End diesel lease early to get PH/EV as I no longer commute?
Discussion
Hi. I hope you all had a nice Christmas in the unusual circumstances.
I wanted to get some opinions. I have got 9 months left on a 2-year Personal Car Lease. When I started the contract, I drove 100 miles per day to work and back, so got a diesel. After just a few months, I changed jobs for the first time in over a decade and now work 10 miles from work, so 20 miles per day. Also, I am becoming increasingly conscious of wanting to be green, possibly thinking plug in or electric.
The lease company says I can either decrease my contracted mileage and pay 25% less each month, which will save me £125 a month until September. Or I can pay £1,000 now to terminate the car lease early, "saving" me paying 9 x £500 (the current amount without the mileage being reduced).
My Mrs says terminating early is a waste of money but it's a 3 liter BMW diesel that costs me £100 a month in diesel and it's also bad for its DPF filter doing all this short mileage, especially under Covid with no leisure journeys.
Does it sometimes make sense to pay a penalty to exit a contract early to then be able to save money or get a better product or service for your circumstances?
I wanted to get some opinions. I have got 9 months left on a 2-year Personal Car Lease. When I started the contract, I drove 100 miles per day to work and back, so got a diesel. After just a few months, I changed jobs for the first time in over a decade and now work 10 miles from work, so 20 miles per day. Also, I am becoming increasingly conscious of wanting to be green, possibly thinking plug in or electric.
The lease company says I can either decrease my contracted mileage and pay 25% less each month, which will save me £125 a month until September. Or I can pay £1,000 now to terminate the car lease early, "saving" me paying 9 x £500 (the current amount without the mileage being reduced).
My Mrs says terminating early is a waste of money but it's a 3 liter BMW diesel that costs me £100 a month in diesel and it's also bad for its DPF filter doing all this short mileage, especially under Covid with no leisure journeys.
Does it sometimes make sense to pay a penalty to exit a contract early to then be able to save money or get a better product or service for your circumstances?
9 x 375 (reduced payment) is £3375. Or you pay £1000 now and presumably roll into another lease/ pcp or something of going EV?
9 months of usage of the car will effectively cost you £2375 more than terminating now, or £263 a month. That’s probably much cheaper than any other 9 month short term options you’re likely to be considering
9 months of usage of the car will effectively cost you £2375 more than terminating now, or £263 a month. That’s probably much cheaper than any other 9 month short term options you’re likely to be considering
eltax91 said:
9 x 375 (reduced payment) is £3375. Or you pay £1000 now and presumably roll into another lease/ pcp or something of going EV?
9 months of usage of the car will effectively cost you £2375 more than terminating now, or £263 a month. That’s probably much cheaper than any other 9 month short term options you’re likely to be considering
At 20 miles a day he might be putting £100 a month into the tank. If replacing with PHEV or EV then that's a material factor.9 months of usage of the car will effectively cost you £2375 more than terminating now, or £263 a month. That’s probably much cheaper than any other 9 month short term options you’re likely to be considering
Getting a new car won't make you more green. Keeping your current car will.
Getting a new car will just make you appear more green.
I don't know why people trot out these silly excuses.
Don't really know why you'd care about the DPF filter, it's not your car and it won't be your responsibility in 9 months.
Getting a new car will just make you appear more green.
I don't know why people trot out these silly excuses.
Don't really know why you'd care about the DPF filter, it's not your car and it won't be your responsibility in 9 months.
You havent given the figures of the EV that will replace the current car. While on one side the EV will seem super green, I would assume its not going to have battery rental etc? Saving £100 on fuel and another amount on RFL, how does it weigh in against the range/convenience/luxury of the current car?
Looked at an EV for a 15 mile each way commute, ignoring the purchase price, my 150k mile diesel still works out cheaper than an EV.
As someone already stated, theres appearing green and being green. Saying that if you really want an EV then do it.
Looked at an EV for a 15 mile each way commute, ignoring the purchase price, my 150k mile diesel still works out cheaper than an EV.
As someone already stated, theres appearing green and being green. Saying that if you really want an EV then do it.
Cheers, folks - appreciate your replies so far.
Okay, I now concede that the DPF is the leasing firm's problem, and I do accept the argument about PHEVs and EVs not being as green as marketing, the government and other factors make some people think they are.
I also admit I've become sick of the BMW and do fancy something new, even if new actually means I get a 3 year old Passat GTE plugin hybrid on PCP as an alternative option.
My 'commute' (which I would get the bus for if there was a bus service but there isn't, and which I'd maybe think about cycling but has lots of bends and I'm not the best at spatial awareness) is through open countryside and I know it probably sounds ridiculous but I feel guilty chucking out goodness knows how many CO2 driving past sheep and cows just to go 4-5 miles to work.
Sure, the car is on a maintenance plan where the leasing firm pays for everything, but in the time I've had it, it's spent 10 weeks in the garage getting various parts fixed.
August seems a long time away and I admit I do fancy a fresh start, something that seems more suitable for my very short journey, but yeah maybe the argument to hang on til the end but pay £100 less per month by reducing the lease contract mileage makes sense. And once winter is over, my MPG might improve on the currently awful figure and commensurate fuel costs.
Okay, I now concede that the DPF is the leasing firm's problem, and I do accept the argument about PHEVs and EVs not being as green as marketing, the government and other factors make some people think they are.
I also admit I've become sick of the BMW and do fancy something new, even if new actually means I get a 3 year old Passat GTE plugin hybrid on PCP as an alternative option.
My 'commute' (which I would get the bus for if there was a bus service but there isn't, and which I'd maybe think about cycling but has lots of bends and I'm not the best at spatial awareness) is through open countryside and I know it probably sounds ridiculous but I feel guilty chucking out goodness knows how many CO2 driving past sheep and cows just to go 4-5 miles to work.
Sure, the car is on a maintenance plan where the leasing firm pays for everything, but in the time I've had it, it's spent 10 weeks in the garage getting various parts fixed.
August seems a long time away and I admit I do fancy a fresh start, something that seems more suitable for my very short journey, but yeah maybe the argument to hang on til the end but pay £100 less per month by reducing the lease contract mileage makes sense. And once winter is over, my MPG might improve on the currently awful figure and commensurate fuel costs.
Vantagemech.. said:
You havent given the figures of the EV that will replace the current car. While on one side the EV will seem super green, I would assume its not going to have battery rental etc? Saving £100 on fuel and another amount on RFL, how does it weigh in against the range/convenience/luxury of the current car?
Looked at an EV for a 15 mile each way commute, ignoring the purchase price, my 150k mile diesel still works out cheaper than an EV.
As someone already stated, theres appearing green and being green. Saying that if you really want an EV then do it.
The EVs I'm looking at have a rang of 200-250 miles, cost £350ish per month with no deposit, and have 50-to-64kWh batteries. I might consider getting a home charger installed, but my work does have electric charge points, meaning I could potentially pay nothing each month on "fuel".Looked at an EV for a 15 mile each way commute, ignoring the purchase price, my 150k mile diesel still works out cheaper than an EV.
As someone already stated, theres appearing green and being green. Saying that if you really want an EV then do it.
If we assume that the monthly lease cost of a new electric car will be roughly the same as that on the current diesel, then the only relevant financial factors are (a) the £1000 early termination charge and (b) the £100 a month on diesel that could be replaced with maybe £10 of electricity.
While keeping the current car is cheaper by ~£200 total, that's not a huge amount of money to 'lose' if you would prefer to be driving an electric car now.
I'd say go for it if that's what you want, electric cars are pretty 'nice' to drive - not exciting, but satisfying and arguably a nicer experience than a commuter diesel. But do consider the choice of new car carefully, being aware that longer journeys in an electric car can be something of a logistical undertaking if you don't have an alternative vehicle for that.
VillaDeste said:
I also admit I've become sick of the BMW and do fancy something new, even if new actually means I get a 3 year old Passat GTE plugin hybrid on PCP as an alternative option.
If you got bored of a 330d in a short time, will you also get bored of a Passat GTE once the EV novelty wears off?Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff