First decent sensible ‘family’ car – should I lease? buy? Or
Discussion
Hi all,
First of all, a little bit about our situation….
My wife and I are going through the adoption process so in about 6 months time we will have 1 (or possibly 2) children who will probably be aged between 2 – 4. My wife is no longer working (and will be staying at home to look after the kid(s) for the foreseeable. She will be having the new family car.
We currently have 2 x cars: an old Astra (mine) worth about £400 and a OK’ish 2.0L Turbo Astra (my wife’s) which is fun to drive, but not a sensible family car. It’s probably worth around £1800. I live very close to work (and cycle most of the time) and probably do about 2000 miles a year. My wife probably does around 8000miles a year (when she was working).
Financially we are very stable and have a decent amount of savings. We don’t like loans and the only debt we have is our Mortgage. If I purchase a car outright I am thinking of spending around £5000-£6000 (maybe would stretch to £7000) which would leave us plenty of rainy days. I want us to be secure with plenty of savings as we move into family life, but also conscious that as our income has decreased and our outgoings will increase how much we can save over the next few years will probably decrease significantly.
What we are thinking is to sell/part exchange the 2.0l Astra and replace with a decent family car. I have only ever bought second hand cars and have never leased or bought on credit. However, I quite often see good deals for lease’s and wonder if I would be better off leasing our next car?
We look after our cars, but they are practical objects and we don’t keep them in “showroom condition”. I think my main concern with leasing is the possibility of getting hit with a big bill at the end of the lease if there is a small dink or the kids have spilt something on the upholstery.
I am also fairly handy with cars and can service them myself and do the basics like change brake pads etc which is an advantage if we go for the second hand option, but I am also wary of the lack of spare time to do this sort of thing when we have kids. Having to pay out for expensive services on lease cars is a bit of a worry (but then there is the advantage of having a warranty for the big issues)
I am trying to balance it all and work out what would be the best option for us. Any advice appreciated!
Thanks all, I am a bit lost with my options!
First of all, a little bit about our situation….
My wife and I are going through the adoption process so in about 6 months time we will have 1 (or possibly 2) children who will probably be aged between 2 – 4. My wife is no longer working (and will be staying at home to look after the kid(s) for the foreseeable. She will be having the new family car.
We currently have 2 x cars: an old Astra (mine) worth about £400 and a OK’ish 2.0L Turbo Astra (my wife’s) which is fun to drive, but not a sensible family car. It’s probably worth around £1800. I live very close to work (and cycle most of the time) and probably do about 2000 miles a year. My wife probably does around 8000miles a year (when she was working).
Financially we are very stable and have a decent amount of savings. We don’t like loans and the only debt we have is our Mortgage. If I purchase a car outright I am thinking of spending around £5000-£6000 (maybe would stretch to £7000) which would leave us plenty of rainy days. I want us to be secure with plenty of savings as we move into family life, but also conscious that as our income has decreased and our outgoings will increase how much we can save over the next few years will probably decrease significantly.
What we are thinking is to sell/part exchange the 2.0l Astra and replace with a decent family car. I have only ever bought second hand cars and have never leased or bought on credit. However, I quite often see good deals for lease’s and wonder if I would be better off leasing our next car?
We look after our cars, but they are practical objects and we don’t keep them in “showroom condition”. I think my main concern with leasing is the possibility of getting hit with a big bill at the end of the lease if there is a small dink or the kids have spilt something on the upholstery.
I am also fairly handy with cars and can service them myself and do the basics like change brake pads etc which is an advantage if we go for the second hand option, but I am also wary of the lack of spare time to do this sort of thing when we have kids. Having to pay out for expensive services on lease cars is a bit of a worry (but then there is the advantage of having a warranty for the big issues)
I am trying to balance it all and work out what would be the best option for us. Any advice appreciated!
Thanks all, I am a bit lost with my options!
Hi,
I have 2 kids and have never thought about leasing based on what you have said and, despite also being protective but not compulsive about looking after my cars, think we have made the right decision.
We purchased an ST220 estate the day before my No 1 was born to go along with a C320 CDI estate (too small and nice according to my wife!), Z4 (not great for car seats) and motorbike (see previous) - I make that point as we, like you, can afford either option happily. The Mondeo has been the perfect car which my wife predominantly uses; reliable, fast enough, ginagorous inside and with colour sat nav, heated seats etc which we bought for £5000 and 37,000 miles almost 6 years ago. It is essentially worth SFA now but is still in fine health - yes it has some scratches and marks on (just part of family life) but still functions perfectly. It owes us nothing and I do not mind (too much) if the kids are slightly more rough with it than anything else.
You own your own car, you are not worried about damage, it would cost probably 4 – 5 times that amount to lease a car over the same period (of similar spec) and we still own it.
I have 2 kids and have never thought about leasing based on what you have said and, despite also being protective but not compulsive about looking after my cars, think we have made the right decision.
We purchased an ST220 estate the day before my No 1 was born to go along with a C320 CDI estate (too small and nice according to my wife!), Z4 (not great for car seats) and motorbike (see previous) - I make that point as we, like you, can afford either option happily. The Mondeo has been the perfect car which my wife predominantly uses; reliable, fast enough, ginagorous inside and with colour sat nav, heated seats etc which we bought for £5000 and 37,000 miles almost 6 years ago. It is essentially worth SFA now but is still in fine health - yes it has some scratches and marks on (just part of family life) but still functions perfectly. It owes us nothing and I do not mind (too much) if the kids are slightly more rough with it than anything else.
You own your own car, you are not worried about damage, it would cost probably 4 – 5 times that amount to lease a car over the same period (of similar spec) and we still own it.
First of all what an amazing thing to do, being able to bring some happiness to children who may not currently have that, well done.
I went through this dilemma for about 12 months, I have a 2 & 3 year old, we owned a 2012 Leon and have just sold this and replaced with a leased Cupra, with the money from the sale we re did our bathroom to a top spec and helped my wife set up a mobile beauty business.
I have the luxury (or maybe not luxury) of a company car that we tend to use for family stuff on the weekend and holidays, wife does around 3k a year in the Leon and I occasionally use on a weekend for a blast out.
If we didn't want to get the bathroom done I probably wouldn't have leased, but now i have I will probably do so again, although the first week I kept her and the kids away from it as I was worried about damage, dirt and things, now the car had done 350 miles and is covered inside in dirt, sweet rappers, toys and clothes
I went through this dilemma for about 12 months, I have a 2 & 3 year old, we owned a 2012 Leon and have just sold this and replaced with a leased Cupra, with the money from the sale we re did our bathroom to a top spec and helped my wife set up a mobile beauty business.
I have the luxury (or maybe not luxury) of a company car that we tend to use for family stuff on the weekend and holidays, wife does around 3k a year in the Leon and I occasionally use on a weekend for a blast out.
If we didn't want to get the bathroom done I probably wouldn't have leased, but now i have I will probably do so again, although the first week I kept her and the kids away from it as I was worried about damage, dirt and things, now the car had done 350 miles and is covered inside in dirt, sweet rappers, toys and clothes
I agree with the above - adoption is a wonderful thing to do 
Leasing is very attractive now over buying outright, as is PCP and other such schemes, but this is comparing with buying outright new. I've done the maths on a few examples, and if your mileage is within that permitted on the scheme, many of them work out cheaper than buying outright, because presumably the discount the lease company get on a bulk-buy is greater than the interest on your payments. As I say though, all this is compared to buying new; it's still cheaper to buy secondhand, which is personally what I would do for a tool to do a job (as apposed to a car you're truly passionate about).
Leasing is very attractive now over buying outright, as is PCP and other such schemes, but this is comparing with buying outright new. I've done the maths on a few examples, and if your mileage is within that permitted on the scheme, many of them work out cheaper than buying outright, because presumably the discount the lease company get on a bulk-buy is greater than the interest on your payments. As I say though, all this is compared to buying new; it's still cheaper to buy secondhand, which is personally what I would do for a tool to do a job (as apposed to a car you're truly passionate about).
A £6k used car will cost less than most leases. Most cars halve in value every 3 years, give or take, so you are looking at £1k a year depreciation on such a car, plus any repairs. That won't lease much. A modest lease will work out about £200 a month, overall. That's £2400 a year. So twice the costm but a newer car and a fixed price with no hidden bills as long as it goes back OK.
I think leases make sense these days on a lot of used cars, especially with modest mileage. However there are cheaper options, if you don't mind the fact that an older car might hand you a nasty bill every so often. Or might not. You choose.
I think leases make sense these days on a lot of used cars, especially with modest mileage. However there are cheaper options, if you don't mind the fact that an older car might hand you a nasty bill every so often. Or might not. You choose.
Brilliant advice all and thanks for the comments about adoption
I think you are all leaning in the direction of telling me that financially I would be better off buying second hand.
I have spent the last couple of hours looking at lease deals and although the draw of a shiny new car delivered to my door is tempting, thinking sensibly I think it makes sense to invest in a decent second hand car. I guess I like the idea of the warranty and security that a leased car provides if something big was to go wrong, but I guess that if I was to purchase a decent second hand car from a dealer I could also get a warranty (something I have never done before, I have always bought privately).
I can see that the maths work out that I might be better off leasing if I was purchasing a brand new car, but I think in my scenario I am going to be better off buying a solid second hand car.
So that leads on to my next question...
What are my options for a nice family car in the £5000-£7000 bracket?
Would need to be practical and able to get all the kids stuff in, but not too big (probably Ford Focus size would suit us)
Mostly would do short journeys <5 miles, but wouldn't want it to struggle when packing up the kids and all the gear and hitting the motorway for a family holiday.
Not too expensive to repair (and ideally fairly easy to work on the basics myself).
I think you are all leaning in the direction of telling me that financially I would be better off buying second hand.
I have spent the last couple of hours looking at lease deals and although the draw of a shiny new car delivered to my door is tempting, thinking sensibly I think it makes sense to invest in a decent second hand car. I guess I like the idea of the warranty and security that a leased car provides if something big was to go wrong, but I guess that if I was to purchase a decent second hand car from a dealer I could also get a warranty (something I have never done before, I have always bought privately).
I can see that the maths work out that I might be better off leasing if I was purchasing a brand new car, but I think in my scenario I am going to be better off buying a solid second hand car.
So that leads on to my next question...
What are my options for a nice family car in the £5000-£7000 bracket?
Would need to be practical and able to get all the kids stuff in, but not too big (probably Ford Focus size would suit us)
Mostly would do short journeys <5 miles, but wouldn't want it to struggle when packing up the kids and all the gear and hitting the motorway for a family holiday.
Not too expensive to repair (and ideally fairly easy to work on the basics myself).
an amazing thing to do OP
With my practical hat on, children in cars generally trash them, food, drinks, toilet accidents etc on a lovely new lease car ?! unless the inside is covered in a pond liner it will need alot of cleaning when you hand it back.
Plus driving with children in the car, reversing with them screaming makes concentrating even harder, trust me !!
An older car you won't mind so much probably or that's how we approached it.
I think when they get to 7-8 may be older is when I might start looking at a newer (1yr old car)
my two pence worth
With my practical hat on, children in cars generally trash them, food, drinks, toilet accidents etc on a lovely new lease car ?! unless the inside is covered in a pond liner it will need alot of cleaning when you hand it back.
Plus driving with children in the car, reversing with them screaming makes concentrating even harder, trust me !!
An older car you won't mind so much probably or that's how we approached it.
I think when they get to 7-8 may be older is when I might start looking at a newer (1yr old car)
my two pence worth
Edited by familyguy1 on Thursday 27th October 15:55
The Crack Fox said:
Buy it and accept the occasional parking dink, the fact you won't have time to clean it, buy something like a Galaxy or V70 and enjoy reliable stress-free transport that frees up time to spend with more important things - like your kids
Time for shiney new things and costly contracts when they're grown up, not now.
Good luck!
Time for shiney new things and costly contracts when they're grown up, not now.
Good luck!
I find that cars are so good these days if you buy a good quality make carefully then they're not hugely different at 4 years and 60k than they were when new. Yes, of course, there are differences, but the reason I buy secondhand is that the £10k, £15k or even £20k difference goes an awfully long way in other areas of your life! This particularly applies if it's merely a tool to do a job.Congratulations on the adoption.
I'm not going to be any use commenting on leasing or buying (apart from to echo above, they are messy/destructive and it is reassuring to have all the safety toys) but one thing I have only just learnt is; one kid comes with a lot of junk... I dread to think what I would have to cart around with two.
Basically boils down to whatever your purchase/finance method; think big/practical, hard wearing and safe.
I know you didn't ask, but I think Skoda Yeti's fill a good portion of everything if you haven't considered them (lots used and reasonable to lease too).
I'm not going to be any use commenting on leasing or buying (apart from to echo above, they are messy/destructive and it is reassuring to have all the safety toys) but one thing I have only just learnt is; one kid comes with a lot of junk... I dread to think what I would have to cart around with two.
Basically boils down to whatever your purchase/finance method; think big/practical, hard wearing and safe.
I know you didn't ask, but I think Skoda Yeti's fill a good portion of everything if you haven't considered them (lots used and reasonable to lease too).
Not sure if this in the price bracket: 2nd gen Skoda Superb, in your case the estate version. Has an incredible amount of space and is solidly built.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0koda_Superb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0koda_Superb
Congrats on the adoption thingy!
When we first had our kids we downsized our spend on cars (bought an 8 year old Alfa 156SW and a 1991 Eunos). This allowed greater spending on 'stuff' and eventually allowed my wife to stop work after child number 2.
Why is the Astra not suitable?
The kids will ruin the interior of any car (IME) so leasing would be out for me. Leather is a good idea to keep it a little cleaner inside.
Our kids are now 7 and 3 years old. We now own a MINI and a Nissan NOTE. Most family duties are in the Note but the MINI with a roof-box is used on longer trips.
When we first had our kids we downsized our spend on cars (bought an 8 year old Alfa 156SW and a 1991 Eunos). This allowed greater spending on 'stuff' and eventually allowed my wife to stop work after child number 2.
Why is the Astra not suitable?
The kids will ruin the interior of any car (IME) so leasing would be out for me. Leather is a good idea to keep it a little cleaner inside.
Our kids are now 7 and 3 years old. We now own a MINI and a Nissan NOTE. Most family duties are in the Note but the MINI with a roof-box is used on longer trips.
mike9009 said:
Congrats on the adoption thingy!
When we first had our kids we downsized our spend on cars (bought an 8 year old Alfa 156SW and a 1991 Eunos). This allowed greater spending on 'stuff' and eventually allowed my wife to stop work after child number 2.
Why is the Astra not suitable?
The kids will ruin the interior of any car (IME) so leasing would be out for me. Leather is a good idea to keep it a little cleaner inside.
Our kids are now 7 and 3 years old. We now own a MINI and a Nissan NOTE. Most family duties are in the Note but the MINI with a roof-box is used on longer trips.
The main thing with the Astra is that it is 3 door (which are very big/heavy) and quite difficult to get in/out of the back. Trying to get kids into car seats etc will be very difficult. Also the boot is pretty rubbish on the Astra H IMO, the boot in my Astra G is quite a lot bigger.When we first had our kids we downsized our spend on cars (bought an 8 year old Alfa 156SW and a 1991 Eunos). This allowed greater spending on 'stuff' and eventually allowed my wife to stop work after child number 2.
Why is the Astra not suitable?
The kids will ruin the interior of any car (IME) so leasing would be out for me. Leather is a good idea to keep it a little cleaner inside.
Our kids are now 7 and 3 years old. We now own a MINI and a Nissan NOTE. Most family duties are in the Note but the MINI with a roof-box is used on longer trips.
Its also expensive to tax (£400) and not very economical.
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