Can I lease a car for my granddaughter to use?

anotherbob

My granddaughter's car has failed its MOT. I know nothing about leasing cars but I wonder if it might be an alternative to shopping around for another cheap car to buy.

Ganga

What has it failed on? repairs might be a lot cheaper than a new one.

anotherbob

We will decide on whether or not it's economically sensible to repair when we've seen the estimated cost. In the meantime I want to explore the leasing alternative.

ontheroad1970

This is a question you wold have to ask the lease company - chances are that they won't agree to someone not ordinarily living at your address to use the car on a regular basis.  On other finance like PCP it is questionable as it can be considered financial fronting.  It would be harder for them to recover the vehicle if you stopped payment for any reason.  You might find it cheaper to use savings or a personal loan to cover the cost of a newer but not brand new car.  Brand new cars aren't necessarily that much ,more reliable than say a 5 year old car that has been driven enough but not too  much and kept well serviced.

TadleyBaggie

How old is she, pretty sure lease companies have a minimum age for drivers (similar to car hire companies)?

poppy12345

TadleyBaggie said:

How old is she, pretty sure lease companies have a minimum age for drivers (similar to car hire companies)?

Most have a minimum age of 18. https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-leasing/young-drivers/

facade

anotherbob said:

My granddaughter's car has failed its MOT. I know nothing about leasing cars but I wonder if it might be an alternative to shopping around for another cheap car to buy.

Apart from the lease payments, (and you can't usually get out of the lease without paying a large fee) there are heavy charges at the end for any damage above "fair wear & tear" to the car. There is an industry standard for what counts as "fair wear & tear", but these forums are full of people complaining that they have been charged, as what most people would term "immaculate"  is in fact "extensive panel damage requiring a full respray"

End of lease charges are a good moneymaker for the lease company, and their agent will examine the car with a microscope looking for damage that they can charge for.

Nebulous2

poppy12345 said:

TadleyBaggie said:

How old is she, pretty sure lease companies have a minimum age for drivers (similar to car hire companies)?

Most have a minimum age of 18. https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-leasing/young-drivers/

That's a minimum age to lease it, not to drive it. That is because under 18s cannot enter into a credit agreement. 

Its quite common for a lease to be in a different name from the main driver, lots of people with one working partner who leases the car, but the partner / spouse is the main driver. 

However one of the clauses in my lease agreement is:- 

"You must keep the vehicle in your possession and control. You must not take out the Hire Agreement on behalf of someone else." 

That would preclude leasing it for a grandchild, you would definitely need permission from the leasing company. 

Don't expect leasing to be a cheap option. You pay more monthly for shorter leases, with 18 months or so often being a minimum, you are also often expected to pay an upfront cost of 3, 6 or 9 months payments.

As a rough guide you could buy a cheap car for 6 months lease costs. 

Ebe_Scrooge

Nebulous2 said:

poppy12345 said:

TadleyBaggie said:

How old is she, pretty sure lease companies have a minimum age for drivers (similar to car hire companies)?

Most have a minimum age of 18. https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-leasing/young-drivers/

As a rough guide you could buy a cheap car for 6 months lease costs. 

I have to agree with this.  Ultimately with a lease car, you're still driving and paying for (usually) a brand new car, however it's dressed up.  This is always going to be far more expensive overall than a decent second-hand car.

A lot depends on you granddaughter's available cash, of course - but if it were me I'd certainly consider repairing the existing car in the first instance.  If that's not economically viable then look for a decent used car.  Either option will be far cheaper overall than a lease - even if you were able to get one.

ratrace

Its almost always cheaper to get the car fixed rather than lease even if the costs are a bit more than you want to pay, as the lease deal payments will cost you a lot more in the long run, i would just get the car fixed and stay out of debt imho 

prowla

The insurance might have stipulations too.