Anyone fancy talking to me about leasing a car?

[zippyswife]

We’ve always bought old-ish cars and driven them till they’re scrap.my current car hasn’t got a lot of life left in it and I’m trying to work out of leasing is a better option. I have no idea where to begin. What companies and how to do this most cost effectively. Anyone have any advice?

Bumping this because I have exactly the same question! Except I've never owned a car before.

why? Perfectly decent cars available for 3k. You'll pay that in a year on a lease and still be pissing money away for years afterwards, all for a newer registration. New cars are shit anyway, no spare tyres, full of battery flattening gadgets and crap visibility.

I lease my cars because I drive for business and I need a reliable in warranty car, I also like premium features and comfort. The trick to leasing is to work out your average cost of buying a car + tax + maintanence on average over the period you usually run it for and split that cost into a monthly lease budget. Keep insurance separate as most of the time you pay for that on lease cars separately to the lease fee.

Then you hunt for good deals. Leasing is expensive if you're not flexible on car. I am flexible on car style but have non negotiable features. This means at the moment I drive a HUGE estate car but it is comfy and premium and was really good value for money. It costs me the same as a base spec Skoda Octavia lease. I don't have to worry about depreciation, or saving enough for emergency repairs or the cost of the next car.

Ok, so, you could go down Mencken’s route & there’s nothing wrong with that, however things to be aware of in leasing or otherwise financing a car:
Firstly, you can get pcp or hire purchase deals on cars that are not brand new. If you know a few of the models you like, it’s worth looking for a used approved, or an ex demonstrator, or ‘slightly used’ car. You will save yourself that ‘just drove off the forecourt ‘ depreciation hit.
Similarly , with the slightly used car, you should not expect to pay for the optional extras - if it’s not something you want or need but it’s in the car anyway, don’t get into paying for it.
PCP deals are ultimately just you financing the car’s depreciation. You pay a deposit, a relatively low monthly payment, then at the end of the deal there’s a balloon payment which you would have to pay or refinance to keep the car. Think of it like an interest only mortgage.
You need to be clear in your mind as to how long you want to keep this car as early redemption can be expensive.
HP, is higher monthly cost as you are repaying capital as well as interest, like a repayment mortgage. You own the car outright at the end of the deal.
Take your time. The car industry will be ready to make great deals as we open up, as the bottom has falllen out of the market.
Sorry such a long post. I am a bean counter married to a car nut. We have these discussions a LOT

It's almost certainly not the cheapest option. Although, you do seem to be able to get better deals on more expensive cars that hold their value. You're essentially paying depreciation of the car over 3 or 4 years plus a premium. So cars that depreciate slower often have better lease deals.

We lease our car. I like it. I like having a new car. I like not worrying about repairs or MOTs. I can afford it. I don't drive anywhere near the 10,000 miles I'm allowed to a year. Make sure you sign up to the right amount of mileage upfront - going over it is very costly. I know i could get cheaper elsewhere but I love having a car I love. I'm not extravagant with anything else. Some people spend money on shoes and takeaways etc. I like cars.

My advice is to shop around. Decide what car you want, how many miles you'll do per year and over how many years.

My Dad has leased cars for years and he always spends a day on the internet checking different companies. A lot of banks offer this facility and he's currently leasing his car via Halifax.

The difference in price per month can be staggering.

Compare the market and money supermarket are a good place to start

I leased a car when I changed jobs as they didn't include a company car. It wasn't the cheapest option but it gave me the opportunity to drive a brand new car and not have to worry about repairs and tax. I leased my car for 2 years and really enjoyed it but admittedly I paid approximately £300pm at the time. That's not to say that you can't find something cheaper. I just had a larger car. If you have the money I'd recommend it. I can't at the moment but really enjoyed it at the time. I was referred to a company in Birmingham who have monthly offers but worked with me on options. Worth having a shop around.

When I looked at this, it really only stacks up if you want a really expensive car. Then, the cost of the monthly lease is much less than how much the car would decrease in value over say 3 or 4 years.

It doesn't have to be an expensive car. I paid £130 pm for a Skoda Citigo, including servicing and breakdown cover and no repairs or MOT to worry about. The original tyres lasted (just!) through the entire 3 year period too.

Only way you can do it cheaper is to get a much older car and pray that nothing expensive goes wrong before you've got your money's worth, as a £3k car that's just had the engine or gearbox blow up is effectively worthless, but you've got a big bill to pay to keep it running.

Some people also need their cars to be reliable, ie it's not going to let you down on the way to a business meeting or airport run.

After trying Mencken's approach and driving several older cars that each then had to be scrapped for major repairs that cost more than the car was worth, I leased a Fiat 500 all in for £190 a month - that was a fully maintained lease, so anything that went wrong with it, even down to noisy wipers, blown headlamp etc and it got fixed but cost me nothing more.

Some people have great luck with picking up economical, reliable cars but I am not one of them so leasing meant that I didn't have that sinking "how much is this going to cost me" feeling when ever I heard a noise / saw a warning light come on.

I'm sure there are currently thousands of people looking at the expensive cars sitting on their driveways and wondering how they are going to pay for them having lost their jobs due to Covoid-19.

We've always bought outright at a couple of years old. and then kept them until the cost of repairs outweighs the value of the car. Generally 10 years or more. Mine is currently 9 years old and has got a lot of years left in it yet

Hi, OP!

I was in the exact same boat as you, always owned cars and ran them to the ground but I swapped to leasing this year and it is so much better!

I don't have to worry about my car breaking down and having a costly repair at the end of it. Anything wrong with it, it goes straight back. Tyres included as I pay £20pm for servicing and tyres plan.

We got a VW Tiguan Match for £256pm (including the S&T plan) with £700 deposit and have no regrets at all!