Buying an ex-company car that you 'know'
Discussion
My Sister has a new company car on the way and, I've asked her to find out if I could buy her current one from the lease company. She thinks I'm bonkers though. "It's done 90,000 miles though" - yes, with full BMW service history and recent discs and pads all round. "it's a bit tatty" - yes, but at the right price nothing that can't be sorted easily.
It's a '57 plate Le Mans blue BMW 120d M-Sport 5-door with the 18" wheel option, black leather, heated seats and privacy glass. She took it on from someone else as a stop-gap until her new one is ready.
Has anyone else ever bought an ex-company car of theirs or family / someone they know? Am I really mad or could this work out for me?
It's a '57 plate Le Mans blue BMW 120d M-Sport 5-door with the 18" wheel option, black leather, heated seats and privacy glass. She took it on from someone else as a stop-gap until her new one is ready.
Has anyone else ever bought an ex-company car of theirs or family / someone they know? Am I really mad or could this work out for me?
VeeFour said:
My experience is that they have unrealistic asking prices - this is from both Lex and Leaseplan.
Both wanted near main dealer money when I've asked in the past.
But I assume as they are a business who would be selling to a member of the public, they will have all the hastle of putting any major faults right and dealing with come backs if anything goes wrong.... just like a used car dealer. So, it probably makes more sense for them to auction off the car with no risks really, hence the high asking price?Both wanted near main dealer money when I've asked in the past.
Edited by VolvoT5 on Saturday 24th September 20:15
Of course - although Leaseplan also wanted extra money for a warranty, too - and wouldn't sell me a car unless I paid for it.
People seem to think that buying straight from the lease companies is a route to a cheap car - but it rarely is.
Better to choose something carefully at a fleet disposal auction.
People seem to think that buying straight from the lease companies is a route to a cheap car - but it rarely is.
Better to choose something carefully at a fleet disposal auction.
Fun Bus said:
Really? Blimey. It is a Lex car BTW.
Well, the last one I had serious interest in was my 55 plate Passat - a 2.0TDI SE.It was 3 years / 100k miles old, and they wanted over £8k for it. Plus a few hundred for a warranty.
You won't know until you ask the question - and my current employers encourage it as one of the staff benefits - but I've never been impressed.
Fun Bus said:
My Sister has a new company car on the way and, I've asked her to find out if I could buy her current one from the lease company. She thinks I'm bonkers though. "It's done 90,000 miles though" - yes, with full BMW service history and recent discs and pads all round. "it's a bit tatty" - yes, but at the right price nothing that can't be sorted easily.
It's a '57 plate Le Mans blue BMW 120d M-Sport 5-door with the 18" wheel option, black leather, heated seats and privacy glass. She took it on from someone else as a stop-gap until her new one is ready.
Has anyone else ever bought an ex-company car of theirs or family / someone they know? Am I really mad or could this work out for me?
Yes, I purchased 'my' MK4 Golf from a big lease company in 2003 (sorry can't remember the name).It's a '57 plate Le Mans blue BMW 120d M-Sport 5-door with the 18" wheel option, black leather, heated seats and privacy glass. She took it on from someone else as a stop-gap until her new one is ready.
Has anyone else ever bought an ex-company car of theirs or family / someone they know? Am I really mad or could this work out for me?
I was leaving the car scheme (hikes in company car taxation) and it was a case of better the devil you know.
This particular lease company was helpful with the final valuation (it seemed competitive for a 90,000 mile GTI, but I suspect I was just lazy), paperwork and handover.
They did add £100-ish to the invoice for a minimal warranty.
I would recommend the following:
- As always buy on condition (and price)
- Look around at other similar examples
- Does your sister drive with mechanical sympathy? Better the devil you know counts for a lot here
- Before you purchase it, make sure your sister drives it to BMW and says "fix everything!" (worked for me at VW)
I saw my Sister and her car at the weekend. I've had a change of mind as the car upon close inspection has had a tough life before my sister had it. And I mean tough, it's not in a good way and I'd want it for peanuts (which I won't get it for) in order to get into good order. Mechanically it's spot on - cosmetically it's a mess.
VolvoT5 said:
VeeFour said:
My experience is that they have unrealistic asking prices - this is from both Lex and Leaseplan.
Both wanted near main dealer money when I've asked in the past.
But I assume as they are a business who would be selling to a member of the public, they will have all the hastle of putting any major faults right and dealing with come backs if anything goes wrong.... just like a used car dealer. So, it probably makes more sense for them to auction off the car with no risks really, hence the high asking price?Both wanted near main dealer money when I've asked in the past.
Edited by VolvoT5 on Saturday 24th September 20:15
(edited to say already suggested above)
Edited by skyline501 on Tuesday 4th October 08:34
A friend of mine has bought his last 2 company cars from the auction.
First one was an Audi A4. Leaseco wanted £9,800 + a £300 mandatory warranty + £50 'administration fee'!!. He said "no thanks". Car was collected and was taken straight to the auction house where he bought it back for £7,600. It was back on his driveway within 24 hours!
Second car was an Audi A6 - they wanted £13,500 (including a 3 month warranty). Main dealers only wanted £12k for similar car including 12 month warranty!. Again he said no, it was collected and sat at the auction for around 2 weeks before being sold to him for just under £10k
He made sure both cars were bought up to standard at the leaseco's cost prior to end of lease. New tyres, new brakes, fresh MOT, few paint chips repaired, kerbed alloy replaced, full service etc etc.
First one was an Audi A4. Leaseco wanted £9,800 + a £300 mandatory warranty + £50 'administration fee'!!. He said "no thanks". Car was collected and was taken straight to the auction house where he bought it back for £7,600. It was back on his driveway within 24 hours!
Second car was an Audi A6 - they wanted £13,500 (including a 3 month warranty). Main dealers only wanted £12k for similar car including 12 month warranty!. Again he said no, it was collected and sat at the auction for around 2 weeks before being sold to him for just under £10k
He made sure both cars were bought up to standard at the leaseco's cost prior to end of lease. New tyres, new brakes, fresh MOT, few paint chips repaired, kerbed alloy replaced, full service etc etc.
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