Buy vs Lease?

[TW]Fox said:
No, because it isn't important to me and I'm not interested in iPhone products. But who am I to judge those for whom it is? They may point to things I spend my money on that they consider a waste.
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That is true. However I know many people who will openly say that they would never spend £1000 on a new phone but will equally have no such qualms signing up to a £60+ pcm contract for two years to get that same phone. Equally there a good chance the person in the example above may well take out another contract when those two years are over to get another new phone as a "free" upgrade

That's the danger with these type on contracts. It encourages you to take on long term debt that you otherwise wouldn't rationally consider if you had to pay upfront. In the way that most people wouldn't buy a new car every 2-3 years I suspect most people wouldn't change their phone every 2 years if it involved full payment in advance. It's OK to buy these things but broadly speaking new cars and £1000 phones are luxury items that you shouldn't be taking on debt to buy.

Ulitmately it's up to people themsevles to decide but we can all see why so many fall into this trap.
 
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But the existence of people who cannot manage their finances sensibly doesn't mean that the availability of various financing options for others is a bad thing.

It's like people who claim credit cards are evil because a small minority cannot use them in a sensible fashion.
 
[TW]Fox said:
But the existence of people who cannot manage their finances sensibly doesn't mean that the availability of various financing options for others is a bad thing.

It's like people who claim credit cards are evil because a small minority cannot use them in a sensible fashion.
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Exactly this.

I think it's also a generational thing with regards to debt. For example a lot of older family members frown upon it even though they can afford it.
 
If it wasn’t for PCP and lease/finance deals on new cars, many manufacturers would have already gone the way of the dinosaur.
 
Some debt is unavoidable. The mortgage example in question.
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A mortgage is not unavoidable. You chose to take out a mortgage.

SkodaMart said:
People pay outrageous amounts for the latest phones.
Younger people in particular who tend to be on lower wages to start with.
Would you pay £60+ a month for a phone?
I run the oldest, cheapest last gen phone deal I can get as it’s an utter waste of money.
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You think that it is a waste of money based on your personal circumstances.
That does not mean it is a waste of money for everyone.
 
I dont get the phone fascination either. Someone mashed together a PDA and phone and for some reason its the biggest thing ever...

Paying £100s every year for a new one seems crazy.
 
[TW]Fox said:
That explains that then..
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Well they were all stupidly cheap. Merc definitely did something and at the time they had indeed been overtaken by BMW into 3rd place in the UK so it made sense that they wouldnt be too happy about that?

Or they were offering their cars cheaper than normal as a pure coincidence.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
When you lease, you don’t have the option to buy. It’s a fixed rental period. Some may let you buy it but there is no contractual obligation and many will not because they’ll have to warranty the vehicle for 6 months.

PCP includes the option to buy via the ballon payment or hand back/trade in for a new car.
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Indeed, some do let you buy and some wont. Some lease companies expect full dealer retail price for the car (what world do they live in?) whereas others offer at auction book value and they can be a bargain. I few years ago I bought back a VW Passat at the end of 3 years cause the lease company offered it at £9k when every one with similar mileage was around £12k on autotrader. My in laws bought it and a few years later sold it for £8k so that was a cheap motor for them.
 
theone8181 said:
On the subject of leasing, one of the guys I work with swears blind he doesn't have the option to buy at the end but couldn't explain why? Any ideas, I think he's misunderstood it personally as he said something along the lines of it goes straight to auction with no option for him to buy it which seems odd?
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SkodaMart said:
I’ve owned my fair share of brand new dealer bought vehicles I have paid cash for.

4 in total.
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What happens if your circumstances change once you've spent all that cash? How is that any different/better than financing it?
 
Basher said:
What happens if your circumstances change once you've spent all that cash? How is that any different/better than financing it?
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They are bought outright
If my circumstances changed and it did.
I can sell them.
Simple
 
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