Car leasing and dogs? Hairy dogs 😬 Bad idea? Plus car recommendations please!

[MalbecLARGE]

Hi,

We've always had second hand cars which we run into the ground and whereas our current car isn't quite on it's last legs, we are in a position to be able to finance a much nicer second hand car (250pm ish) or perhaps a lease.

Dp thinks a lease is the way to go, but I had a sudden thought that one of our dogs moults like crazy and our boot is a constant state tbh. Even when we have it professionally cleaned, it's never completely clean and there's still a layer of hairs. Presumably this wouldn't be acceptable for a lease?...

If anyone can actually help us find a car, I'd be very grateful Ideally we would like a 4x4 (gun metal preferably) with sat nav, sensors, lots of boot space and obviously not too many miles on the clock. Lexus would be fantastic, but doubt anything would be in budget. Maybe a Toyota or Hyundai?? Not diesel!

Any advice and/or recommendations would be much appreciated!

TIA

We have dogs, and dh has a leased company car. We use a total boot liner - the Skoda Superb which went back in March had a Boot Buddy, and the current CRV Hybrid has a Hatchbag. The Skoda was immaculate under the liner.

I also have a CRV (though much older) and it is brilliant. Loads of room in the boot, totally bullet proof (mine is 16 years old and cost me £1500 4 years ago - its needed a new alternator and brakes in that time but nothing else and nothing else the garage would expect to need doing otherwise). DHs has a much smaller boot, but is obv a lot more efficient

When you say "with not too many miles on the clock" I don't think you'll get a second hand car on a lease, it tends to be new ones only.
I would shop around and do a price comparison on leasing and also buying outright or with a part loan. Interest rates are so low that I couldn't justify the risk of a lease with the uncertainty of how it might get returned (I read some horror stories about excess charges!) or circumstances changing and going over the mileage limit. Look beyond the finance deals that the garages offer you and you can often get 0% finance on new purchases if you take out a new credit card.
I'd go to one of those big car warehouse type places first. Make it quite clear you're there to browse not buy that day and have a look at things you like the look of. I had some cars on my shortlist that I eliminated based on boot capacity and interior so that made choosing what I wanted a bit easier and made me consider some things that I hadn't already done.
Also check the insurance if you fancy a Hybrid, they were more expensive that comparable models when i looked.

I got a car on pcp which means at the end of 3 years I trade it in or keep it. I purchased a boot liner from a company (can't remember their name). You put in the make and model and they do a boot liner specifically to fit your car. I think it was in the region of £100 or so. It's been great and protected my car from loads of fur and slobber.

We have a hairy mutt and leased cars too. We have a boot liner and decent hand held vacuum cleaner. Periodically (and always at the end of the lease) I treat the car to a proper valet

I've just got a leased Rav4 hybrid (2 months ago). Previously I had a Volvo XC60. Both of these models offered tailored boot liners. For the Volvo we had a dog guard and dog partition in the boot but I haven't got round to that for the Toyota yet.

I am liking the Rav4 - I'm getting 50+ MPG which is as good as a decent diesel but I'm spending half the amount on fuel. The tailgate is lower too so our labrador is better able to jump in and out by herself. The Volvo's tail seemed very high and DP would lift her in and out which she did not like!

The ride seems smoother than the Volvo, which is think is down to the 4 wheel drive and the larger wheels.

I have just bought some car accessories from Pet Rebellion , i havnt tried them out yet as I'm preparing to get my puppy next month. But the reviews are good .

We have 3 dogs, a Freelander 2 and a TransK9 cage in the back. This does a really good job of containing the grot (we have spaniels!), looks great and best of all doesn't rattle all the time.

They are custom made to fit the rear of your car most efficiently, and also have a really good resale value if you ever change the car.

You can get used cars on pcp/pch, my dd got one that was two years old.
Amazon do bootliners, mine was less than £30.