bit of background, just started a new job after redundancy and some temping, and the speedo on my car has decided it is time to play up. The car has done 175k and i know the basic solution is to change the clocks. The car will also need a new cam belt shortly, so it is going to get expensive.

The situation i am in means trying to get a loan for a car or leasing one, as i haven’t got the money to buy anything and would rather get something that i can rely on rather than just hoping for the best.

But there seem to be alot of ways of financing cars and at this moment i am trying to get an idea of the pros and cons.

from a leasing point of view you don’t own the car but who pays for tyres, maintenance, tax etc. Is there any norm. or does it depend on the specific lease.

As far as cost goes, i am assuming the monthly cost relates to the initial price of the car and the resale price for the car owner. Is this true?

Does the lease price differ much between similar cars through different suppliers?

any thing else to think about.

When it comes to the tax, tyres and maintenance it really depends on the lease contract, some will include everything others nothing, it’s always best to check before signing.

The cost of the lease is based on the purchase and reasale price of the vehicle with penalties for going over the agreed mileage. bmw’s seem good value at the moment as there coming with 3 years servicing included so reducing the monthly price.
Also to keep the cost down on some makes servicing may not be done by main dealers.

bump

With an individual, it is not usual to take a full service lease in the same way as with a company. It will not include servicing etc, but purely be a financing product which can include a balloon payment, deferring some of the repayments to a lump sum at the end and therefore reducing the monthly payment and the expense of higher interest charges

Have a look at Ling Cars, horrible website but all the costs are upfront
and they are competitive on most models

http://www.lingscars.com/

Take detailed photos of the car as soon as you get it, specifically any marks, scuffs or scratches and let the lease company know. Heard horror stories of Mercedes and the like trying to charge a fortune for “repairs” on returned leased cars, when in fact it’s just either 3 years of wear-and-tear or something that was already on the car.

A cheap Sat Nav will give a pretty accurate speed reading, (My old Tom Tom One does) so just get one of those and keep the banger.

bigjohn, is that legal? I have 10 months until the MOT. which gives me some time to consider options.

speedo is easy to fix, probably just need a new cable if its an older car.

meehaja, its not that simple, the problem is a semiconductor has either died or come loose. Voltage regulator fails and takes all clocks, ie fuel, temp, revs and speedo. The temporary solution is to pull a fuse, but this seems to be failing now.

These are quite good

http://www.bestofferbuy.com/globaltop-gtop-hg100-hud-bluetooth-gps-receiver-digital-windshield-speed-projection-p-7630.html

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/bluetooth_hud_gps_review_globaltop_hg-100.php

Better idea is to buy a car on a Hire Purchase agreement and give it back after half of the agreement has been paid.

No penalties to pay and you have the right to do so. Something to do with the Consumer Credit Act

I did it with my Saab last year. I had the car on a 4 year loan period but after 2 years had the chance of another company car so just rang them up and said come and get it!

120k on the clock and I didn’t have a bit to pay, in fact they gave me some money back!

The book value was £2.5k less than what I owed on it.

bigjohn, is that legal?

I suspect that it’s a legal requirement to have a working speedo even if you use a GPS, because if the speedo isn’t working then neither is the odometer (on older cars, anyway).

You can’t fail an mot for a non- working speedo.
mrmo – skoda octavia?

My dad had the same issue. Apparently, if you are handy with a soldering iron, there are some how tos online.

yes a Skoda Octavia.

The odometer is still working, so that won’t be an issue.

I had seen the soldering iron method, but can’t seem to get a definitive it will fix the problem. More it might fix the problem.

Better idea is to buy a car on a Hire Purchase agreement and give it back after half of the agreement has been paid.

That’s called Voluntary Termination and you can invoke it when half the total amount payable under the agreement has been paid (not half the time has passed). Be aware, however they will charge you for any damage they do not consider fair wear and tear so you need to keep it in good nick.

I did the same with a HP car – gave a Clio back rather than trade it in and saved a similar amount of money as the poster above.

Then later that day I went to collect my nice brand new Puma on interest-free finance rather than the silly dealer finance I had been stuffed on before.

Bro in law has a lease car, personal plan or whatever its called! New Alfa 159 I think, beautiful, in black, tan leather! That’s where the niceness ends!!! £330 A month over 3 yrs, gives it back and that’s it nadda! Spunked over 10k and has nothing to show for it other than memories!! Also for that money he has to pay all the upkeep and its limited to 36k miles. Anything over he pays a certain amount per mile!!

Peugot do so some sort of – put fuel in deal, where they pay for everything and you just put fuel in.

Means driving a Peugot, but it might work out for you.

It depends on the circumstances though – I wouldn’t lease a car for personal use (we have a car we bought new 4.5 years ago on low rate finance (£200 a month) and it belongs to us in half a year yet will still be worth around 40% of original price (around £5k hopefully).

But I have a lease car I pay for through my business – it’s tax deductible expense, 50% of VAT reclaimable (100% on maintenance) and I get to drive around in a nice TT*. It costs quite a bit admittedly, but at the time I got it I was trying to reduce my personal tax bill yet I wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy one even over 5 years as the monthly repayments would have been silly.

*Well I do until September when it goes back and I get a boring sensible family car 🙁

Don’t let it happen MF, you’ll never have another sporty one ever again!!

Probably not for a long time – at least I have had one for a while 🙂