Leasing / personal contract hire of a new car

[amrad]

Is this generally a good deal financially? Lots comes into working it out - interest rates, depreciation, maintenance costs etc - whats the opinion on these boards?

Also, can anyone suggest a company that is good value?

[highguyuk]

Alot of people on here are fans of this - no worries about things!

However, my personal opinion is that I want to own my own car! And if you pick a goodun, it could be cheaper! :-)

Sorry, not very helpful ... what would you prefer?

[amrad]

Any companies that do good rates?

[nordberg]

Personal Contract Hire, or PCP, is not the same as leasing. With PCH/PCP you generally end up with a balloon or Guaranteed Future Value (GFV). That is to say, when you take out your agreement, you will be given a GFV. At the end of your agreement you are left with a few options. You can either keep the car and pay off the balance (GFV); you can trade the car in for another and use the difference between the market value and the GFV as your deposit for your next car; or you can just give the car back and walk away.

When leasing a car, you are basically just renting it as you never have any ownership of the vehicle (with PCP the log book is in your name).