I’ve been researching about leasing a car rather than buying my next one outright. I’m discounting PCP deals just lease for 3 years and hand it back or renew with another 3 years.
Do’s and don’t involved, I can’t afford to buy brand new outright or even probably want to now such as the prices are
Anyone offer advice, do you lease and find it better than actually buying?
BTW not an MX-5 
You lease and walk away with nothing and £6k out of pocket, or you buy and then trade in £6k out of pocket.
Do your sums and work out what’s best for you financially.
Which ever way you go, it’s going to cost.
We leased a car about 12 years ago and got a good deal at the time, when we came to renew, we couldn’t find a deal to match it, so ended up buying.
My only issue with leasing is that you are tied to the suppliers t&cs regarding servicing etc, and they will stitch you up for a scratch or wheel scuff.
We had a lease car at work that went back with a ding in the rear wing. I ended up getting involved. TThe lease company wanted to charge us £1000 for repair.
I argued that the car wouldn’t be repaired and that they would be sending to auction. The damage might reduce its auction value by £300, and so we agreed to compromise at £500.
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I know people who do nothing but lease their cars. They are happy to pay (whatever) each month, hand it back and take out another one. Me ? I invest myself in our cars, I look after them, cherish them and I’m at the point now where a new car just doesn’t enter my thought process. Funnily enough, I’ve been thinking of replacing my daily runaround (2011 Polo 1.4 with 86k) but the more I look into things, the more I realise I can keep the Polo going for many more thousand’s of miles with little financial hit to my bank balance. I have had a few new cars in my driving life, but I honestly do not hanker after another.
I’ve never leased, PCP’d or HP’d a car.
I’ve never had a new car either but ex demonstration models, (a 440 Volvo back in the day) and it knocks loads off new price and don’t cost you a 25% loss when you drive out of the showroom.
I would also like an upgrade on my daily, but as you say, the price of them now is crazy and in my opinion, marketed towards the PCP market, where you upgrade after 3 years or walk away with nothing.
Still a lot of money to get to the supermarket, garden centre and builders merchants!
It’s all down to personal choice.
Dip your toes in to the EV world?
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Why would you even suggest that ? 
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Saw this recently and might give you more insight:
IF you end up leasing - make sure you take out GAP insurance.
Should the worse happen and the car gets written off - you don’t want the lease company coming after you for the difference in value between the insurance payout and what the lease company values the car at.
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I need a large load area😄
That has to be a scam
The gotcha is the “initial rental”. It looks as if leases are cheap until you realise they want a huge first payment.
Actually not. There are people getting their £100 a month electric pickups. End of year fire sale to ensure a certain percentage of sales are EV (Maxus’s other vehicles are more conventional). Some delays in actual delivery, but they are turning up. Probably not the greatest, but its £100 a month.
This one was delivered for £61 a month, nothing down, 10k a year!
The MG Extender version
You might get other similar end of year fire sales with other “new” makers, trying to shift stock sitting at the dockside. These pickups were originally priced at £60k, which is obviously unsellable. At the right price, these would have shifted like hotcakes, because although they might not be the greatest 2024 pick up, they are a pretty good 2018 pickup, and someone just looking for a work truck doesn’t care about a gopping chrome grill (thought wrapped in black, might look ok). I sort of understand now why some people brought Ladas, FSOs and Skodas in the 80s.
Those hideous things remind me of that classic Simpsons episode where Homer wants a Canyonero SUV too big for the roads. Another fire-sale vehicle.
and a big bill for chips and anything not perfect, when you hand it back
No less hideous that other pickups
Are builders really choosing pickups because they look stylish over cost, utility etc? After a few years work, they are all broken, dented etc anyhow,
I think they buy them for tax reasons. VAT is reclaimable, then they only use them as a family car. Van VED is also flat rated, which is expensive for something like a Jimny LCV but is cheaper than for a large car with the £40k+ premium VED rate.
Pickups always make me think of Brokeback Mountain - they’re trying too hard to look butch!
My view is leasing is merely paying the depreciation as a monthly instalment…aggregate the deposit and “N” monthly payments of £x…and you end up with nothing at the end of the lease
Additionally, there are issues arising from not owning the vehicle, certainly under PCP and probably HP, meaning you can’t “modify”…and you have to return it at the end of the lease in near perfect. You might live with that scuffed alloy…but the lease company wont
you believe what you want. Pick up’s are a commercial vehicle , and taxed as such. Many are looked after and not knackered after 4 years
my 16 plate being handed over and replaced with a 19 plate after 150k miles
now that’s replaced with
I’ve had multiple cars on pcp and have recently leased one too. Leasing certainly gets some attractive deals in my experience if you keep an open mind on what you want the deals are strong. As others have mentioned keep an eye on the advance payment but they are always clear. Also try to be as accurate as possible on mileage - any you go over will incur a ppm charge but any you are under you don’t benefit from. Don’t be too worried about charges for handing it back as they use the BVRLA fair wear and tear so chips and wheel scuffs etc are allowed. Road tax is included but if it goes up during the agreement you will get charged the difference as a one off cost annually (plus vat which is naughty). You can get maintenance packages but at the 10k a year I did it was easier to sort myself. Happy to answer any specific questions for you.
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