Personal Leasing (cars) – anyone here experiences?

Its only a two year contract and through a main dealer/they’re scheme.

I’ve never leased a car before so I’m abit 😐 hesitant.

Of course before you hand it back you employ a Chipsaway-type to go over the bodywork first.

Anyone been ‘stung’?

Any experiences of early-surrender?

What you thinking of and how much?

5dr Citroen C1 3+23 at £130 inc VAT on 15k miles per annum.

(I played with the mileage and the p per mile penalty and its neither hear nor there).

I assume you have to put a deposit down too?

have a look at Lingscars – great web site (!) and good prices.

So you’re paying £3380 to borrow a car for two years?

Why not buy a car for £3000 and throw it away afterwards?

I used to pick up cars for a large car manufacturer (based in tilbury docks 😉 ) after they’d finished their lease, some of the things they picked up on to charge a penalty was IMO normal wear and tear, like tiny wheel scuffs, stone chips on bonnets, faint surface scratches in paintwork, that type of minor stuff, anything they could pick up on you’d get charged for,…the lease was cheap though..

you’re paying £3380 to borrow a car for two years

Most new cars will depreciate more than that in 2 years.

Some people also like driving around in a car that they know probably won’t break down but if it does they’ll be covered by a warranty.

It’s one of those things you either ‘see’ the point of or don’t, I think. Currently, I can see the point but can’t quite bring myself to do it. Maybe when my current car dies…

So you’re paying £3380 to borrow a car for two years?

Why not buy a car for £3000 and throw it away afterwards?
Cos he’d get a crap car for £3k and may have repair costs to factor in.

Ask the dealer if they subscribe to the BVRLA scheme for fair wear and tear on the vehicle – if they do, then the terms are pretty fair. We have handed cars back with some quite noticeable marks but they fell inside the guidelines so have never been stung.

EDIT: And if they are a member, ask to see the document before signing so you will know what you can expect to be covered/not covered.

Never understood the personal car leasing – for a business (like a work van), yes….

Whats included in the lease? Is normal servicing covered? Do you just have to pay for your own insurance and for consumables?

I recently worked out that I lose, £175 a month on depreciation alone and thats on a second hand car.Factor in running costs and I can imagine why leasing might be worth considering,if you want to be in a new car.

Tax is included in the lease, servicing and tyres can be, depends on the lease.

It can provide peace of mind motoring.

I have just seen an offer for a Merc A CLass at £130 a month +VAT (3×23 deal). (Business users)

Bargain.

Found it…

http://www.danielmyersltd.com/vehicle.php?formid=dealdetail&id=386699

When you look at that – £154 a month for no hassle.

Our current car is 5 years old and paid for but it needs taxing, servicing and MOTing this month: £245 tax; £50 MOT, £180 service. Last month it needed a new battery – £100. That’s £575 in 6 weeks and who knows what in the next few months.

Interstingly – a C class Merc estate is cheaper over 3 years than a Mondeo

Interstingly – a C class Merc estate is cheaper over 3 years than a Mondeo

I recently got a top spec A6 SLine Special Edition for less over two years than a mid-range Mondeo – £270 a month + VAT. The Mondeo was marginally more.

Mad.

Ling’s doing the mercs for £309 inc vat for personal lease – I’m quite tempted…

We’ve got some good deals through my employer, lease comes off pre-tax salary so tax/NI savings to be had. Servicing/breakdown/insurance/tax all covered so you just put the fuel in.

My example is not of leasing but an alternative.

Saab 93 on a 4 year HP agreement.

Minimal deposit and with it being a purchase agreement you are not limited on mileage.

Did 100k miles in just over 2 years and just gave it back (halfway through the term) as it is part of the consumer credit act that allows you to return the goods after paying half the agreement.

Chipped windscreen, chipped paint and kerned wheels – no problem whatsoever.

The reason I did this is because it was cheaper than getting a lease car on 50k miles per year.

I’ve been down the road of leasing; it doesn’t work for me with mileage.

So I buy a 3 year old low mileage thing; run it for 2 years and move it along then.

My last car cost £5500; ran for 2 years with just routine servicing and px’d last year at £3500.

That’s 2.5p per mile. I get 45p per mile from the company. That’s before I get into the car allowance.

Lease? No thanks, dead money. If my car goes wrong I’ll get it fixed. Like real people do.

Saab 93 on a 4 year HP agreement.

Minimal deposit and with it being a purchase agreement you are not limited on mileage.

Did 100k miles in just over 2 years and just gave it back (halfway through the term) as it is part of the consumer credit act that allows you to return the goods after paying half the agreement.

Chipped windscreen, chipped paint and kerned wheels – no problem whatsoever.

The reason I did this is because it was cheaper than getting a lease car on 50k miles per year.
I did that once too – the finance agreement was silly and when I realised I got out as soon as I could – just rang them up at exactly the halfway point and had them take it away.

Hire purchase, the 50% rule applies to all HP deals?

Hire purchase, the 50% rule applies to all HP deals?

Yup – and it is 50% of the purchase price, NOT 50% of the HP finance too.

If you ‘give’ the car back after the half way mark, are there any negatives on credit ratings as presumably you are in breach of the agreement.

I can’t imagine that finance companies are very happy about it.

I’ve had company cars, lease cars and bought new and secondhand cars.

All have advantages, but its really dependent on personal circumstances – and what business use/income is available – there is no right answer.

And at least buying secondhand (with cash) you can swap it at will, as you aren’t tied into anything. When I got laid off a few years ago we had two paid for cars (my old Beemer and my wife’s newish Land Rover) – a friend also got laid off, they had two privately leased BMW’s…, +£800pcm to be paid for another year.

Spoke to a friend in the trade. If its a Lease deal its not financially regulated so if there isn’t mention of a walk away clause then you are liable for the whole amount/period of lease.

No wonder the guy at the dealer has been abit shy about giving me the T&C’s for me to read this point. It probably either doesn’t mention it or says liable for all.

presumably you are in breach of the agreement.

No you are not in breach of the terms as they are legally obliged to offer it and it is written into the terms. Perfectly legal and I don’t see how it could effect your credit rating. My credit rating didn’t appear to suffer.

If you ‘give’ the car back after the half way mark, are there any negatives on credit ratings as presumably you are in breach of the agreement.

Nope, not in breach, its in the contract.

I can’t imagine that finance companies are very happy about it.

Yes, absolutely, but its their contract that you are following.

We did this about 20 years ago, then it was 1/3 where they needed a court order to repossess and 2/3 where you could give back. For us it was when hot-hatch insurance went through the roof, and my then-wife was young – cheap to give back and buy a small car.

so if there isn’t mention of a walk away clause then you are liable for the whole amount/period of lease.

When I wanted out of my last lease deal (impractical car, twins on the way) it was 50% of the monthly payment for the duration of the lease if I handed it back. So I kept it.

Re the Hire LEASE: They’ve sent me the T&C’s, As regulated by the 1974 Credit Act and FLA?

As far as I can see the agreement can be terminated by me; 3months notice + £30 admin.

Sound right?

Yep always do this, get a new car every year or two (cheaper if you swap after 3 or 4 years though. You can do a Voluntary Termination (I think it’s called) when you have paid 50% of the agreement quite legally but of course check your contract.

Means you can drive an expensive, new, reliable car all the time. Sure you don’t own the car but cars aren’t appreciating assets, and if I need to bail out of the agreement due to suddenly being poor, it’s easy enough to do.

Some people don’t get it and would rather drive an unreliable old shitbox that they own instead, each to their own I guess.

hora is this a PCP or is it HP? I think PCP is the one that gives you the most protection, 50% walkaway etc.

It never seemed like a good deal for me. It’s a nice feeling to have a perfectly good car on the drive that’s 100% yours for ever with no payments to make.

I was considering changing it when the finance was paid off for a newer model, then I realised it was madness. New cars are nice, but my god they are expensive.

Some people don’t get it and would rather drive an unreliable old shitbox that they own instead, each to their own I guess

There’s a lot of space between 2 year old car and unreliable old sh*tbox. Cars don’t suddenly become junk heaps at 2 years. I bought a three year old car, could hardly tell it wasn’t new apart from the fact it cost half as much. Oh and I couldn’t choose what stuff it had – that’s the only drawback.

Increasingly, I view cars as tools, rather than ownership items.

In the same way most people need to pay to put a roof over their heads, most need to pay to drive around.

So, unless you’re paying and don’t mind taking the depreciation hit when buying, fincnance is the normal option:

HP: pay for it over a period of time and own it at the end. Some equity left.

PCP: pay less with a balloon at the end.

Lease: pay for use only. Hand back when you’re done and move on. This seems increasingly attractive.

You are talking to someone who always bought good cars at a low price. I’ve been mainly lucky with cars but the last couple I’ve been royally mucking about visiting garages using my holiday entitlement to drop off, pick up, sort, google you name it.

Sick of it. I just want something that is reasonably fun to drive and wont present me with a new conundrum every month. Gets to a point that I’m tired of it.

Yes you may buy and drive a 7yr old VW Passat and feel a wee bit smug but its an ageing vehicle and at somepoint a steering rack will cost you c700 notes or the wheel bearings, or the gaiters, or cv joints, bushes, etc etc etc….all ‘stuff’ that owners consider as consumables/wear and tear but what people who lease/HP etc and handback don’t see…its horses for courses and all traded off…

So that used car you run only cost you ‘£x’ but everything needed to keep it on the road all adds upto about the same.

We bought a Saab Aero Convertible 3 years ago, it was massively discounted because Saab were in never never land at the time and next month we either pay £9K to keep it or give it back. With Saab going bust it’s gong back…

Interstingly – a C class Merc estate is cheaper over 3 years than a Mondeo

Because the Merc has a significantly higher residual value than the mondeo, so they can factor in getting a lot more money for the car at the end of the lease thus meaning it can be offset against the capital payments.

The reason there has been far more BMW/Audi/Merc’s on the roads is fleet buyers would rather pay slightly more to have a premium car instead of Mondeo/Insignia types. The driver is happier to be driving a nice car, the fleet manager spends loads less on hire car costs because they break down less.

I recently left a company who had 200 vectra/astras and swapped the lot for a mixture of Audi/BMW/Merc/Toyota/Skoda and in two years they saved £20k in hire car costs alone and the drivers were far happier..

So that used car you run only cost you ‘£x’ but everything needed to keep it on the road all adds upto about the same.

Eh, no.

No way will a secondhand car generate as much cost to keep running compared to a new one, of the same model.

Yes you may buy and drive a 7yr old VW Passat and feel a wee bit smug but its an ageing vehicle and at somepoint a steering rack will cost you c700 notes

It might. But it’s money you’re not paying for finance/leasing, isn’t it?

So that used car you run only cost you ‘£x’ but everything needed to keep it on the road all adds upto about the same

Rubbish. No way on earth is my Prius costing me £300 a month to run or whatever it would cost to lease. £150 a year servicing, £350 every 3 years on tyres, £15 on VED. The finance expired 18 months ago, so that’s saved me over £5k already. The engine could explode tomorrow and I’d still be ahead.

If you’re worried about surprise bills, just stick £200 in a savings account every month instead, once finance is paid off. I guarantee that you’ll have a metric sh*tload of cash left over – when you sell the car you can go on a free bike binge.

but you’ll need new batteries at somepoint 😉

My point is its two years hassle free motoring, you hand it back and move on.

Unless you have a secondhand car thats massively in demand OR you run a car into the ground (in which case you’ll still have to pay ‘your’ money into the hands of a garage) then you are going to lose c£1,000 a year in depreciation anyway?!

Not usually – lifetime of batteries is comparable to the lifetime of the car, 15 years or so. Sometimes the individual modules fail.

” £15 on VED”

Surprised that thing’s not free road tax. Can’t be that green…