. There’s no need for an MOT until the car turns three either.
I’ve owned cars before and hated the hassle of trying to sell and find a new one each time.

Got a new on finance after the previous one died after 17yrs. Cars are getting more complicated with electronics and gadgets so they are becoming a liability second hand. Diesel is on its way out. Catalytic converters vary between £400 and >£1000. Those deluxe brands e.g. BMW are best bought by someone else e.g. a business. Latest model Mercedes and Audi have headlamp units that cost £4K. Must be a market for simple reliable cars but it's assumed everyone wants nav systems, blue tooth etc.

We buy outright a newish car (one or two years old), then keep for over 10 years.

Current car is leased, but all of my previous cars have been owned after being bought second hand. I feel cars lose their value too quickly to be worth owning anymore.

We bought ours outright. I factored in the cost of servicing it/putting it through its MOT and the cost of buying it. Worked out I could be driving around with a shiny new car on finance for the money it’s cost me.

It obviously depends on the type of car you buy.

If I had to buy a new car tomorrow I would have to borrow if I wanted something worth more than a grand.

But I think PCP which has become overwhelmingly popular is being purchased because people want nicer cars than we can actually afford. PCP is basically a lease with an option to buy at the end of it. If you want to get a new car every three years, and pay to do so, PCP makes sense. I'd rather keep a car for five to ten years and for that hire purchase or a personal loan seem much more appropriate.

And where I live I'd be very worried about damage charges. Scratches and scrapes seem to happen (and I don't think they're all my fault), and I'll bet the damage charge from a finance company will be inflated compared to the actual cost of repair.

And I know from the experience of family members that a brand new car doesn't guarantee reliability and nor does it guarantee you won't end up paying to fix a breakdown.

PS: My current car's an 04 plate. That's a bit earlier than I'd like - the crash safety is much improved in cars from the late noughties and newer. But it's low mileage and drives well. Maybe I'll be able to keep it until it becomes considered a classic...