Please help me work out best option - car payment

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

Hello
my already peri menopausal brain is further befuddled this week by a cold/flu type thing.
i can’t see the wood for the trees 🌳

i currently lease a used car - £185 a month.

to lease another used car will be about £220 a month.

i can buy my car from the company for £8500, bank transfer only so cant use 0% credit card.my car has a couple of prangs, around £1500 to repair- I would need to repair if it goes back, I would do minor repairs (£400) if I keep it.

If I do return it I could also buy an older car for around £4500, though appreciate there will be higher ongoing costs.

i have more scope with monthly income and outgoings - I don’t have any savings (just given all my £ to the kids for house deposits!)

please help!

I can get a loan at 5.9% - so the same monthly payment as the new lease would take me four years to pay off (factoring in road tax which I don’t pay on the lease).
I guess the £1500 on repairs would be offset by having an older car.

so over four years it’s the same monthly cost, but an older car - but then my car would be worth around £4k at the end.

wwyd?

We had similar conundrum c2008 on a 2005 Berlingo bought new on PCP.

Balloon payment was a lot less than £8k but cash equivalent/real terms in same ball park.

Assuming the current car does what you want, is recent enough not to be a worry breakdown wise and by hook or crook you can afford the balloon go for that. The £1500 to get it fettled stays with you - that's only relevant to the 'guaranteed future value' if you return it or trade it to same dealer.

The Berlingo ran until 2015 and to over 150k miles. Would have kept it longer but it had a steering problem with which garage wanted to pay parts bingo. Traded it for a Skoda Roomster.

It was still around until c2021.

@Bromptotoo thank you, that’s reassuring.
to clarity, it’s not a balloon payment, usually I just hand back the car at the end of the lease, I didn’t have a large down payment either, it is 3 months so around £600.
just tempted to buy it off the lease company because of the cost of repairs

So it was leased and you have an option to buy rather than a PCP type arrangement.

I don't think the economics are much different though.

Yes
and yes! I think so - I guess having the £4 ish at the end is a bonus too, so if I go back to leasing after four years I’m quids in? I think?

Also - I negotiated a bit with the lease company, they have offered a good deal I think -£8500 and similar age and spec on autotrader for around £10000