Hi, in the position where I need a new vehicle. Not sure whether to buy secondhand from a dealer or lease!

Thoughts? Pros/cons?

Lease – good if you know you’re going to change your car after 2/3 years and want backup of full manufacturers warranty and aren’t doing big miles.

Used – good if you’re doing more miles and don’t mind a wee bit of additional risk re a shorter warranty and resale value.

There are some cracking lease deals at the moment which makes it almost the same cost to run an equivalent new model for 3 years v buying the same model which is a few years old.

The main drawback of the lease for me is the limitation on mileage (I’m on target for 26k this year, much of which seem to be on roads better suited to a tractor!) and the worry of trashing someone else’s new car with bikes etc and dubious road quality.

Leases are great so long as you’re taking in to account the mileage your doing correctly and don’t want to modify the vehicle.

Some great deals around on Mercedes and smaller BMWs at the minute.

Depending on how old you look to buy second hand will depend on how much needs spending on the car in the near future. Probably worth firing up a spreadsheet of costs of a lease including maintenance and the cost of buying a car spread over the same period and see what the difference is.

I love my lease car and it is by far the simplest motoring I’ve ever had, if it breaks, someone fixes it and I don’t hand over any more cash.

If you are a cyclist and/or own a dog or young children I’d be wary of leases. Just too much stress IMO.

Not all manufacturers/lease companies sign up to the fair policy on wear and tear (BVRLA etc). For instance Citroen who I did mine through had quite strict criteria than ^. You aren’t even allowed stone chips on the front of the bonnet (a full respray is required).

So if you do go down the lease route factor in a cheeky chips away bloke of £100-200 in the final weeks of your lease.

If your car doors suffer from carpark dints – well theres another potential cost at hand back too..

You can play with mileage- I agreed upto 15,000 on my contract (£110 a month all in).

Personally having done the lease route it’d have to be a killer deal again OR I’d buy nearly new and save some money every money in a kitty.

ive leased new cars for a while. my biggest pro is that the value of a new vehicle depreciates over the 2yrs by about as much as it would costs me for 2yrs leasing. so if you plan on changing car that often it makes sense, also handing over £30 or 40k would HURT!

However, im at a point now where i think id like to own my own, so will probably go second hand next time, something practical and more suited to biking duties, then just keep it for as long as i can, plus the novelty of a brand new car never lasts long with me either…

So your choice is new car on lease or used bought outright ?

As above it all depends on the deal. A good friend of mine just leased a brand new pickup (commercial terms as its his business) he worked out the cost of the lease was substantially less than owning the vehicle outright (finance costs, maintenance etc). You have to set , that against fact that the used vehicle, if offered at good price, shouldn’t suffer relatively modest depreciation in the following 2/3 years.

There are some really good lease deals out there at the moment.
But, if you want extra options above the standard spec, then you will usually have to pay the full price of the options over the course of the lease.

Be wary of the leases with a big up-front fee. You can get good deals on 3+ deals.
The website might be a bit manic, but we had good service from Lings.

The website might be a bit manic, but we had good service from Lings.

Lings also seems to be one of the most expensive I’ve seen.

buy a £2K car and use the other 38K to run it.. Bangernomics!

The website might be a bit manic, but we had good service from Lings.

I like her USP etc but her deals aren’t the best- just a great way of shouting for attention in a very crowded market.

Where is the best place to see deals on leases? Is there a site like moneysupermarket that summarises / compares the deals?

I’ll be in the market for a nice car when my banger dies. 13 years of the same car makes me think I’ve earnt having a newish one for a while

Lings also seems to be one of the most expensive I’ve seen.

They are just a broker, so some deals are cheap and others will be expensive. In general though, their “best” deals are usually very competitive.
No one else could get anywhere near the price we had.

We are on our second lease car, when it came time to hand back the first one I looked around the second hand dealers and could find nothing that did not look like trouble in the near future, for the same price as the monthly lease price. It also reminded me that I am really bad at selling cars, when the time comes. When the first car was handed back it was trouble and cost free, so I decided to lease again.

There is a BUT though I have another cheap car for bike,outdoor and DIY duties so I don’t have to worry about messing up the lease car, I could not stand having to pussyfoot around the car to stick bikes in etc.

Both lease cars have been from Ling. The first was super cheap ( Mercedes A class) The second ( New Qashqai ) was at the going rate, but Lings got hold of one when others could not. Why I went back to Lings is the help and excellent communications we had when we had some problems with the first car.

Interesting about the kids and bikes and damage as I have kids and bikes so don’t want them messing it up!

Is there a site like moneysupermarket that summarises / compares the deals?

http://www.contracthireandleasing.com/

ashleydwsmith – Member
Interesting about the kids and bikes and damage as I have kids and bikes so don’t want them messing it up!

I never mentioned the kids, Mine are 15 and 13 now, I would not even consider lease with young children ! It would have driven me crazy, and not really be fair on the kids.

There is a BUT though I have another cheap car for bike,outdoor and DIY duties

+1

Thats the thing OP. If you are even vaguely outdoorsy/like DIY or have a small kid you are going to worry about a shiny new car that you have borrowed.

Now I’m in a 2007 car I don’t get annoyed when hora jnr traps the seatbelt buckle in the door frame, mrshora chucks her handbag into the front cubby bin lid or I throw a bike in etc etc

The other issue is no savings and a terrible credit history! So going to be paying through the nose!

Happy reading

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1346121&mid=49649&nmt=Best+lease+car+deals+available%3F

You can get a Lexus LS400 with cambelt done and FSH off ebay for £1500, blow the rest on coke and hookers.

So your choice is new car on lease or used bought outright ?

there is a third option – Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)

new car less deposit less final (balloon) payment of about 1/3 – 1/2 the car’s list price, taken over a maximum of 42 months, often with 0% or very low APR. At the end of the period you either give the car back, pay the final balloon payment & keep it, or use it to trade in on another new one of the same make. There are mileage conditions to this kind of finance, but if you trade in to another of the same make they claim that excess mileage isn’t an issue

Have a look at Skoda’s website for example: Octavia offer

Mrs is on her 4th lease car (pcp) through mini. She chose this due to small deposit, means shehas run a new car since 2007. Mini has the TLC package which is why she uses it. No issues on the mileage either. She gets the finance quote at 6k per year, but she actually does about 9k. As she just trades it in after 2 years the mileage isn’t taken into account. The mileage is only an issue if you want to hand the car back after the term and walk away.

I would not even consider lease with young children ! It would have driven me crazy, and not really be fair on the kids.

Don’t know why really, kids don’t do real damage to cars – it’s leaving them in the B&Q car park or kerbing the expensive alloys that does for them.

I am on my second lease car post-kids and the first one cost me £600 in ‘repairs’, none of which were caused by kids.

Might be a good idea to get a car with leather though – easier to clean than cloth.

Looking at car leases through work currently

Fiesta Ecoboost 1.0T 125bhp Titanium for £229/month. 2 yr deal with 12K mileage/annum. Includes breakdown, service, tax, insurance – just have to put the fuel in.

A Fiesta for £229 a month? No thanks 🙂

Agreed

Don’t need anything bigger 🙂

And the price is all-in.

Here’s the 1l Zetec for £160 a month inc VAT.

Not sure how much insurance will work out at for you, but tax is free and breakdown is included.

Insurance perhaps £250 ? More for subsequent years if need to claim.
Servicing not included, £200 / yr ?

Plus “Initial Payment £401.85 (Excl. VAT)”

Not such a great bargain.

Is the £229 you quoted including VAT and not requiring any deposit?

I wasn’t suggesting my was a great bargain by the way, more that there are better vehicles available for a similar price IMO 🙂

Yes, £229 is all-in, no deposit etc. That’s for the Titanium model, the Zetec is under £220 but with less toys 🙂

more that there are better vehicles available for a similar price IMO

Let’s see ’em 🙂

I have a Kia Picanto for £32/month inc Insurance. I just pay fuel. Does help that the wife works for Kia. It’s a great little town car for nipping to B&Q etc for compost / cement etc….

Yes, £229 is all-in, no deposit etc

That is pretty good then 🙂

Mrs PF has a fiesta zetec which is actually pretty fun to drive. Not too bad on long hauls either.

The personal lease deal is piggybacked off the company car scheme so preferential rates/T’s and C’s.

ah ok, that makes sense.

Not sure if it’s your thing, but here’s a Fabia 1.2.

£400 down
@£400 servicing over 2 years
@£500 insurance over 2 years

£136 per month inc VAT

= £4564 over 2 years

That’s about £1k cheaper than you company deal?

You can also get one of those nifty looking wee DS3 for about £5k over 2 years all in

Yeah, it’s a dilemma 🙂 Current motor is 12 years old now and although it keeps going, the niggles are becoming annoying!

I’m the same. 10.5 years old, nothing major, but continually having to get wee bits and bobs fixed now. None are serious, but if I leave them they would drive me insane.

To be fair, it’s in cracking condition for its age and hasn’t been much trouble, but it is definitely time for a change!

Here’s the 1l Zetec for £160 a month inc VAT.

@10,000 miles the adjustment comes out at over £200 a month. Thats alot for a Fiesta. Nice cars mind but over 3yrs you’ve paid getting on for £8,000 for a car you don’t even own.

The thing is – if you can afford to buy new why would you spend the thick end of £15,000 of your cash on something thats halved/if not less in just 3yrs?!

Over two years I paid £2,800 for 30,000miles use. Still a lot mind but alot better than almost 8k for 3yrs for a car not much bigger/better.

Leasing is ideal for people who must have a new car. Its not ideal for anyone else IMO unless you put it through your company/scheme

Yes, but (majority of) cars are a depreciating asset, if you buy a 1-2yr old s/h car at £8-10K then how much do you lose after 3 years ? Then the insurance/tax ( 😉 )/breakdown/servicing/tyres blah blah.

The lease deal will work out more but there’s the peace of mind / less aggro side of car ownership on the plus side.

Edit: crossed posts.

Agree but you’d negotiate a deal – most 1-2yr old cars can and do lose a large chunk before you negotiate ontop.