Should I buy my lease car?

silvercar

Until 3 years ago we had previously only bought cars outright, so I feel my knowledge is weak in this area. 

3 years ago, our main car needed a lot of maintenance/ repairs and OHs company introduced an electric car salary sacrifice scheme. We sold the old car and took up the new EV through the SS scheme. Now wind forward 3 years and that lease has come to its end. The leasing company has offered him the opportunity to buy the car at around 10-15% less than we could buy a similar for on Autotrader. 

Seems a good deal to me, but am I missing anything?

DrEskimo

Nothing I can think of. If the car suits and you like it, seems like a good option. 

redped

I agree with DrEskimo, you know the car so if you're happy with it then I'd seriously consider buying it if I was in your position.

ButterCheese

Sounds ok to me.  Basically you have been paying a lot in the last 3 years which has covered the cost of the vehicle's depreciation.  If the price they are offering you is good compared to other cars of similar age, mileage and condition, then it would be a good thing to do if you like the car. 

silvercar

ButterCheese said:

Sounds ok to me.  Basically you have been paying a lot in the last 3 years which has covered the cost of the vehicle's depreciation.  If the price they are offering you is good compared to other cars of similar age, mileage and condition, then it would be a good thing to do if you like the car. 

The price is about 45% of the price when new. The payments made, on a ‘net, net’ basis account for about 42% of the when new cost. Of course, maintenance and insurance have also been covered for the last 3 years. So overall we come out better than if we’d bought the car new 3 years ago. The numbers only work out like this because electric cars have depreciated more than would have been expected 3 years ago and OH has been a highest rate tax payer for each of the last 3 years. That is all looking back, which is irrelevant now, other than feeling good about having paid less than we would have done if we’d bought the car new. 

Now the consideration is just whether it’s worth buying the car, that we know, as a 3 year old car. I just wanted to check my gut reaction that it’s a good deal.

Arunmor

What they are asking and what they are selling for may be two different things.  I would note down a few on Autotrader and see what happens to them.  You can also download AT price tracker app which will show you all the price changes over time of an advertised car that hasn't sold.

HillStreetBlues

The options I see it.  Buy / lease another new car and hope it doesn't depreciated, pay more for a car you don't know the full history of, or buy current car.
I'm go to the latter all day long, but if I have a car that I'm happy with I don't give it up easily.

silvercar

Arunmor said:

What they are asking and what they are selling for may be two different things.  I would note down a few on Autotrader and see what happens to them.  You can also download AT price tracker app which will show you all the price changes over time of an advertised car that hasn't sold.

We buy at the stated price or they take it back. Presumably it will go to auction if we don’t want it.

silvercar

HillStreetBlues said:

The options I see it.  Buy / lease another new car and hope it doesn't depreciated, pay more for a car you don't know the full history of, or buy current car.
I'm go to the latter all day long, but if I have a car that I'm happy with I don't give it up easily.

I think it is that simple. We wouldn’t have been able to buy it 3 years ago and wouldn’t have wanted to take the risk of its depreciation. Leasing it was an opportunity to trial having an electric vehicle, getting a new car at a reasonable price and not putting ourselves at risk of a large depreciation. Now, buying the car we really like at a good price does seem a no brainer.

caprikid1

"Buy / lease another new car and hope it doesn't depreciate"

If you lease a car how much it depreciates is not your problem.

Personally the question I would ask is would you purchase the car if you were going to look for one ?, I should keep in mind that an electric car could depreciate faster than a normal petrol car if sentiment continues to get worse on electric cars.

silvercar

caprikid1 said:

"Buy / lease another new car and hope it doesn't depreciate"

If you lease a car how much it depreciates is not your problem.

Personally the question I would ask is would you purchase the car if you were going to look for one ?, I should keep in mind that an electric car could depreciate faster than a normal petrol car if sentiment continues to get worse on electric cars.

We won’t be able to lease the next car through salary sacrifice, so the cost will be significantly more.