Is it a good time to buy my lease car?

Vegas

I have a car on a personal lease through Lombard, the 24 month term is due to end in August.

I was fairly resigned to going out and buying something nearly new as a replacement, using the best loan/finance package I could find, but I wondered whether it may be a good time to purchase the car at the end of the lease?

Hearsay (only) suggests that leasing companies may not be too keen to have cars back in this difficult financial climate, but I'm not sure whether this is true - when I spoke with Lombard they suggested there was a 'roaring trade in second hand cars' because people can't afford to buy new. Sounds like a good excuse to charge top dollar to me!

The first quote they have given me looks pretty high - online searches suggest that the trade/private value of my car is somewhere between £8.5K-£9.5K, so I'd expect them to only realise that value or less on a returned car. They have asked me for £10.7K which is way too high as far as I am concerned.

Given that I have a few weeks to go does anyone have any advice about whether it is worth holding out and haggling on the price?

Thanks in advance.

Hintza

I don't understand the lease companies on this point. The only time I asked was on my 300C and got a silly price (1 year old) you can now buy them cheaper new than the price they quoted me!!

Obviously small cars are in greater demand but I would have thought bigger ones would be easier to haggle.

You want to know what Glass's price is and work from there I imagine you would save them around £500 if they didn't have to come and collect it, valet it, auction it etc.

If I was in your shoes and keen to keep it, offer them Glass's top book and if they are not interested walk away. That surely would be a £500 saving to you (buying from a dealer) and a £500 saving to them (fees etc), then you both win.

I wonder if anyone else can cast some light on this.

Vegas

I'm not particularly attached to the car, but if I can get a good price on it I would probably keep it because I know it's history, that it's been well looked after, no accidents etc.

It's a pretty standard large car - Ford Mondeo - so no especially sought after I wouldn't have thought....

AdrianHi

Have to agree witrh Hintza. I did some work on IT systems (car inventory management system) for BCA a while back so I became very familiar with the process. Systems are built with the current keeper of the vehicle making a last minute decision to purchase or extend the lease in mid.
Once the car is handed back it often needs moving to somewhere by a driver, preparing for auction (valet and possibly repairs), auction fees, it all adds up.
I really cannot understand why a lease company wouldn't accept a reasonable market value to sell the car to you and avoid all that cost. If it goes to auction it's not likely to make much or any more than Glass's or Black book trade in price.
Auction prices for cars are on the rise so you won't get away with a below book offer.