Leasing - experiences?

Hodders

Hodders

Hodders

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
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Riding my bike
We want to move to an EV but want to wait for 2 or 3 years just to wait and see what happens to the battery tech and the residuals.

So we need a ICE to cover the period before we make our minds up on an EV.

We want an estate and the new Skoda Superb estate looks perfect.

Had a lease offer of:
10k miles per year
24 months
£800 up front
£265 per month after that

Total over 2 years: £7160

The alternative would be to buy a 2 year old car and sell it in 2 or 3 years. But doing that would easily lose us a similar amount in depreciation and interest on the whole purchase price over the ownership period.

That looks like an effective way of covering the period in question.

Any gotchas I'm not aware of having never leased before?
 
Never leased myself, but had quite a few close friends lease some bottom and top end cars.

Off the top of my head, any damage/scratches, including curbing the wheels, comes out of your pocket when you give it back. They even look at the tyres to see if there's any lumps missing. Not sure whether them being close to legal limit is also looked at.

Any mileage over what you're contracted in a year, you'll pay a fairly decent premium on.
 
I leased various premium cars for about 8 years, nice and easy, suited me at the time.

As D-Ranged said, they do go over the car with a fine tooth comb so if there’s any scuffs or damage, you’ll need to pay.

I think you’ll also need to get OEM parts with any windscreen replacement which wasn’t an issue when I did it, insurance sorted LR heated glass without question but you need to ask.

Check the excess mileage charge as if you go over, it could cost you. I think I shelled out over a grand once. I believe you can call up and negotiate an increase in mileage if you need it.
 
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What’s going to magically happen in 2-3 years that gonna outpace the relatively slow progress in the last 5. EVs now are perfectly capable and tbh it’s the Goldilocks time to have one before taxes are inevitably going to increase.

Seems a good way to waste money on fuel though .
 
I think my big concern is depreciation on EVs. Waiting a couple of years will say a lot.

Plus it would not surprise me if a new battery tech (solid state for eg) comes out and just mullers existing tech.

Lastly the lease cost of an EV like the EV6 is well over double the EV6 which tells you a lot about depreciation!
 
Hodders said:
I think my big concern is depreciation on EVs. Waiting a couple of years will say a lot.

Plus it would not surprise me if a new battery tech (solid state for eg) comes out and just mullers existing tech.

Lastly the lease cost of an EV like the EV6 is well over double the EV6 which tells you a lot about depreciation!
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Why exactly will solid state muller it?

As said depreciation doesn’t matter on a lease. You are literally paying to rent it
 
That seems a really good deal! Depends on the spec though.

I've had 3 leases now over the last 6 years now. All i have to do is fuel and insure and everything else is covered, not had a bill for any on returning them.

Brand new motor to drive, as long as you realise at the end of the lease you have nothing to show for it - just hand the keys and vehicle over.
 
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Trying to work out whether to lease at the mileage I expect, or 6k miles and pay the the privilege. Is there a calc? I guess you pay you pay an agreed penalty at todays price in 3 years, vs. locking in a fee now with interest on? :S
 
if you add the cost of the ICE fuel into the equation, and can get a home charger install then ev lease like ID7 £400p/m 24month 8K maybe competitive;
depends whether the practicality and fun of the EV will match your expectations from ICE too.

Personally before getting a lease I'd have to adapt to the mindset of caring more for it if there are any dings/scratches since it's not your own.
 
jpaul said:
if you add the cost of the ICE fuel into the equation, and can get a home charger install then ev lease like ID7 £400p/m 24month 8K maybe competitive;
depends whether the practicality and fun of the EV will match your expectations from ICE too.

Personally before getting a lease I'd have to adapt to the mindset of caring more for it if there are any dings/scratches since it's not your own.
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On the flip side you can use crappy car washes etc as paint swirls aren't your lifelong enemy when it comes to a lease car :D
 
I've had 3 or 4 lease deals that started with the famous Pistonheads Passat Alltrack deal. I kept them under normal care and never had any bills on return. Didn't care for them more, just as if it was my own.

From what I've seen, charges that are given tend to be quite cheap, cheaper than having it done yourself certainly.
 
xs2man said:
Do you not care for your cars then? I am always wary of dings / scratches regardless.
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I always cared for leases as if they were my own. I entertained just buying my last 520d but rules say it can only be purchased by a friend or family member.

That being said, when you get a scratch on a car you’ve bought to keep for a while, it hits a bit harder.
 
xs2man said:
Do you not care for your cars then? I am always wary of dings / scratches regardless.
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This has always been my view when people say a disadvantage of a lease is that you need to.. not damage it. Unless you're not bothered about your car that applies regardless of funding method doesn't it? The wear and tear terms on leases are sufficiently generous that they seem ok with some levels of damage I'd want repaired on my own car..
 
[TW]Fox said:
This has always been my view when people say a disadvantage of a lease is that you need to.. not damage it. Unless you're not bothered about your car that applies regardless of funding method doesn't it? The wear and tear terms on leases are sufficiently generous that they seem ok with some levels of damage I'd want repaired on my own car..
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It doesn't have to be to such extremes. E.g. adequate vs. exemplary. I look after my own cars extremely well - no cold high revs, rarely if ever washed away from home. For a lease car it gets cleaned less and at handwashes, and I am probably a slight bit less mechanically sympathetic. I wouldn't spend 6 hours polishing a lease but I would a car I owned.
 
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