Best lease car deals available?

[wemorgan]

Blown2CV said:

it generally isn't less than the depreciation - it's intended to be there or thereabouts the same. The guy that can more afford to buy cash yet still does a lease is a salesman's dream!

Look at some of the amazing lease deals and you'll see that's not correct 100% of the time.

eg. Merc SLK 250CDI AMG Sport costs ~£37k or lease for 6+23 £250 inc VAT. I paid more than that, but those deals were around. Today a 2 year old SLK costs from £25k from MB direct, so you can be sure p/x values are £20-22k. The unknown from my comments are what discount a 'cash' buyer can negotiate off a new car.

[blueg33]

S798 said:

Blown2CV said:

it's a way of bringing some great cars to people who can afford the lease but haven't taken 5 years out of their lives to save up enough cash to buy a car that way. No-one does that. Only people who have loads of money anyway buy cars with cash, no-one ever saves up to buy a car cash.

Disagree.

Many of us who lease could afford to buy the car outright, depending on the car often several times over. The reason leasing is preferred is that if you're going to change your car every 2-3 years, the lease cost is less than the equivalent depreciation. It's as simple as that!

There are 4 cars in our household, 1 bought on a lease (now paid off), one with a loan, and two owned outright.

I could have afforded to buy them all outright, but that is an inefficient use of cash, I can make my invetments out perform the cost of interest on the loans. Plus writing a cheque for £40k on a car seems more painful that writing the same size cheque on an investment.

[S798]

Blown2CV said:

it generally isn't less than the depreciation - it's intended to be there or thereabouts the same. The guy that can more afford to buy cash yet still does a lease is a salesman's dream!

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends what level of discount you can negotiate from the list price which in almost all cases will be far less than the discount achieved by the leasing company. For example, a private punter manages a £2k discount on a £20k car. In two years it is worth £12k. He has lost £6k. Lease company negotiates a large bulk order of the same model at £4k off list and the car is worth £12k in two years. They have lost £4k but made £1k profit as they've leased it for £5k over the period.

There are also the other benefits:

1. You can make your cash work for you better in other ways. In my case, I'm using it to reduce/offset the mortgage which saves me a pretty penny in interest. Others may keep their cash in a high yield investment or simply have the comfort blanket of cash in the bank.

2. As another poster mentioned, writing a cheque for £20k and hopefully getting £14k back in two years is definitely more painful than paying a 6+23 deal at £180/month over the same period.

3. Leasing offers you a known cost. You know that the 6+23 at £180/month is going to cost you just that. Depreciation can be reasonably hard to predict for a private buyer, and as such you may end up buying a car that unexpectedly tanks in value costing you more than you hoped. That said, it can go the other way .

4. Can be tax efficient depending on your personal circumstances.

Different strokes for different folks, but having bought numerous cars and now leased, I prefer leasing for my circumstances. I do miss the flexibility of owning, though.

[Blown2CV]

wemorgan said:

Blown2CV said:

it generally isn't less than the depreciation - it's intended to be there or thereabouts the same. The guy that can more afford to buy cash yet still does a lease is a salesman's dream!

Look at some of the amazing lease deals and you'll see that's not correct 100% of the time.

eg. Merc SLK 250CDI AMG Sport costs ~£37k or lease for 6+23 £250 inc VAT. I paid more than that, but those deals were around. Today a 2 year old SLK costs from £25k from MB direct, so you can be sure p/x values are £20-22k. The unknown from my comments are what discount a 'cash' buyer can negotiate off a new car.

it isn't just the case of looking at a 2 year old model now and that's what a 2 year old model will be worth in 2 years time, it's far more complicated with new models being released, facelifts, competitors, and the decreasing nature of how up-to-date a given model looks over time. They apply complicated models and sometimes get it a touch wrong, and also sometimes you can buck the trend. I made 6k back on a PCP once due to getting a fantastic deal new and the car being worth that much more than the final payment on the contract.

[Blown2CV]

blueg33 said:

S798 said:

Blown2CV said:

it's a way of bringing some great cars to people who can afford the lease but haven't taken 5 years out of their lives to save up enough cash to buy a car that way. No-one does that. Only people who have loads of money anyway buy cars with cash, no-one ever saves up to buy a car cash.

Disagree.

Many of us who lease could afford to buy the car outright, depending on the car often several times over. The reason leasing is preferred is that if you're going to change your car every 2-3 years, the lease cost is less than the equivalent depreciation. It's as simple as that!

There are 4 cars in our household, 1 bought on a lease (now paid off), one with a loan, and two owned outright.

I could have afforded to buy them all outright, but that is an inefficient use of cash, I can make my invetments out perform the cost of interest on the loans. Plus writing a cheque for £40k on a car seems more painful that writing the same size cheque on an investment.

so some of it is psychological, and some of it is good sense, but what's good for one person isn't necessarily good for another. Also leases aren't exclusively for those that 'could if they wanted to but don't want to' buy outright, despite what the last few posts have said. You don't pay off a lease, could you be thinking of PCP?

[blueg33]

Blown2CV said:

so some of it is psychological, and some of it is good sense, but what's good for one person isn't necessarily good for another. Also leases aren't exclusively for those that 'could if they wanted to but don't want to' buy outright, despite what the last few posts have said. You don't pay off a lease, could you be thinking of PCP?

It was lease purchase on a 4 year term. I settled after 3 years.

[Hol]

Do the lease companies pay for the car tax over the period of the lease?

[wemorgan]

Hol said:

Do the lease companies pay for the car tax over the period of the lease?

Sometimes. It depends on the lease. It's clearly stated in the documents what is and isn't included.

[-Z-]

Hol said:

Do the lease companies pay for the car tax over the period of the lease?

Depends, Merc pay only the first year whereas BMW pay every year for example.

[Blown2CV]

Hol said:

Do the lease companies pay for the car tax over the period of the lease?

contract hire usually yes

[ATM]

Blown2CV said:

Hol said:

Do the lease companies pay for the car tax over the period of the lease?

contract hire usually yes

Most companies will even include maintenance AND tyres if you ask. So you can say 30,000 miles per annum including all maintenance and tyres and road tax. Then all you have to pay is insurance and fuel.

One guy I spoke to who leases Audi cars said he has some customers who take on 4 year deals and get the price of the 4th year of warranty added at the beginning. That way they know what this is from day 1. Otherwise if you wait till year 3 Audi can start inspecting the car and charge whatever they feel appropriate at the time. I thought this was worth mentioning as it seems like a clever idea.

[Blown2CV]

ATM said:

Blown2CV said:

Hol said:

Do the lease companies pay for the car tax over the period of the lease?

contract hire usually yes

Most companies will even include maintenance AND tyres if you ask. So you can say 30,000 miles per annum including all maintenance and tyres and road tax. Then all you have to pay is insurance and fuel.

One guy I spoke to who leases Audi cars said he has some customers who take on 4 year deals and get the price of the 4th year of warranty added at the beginning. That way they know what this is from day 1. Otherwise if you wait till year 3 Audi can start inspecting the car and charge whatever they feel appropriate at the time. I thought this was worth mentioning as it seems like a clever idea.

i mean the VED is included in the price. Maintenance and tyres is extra. Depends on the car too, as you can't get maintenance and tyres in every deal, no matter what you are prepared to pay.

[ATM]

36 mths 6+35 8000 p/a £154.00 + VAT

24 mths 6+23 8000 p/a £169.00 + VAT



http://www.stablevehiclecontracts.co.uk/nissan-nav...

[Blue Oval84]

Audi A6 for £199.99 +VAT anyone?

http://www.freedomcontracts.com/viewdeal.asp?ID=28...

A new car is the last thing I should be buying now, and it's the basic 2.0TDi, but at that price I'm tempted (even when I take account of the fact I'd have to pay VAT)

[B17NNS]

Blue Oval84 said:

Audi A6 for £199.99 +VAT anyone?

http://www.freedomcontracts.com/viewdeal.asp?ID=28...

A new car is the last thing I should be buying now, and it's the basic 2.0TDi, but at that price I'm tempted (even when I take account of the fact I'd have to pay VAT)

Very good value for money. I'd want an auto though.

[Grandfondo]

Blue Oval84 said:

Audi A6 for £199.99 +VAT anyone?

http://www.freedomcontracts.com/viewdeal.asp?ID=28...

A new car is the last thing I should be buying now, and it's the basic 2.0TDi, but at that price I'm tempted (even when I take account of the fact I'd have to pay VAT)

But 9 payments up front which makes it £262.49 plus Vat.

[Blue Oval84]

Grandfondo said:

But 9 payments up front which makes it £262.49 plus Vat.

Still fairly cheap compared to anything else in that segment? Once you roll the usual 3X or 6X deposit in most stuff in that class is well north of £300?

[Iklwa]

So with the leasing deal option of business or personal, to take advantage of the business rates would you need to register/purchase the car in the name of a limited company?

Almost worth registering a ltd company if that's the case, big difference in cost.

[RicksAlfas]

Iklwa said:

So with the leasing deal option of business or personal, to take advantage of the business rates would you need to register/purchase the car in the name of a limited company?

Almost worth registering a ltd company if that's the case, big difference in cost.

Then you'll get taxed for BIK on it.

[anonymous-user]

Blue Oval84 said:

Audi A6 for £199.99 +VAT anyone?

http://www.freedomcontracts.com/viewdeal.asp?ID=28...

A new car is the last thing I should be buying now, and it's the basic 2.0TDi, but at that price I'm tempted (even when I take account of the fact I'd have to pay VAT)

Looks like business only (if you click for the personal rates it doesn't bring anything up). Some of the best deals are B2B only unfortunately.