To be lost about what car to buy

[Muttles]

I drive 50 miles a day to work and back. My old car has given up. Do I get another second hand car and deal with the inevitable depreciation and garage bills, or do I get a car on leasing which of course means I have to give it back in 4 years but depreciation and repairs are no issue? I'm going round in circles here! Any experience most appreciated!

why don’t you get a second hand car but quite a new one- eg 3 years old, and get it from a garage so you have a warranty. they often do deals which are similar to pop.
get a toyota they are so reliable you will never have a problem. My old one had done 200k miles and I never had a problem. i only got a new one as i wanted to go hybrid.

Thanks for your message. I've been looking at newish second hand ones but am surprised at the level of depreciation on them

I would probably go second hand but that depends totally on what leasing deals there are. I have just gone from always owning my car to a lease as the deal was connected through employer and frankly was a no brainer. However, in three years I envisage I will return to ownership.

On balance you will probably find owning is a better deal and yes cars like Toyota are incredibly reliable. Also the days of cars being old and tired at 3-4 years are long gone. Realistically a good car should be good for 10 years plus if looked after and serviced well and also annually. I always ignored the longer service interval except when new

I've always bought 2nd hand cars that are 2 to 3 years old. And then generally I keep them until I really need to change them which is generally a very surprisingly long time.
If you choose wisely and look after it, you can make a car last a very long time for far, far less money than the lease option.

I’ll personally not buy a brand new car that I have to return in 3 years because of all the rules attached like mileage, no scratches, etc and also not owning after. I’ll rather buy one that’s 3 year old, on hire purchase so I own the car after with no balloon payment to think about, low mileage car.
I used to just buy second hand cars that I can pay for outrightly but I did the above 2 years ago and only have one year left to pay and a car I still love which I plan to use for another 6 years at least because the mileage is still low and the only repairs have been normal wear and tear

Personally leasing can be good if you go for the deals and not worry about exactly what car. Though since covid the offers just aren’t as good.

Our preferred method is to buy 2-3 years with high ish mileage and full service history. Then keep for 10-12 years.

we usually buy with cash or borrow as little as we can for as short a time at the lowest interest rates. Last time used a 0% credit card.

it’s a depreciating asset so really don’t want to borrow money unless we have too.

If you look after them they should last years and years.

my daughters 20 year old mini has finally gone. But was brilliant till then end and still got a grand for her. Replaced with a 2015 Peugeot 108 for £4k which should last her 5 years +

I'd go for buying a second hand one but a newer model.

Also if there's going to be a lot of wear and tear due to lots of use go for something which is cheap in car parts like tyres, clutch etc.

@ScarlettSunset that's what I've done with my current one and was congratulating myself heartily (what a great car, owned outright!) until it fell apart spectacularly on the side of the motorway and now I have a big bill to pay and no car to drive. I suppose the trick is knowing when to get out!

It is all down to research and dropping on the best bargain.

We went for a lease this time as it came with free insurance, free electric charger, no MOTs, no road tax etc. We worked out what we were paying after fuel cost adjustment was £140 pm for a new car with no ongoing maintenance or costs. The car on paper has lost £16k in value over three years, but that's not our problem. We've had a great car for £140 per month.

That said, next time we will seriously consider a second hand reliable family car like a Toyota and see how it stacks up.

I've just gone for leasing for the first time. I had to take a loan out to get a car last time as mine died (knowing when to get out is key here!)

My current car is due some big jobs next year and I'm still paying the loan, although car now worth more than I owe) whereas the lease is a similar monthly payment, no worries, tax etc and brand new. I'm now also a single parent so no back up car in the house which is a concern for me as my office is 40 miles away...

Both have their benefits but as PP said, leading is best when the deals are good and you aren't too fussy!

We usually buy fairly new second hand cars and drive them until they give up or start to cost money. Having said that , our current cars were bought new when we came into an inheritance.mine has a long warranty and we would not expect to change the cars until we have to.

@somewhereovertherain I'm hoping to get a Mini 😃

@Liveslow that's a fantastic deal! Which make of car did you get?

I have a long commute and from experience the leasing and PCP deals that look ok at first are terrible if you have high mileage. They're typically designed for people who do less than 8k or 10k a year and they charge a significant premium if you want to, well, actually drive the car! Getting a bank loan and buying second hand and keeping for 5-10 years has always worked out way better.

Sadly, newer cars can also spectacularly fail though too. There's sometimes recalls or even just initial 'teething problems'. Obviously the advantage there with a lease is it's not so much your problem if that happens, and so less inconvenient in that particular situation.

I wouldn't lease myself though, as it just seems ridiculously expensive with either no car at the end of it or paying almost what I'd have paid for my 2nd hand car in the first place. When I did look in the past it also seemed even more expensive for people who have even a fairly average mileage (not sure if that's still the case though).

It would be hard to get a lease car that allows that much mileage. I would buy a second hand Golf with reasonably low mileage if I were driving that far each day.

@Muttles an electric Peugeot 208

We really did get a good deal. Like a PP said you can't be fussy, because you're not selecting your favourite car you're selecting the best deal! We have had to hire a bigger car to go on holiday with a few times, but as a day to day car it's been perfect and we're still quids in as far as motoring costs go.

Our main car was bought cash from a dealership, having been used as a demo model. It had about 5k on the clock and was 75% of the cost of a new one. I always try and do this.

Our second car is a Diesel Mini, 10 years old, which we bought last year for £5k. It is an absolute workhorse and just sailed through the MOT and service, plus is zero tax. Only thing is that if they do need a repair the parts can be pricey.

I've been to the concession and they've been very good about talking me through lease v purchase, and have quoted me for both.

With my preferred make I can get a new lease car for £425 per month, keeping it for 4 years and with an increased mileage to cover my commute. If I buy second hand (2 years old with 20000 miles on the clock) I'll pay £500 per month but after 5 years it'll be mine. BUT with over 80,000 miles on the clock at this point I don't know if it'll have much of a resale value.

My daughter loved hers had it 5 years from when she passed her test. Cost £1500 and sold for £1000. Never missed a beat even though big mileage has been serviced and looked after.

@Muttles we did a lot of research into leasing when we were looking at getting a new car last year. It was complicated for us as we were considering changing both cars so we didn't do it in the end but this company kept getting mentioned for deals to look at. https://www.leaseloco.com/car-leasing/mini

There are lots of videos on youtube about leasing cars. The whole they bill you for scratches etc, the advice is about 6 weeks before you hand the car back you get it taken to a body shop and get them to remove scratches etc as that will cost less than if you return it with any scratches. As I say, loads of vids on youtube.

One thing to be aware of is due to the chip shortage some cars made over the last few years have features missing due to chips ie my car is meant to fold the mirrors when you lock it but doesn't, I can fold the mirrors using a button inside the car though. This wasn't a deal breaker for me.

The best advice I can give before you buy any car from anywhere is to have an independent mechanic report done on the car. I went with AA and it cost just under £200 for all the checks. I bought a 2 year old car last year with what seemed to be an easily fixable fault, turns out it wasn't a simple fix. They even took my car to the manufacturer's garage and they couldn't fix it and palmed it back off to the garage I bought it from. I am wondering if that is why it was traded after 2 years rather than the usual 3 with a PCP. Anyway, it was a fight but I was able to return the car because of that AA report noting the fault on the test drive, I also noted the fault too but I think the AA report holds far more weight. It is a small amount of money to pay for an expert to look over the car, I am not a mechanic. I bought a brand new Kia instead but then I don't work so no loan and no PCP as I have no income, I have to pay cash.

Well mini aren’t particularly reliable compared to other cars.

Also depreciation is a good thing if you’re buying second hand.

@slatter the whole scratches etc issue is at the forefront of my mind with a leasing car. The concession reassured me that it's no problem but, as my current car would attest to, living with small children and a very clumsy labrador means that accidents do happen.

I buy 2-3 year old cars and they generally prove very reliable. My current car is now 10 years old but I have had it since it was e and it's never caused me a big bill, just normal service & mot costs every year.
I would never get a new car because the depreciation comes off the moment it gets 1 mile on the clock. Leasing a new car just packages the same costs