To lease or To buy?

[matt_knowles]

As in the title really.

Currently have just 1 car that the wife and I share (golf plus), but need to sort a 2nd car again soon. We also have a 10 week old baby, so the golf just ain't going to cut it any more so need to change.

At work, I have the option of leasing a car through Lease Plan or Budget but to be honest the cars you get for the money aren't very appealing.

For example, this is just some random quotes I have received based on a 3 year lease.

Ford Taurus 3.5 SE - 3052pm
Audi A4 1.8 - 4350pm
Toyota Prado 4.0 - 3972pm
Ford Explorer 3.5 XLT - 3940pm
Ford Fusion 2.5 - 2594pm

Money aside, none of the above excite me really but that's just an idea of cost per month. I know a lot of hassle is taken away from it when leasing (maintenance, down payment, etc etc) but for this sort of outlay I could buy some pretty nice cars.

For example I could buy the below for a similar outlay per month, some with 10% down payment and some with 20%. Mercedes do a 2 year star programme with option of balloon payment at the end, handing the car back or replacing for a newer model (i'm sure other manufactures will offer something similar.

Mercedes C200
Mercedes E300
BMW 328i M sport
BMW 335i Sport Line
Audi A4 3.0 Quattro S-Line
Audi A5 3.0 Quattro Sport back

I need to do further research but looking for experience of people having the same dilemma. I am not sure how tied into the lease you are, if you lost your job decided to move on. So that's something I'll also need to look into.

Cheers

[matt_knowles]

Cheers for the advice, but still unsure of the best route at the moment.

I know what you mean about the european/us cars. The lease company did say something similar when providing quotes (especially the A4).

Initially I thought a budget of 2000 a month would be ok, but it seems I am some way short with that.

[matt_knowles]

Onetrackmind said:

Friend of mine was renting a dull saloon for 2500 per month (Hyundai or something). He went into Toyota and asked about the FJ Cruiser. Think he had to put down a deposit of 20k and then signed up to some monthly HP payment plan for 2 or 3 years (can't remember). Even when you factored in the deposit divided by the 2 or 3 years it still worked out way less than the 2500 he was paying for the dull saloon. The HP plan required him to return the car at the end but included servicing so was similar to leasing. I think the FJ is being phased out soon so there are some good deals about. Could be an option.

Cheers, will check it out.

[matt_knowles]

Just to bump this topic.

Is anyone else aware of good leasing deals here in the UAE. It seems in the UK there are a number of good deals that seem to pop up (Golf R an M135i spring to mind)

Is there anything similar over here? I am still in two minds to buy or lease. Leasing is probably the more sensible option, doesn't necessarily require a down payment and everything is packaged in (servicing etc). Buying however allows you to get something better for your monthly $$$ and you have something to show for it at the end.

Any more suggestions?