To Lease a car or not?

cearball

Hi everyone,

I am not into my cars so normally just drive a banger around, mainly to & from work (mainly because the radiator leaks & I wouldn't trust it on a long drive)

However it is nearing the end of its life & will probably fail its MOT.

So am debating just scrapping it & getting another car.

However I am curious about leasing a small car instead of buying a second hand one for £1500-£3000.

I would still have to save for the initial deposit but it could be a good idea as I would get a more reliable/newer car.

Any advice on the hidden pros/cons of leasing cars?

Any advice on good places to lease from?

I live in Cardiff if that is any help.

Thanks Andrew

forgotmyname

You get a newer more reliable car BUT you also get to pay a lot more for it.

A £2000 car should easily see 5 years of reliable use with proper servicing. Why dont you repair the radiator on your car. If it fails the MOT then your neglecting it.

Proper servicing will see many more miles from it.

What are you looking at £1200 a year + the deposit + servicing and tyres also. So some of the costs may still apply.

So in 3 years you will have spent more than i have in the last 5 years. And i still have an asset worth something.

Cons what if your circumstances change? You still need to pay for it. And when you hand it back any damage or neglect will be charged for.

londonTiger

dont forget the lease car has damage liabilitiies as well. You have to pay for any light damaged to the car. kurbed alloy wheels etc.

Hoof_Hearted

Not really a money saving thing, is it?

BeenThroughItAll

lostinheaven wrote: »

Why isn't it?

Because in your examples, over five years of leasing you'll have spent £26K and won't own anything at the end of it.


Whereas; you could have bought a cheaper car outright, saved a proportion of the monthly payment you've been making, and at the end of five years have enough in the bank for a nice holiday or to pay off a chunk of your mortgage.

worried_jim

Could have bought a house for £26k.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45084109.html

BeenThroughItAll

lostinheaven wrote: »

A new car, under manufacturer's warranty, service & maintenance plan in place is much less hassle and a far more pleasant driving experience.

Not very moneysaving though, is it?

Hoof_Hearted

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Not very moneysaving though, is it?

Is there an echo in here?

It probably wasn't very money saving to spend £4,000 on a 10-year-old car either.

BeenThroughItAll

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

Is there an echo in here?

It probably wasn't very money saving to spend £4,000 on a 10-year-old car either.

Exactly...

Indout96

Not very moneysaving though, is it?

The idea of money saving is not to wear rags and drive a £25 car it is getting the best deal on what you actually want (providing you can afford it) If you can get a £90,000 car for £85,000 then that is still money saving in the context of the site.

BeenThroughItAll

Indout96 wrote: »

The idea of money saving is not to wear rags and drive a £25 car it is getting the best deal on what you actually want (providing you can afford it) If you can get a £90,000 car for £85,000 then that is still money saving in the context of the site.

God, there's a lot of assumptions being thrown around on here recently that anyone promoting "own rather than lease" must be a poor, rustbucket-driving tramp recently.


You're making the point that you're saving money if you can 'get' an expensive car for less. But that's not what my posts were in relation to. They were in relation to essentially hiring an expensive car for a few years, and ending up with nothing to show for the price you've paid.


In my book, spending 3-4K a year and owning nothing as a result isn't moneysaving no matter how shiny the car on your drive.