First time car lease

Sergio

Sergio

Well-known member
Have many on here leased a car before? My friends swear by it but I am in the market for a new car and have PCP'd for the past 10 years. The interest rate means PCP is basically impossible unless im prepared to drive something I dont really want or older and potentially more likely to have issues. I have been tracking lease deals for a couple of weeks now but what are the pros and cons of leasing? I am aware they will have to inspect the car so it needs looking after which I do anyway but is there anything else? The deal I have found saves me over £7000.
 
Sergio said:
Have many on here leased a car before? My friends swear by it but I am in the market for a new car and have PCP'd for the past 10 years. The interest rate means PCP is basically impossible unless im prepared to drive something I dont really want or older and potentially more likely to have issues. I have been tracking lease deals for a couple of weeks now but what are the pros and cons of leasing? I am aware they will have to inspect the car so it needs looking after which I do anyway but is there anything else? The deal I have found saves me over £7000.
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Just do the maths in what you'd pay for the car on payments with interest etc and any servicing required be what the car would depreciate over the same amount of time and you should be ok. Some value the non-ownership of these deals but some see it as a padlock pubs your neck, as you're then often locked into a cycle of taking out new leases.
 
We leased for the 1st time - started in the Autumn. We only did that because the price of 2nd hand cars seems to have gone through the roof - I reckon they used prices have gone up by maybe a third. That meant that we would have to splurge a large chunk of our savings on a 3 /4 year old car with moderate mileage if we were to buy.

You will have to ask me in 2.5 years whether leasing is a good idea or not, but no complaints so far. Brand new car delivered to the door, with road tax and servicing all included in the price and of course the manufacturers warranty plus roadside recovery included. In theory the monthly payment is all it should cost us. We have also been given a list of deductions / penalties for damage when returning the car, so we are at least forewarned in case we pickup a scratch etc.

In 2.5 years time we will have to decide whether to buy or get another lease, so I will have to assess the used prices again.
 
I would never pcp or lease and understand that’s my personal preference. You paying more interest on a pcp as the balloon payment is effectively interest only, and you only reduce the non balloon payment amount.

I just see a vehicle as something to go from one point to another though. Mod cons are nice but they are not a necessity for me
 
I looked into this a few years back (purely out of interest) so this info could be out of date, but two massive drawbacks to me seemed to be that you get a stingy mileage cap and fairly uncompetitive charges for exceeding it, and also that anecdotally the leasing companies are incredibly fastidious about finding things that they can class as over and above normal wear and tear, and will charge you heavily for it.
 
We always lease, it works if you want (and are prepared to pay for) the following:

brand new car
no (or negligible) 'maintenance'
to never own the car (ie no intention of keeping it beyond 3-4 years)
low monthly payments with no ROI

If you want a second hand car, or think you can keep your car for 5-10 years and hope to sell it at the end, and you're 'handy' enough with the maintenance, PCP/PCH will be better I'd say. Leasing is cheaper from month to month, generally, though.
 
Chutney said:
I looked into this a few years back (purely out of interest) so this info could be out of date, but two massive drawbacks to me seemed to be that you get a stingy mileage cap and fairly uncompetitive charges for exceeding it, and also that anecdotally the leasing companies are incredibly fastidious about finding things that they can class as over and above normal wear and tear, and will charge you heavily for it.
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We've had mixed experiences with this. Last one just drove it off and we never heard from him again. The wife had put a massive dent in it that we sorted ourselves beforehand though.
 
yeah when handing my girlfriends bmw back, despite having 4 practically new tyres on she has ti fork out for 4 run-flats. She did get lucky that the MOT expired the next day and about £600 of BMW servicing was due the next week as well.

Although they have these checklists there are usually tolerances eg chips can be so many MLM big before they cost you etc

I bought my focus on 2009 and it was paid off a long time ago, I'm not very interested in cars so would probably never do a lease myself, but can see the appeal for those that do. In that time most my mates have had 3-5 cars and just feels like dead money to me, but everyone has their vices.

Even if I bought a car I would probably just do balance transfers rather than loans as they're always at a low rate.
 
I've leased for the last 4 or 5 cars, until the last two, which I've bought outright.

There are different considerations with each, the most obvious being depreciation ie with a lease its largelyirrelevant, but if you're buying its the single most important issue.

If you can afford to buy, or more specifically buy wisely, then is the most cost affective way to do it, but obviously not everyone can, hence lease and PCP deals have become very popular.
 
We are on our second lease car and it's trouble free motoring for us. We get the service plan on with the price and it's definitely worth it. The last one we had for 3 years and had 2 tyres replaced because of punctures and 2 replaced due to wear all at mo extra cost.

I'll be going for a 3rd next march, through work this time as they have started a salary sacrifice schemes so it will be even better value.
 
Chutney said:
I looked into this a few years back (purely out of interest) so this info could be out of date, but two massive drawbacks to me seemed to be that you get a stingy mileage cap and fairly uncompetitive charges for exceeding it, and also that anecdotally the leasing companies are incredibly fastidious about finding things that they can class as over and above normal wear and tear, and will charge you heavily for it.
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Did you put the details on here? If so could you bump the thread please.
 
I have leased for a number of years now, its an excellent way to have a car and not have to worry about breakdowns etc like with an older car. I am currently on my second (4th over all between me and the wife) and have never had to pay a penny on hand back. I am currently looking for my third now even though my car isnt due back until August, purely because I want once particular car and need to order it.

sherlock1969 said:
I'm thinking about a lease later in the year as I can get it through NHS fleet solutions and salary sacrifice through work, which works out pretty good value considering the tax savings from the salary sacrifice.

Not 100% sure yet but definitely leaning that way.
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The Mrs took advantage of this 6 months ago... the scheme is fantastic and we have a car package that would be twice the cost should I have walked into the garage myself... couple that with insurance and maintenance included its a no brainer.

Just be mindful your pension will be reduced accordingly.
 
Acklam_Lad said:
I have leased for a number of years now, its an excellent way to have a car and not have to worry about breakdowns etc like with an older car. I am currently on my second (4th over all between me and the wife) and have never had to pay a penny on hand back. I am currently looking for my third now even though my car isnt due back until August, purely because I want once particular car and need to order it.



The Mrs took advantage of this 6 months ago... the scheme is fantastic and we have a car package that would be twice the cost should I have walked into the garage myself... couple that with insurance and maintenance included its a no brainer.

Just be mindful your pension will be reduced accordingly.
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Thanks :)
 
My last car was a lease, no problems when I returned it. Think I paid £60 for a badly scuffed alloy, which was fair enough.
Arranged through Carwow, ALD Automotive.
 
My car has cost me around around £7000 over 9 years (100k miles) - £65/month plus servicing/MOTs/10 new tyres/new cam belt/one £60 repair plus fuel, Road Tax and insurances.

Leasing would have cost me at least £220/month at current rates for a supeemini class of car. but I would have had a new car every 3 years. About £120/month more than buying new.

It depends how much someone values having a new or nearly new car and if they can tie up money when they purchase new.

There are lots of 8 to 9 year cars on the road, in general they are more reliable than in the past and they are certainly more durable than in the past.

Interesting that the NHS is subsidising car ownership. Is the scheme only for staff who have to visit patients in their homes or all NHS staff?
 
Redwurzel said:
My car has cost me around around £7000 over 9 years (100k miles) - £65/month plus servicing/MOTs/10 new tyres/new cam belt/one £60 repair plus fuel, Road Tax and insurances.
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Wow. Well done. Love to see stats like this, from someone who counts nothing.
(Thats NOT a ***take btw!)
 
The nhs scheme (nhs fleet solutions) is also open to some local government staff as well - my wife is waiting on a car through it now. The net cost after the salary sacrifice is ridiculous for the car she is getting. Never leased before but this seemed to be a no brainer.
 
The NHS isn't subsidising it. It is a saving for the NHS because it is a salary sacrifice deal. It reduces the amount of employers NI they pay and it reduces the amount they have to pay as contribution to the pension scheme and will also reduce the amount they pay out as pensions in the long term.

Works out cheaply because they can use their economy of scale to get discounts by taking out large orders. The saving for the employee is from reduced tax, NI and pension contributions.
 
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