Buying an ex lease car?

swiftrx

Hi,

I'm looking at a 2017 Grey Seat Ibiza and the one I have my eyes on is from Seat's dealership which has 18.6k mileage and was a lease car, the dealership bought it from ALD Automotive (leasing company) and was serviced at 18k mileage in August 2019. My only worry is that being a lease car, the owner might not care much and just abused it so the clutch might need to be replaced at around 40-50k mileage, what are your thoughts?

comeandgo

I drive lease vehicles as company cars and I have never been abusive to a clutch. I think it's a driving style, not a lease vehicle problem.

mluton

You will never know the full "how was it treated" history, but lease companies tend to force the full service requirements.

I currently have an ex lease car, but it was my dad's company car before he retired, he retired and bought it from the lease company, he ran it for 2 years and now I have it. 11 years old 180k. Was fully serviced and all repairs carried out by lease company during its time as a lease car.

I would yes.

EssexExile

You never know how a car has been treated, whether it's been owned, leased or a rental car. You can just go on what you see.

foxy-stoat

swiftrx wrote: »

Hi,

I'm looking at a 2017 Grey Seat Ibiza and the one I have my eyes on is from Seat's dealership which has 18.6k mileage and was a lease car, the dealership bought it from ALD Automotive (leasing company) and was serviced at 18k mileage in August 2019. My only worry is that being a lease car, the owner might not care much and just abused it so the clutch might need to be replaced at around 40-50k mileage, what are your thoughts?

Not even Master Yoda and all his Midichlorians would know that the clutch will need replacing in another 31,400 miles time. If its cheap enough then buy it and save £30 a month for the next 2 years, if your lucky and you dont hammer the car too much the clutch may well last for another 30,000 miles and you will already have the money to replace it.

noclaf

I think it depends on how the car was driven and if the servicing was done properly at the right time. For example a lot of Car Giants stock appear to be ex lease/fleet and generally they come with a good service history and based on friends who used them appear to be good stock however you pay the premium in the price for using these guys Vs private and some.of the smaller dealers.
I would judge based on service history, condition at inspection and test drive etc

swiftrx

comeandgo wrote: »

I drive lease vehicles as company cars and I have never been abusive to a clutch. I think it's a driving style, not a lease vehicle problem.

mluton wrote: »

You will never know the full "how was it treated" history, but lease companies tend to force the full service requirements.

I currently have an ex lease car, but it was my dad's company car before he retired, he retired and bought it from the lease company, he ran it for 2 years and now I have it. 11 years old 180k. Was fully serviced and all repairs carried out by lease company during its time as a lease car.

I would yes.

EssexExile wrote: »

You never know how a car has been treated, whether it's been owned, leased or a rental car. You can just go on what you see.

Yes, it is only assumptions that I have in my head when I hear leased cars as I tend to think the owner might not care much and abuse it as at the end of the day, they will return it after 2 years whereas if it's owned by an individual, they will take more care as knowing it is theirs but as you said, leased cars are serviced on time.

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Not even Master Yoda and all his Midichlorians would know that the clutch will need replacing in another 31,400 miles time. If its cheap enough then buy it and save £30 a month for the next 2 years, if your lucky and you dont hammer the car too much the clutch may well last for another 30,000 miles and you will already have the money to replace it.

There's not many 2017 Grey Seat Ibiza that has low mileage (under 20k) and the next one is a 18 plate with 12.5k mileage for £1k more. This is my first car so I guess I would do 8-9k mileage a year but I believe replacing the clutch plus labour is around £600-700 depending on the garage?

noclaf wrote: »

I think it depends on how the car was driven and if the servicing was done properly at the right time. For example a lot of Car Giants stock appear to be ex lease/fleet and generally they come with a good service history and based on friends who used them appear to be good stock however you pay the premium in the price for using these guys Vs private and some.of the smaller dealers.
I would judge based on service history, condition at inspection and test drive etc

The car was registered in May 2017 and was serviced in August 2019. I know buying from Seat's dealership is more expensive than from dealers/private but it is manufacturer approved with a extra year warranty and I will be travelling 170 miles to see/test drive the car so if anything happens after I bought it, I can take it back to Seat in my city rather than having to get the car back to where I bought it from.

AdrianC

Most <3yo cars on the market will be ex- some finance house, whether lease or PCP. That's simply the way the new car market works these days. It means nothing.

loskie

lease cars are often treated well. There's penalties if you hand them back with damage

motorguy

O/P, i think you're reading too much in to it.

Buy on condition and price. No one can predict the future.

angrycrow

My ibiza is a 59 plate with just over 90k miles on the clock, still on its original clutch with no signs of it needing a new one any time soon.

What makes you think this one will need a new clutch soon.