Take over car lease
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Discussion

Origin Unknown

Original Poster:

2,459 posts

192 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
I have a new job starting a 3 weeks of which I have a personal car allowance of ~£360 PCM after tax. The requirement is that the car needs to be newer than 6 years old so I need to move on my 11 year old 530i.

Ideally, I would prefer to buy something but now is not the time to do that. So I have been looking at taking over an existing car lease. Does anyone have any experience doing this? Anything I should be aware of? Any considerations I should make?

JQ

6,594 posts

202 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
I don't understand why you would chose to do this. You will be paying the price for a new car but getting a secondhand one. You will also be taking on responsibility for any issues with the car caused by the previous owner.

Why not just get a lease on a brand new car for the same amount?

okie592

2,711 posts

190 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
JQ said:
I don't understand why you would chose to do this. You will be paying the price for a new car but getting a secondhand one. You will also be taking on responsibility for any issues with the car caused by the previous owner.

Why not just get a lease on a brand new car for the same amount?
seconded, you will be surprised how many cars are around for that sort of money on lease. mercs Bmws, all had easily under that budget

McHaggis

58,090 posts

178 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
http://www.contracthireandleasing.com/

Is an aggregation site (I have no links with it) - just choose your mileage, personal lease and price and see the myriad of options smile

SWoll

21,841 posts

281 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
I'm assuming that taking over someone elses lease removes the need to pay 3/6 months payments upfront though, which could appeal to the OP.


MadMark911

1,755 posts

172 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
And another. Either buy a 2nd hand car and run it privately so you don't pay company car tax or go an lease a brand new car!

Origin Unknown

Original Poster:

2,459 posts

192 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
The reason I'm considering this approach is that I just want something sort term that meets the requirements of being newer that 6 years and within the budget.

I would prefer to buy a car via a personal loan and pay for it using the allowance, but given the new job and other mortgage related activities, I would prefer something short term that doesn't involve borrowing 14/15k up front.

I get what you're saying about taking on someone eles problems but given my position, it seems fairly low risk and short term. Do you agree? I'm open to suggestions.

McHaggis

58,090 posts

178 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
Yes.

Ask HR for an exemption for the policy until your probation period (6 months?) has been completed, then decide.

HR rarely check cars in my experience, unless it is a small company.

frosted

3,549 posts

200 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
Origin Unknown said:
I have a new job starting a 3 weeks of which I have a personal car allowance of ~£360 PCM after tax. The requirement is that the car needs to be newer than 6 years old so I need to move on my 11 year old 530i.

Ideally, I would prefer to buy something but now is not the time to do that. So I have been looking at taking over an existing car lease. Does anyone have any experience doing this? Anything I should be aware of? Any considerations I should make?
My opinion is that it's a silly idea, you obviously may think different. Not sure since when a used 3yr old car = 15k either

SWoll

21,841 posts

281 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
McHaggis said:
Yes.

Ask HR for an exemption for the policy until your probation period (6 months?) has been completed, then decide.
Very good advice IMO. Make sure you are happy and commited to the job before financially commiting to anything else.

SWoll

21,841 posts

281 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
frosted said:
Not sure since when a used 3yr old car = 15k either
What a silly statement. Plenty of 3 year old cars are £15K.

anonymous-user

77 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
The problem is finding someone who wants out of their lease and who's leasing company agrees to the transfer.

Yes if you take on the remaining portion of someone else's lease you don't have to pay the initial deposit but there will be credit checks and documentation fees, although I guess the person who wants out of their lease may be willing to cover those. You need to be very careful that the car has been properly maintained i.e. serviced on schedule at an approved garage (usually has to be main dealer with personal leases) otherwise the lease company will want money off you at the end of the lease to cover the extra depreciation the car will have taken.

Also when the car goes back at the end of the lease any physical damage to the car (scratches, etc) which isn't covered by the BVRLA fair wear and tear guidelines will need to be paid for by you so there could be an end of lease cost too.

To be honest in your situation I'd probably be looking at a four or five year old car and run that. In the current job climate do you really want to be saddling yourself with a long lease? You've still got to pay it if things go pear-shaped.

Alternately, if you want a Juke Tekna dCi with 12 months and 25k miles left on the contract @ £320 a month drop me a message and maybe I'll start shedding a year earlier than I thought laugh

frosted

3,549 posts

200 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
SWoll said:
What a silly statement. Plenty of 3 year old cars are £15K.
And there are plenty that cost 5k after 3 years

Origin Unknown

Original Poster:

2,459 posts

192 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
Some great advice in here so let me address some of the points

SWoll said:
McHaggis said:
Yes.

Ask HR for an exemption for the policy until your probation period (6 months?) has been completed, then decide.
Very good advice IMO. Make sure you are happy and committed to the job before financially committing to anything else.
This is exactly the reason why I am considering something short term as I *don't* want to jump the gun and financially commit. In reference to the exemption policy, it is stated that if I cannot prove that I satisfy the requirements, then I am not entitled to the personal allowance.

As we are currently involved in mortgage activities, this car allowance bumps up my salary but a sensible amount and therefore makes our application a more attractive proposition. Yes, I know that it is essentially cancelled out by another financial commitment, but the steer I have been given when talking directly to mortgage advisors is that they like to see the higher salary.

SWoll said:
frosted said:
Not sure since when a used 3yr old car = 15k either
What a silly statement. Plenty of 3 year old cars are £15K.
I currently run a E39 5 series and it suits us perfectly to move 3 kids + associated paraphernalia (2 are in car seats). I love my BMW's so I would like to buy a E60 when I have reached a point of confidence in the job. Hence the 13/15K statement.

charltjr said:
The problem is finding someone who wants out of their lease and who's leasing company agrees to the transfer.

Yes if you take on the remaining portion of someone else's lease you don't have to pay the initial deposit but there will be credit checks and documentation fees, although I guess the person who wants out of their lease may be willing to cover those. You need to be very careful that the car has been properly maintained i.e. serviced on schedule at an approved garage (usually has to be main dealer with personal leases) otherwise the lease company will want money off you at the end of the lease to cover the extra depreciation the car will have taken.

Also when the car goes back at the end of the lease any physical damage to the car (scratches, etc) which isn't covered by the BVRLA fair wear and tear guidelines will need to be paid for by you so there could be an end of lease cost too.

To be honest in your situation I'd probably be looking at a four or five year old car and run that. In the current job climate do you really want to be saddling yourself with a long lease? You've still got to pay it if things go pear-shaped.

Alternately, if you want a Juke Tekna dCi with 12 months and 25k miles left on the contract @ £320 a month drop me a message and maybe I'll start shedding a year earlier than I thought laugh
Great post and thanks for outlining what I'm getting in to. And this is exactly what inspired the idea of taking on someone else's lease - Its short term and won't be subject to money upfront and satisfies the requirements to gain the personal allowance.

So, given the extra information, does this sound like a good idea to people now? I'm still open to opinions.

Origin Unknown

Original Poster:

2,459 posts

192 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
frosted said:
SWoll said:
What a silly statement. Plenty of 3 year old cars are £15K.
And there are plenty that cost 5k after 3 years
Regardless of whether you agree with this view, my role is customer facing so a 3 y/o 5K car isn't something that I would consider.

Also BWM fanboi smile

JQ

6,594 posts

202 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
I think you're mad - have you ever handed a lease car back before? They go over it with a fine tooth combe and every ding dent scratch or curbed alloy will be your responsibility to repair, often at significant cost. Lease cars get swapped around at my workplace and it causes no end of issues, as we're personally responsible for the end repair costs. Lots and lots of people have fallen out with colleagues and HR over it. It's one of the reasons I've opted out 3 years ago and take the cash to run my 15yr old 2 seater convertible as my company car.

Secondly, what you're proposing is equivalent to buying a 2yr old car that cost £20,000 new and paying £20,000 for it.

Thirdly, are you absolutely sure the cash for car will count towards your mortgage calculation? In the past mine hasn't, the cash I receive for the car is very separate on my payslip and is not classed as Salary - it's a benefit in the same way as my firm's pension contribution is.

If I were in your shoes I'd go to the auctions, pick up a 3yr old ex lease BMW (if that's what you want) and run it for the probationary period, then once you're certain you're staying get the new lease car of your choice. Our current family bus was bought at auction and for the first 12 months of ownership we could have sold at a profit at any time. Having had lease cars for 15 years I wouldn't dream of taking over someone elses lease, unless they paid me a significant sum of money to do so.

McHaggis

58,090 posts

178 months

Friday 17th August 2012
quotequote all
Try these:

ExDemo lease:
http://www.hippoleasing.co.uk/ex-demo-lease-cars

ExDemo No Deposit:
http://www.hippoleasing.co.uk/ex-demo-no-deposit-l...

There were a few mid term lease deals that I saw, where you lease it from the leaser (not the old owner) - I'll see if I can find it.