What would you do?

[tommorgan754]

In short. Lease ending in Jan 2022 (Seat Leon).

My partner and I now need two cars in the family (something big and something to get us from A-B). (I like X4, X6, Q5 and the like..)

Have circa £500 to dedicate to these two cars per month if leasing (Or could borrow around 30k) but dont have a great amount of savings to put big deposits down. I know markets are strange at the moment but I dont know loads about risk etc and sure theres people here who do.

Would people lease 2 cars? Lease something nicer and buy a run around? take out 30k and buy 2 decent ish cars? PCP 2 from a garage?

I believe these are the options available to me. I know its quite general, I am flexible just dont want to shoot myself in the foot long term. Would be interesting to hear opinions and any similar situations.

Thanks in advance. Tom

EDIT - The cars dont necessarily need to be new!!

Edited by tommorgan754 on Sunday 10th October 18:41

[Andy665]

You'd struggle to get one of the cars you like and something else for £500 per month with minimal upfront, lease prices are massively higher than 18-24 months ago

[emperorburger]

With a fat deposit, £500 per month might get you in to a leased mid sized German SUV with a "prestige" badge.

You will need to downgrade your expectations somewhat, if splitting your £500 across two leases. Perhaps a couple of Skoda Scala's with a minimal deposit might be in budget.

[Cw4578]

As above I think you would struggle to get one of you big car choices within budget at the minute let alone 2 cars. Unfortunately that’s a sign of the times with new car shortages but the other downside is that used car prices are inflated. Maybe a Ford kuga might be within budget? Not as premium but might be Suitable for a couple of years until things hopefully settle down.

[ZX10R NIN]

tommorgan754 said:

In short. Lease ending in Jan 2022 (Seat Leon).

My partner and I now need two cars in the family (something big and something to get us from A-B). (I like X4, X6, Q5 and the like..)

Have circa £500 to dedicate to these two cars per month if leasing (Or could borrow around 30k) but dont have a great amount of savings to put big deposits down. I know markets are strange at the moment but I dont know loads about risk etc and sure theres people here who do.

Would people lease 2 cars? Lease something nicer and buy a run around? take out 30k and buy 2 decent ish cars? PCP 2 from a garage?

I believe these are the options available to me. I know its quite general, I am flexible just dont want to shoot myself in the foot long term. Would be interesting to hear opinions and any similar situations.

Thanks in advance. Tom

I'd go down the loan route despite the used market being strong you can still get some very good cars for your budget.

A-B car.

Kia Rio First Edition great cars well spec'd (Heated Steering Wheel Apple Carplay etc) & with 4 years worth of warranty left too:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109036...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108065...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110098...

1.6T Infiniti Q30 Premium in Touch these are an A Class in all but the metal, so the fit & finish is a step above the other A-B cars listed:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109237...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109227...

1.4T Astra Elite Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108045...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109067...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107295...

Or if you want the A-B to have a bit more pace then the Megane GT 205 is a great choice:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108176...

Now for the big family car I'd go for an Infiniti QX50 they're a nice sized family SUV prices haven't increased so you'll still get a good low mileage one for sensible money.

GT

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106013...

GT Premium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107074...

They're very well spec'd (360 Camera's Sunroof Heated Seats as well as Adaptive Cruise on certain specs) & the fit & finish is right up there with Lexus, the only thing they don't have is Android Auto/Apple Car Play but this can be retrofitted:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&...

As you can see you can spend under 30K & still have two very nice low mileage high spec cars for your budget.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Sunday 10th October 20:20

[tommorgan754]

Really helpful response!! Thank you

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd go down the loan route despite the used market being strong you can still get some very good cars for your budget.

A-B car.

Kia Rio First Edition great cars well spec'd & with 4 years worth of warranty left too:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109036...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108065...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110098...

1.6T Infiniti Q30 Premium in Touch these are an A Class in all but the metal, so the fit & finish is a step above the other A-B cars listed:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109237...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109227...

1.4T Astra Elite Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108045...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109067...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107295...

Or if you want the A-B to have a bit more pace then the Megane GT 205 is a great choice:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108176...

Now for the big family car I'd go for an Infiniti QX50 they're a nice sized family SUV prices haven't increased so you'll still get a good low mileage one for sensible money.

GT

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106013...

GT Premium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107074...

They're very well spec'd (360 Camera's Sunroof Heated Seats as well as Adaptive Cruise on certain specs) & the fit & finish is right up there with Lexus, the only thing they don't have is Android Auto/Apple Car Play but this can be retrofitted:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&...

As you can see you can spend under 30K & still have two very nice low mileage high spec cars for your budget.

[Timoo]

If it was up to me, I’d personally take the loan option and spend the majority of it (25kish) on a bigger premium car if that was what I was going to be using the majority of the time and wanted more of a premium comfort feel in. That way you could get something you actually wanted and have a bit of money spare for an A-B type motor if that doesn’t need to be so luxurious.

It sounds like the A-B car doesn’t really need to be anything special or comfortable, if it’s just used as a run around to do a couple miles in every day or so. A nice example of something basic like a petrol Ford Focus for around £5k would be suitable, while being reliable and cheap to maintain at the same time.

[tommorgan754]

Timoo said:

If it was up to me, I’d personally take the loan option and spend the majority of it (25kish) on a bigger premium car if that was what I was going to be using the majority of the time and wanted more of a premium comfort feel in. That way you could get something you actually wanted and have a bit of money spare for an A-B type motor if that doesn’t need to be so luxurious.

It sounds like the A-B car doesn’t really need to be anything special or comfortable, if it’s just used as a run around to do a couple miles in every day or so. A nice example of something basic like a petrol Ford Focus for around £5k would be suitable, while being reliable and cheap to maintain at the same time.

I think this is what I’m swaying towards, can get a good motor for 25k! Cheers

[Martyn76]

Timoo said:

If it was up to me, I’d personally take the loan option and spend the majority of it (25kish) on a bigger premium car if that was what I was going to be using the majority of the time and wanted more of a premium comfort feel in. That way you could get something you actually wanted and have a bit of money spare for an A-B type motor if that doesn’t need to be so luxurious.

It sounds like the A-B car doesn’t really need to be anything special or comfortable, if it’s just used as a run around to do a couple miles in every day or so. A nice example of something basic like a petrol Ford Focus for around £5k would be suitable, while being reliable and cheap to maintain at the same time.

2nd hand EV would fit the bill for a A-B car if you are only doing a few miles a day, Rory Reid has just purchased a 1st gen Nissan Leaf for £5k on his Auto Trader channel and is running as his daily.

[tommorgan754]

Martyn76 said:

2nd hand EV would fit the bill for a A-B car if you are only doing a few miles a day, Rory Reid has just purchased a 1st gen Nissan Leaf for £5k on his Auto Trader channel and is running as his daily.

That’s really interesting, watching the vid now!

[RoVoFob]

tommorgan754 said:

My partner and I now need two cars in the family (something big and something to get us from A-B). (I like X4, X6, Q5 and the like..)

I believe these are the options available to me. I know its quite general, I am flexible just dont want to shoot myself in the foot long term. Would be interesting to hear opinions and any similar situations.

EDIT - The cars dont necessarily need to be new!!

Edited by tommorgan754 on Sunday 10th October 18:41

Leasing/PCPing long term can be expensive. You’re paying to rent someone else’s car (leasing)/for the depreciation on someone else’s car (PCP) and then have to hand it back (unless you make the large optional final payment to buy it - PCP), so it is an expensive way to access a car, but can be good value if you have to have a new car.

Leasing also ties you into a contract, which can be costly and difficult to leave early, though PCP offers a bit more mid-contract flexibility. Since you’re thinking about risk and how much you have in savings, it sounds like you want to be somewhat cautious, so I’d steer clear of leasing and look at used cars instead, as you’d be borrowing less money.

The question is how much you want to spend/how many features/what age of car you want. Typically two-/three-year-old cars have much lower cash prices than new ones, but still feel fresh, so if you can access low-rate finance these can be a good option. I’ve never owned anything younger than seven years old and don’t feel like I’ve missed out on too much…

The best loans typically offer around 3.0% APR and the best used car PCP finance/Hire Purchase deals are around 6.9% APR. These rates are higher than with new car finance, but as the amount you’re borrowing is so much lower, monthly payments should be, too.

My wife and I have two cars that cover the bases you’re talking about and together are worth around £11k: a 2006 Audi A6 4.2 Avant and a 2013 Toyota Yaris 1.3. The Yaris is economical, cheap to run and reliable and the Audi is spacious, upmarket, packed with kit and pretty quick. Not recommending them per se, but even now there are some great value used cars out there (I bought the Audi last week), so don’t feel you need to spend big money - unless it’s worth it to you.

The risk here is that the Audi might throw up some big repair bills and it’s not economical. However, the way I look at it is that financing a new/nearly new car involves definite costs each and every month and you don’t own anything after the deposit and all your monthly payments with PCP or leasing. A decent £5-10k used car bought for cash may or may not have occasional big repair bills, but I save what I would otherwise be spending on big monthly payments and put it in an account so I’m prepared in the event a repair is needed.

So, I’d say the key question is - are you more concerned about big monthly payments each and every month or the likelihood of an occasional big bill with a cheaper car? I personally hate the idea of paying a finance company every month and would rather do my research, pick a car that I think is solid and save a little money away just in case…

[tommorgan754]

RoVoFob said:

Leasing/PCPing long term can be expensive. You’re paying to rent someone else’s car (leasing)/for the depreciation on someone else’s car (PCP) and then have to hand it back (unless you make the large optional final payment to buy it - PCP), so it is an expensive way to access a car, but can be good value if you have to have a new car.

Leasing also ties you into a contract, which can be costly and difficult to leave early, though PCP offers a bit more mid-contract flexibility. Since you’re thinking about risk and how much you have in savings, it sounds like you want to be somewhat cautious, so I’d steer clear of leasing and look at used cars instead, as you’d be borrowing less money.

The question is how much you want to spend/how many features/what age of car you want. Typically two-/three-year-old cars have much lower cash prices than new ones, but still feel fresh, so if you can access low-rate finance these can be a good option. I’ve never owned anything younger than seven years old and don’t feel like I’ve missed out on too much…

The best loans typically offer around 3.0% APR and the best used car PCP finance/Hire Purchase deals are around 6.9% APR. These rates are higher than with new car finance, but as the amount you’re borrowing is so much lower, monthly payments should be, too.

My wife and I have two cars that cover the bases you’re talking about and together are worth around £11k: a 2006 Audi A6 4.2 Avant and a 2013 Toyota Yaris 1.3. The Yaris is economical, cheap to run and reliable and the Audi is spacious, upmarket, packed with kit and pretty quick. Not recommending them per se, but even now there are some great value used cars out there (I bought the Audi last week), so don’t feel you need to spend big money - unless it’s worth it to you.

The risk here is that the Audi might throw up some big repair bills and it’s not economical. However, the way I look at it is that financing a new/nearly new car involves definite costs each and every month and you don’t own anything after the deposit and all your monthly payments with PCP or leasing. A decent £5-10k used car bought for cash may or may not have occasional big repair bills, but I save what I would otherwise be spending on big monthly payments and put it in an account so I’m prepared in the event a repair is needed.

So, I’d say the key question is - are you more concerned about big monthly payments each and every month or the likelihood of an occasional big bill with a cheaper car? I personally hate the idea of paying a finance company every month and would rather do my research, pick a car that I think is solid and save a little money away just in case…

I think you have nailed exactly what I wanted to see! Now just a case of working out what cars to go for!! I have got used to the monthly lease payments and the idea of no unexpected costs but it’s still a fair amount each month and nothing to show for it at the end and then the admin of finding a new lease, new deposit and so on.

Edited by tommorgan754 on Monday 11th October 19:47

[RoVoFob]

tommorgan754 said:

I think you have nailed exactly what I wanted to see! Now just a case of working out what cars to go for!! I have got used to the monthly lease payments and the idea of no unexpected costs but it’s still a fair amount each month and nothing to show for it at the end and then the admin of finding a new lease, new deposit and so on.

Edited by tommorgan754 on Monday 11th October 19:47

Phew. That’s good to hear! I feared I might have missed the point spectacularly…

Let me recommend an Audi A6 Avant 4.2!

What helps me narrow the options down is boiling things down to key parameters I’m after - speed, decent ride, comfy seats, uprated speakers etc - and trying to score cars on those. That normally splits things up for me and then you can look into reliability and common problems for the cars that score best.

If you’re looking at different price points, you can then divide cars’ number of points by the respective price if you really want to get geeky with points per pound figures

[ZX10R NIN]

In that case looking for an E500 Estate in W211 or very hard to find W212 form is a very good place to start.