Cheapest/cost effective motoring. Lease?

AzzA101

My current car is coming to the end of it's life and I've been quoted around £2000 to get it fixed. I owe this car but it needs to much work and having now purchased my own home, I'm looking at getting something I can rely on as I commute a lot between two jobs.

I'm 34 now and past the posing in a car stage. I just want the cheapest car, with cheapest insurance and best mpg. It's just transport myself about between jobs.

I've worked it out and at the moment I pay around £300 a month in fuel, £16 a month tax and £60 a month fully comp insurance with business cover.

I've been looking at lease options but struggling to commit to be honest as I've never done anything other than just purchase a second hand car out right. I believe the lease option would be ideal though as they tend to cover all servicing, wear and tear repairs as well as tyre. I suppose I just need to put the leg work in to find the cheapest insurance option.

Any advice or suggestions on how to approach this would be appreciated as it's been a bit overwhelming looking at the different options and just going round in circles.

And I'd ideally like this to be sorted sooner rather than later so I can flog me current car to 'we buy any car' before it dies a death!

Thanks

cw8825

 Your current costs are £375 * 12 + a 2000 output

you would need to find a lease that works out less including the initial rental. 

But after the lease term you wouldn’t have a car and be in a same situation again. 

Once you repair the current car. How many years can you expect out of it?

DullGreyGuy

The cheapest option is to buy a car outright, irrespective of if you lease, HP, PCP etc there is ultimately someone using their money to provide you use of an asset and so interest applied. With HP/PCP the interest is obvious because its up front, Lease its still there but not exposed to you as you are buying a service not borrowing money. 

Assuming you cannot afford to buy the car outright just compare all the different financing options and see which works out cheapest. You can buy a service plan on PCP/HP though depending on how long you intend to hold the vehicle for and your chosen vehicles service routine they can be good or bad value. 

CliveOfIndia

It depends an awful lot on the state of your current car and its general condition.  If spending £2000 on repairs now would mean it gives you several more years of trouble-free motoring then it's a no-brainer - what sort of car could you buy for £2000?  Plus you have the benefit of "better the devil you know".

But of course, there does come a time where a car really is at the end of it's life.

To my mind, the cheapest - or at least, "least expensive" - option is to buy a decent used car for cash.  Of course, you've always got the risk that there are hidden faults that may surface in a year's time or whatever, but if you take your time and shop around carefully, you can still pick up some bargains.

Leasing can indeed seem attractive, and I appreciate why a lot of people go for this option.  But ultimately, you're still paying to drive a brand-new car, however the finance package is dressed up.  And that's never going to be a cheap option.

It's down to personal preference ultimately.  Personally I've always gone for the "buy an older car outright" option and have always benefitted overall in terms of cold hard cash, compared to a new car on PCP, lease, whatever (yes, I'm the sort of nerd who keeps a spreadsheet of absolutely every penny I spend on it !).  But obviously that wouldn't be everyone's preference.

Mark_d

Leasing is a good option for someone wanting a brand new car.  Personally I would look to buy a used car about 5 years old.
Leaving your car with WeBuyAnyCar is a good way to get rid of your car.  I speak from experience.

Brie

The challenge is to find a decent second hand car place.  We're lucky that we've found 2 different car shops that are local and honest.  

Unlike the one around the corner from where we live now.  They have a website and have the most appalling reviews about cars that die half a mile from the place.  Spotted one review that was responded to by the owner who said something like "what the F did you expect from a car that cheap?"

Herzlos

What's the car worth without doing the £2000 repair? Have you shopped around for a better deal on the repair?

£300/month in fuel is quite a lot, so if your commute allows it you may save some money going to an EV. Even if you  cut your fuel bill in half you'd have £150/month towards the payments.

Petriix

If you can charge at home then an EV would potentially pay for itself in fuel savings. There's some decent options in the £300 per month range. Ultimately it depends on how often you drive more than 200 miles per day.