Do I stick with leasing or bite the bullet and buy 2nd hand...

Wishywashy74

Thanks, looking at 2nd hand Volvo XC60's, spent last night reading up on LR, errr no thanks, seem to have big issues with their cars....

eschaton

Wishywashy74 said:

I've been leasing cars on a 2 year basis since about 2014, in 2016 I got divorced and just carried on with the leasing option every 2 years, basically paying a monthly fee then every 2 years putting in around £2k every time I got a new deal.

In 2022 I actually started to think about getting away from leasing and maybe buying a 2nd hand car but the 2nd hand market was insane so I got another lease option.

I'm now at a point where I need to consider another lease deal but this time my lifestyle is possibly about to change with my partner and I moving in together, this will free up a load of mine and her finances as we will both be mortgage free.

So do I now consider a 2nd hand car and then at least at the end of it I will own something outright potentially? Only thing is I don't have a car to part ex and I'm loath to take a big chunk out of my savings but instead of giving a lease company £2k I was thinking maybe a deposit of £5k down on a pcp or hp deal then see where we are with regards to finance in 3 or 4 years time as to what I would do next with the car.

Totally unsure of what to do but I know deep down I need to move away from leasing especially as over the last few years all the good deals have dried up and leasing is definitely more expensive. For example back in 2016 I got a Kia Sportage for £116 per month, the equivalent car would be around £320 now...

Thoughts...

I stopped borrowing for cars over 20 years ago. 

Early pain for long term gain. 

Current car cost £23k 4 years ago. 4.5 months old and 1000 miles and a £8k saving on new price. Absolutely as new. 

A same spec new car at the time would have cost £19200 on a 4 year lease. My depreciation to date is  £7.5k. 

I’d just be about to send the lease car back £19200 lighter, instead I’ve got a car worth £15.5k.