Car finance... what would you do?

craig_t said:
Yes a car has depreciation, but not to the extent of what you will potentially loose from leasing. At the end of it, you will always have either:

A) A car on your drive
B) A sum of cash from selling your last A
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Well leasing is paying the depreciation to the lease company vs loosing it yourself. Same thing really but the lease offers some other advantages.

Purchasing my car and selling it after 2 years would cost me an extra £1k (plus the advert costs and the inconvenience) over leasing it over the same timescale.
If I owned it I would be also be exposed to the risk that it might be worth less than what the current used values predict.

So for me leasing is
- cheaper
- more convenient
- less financial risk
 
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Journey said:
Sorry of this sounds rude, but did they see you coming? You can get a 4 series BMW for less than that. All in that is £10,175! :o
Not that I am saying a 4 series is any good mind. :)
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Journey said:
I'll have to drugde it up, but in the mean time here's a another similar deal, works out at £300ish per month, after dividing the deposit up.
LINKY

I'm not saying that is a great deal, it's just comparable to the price of that Focus thingmy bob.

Or HERE is an Audi A4 type car, £141.60 per month, plus £1275 up front.

Again there are loads of deals, and they change daily.
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None taken! That's a good deal you found, although quite clearly a super duper special deal! However I would love to see the price once you specced it up a tad!

I also have the option of just buying the car outright at the end if I wanted. No idea if you can from that website (maybe you can?)

I just like the peace of mind of having a brand new car with everything under warranty every year, all for a price of just over £100pcm; seeing as I split it.
 
SDK^ said:
Purchasing my car and selling it after 2 years would cost me an extra £1k (plus the advert costs and the inconvenience) over leasing it over the same timescale.
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That can hold true if you're only considering new (or nearly new) cars, and if you will always change after a short period of ownership. And if the choice is buy X car or lease X car (rather than lease X car or buy the cheaper Y car)

Flip your cars twice, and after 4 years you may have lost, what, £15k on your car? Spend £15k on an outright purchase of a used car now, and you'll probably have a car worth £7k-£9k after those four years.

Given OP is "just after best value for money", leasing new probably isn't best advice.
 
^ for sure .
Leasing only works if you want a new car and the deal is good. Leasing a car can still offer value for money, as in my case.

I was responding to the poster who was claiming it would cost more vs buying.
 
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I only suggested leasing as he stated he could afford leasing up to £200 a month.

On the back of his ball ache experience with his current car, and just over £5k to play with to buy another car, leasing is probably where I would go (but I am bias as I already lease).

If he buys a car for £5k now how long might it last? 4 years? Maybe longer? How much might it cost him in those 4 years?

If it all goes well for him and he saves that £200 a month over those 4 years, he will have around £10k and the car.

If it doesn't go well who knows?
 
balky12 said:
I only suggested leasing as he stated he could afford leasing up to £200 a month.

On the back of his ball ache experience with his current car, and just over £5k to play with to buy another car, leasing is probably where I would go (but I am bias as I already lease).

If he buys a car for £5k now how long might it last? 4 years? Maybe longer? How much might it cost him in those 4 years?

If it all goes well for him and he saves that £200 a month over those 4 years, he will have around £10k and the car.

If it doesn't go well who knows?
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Plus the deposit for the lease.

We haven't had the details, but he's got a £9k vauxhall with finance still running on it - he probably got that new or nearly new and it's been a massive ballache. Age of the car, within reason, has little bearing on how much of a pain in the arse it is.

As I said earlier, I've run two old used cars for the past 4 years and spent less than £1k each on maintenance in that time. Before that I spent a similar amount on the previous two old used cars we had. Other peoples' used car mileage may vary, and you "miss out" on owning a shiny new motor, but for someone who "just wants best value", I doubt leasing is the answer.

For someone who "just wants best value" on a new car... well, we can talk leasing. But he didn't say that.
 
While I agree with the bulk of people about buying outright is a good idea. No debt people coming after you should life situation change. But I do see the benefit of leasing at the moment. It would be worry free driving at least. I emailed off for a couple of quotes last night and they came back with things like maintenance plan included and breakdown cover for the duration of the agreement.

I dunno, but I have time to think about it. Still got a working car the moment.

Thank you to all that replied. Very insightful!
 
Currently I have a Focus 2.0 TDi which has been been fairly problem free (around 15-20k miles a year) for the last 3 years nothing has gone wrong with electrics, engine etc, is not dull to drive, comfortable and for £7k would recommend as a good solid car. It was an early 2009 model so just missed out on the DPF and the dreaded 70k to 100k mile mark. This is going to the good lady eventually as we like it so much.

I'm now patiently waiting for my new car to be built, I did go the 0% and dealer contribution PCP route. I will say that after doing my research, making sure the sums add up, bartering and timing well (I went into dealer 23rd Dec and even they agreed that no-one really buys a car at this time) and understanding that ALL everyday cars depreciate, I'm getting a new car to my exact spec with full warranty for the same it costs for the same model with 5k on the clock. So the whole idea that it loses an extortionate amount as soon as you drive it doesn't always ring true (obviously car dependant).
 
IvanDobskey said:
I personally never have car finance. Only buy what I can afford to own outright ;)
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This.

All the cars I have had cost no more than £2500 and I paid straight up. As with everything else (apart from my mortgage).

Yet my friends wonder why I can afford all the latest tech, go travelling and not be in debt.....because I SAVE!!!

If I cant afford it outright then I don't buy it.
 
Freakbro said:
So you never want to own your own house then?
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I have a mortgage as that is the only way to own a house unless you are utterly loaded. Only 30k to pay off now though...

I said I'd never have car finance ;) When I said I'd only buy what I can afford to own outright, I was talking about cars :)

Brand new cars and finance on cars are a mugs game in my opinion. They depreciate too much. Each to their own though.
 
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For anyone interested I just got sent a lease deal for a focus, be interested in what people thing.

Focus 1.5 tdci zetec s nav with upgraded 18" wheels and exterior pack (not that I care about those)
24 month arrangement
£1897.56 deposit
23 payments of £210.84
maintenance and tax included and breakdown cover
15000 mile per year allowed

Its not something I am going for, just emailed off to get an idea of cost options.
 
craig_t said:
Yes a car has depreciation, but not to the extent of what you will potentially loose from leasing. At the end of it, you will always have either:

A) A car on your drive
B) A sum of cash from selling your last A
Click to expand...

Understand that, but I think his main point if you're set on car finance was don't go down the "car finance" route, just get a bank loan. They're cheap as chips.
 
Surely your Vauxhall that you say is worth £7k-£9k must be almost new because Vauxhall cars are not usually expensive, I would expect any Vauxhall worth £9k is under 3 years old, and I'm sure Vauxhall have to cover most major issues under warrnaty on a 3 year old car?
 
IvanDobskey said:
Those monthly payments are as much as my mortgage, on a ford focus! Not what I would be doing.
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Your mortgage is over how many years though - probably 20+, That is over two years :)

darknite said:
For anyone interested I just got sent a lease deal for a focus, be interested in what people thing.

Focus 1.5 tdci zetec s nav with upgraded 18" wheels and exterior pack (not that I care about those)
24 month arrangement
£1897.56 deposit
23 payments of £210.84
maintenance and tax included and breakdown cover
15000 mile per year allowed

Its not something I am going for, just emailed off to get an idea of cost options.
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That looks slightly expensive, both the monthly payment and deposit. You will find that you do not need maintenance on a new car. Your only cost is tyres and servicing which will be around £175 per year for that mileage.

A quick Google and I found it £500 cheaper (overall) with no maintenance. Tax is always included anyway.

£240 per month x 23
£742 initial payment
15k miles pa


https://www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk/Ford_new-focus-5-door-1-5-tdci-120-zetec-59778.htm
 
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platypus said:
Understand that, but I think his main point if you're set on car finance was don't go down the "car finance" route, just get a bank loan. They're cheap as chips.
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What if the overall costs / benefits/ extras / deal of lease CH or PCP was cheaper than a bank loan?
There are too many variables to suggest one method is better than the other.
 
postbox said:
What if the overall costs / benefits/ extras / deal of lease CH or PCP was cheaper than a bank loan?
There are too many variables to suggest one method is better than the other.
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You'd be hard pressed to beat a bank loan at present, but of course you're right, each individual circumstance will be different.

I'll still say that car finance is a terrible idea ;).
 
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