What would you do? Car leasing coming to end

Want_to_be_free

Hi Guys,

I cannot make my mind up about what to do with my car.
I had been leasing it with 'Rent to BUY' option for 4 years now.
Next year in September, I need to either give the car back or pay additional £3700 to keep it.

The car is costing me £200 every month until September. This deal is something I cannot get out of. I got into this lease in desperation and did not realised it was for five years rather than usual three.
I pay approx. £200 on petrol , £15 car tax, £40 towards servicing and MOT and other stuff such as getting it cleaned ,tyres etc. Insurance is £65 as I had to claim last year and lost my no claims bonus. The total is £320 per month, This is a lot of money. ( Thinking about it + £200 monthly payments it is crazy)

There is a bus in front of my home that goes to the town where I work, the weekly ticket costs £25- I can take ‘work bus’ from station free. By the way, I mainly work from home, I may go to the office once a week ....
My son now lives with his father, about 13 miles away and I pick him, up drop him back 3 times a week by car but return train ticket is £4 for me and £2.80 for him. Although this might add up, my DS is now at the age that he can travel himself if necessary.

I use my car to go to grocery shopping. I can buy bulk on internet and for perishables I can go bike and get things weekly.

Do you think I should keep my car after five years lease come to end or change my life style to a healthier one ( by force ) and rely on public transport until I have better finances?
I am emotionally attached to my beautiful car, It is Nissan Micra Convertible, I absolutely love the darn thing but at the same time, it is getting older and not running too well or cheaply.
I can always save up and buy another one once my negative wealth turns positive.

My friends thinks that it is a crazy idea , I think I should give it a go before I actually get rid of the car to see if I can survive without one.

What do you think, or rather what would you do?

mildredalien

Wow, £520 a month for a car is a lot! If you had that money 'spare', how much better off would you be in terms of paying your debts/daily living expenses?

My head is definitely saying give up the car. I know I would feel a bit lost without a car (although I actually do need mine to get to/from work) and it's a change to rely on public transport. However, think about how much quicker you could become debt free and start saving up for a car you properly own if you were to use that £520/month for other things. You could always hire a car for the odd occasion you might really need one or splurge on a taxi now and then - it would still be way cheaper than what you are paying now!

You might spend £100/month on bus for work, £85 on travelling with your son, and maybe another £20 or so a month on other travel or delivery costs. Still a big drop in costs for you.

I can understand your friends thinking giving the car up is crazy, I'd hate to be without mine. However, they probably aren't in the same financial position as you with as much motivation to get debt free.

Want_to_be_free

Thank you mildredalien, I know it is crazy amount of money ... In fact I should check if there is any way I can get out of this agreement somehow. I say fat chance but wont loose anything by trying....

£500 extra payments towards my debts means I can get debt free just over 18 months vs 3.3 years .....

digging

I would be lost without my car but you sound like you have thought about how you would manage without it. How about you try living without your car for a week to see if it actually hinders your life....bearing in mind that winter is coming up! £500 is alot for a car. Maybe if your credit is good you could get a cheaper car on finance where you pay £200 month total. That way you can still have a car and put the other £300 towards debt.

On the other hand, no car means more walking/planning etc so healthier lifestyle etc (although I'm going to bring winter back into it:D - I hated walking in icy freezing wind on dark mornings/nights).

It's a tough decision.....let us know what you decide!:eek:

nicnacnoo

sounds to me like you've already talked yourself into it....plus having a week or so off the car will save you a load of petrol money and you might get used to it!
Nic

dancingfairy

Presumably you wouldn't spend 100 a month on the bus for work though if you only needed it 1 day a week? It's what less than 5 a day (I assume you could get a standard return or a day ticket) so it could be 25 a month for the work trip (which would save you an extra 75 on top of what Mildrealien said).
Also presumably your son could get a young person railcard or perhaps a season ticket (it depends on how much you think you'd make the journey) or perhaps you can share the journey with your ex? .
df

thehappybutterfly

Can you sell the car? I have a car on PCP with Ford Options. At the end of the three years (last payment out today!), I can either:

a) upgrade
b) hand it back and leave with nothing
c) pay the balloon amount and keep the car

and the other option I was only made aware of 2 weeks ago:

d) sell the car.

As long as the final payment is made, Ford Credit don't care who makes it. So that's what I'm doing. Selling the car, clearing the finance and spending what's left (probably £1500) on a banger. I can't do without a car though. I calculated the cost of bussing everywhere and it was more expensive and waaay more time-consuming.

Why not ask your dealer if you can sell? You would think you couldn't as the car isn't yours but apparently it's legal and very common.

mildredalien

dancingfairy wrote: »

Presumably you wouldn't spend 100 a month on the bus for work though if you only needed it 1 day a week? It's what less than 5 a day (I assume you could get a standard return or a day ticket) so it could be 25 a month for the work trip (which would save you an extra 75 on top of what Mildrealien said).
Also presumably your son could get a young person railcard or perhaps a season ticket (it depends on how much you think you'd make the journey) or perhaps you can share the journey with your ex? .
df

Oh good point, I was going from the £25 for a weekly ticket, but if you only actually use it once a week you should probably just pay each trip separately. Then again if the bus goes to other useful places and you'd pay more going ad hoc it might be worth it!

R_P_W

£520 a month for a Micra!? ouch.

Why does it have to be this car or no car? why dont you buy outright a cheap older car for a few hundred quid?

Want_to_be_free

thehappybutterfly wrote: »

Can you sell the car? I have a car on PCP with Ford Options. At the end of the three years (last payment out today!), I can either:

a) upgrade
b) hand it back and leave with nothing
c) pay the balloon amount and keep the car

and the other option I was only made aware of 2 weeks ago:

d) sell the car.

As long as the final payment is made, Ford Credit don't care who makes it. So that's what I'm doing. Selling the car, clearing the finance and spending what's left (probably £1500) on a banger. I can't do without a car though. I calculated the cost of bussing everywhere and it was more expensive and waaay more time-consuming.

Why not ask your dealer if you can sell? You would think you couldn't as the car isn't yours but apparently it's legal and very common.

Many thanks for this advice, I didnt know anything about this options. I will call the company that I leased the car from and check. I might not get a positive answer but I guess if I dont ask I never know , thank you again.

Want_to_be_free

R_P_W wrote: »

£520 a month for a Micra!? ouch.

Why does it have to be this car or no car? why dont you buy outright a cheap older car for a few hundred quid?

Hello R P W, 520 is not for car payments.
The breakdown is

£200 is for leasing ( I have 12 more months to pay this because my contract with the leasing company is for 5 years)

Approximetly £200 for petrol
Car tax ( monthly ) £15
MOT , Service ( monthly ) £40
Insurance is £65

And it is a lot ! I am in debt and I think although car is necessity, I got myself into mess thus I can suffer a bit without a car a bit but be dept free quicker .

I am really talking myself into this and I wanted to see what you sensible people are thinking.

I will also try to be without the car for a week and see how it goes ....