Lease something semi-quick or buy older and faster?

[Brett99]

I’m leasing a golf gti at the moment and starting to think about my next car as the lease runs out in December.
Interested in opinion on going for another lease on something similar (or Golf R, S3, m140i etc) or going down a different route and buying something older where much of the depreciation has already happened. Eg Audi Rs4 Avant, or similar.
My concern with the used option is the unknown running and maintenance costs. Will I end up paying more than a lease once these are factored in?
My Annual mileage is low and estimated at 6-7k per year.

[Mercky]

Buy a Morris Marina. Nil depreciation, prices will only go up and everyone will think you're Ace.

[Brett99]

Thanks. Wasn’t on my radar tbh!

[Pistonheader101]

Real world a lot of these new hot hatches are faster than the older super saloons

RS4 all have carbon build up so only running 330bhp.

[rallycross]

How much have you spent on hiring a car in the past few years? Hopefully that answers your question.

[Guy-j88un]

I was in this predicament - had a 2010 330d with 70k on it, moved house and new job meant I could have something a bit faster and no longer required a diesel. A 2014 RS4 Avant was my ideal car, but £35k to buy, £1500 per year warranty, and the expensive services plus unknown depreciation with the new RS4 around the corner meant it was just too much of a gamble.

I opted for a very good lease deal in the end (which is another story) but the fixed costs are what attracted me to leasing.

[Brett99]

rallycross said:

How much have you spent on hiring a car in the past few years? Hopefully that answers your question.

I’m not someone to get hung up on the whole issue of whether I actually own the car. Ultimately I get to drive it. Someone owning it doesn’t get an enhanced experience vs leasing. For me it’s whats the most cost effective way to own the car.
The Golf gti dsg lease will cost me just 6800 over the 2 years. A quick look at Autotrader shows me that the car is already selling at 6k less than the new price. With 8 months of my term left I’ll therefore be quids in vs someone who purchased at the same time.

[Efbe]

242 bhp, 0-60 6.5s as a benchmark.

so you are after something faster. I assume not too old .
Big deal here will be can you afford it up front, and how much the depreciation is. You also need to really think about the size/practicality.

It really isn't hard to find something waay cheaper and faster, but the less you want to spend, the more you will have to compromise on practicality, running costs and having a newer looking car.

So a few ideas given I have no idea what you want...
nissan 350/370z , bmw 330i, focus RS, alfa brera v6(slower but soo pretty), Evo FQ-300, Jag xj 4.2,

[Efbe]

Brett99 said:

I’m not someone to get hung up on the whole issue of whether I actually own the car. Ultimately I get to drive it. Someone owning it doesn’t get an enhanced experience vs leasing. For me it’s whats the most cost effective way to own the car.
The Golf gti dsg lease will cost me just 6800 over the 2 years. A quick look at Autotrader shows me that the car is already selling at 6k less than the new price. With 8 months of my term left I’ll therefore be quids in vs someone who purchased at the same time.

maybe, but someone that bought it at a year older would be laughing all the way to the bank.

[Brett99]

Efbe said:

Brett99 said:

I’m not someone to get hung up on the whole issue of whether I actually own the car. Ultimately I get to drive it. Someone owning it doesn’t get an enhanced experience vs leasing. For me it’s whats the most cost effective way to own the car.
The Golf gti dsg lease will cost me just 6800 over the 2 years. A quick look at Autotrader shows me that the car is already selling at 6k less than the new price. With 8 months of my term left I’ll therefore be quids in vs someone who purchased at the same time.

maybe, but someone that bought it at a year older would be laughing all the way to the bank.

And would you fund that through pcp or a bank loan?

[Efbe]

Brett99 said:

And would you fund that through pcp or a bank loan?

for used, a loan. But this area is not my forte.

What car do you want though, what do you want from it?

[Funk]

Efbe said:

Brett99 said:

I’m not someone to get hung up on the whole issue of whether I actually own the car. Ultimately I get to drive it. Someone owning it doesn’t get an enhanced experience vs leasing. For me it’s whats the most cost effective way to own the car.
The Golf gti dsg lease will cost me just 6800 over the 2 years. A quick look at Autotrader shows me that the car is already selling at 6k less than the new price. With 8 months of my term left I’ll therefore be quids in vs someone who purchased at the same time.

maybe, but someone that bought it at a year older would be laughing all the way to the bank.

And you're then comparing a new car and a used car which aren't the same thing.

Honestly, this has been done to death many, many times on PH - let's not do it again.

[Flumpo]

I would say lease the new car. All the cars you mention are incredibly fast, I don’t think the rs4 avant would be any quicker in the real world.

Also if you are used to a brand new car, going to an older one will feel like a step backwards. It’s amazing how quickly interiors change now, plus everything will feel a little used, if that makes.

Not to mention the warranty and fixed costs. But do you need the extra space of the avant?

[Brett99]

Funk said:

Efbe said:

Brett99 said:

I’m not someone to get hung up on the whole issue of whether I actually own the car. Ultimately I get to drive it. Someone owning it doesn’t get an enhanced experience vs leasing. For me it’s whats the most cost effective way to own the car.
The Golf gti dsg lease will cost me just 6800 over the 2 years. A quick look at Autotrader shows me that the car is already selling at 6k less than the new price. With 8 months of my term left I’ll therefore be quids in vs someone who purchased at the same time.

maybe, but someone that bought it at a year older would be laughing all the way to the bank.

And you're then comparing a new car and a used car which aren't the same thing.

Honestly, this has been done to death many, many times on PH - let's not do it again.

Before starting this I did take a look to see if there was a thread within the forum discussing this but I couldn’t see one.

[aww999]

I lease a Leon Cupra 290. It's faster my S2 supercharged Exige, and covers ground just as quickly as my old single-turbo Supra. Modern hot hatches are fantastically competent, but it's not a lot of fun.

I am think of buying an E90 M3 when it goes back in December, not because I need something faster, but because I want something with a bit more character. I doubt there will be any difference in pace but the M3 will sound nicer! 3k/yr saved in lease costs will help cover depreciation, servicing (unless unlucky) and extra fuel over my low mileage.

Up until getting the Leon I had never had anything newer than a '90s car, so in theory I shouldn't feel like I'm missing out on any gadgets etc by going "backwards" to a 5-10 year old saloon car. I have been totally spoilt by Android Auto though, which works brilliantly and has saved me hours by routing me around traffic jams. It gets me to work far quicker than an extra 100bhp would!

It sounds like we are in a similar situation, weighing up zero-hassle fixed-cost latest-tech against the charisma and desirability of an older car.

[Toed64]

If you pick the model carefully (the RS4 is not it - IMO) you can buy a quick/interesting car at 2 to 3 years old and not face disastrous running costs or depreciation.

In 2012 I bought a 2010 BMW 135i with 20,000 miles on the clock. After the service pack expired, I never went near the stealership again, using a good independent instead. I owned the car for 5 1/2 years and sold it for £4500 less than I paid. In total, I spent under £1000 on fault repairs (other than services & brakes) after the warranty expired at 3 years old. I did not bother with a warranty. I don't believe that any car rental deal could have competed with that.

[culpz]

Efbe said:

Brett99 said:

I’m not someone to get hung up on the whole issue of whether I actually own the car. Ultimately I get to drive it. Someone owning it doesn’t get an enhanced experience vs leasing. For me it’s whats the most cost effective way to own the car.
The Golf gti dsg lease will cost me just 6800 over the 2 years. A quick look at Autotrader shows me that the car is already selling at 6k less than the new price. With 8 months of my term left I’ll therefore be quids in vs someone who purchased at the same time.

maybe, but someone that bought it at a year older would be laughing all the way to the bank.

Err, no. The leaser is the one laughing, as they've managed to have a brand new car on their drive, that cost them less than the car's depreciation over the 2 years, with no worries on between other than keeping up the monthly payments and maybe a couple of services.

[Efbe]

Funk said:

And you're then comparing a new car and a used car which aren't the same thing.

Honestly, this has been done to death many, many times on PH - let's not do it again.

it has been done to death, but that seems to be what the OP is asking.

Unfortunately it's such an open ended question, without detail of what car/year/up front money/monthly money he is after it is quite pointless.

The OP seems to be evading these questions for some reason though...

[Efbe]

culpz said:

Err, no. The leaser is the one laughing, as they've managed to have a brand new car on their drive, that cost them less than the car's depreciation over the 2 years, with no worries on between other than keeping up the monthly payments and maybe a couple of services.

As this thread isn't going anywhere, may as well derail slightly...

You wouldn't have a brand new car on the drive, it would still be a mile+/day+ old

Leasing is also based on the depreciation of the car. If you find a car to lease for less than the depreciation then you are one very lucky person, but that company is about to go bust! And yes I do get they are buying the car initially for cheaper than you could... but buy a car a year old and the savings they are making will pale into insignificance of what you would save.
As we see in this thread, the OP hasn't even stated a year old, could be new, 5, 10, 50. who knows.
However leasing can work out better than buying new. But not buying at 1y+.

If I am wrong, don't argue, just show me.

[Brett99]

Efbe said:

Funk said:

And you're then comparing a new car and a used car which aren't the same thing.

Honestly, this has been done to death many, many times on PH - let's not do it again.

it has been done to death, but that seems to be what the OP is asking.

Unfortunately it's such an open ended question, without detail of what car/year/up front money/monthly money he is after it is quite pointless.

The OP seems to be evading these questions for some reason though...

Sorry, not intentionally evading. Key criteria is fast and practical. 5 doors is a must. Sub 6.5 0-60. Max budget is £350 a month, including deposit. So my choice is either spend that on a lease and as others have pointed out, have hassle free motoring....or...I opt for something older and cheaper in terms of up front or monthly costs, but understand that I’ll spend more on fuel and maintenance.
My mileage is low at 6-8k a year.