A warning about having a lease car, best stick to the bangers

[Micrashed]

A work colleague has just bought an audi a4 avant - he said he had a budget of £250 a month. I told him I would rather have a £250 car.

£250 a month = £1000 in 4 months saving up - some superb chod around the bag of sand mark

[Anglevan]

I'm aware of a friend who leased a large audi. Due to the high cost in the small print it said if the car was written off within 12 months he had to pay the the lease company £5000. He was stuffed and in the end persuaded the insurance company to re negotiate the repair costs so it could be repaired and he didn't have to pay the charge. 12 months down the line it's now been handed back and he won't have another.

[Micrashed]

A number of the mental health nurses where I work have lease cars through Thompsons (what took over the old "crown cars" service) - supposedly great and not mega expensive, until they come to hand them back and they [Thompsons] go over them with  a fine toothed comb and bill you for any blemishes to the car.

One girl had a mint looking Jimny which cost her £900 back in 2005 because of some stone chips and a parking ding. 

 

Bollocks to that for a game of soldiers - I'll just claim the 54p/mile and keep my old shitter on the road a bit longer thanks.

[Caffiend]

I R mechanical retard and owing to recent major surgery (no lifting) am unable to even change a wheel (altho I do know how to do that). Even so, my car, even with head rebuild this month, costs me FAR less than a boring new super*mini* at even the NHS discounted rate. £2400 a year for a car in which I'm only allowed to do 10K miles a year? What are you on and can I have a double?

[Chas4545]

While waiting for service to be done in main dealer last year, I watched a steady stream of people bring in their lease cars , which were wisked away to service for inspection, a quick signature and the new one bought round to be presented to a new owner.

 

From the smiles all round you would have thought they had won a free car.

 

They presumably have loads of money but no time to think deeply about what they do with it.

[drum]

For many, driving around in a car with the latest reg plate is very important even if it costs them half their income.

 

I can understand wealthy people not wanting to fork out £40k on a new bimmer or such like when they can spend small beans like 500 a month and invest that dosh elsewhere or whatever it is rich folk do. Not something I have to worry about.

[dollywobbler]

It may not be throat-punching pandas, but buying on finance does keep making bankers richer. I'd rather avoid that sort of behaviour myself.

[Asimo]

I wonder what percentage of each years new cars are purchased by their drivers using cash? Not a lot I suspect.

 

Perhaps this is why the cars themselves have got so weird. They are designed by marketing depts. to appeal to people who are happy to commit financially to having new stuff but who won't commit to owning a car.

 

So the new car has to look "new" in the showroom in the same way that a new handbag or pair of shoes is "new this season".

Plus It has to be totally reliable until the warranty period ends.

Then re-cycle it.

 

No consideration of any of the qualities of a car that someone who likes cars enough to BUY and OWN one cares about

 

PS Lingscars.com website: like being inside a tumble drier full of liquorice allsorts.

[dollywobbler]

Ling Cars has given me a headache. I did survive long enough to read this.

 

 

6) Take lease delivery, like Chinese takeaway
 

7) Drive and show off & impress stupid friends

[sierraman]

Even if I could afford a new car I wouldn't buy one. The thought of having to make £200 payments a month for a car is a frightening idea, let alone the idea of paying 50% apr at Carcraft for some clapped out astra in doom blue.

[Justin Case]

A mate leases his car because he claims it is hassle-free. My depreciation is probably about £150 a month less than his payments. For £1800 a year I can put up with a bit of hassle

[cms206]

We had four Motability cars between 1999 and 2013, all Fords, and if my experience with those is anything to go by I would never bother with a leasing deal again.

 

The last of the four, a Mondeo diesel, shat a flywheel, a turbo and numerous boost valves in the 3 years I ran it on behalf of my mother and after 24k miles, at just over 2 years old, I parked it up; I just couldn't trust the car any more, making my daily an E-reg 740 estate. The dealer weren't interested, Motability wouldn't take the car back and my mother was left paying £249 a month for the sodding thing. Add to that it was damaged in the compound after it was returned to the dealers which they tried to shaft me for, as well as claiming on our insurance to cover a power steering pump failure on the Focus it replaced which only came to light when cancelling the order for the Mondeo's replacement... yeah. Awesome.

 

Arnold Shark = arseholes.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Would love to see Cavlease launch one day - 

 

Budget car £20 -   MK1 Nova 1.2 (Swing)

Mid Range £25 -   MK2 Astra 1.3 (Merit)

Lower Exec £30 -  MK3 Cavalier 1.6 (GLS)

Higher Exec £40 - Facelift Carlton 1.8 GLi

 

Above monthly fee's payable until the thing blows up, or you die whichever comes first.

 

12'000 miles PA no maintenance unless the lessor purchases the service pack*

 

All leases include 12 months warranty fully inclusive**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Can of Halfords 'Fuck me, HOW MANY miles?' 40/90 Multigrade, four Beru plugs, booster pack and towrope.

 

** Except parts, labour and towing charges.

[chaseracer]

...paying 5000% apr at Cavcraft for some clapped out astra in pogweasel pink.

 

That's better.

 

[John F]

garbaldy, on 15 Dec 2014 - 9:12 PM, said:

have a look at this nutter for much cheapness   http://www.lingscars.com/

 

Out of all of that complete madness, the Siamese cat in the Soviet helmet spazzing out on the right below the Darth Vader strikes me as the most memorable bit.

[inconsistant]

I wonder what percentage of each years new cars are purchased by their drivers using cash? Not a lot I suspect.

 

 

Not quite the answer to that, but this is from the latest SMMT report on motoring in the UK:

 

 

 

It shows that private purchases made up 47.5% of purchases in 2013. 

 

I'd guess half of those could easily have been bought on finance, maybe more.

That assumption would mean that only 1 in 4 new cars have been paid for by the person sitting inside.

 

-----------------

 

Edit: found this at <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/festival-of-motoring/telegraph/10810434/car-finance-explained.html>:

 

 

So the figure for 2013 is a quarter, 1 in 4.

A quarter of 47.5% is just under 12%.

 

12% of new cars bought in 2013 are owned outright by the person driving them.

 

 

 

12%.

[Sloth in a bowl]

Just been looking at lingscars. I noticed that an MG6 can only be had on a 12 month lease. Is that based on the expected lifetime of the car?

 

Also on cash verses finance buying; very low interest deals such as 0 interest from Skoda will reduce the cash buying numbers. Even if the purchaser could raise the full funds, why bother?

[Craig the Princess]

For me it isn't so much the pointlessness of having the latest plate or paying x amount out on finance but I would hate to be tied into paying out £250 a month. What if I get made redundant or go on the sick? Maybe I would need PPI.

[cort16]

We have 2 new ish cars both are on PCP. The c3 my Mrs has costs X a month (it's not a lot of money). She knows she's paying this a month and uses this to budget her money because she knows she has no MOT's or repairs to worry about. It also had 3 years free servicing included (as does my Juke) and she'll probably never need to put tyres on it. It's got a good NCAP safety rating, it's reliable and makes her feel comfortable.

 

This is why most people buy cars in this manor. It removes the jeopardy and allows for a fixed budget at a reasonably low monthly payment.

[xtriple]

Years ago, I used to sell loads of cars on lease deals, but only to business people. It was very tax efficient and if you did it right, you could get back 101% of the cost! Honestly.

 

Nowadays, we seem to be following the American business model; no one (or very few) buy new cars outright, they are all on lease or equivalent. It's all underwritten by the manufacturers as a great way of moving metal and getting the registrations.

 

I don't personally agree with it. I hate not owning things, even if it's on HP it will be yours one day so that counts in my book, but I cannot see any rational reason for doing it otherwise.

 

Unless.....

 

The finance/pcp/lease deal works out at less per month than the expected depreciation. An awful lot do! Then, it makes perfect sense.

 

However, I'd rather buy a nearly new car that has already lost a chunk (VAT content for a start) but still has a manufacturers warranty for years. I'd hate to lease one though as the inside of my cars is always trashed due to mutts - try as hard as I do, there is an awful doggy smell and dog hair that the leaser will cane me on when I return it. Dealers seem to be okay about taking in p/x that require fumigating inside!

[HillmanImp]

Whats PCP mean in relation to this?

 

Many years ago someone once sold me a load of ampetamines that were actually PCP and it took me 4 hours to walk 10 feet as my musceles seized up and I spent the next 12 hours with my head in a tumble dryer (literally). I was leant over the door with my head inside and the timer turned round and clicking away as it counted down. I was okay as long as the timer was clicking but would have a panic attack everytime it stopped, until I could turn it again and the clicking resumed.

 

I can see how being in that sort of state could well affect someones judgement when trying to look for a new car, which could lead to them making a bad decision.

[barefoot]

My car buying philosophy is very simple;

I only ever lose money on a car when I sell it - I seldom part with my cars = Sorted

To buy the sort of car I'd like would cost me more than £300 a month (very old figures)

As long as my expenditure does not exceed £300 pm - I am ahead of the game.

 

So even with the shocking bills I fessed up to back in 2013, it was still less than the break figure and that was to run 3 motors.

 

I can haz winnah.

[Mr Lobster]

A few months back one of the local dealers was doing a £70 deposit then £70 / month + VAT for 36 months on a new Aygo / C1 / 107 or whatever it was. At that price and as we could recover the VAT I was quite tempted as at that price it does seem a relatively sensible way to run a new car.

[hairnet]

imp - you crazy

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 Maybe I would need PPI.

 

It's okay. That Northern sounding bloke (Gerard Fletcher) says that the banks have set aside billions.

[oldford]

I worked it out the other day that since 1993 I've only spent around £700 buying cars.  It was calculated by subtracting the total of the selling prices for the cars that I've sold from the total of the buying prices and I've still got a Ford Sierra to show for it.

 

With this new found fiscal knowledge, I then went and spent nearly £6,000 on a Ford Cortina.  Oh well it only works out at less than £30 a month.

[Lord Sterling]

Man, what some people will sign up to in order to have a new car just for thier so-called or to appear to be successful.

 

I once vaguely considered getting a car ln the hire purchase/whatever agreements, but it seems such an arse ache going through reams of paperwork signing this that and the other away until you find yourself owing the finance companies ££££'s but I'm so old fashioned that out of date stuff is still too new for me. I like to work and buy stuff with my own hard-earned. (Though even that can be difficult sometimes)

 

The most I've ever spent buying a car was £835 or something like that, and that was outright.

[beko1987]

Having a fag at work earlier, me and Gareth (bearded one from the Xmas party PIC) saw a BMW 2 series on a 64 plate with a dented wing and mega scuffed bumper. Gave up working it out the repair price at about £600 before vat, or 2 zx's!

 

Tbh I thought it was a kia until gareth pointed out the BMW badges on the wheels... We went back to admiring the pug 406 parked in front of it...

[lisbon_road]

I bought my Mk3 Astra for £700 eight years ago with 40K on the clock.  I've done 80K miles in it.  Returns an average of 51 mpg (and I know how to measure it).  Spent a bit on oil changes, plugs, other stuff.  Remains totally rust free including arches but I have rust proofed it a bit.

 

Friend reckoned I'd over paid when I bought it mind.

 

And it is so clean that people are actually starting to admire it.  Well, when I say people, one bloke at some traffic lights did.  That's a start, right? 

[Pillock]

I got a car on the never-never because it was a work tool, I needed it to work, and the third or fourth time I phoned in to say I was stuck on the side of the motorway in my Carlton GL or £500 7-series BMW I'd have a very angry employer.

 

So, as my newish car decided to shit itself massively on a number of occasions, I was no better off - and in fact £167.40 worse off per month. I ended up contributing £2k to get rid, WBAC gave me £3700 and it was £5600 or summat to pay it off.

 

So that's the reliability argument out the window. It had a warranty, oh yes. They're specially written to sound comprehensive but cover NOTHING.