Advice for a leasing Noob

[bobmushroom]

Hello all, I am close to handing back my Mercedes W205 after a 3 year PCP and am contemplating a Q5 or X3 for the next purchase due to the family situation...

I have got quite used to getting what I feel are good rates on the PCP by doing my homework on DTD, CarWow etc then go in armed and ready to the dealer having done the sums.

Now I am thinking why PCP as I never buy the car I will hand back but I do like my toys! My problem is how do I do the sums?

Does leasing still make sense when you load the car with all the options? Do companies allow you to 'build' your car and still get decent prices? Is it competitive going to a dealer?

Sorry if these are simplistic/stupid questions and have been answered many times (I have done a little searching) I am just trying to get my head around how it works....

Thanks in advance

[ilikejam]

Yes you can build your car and add whatever options you want (unless they're punting stock cars obviously). No you won't get a good deal on the options - basically, you get the price for the lease then pay the full cost of any options over the term, usually (but not always) with no residual value factored in. If you can afford the payments and want the options then great, but it's not usually cost effective.

Getting the specific car you want and getting a great lease deal may not always be compatible. The general mantra on the lease deals thread is "Buy the deal, not the car" - it pays to not be too fussy and take the best deal that suits your needs. But again, if you want a specific car and you're happy with the payments then crack on.

It's always worth getting lease quotes then ringing round a few dealers to see if they'll match/beat them. Can't hurt and seems to be fairly common to find dealers who'll play ball.

[bobmushroom]

ilikejam said:

Yes you can build your car and add whatever options you want (unless they're punting stock cars obviously). No you won't get a good deal on the options - basically, you get the price for the lease then pay the full cost of any options over the term, usually (but not always) with no residual value factored in. If you can afford the payments and want the options then great, but it's not usually cost effective.

Getting the specific car you want and getting a great lease deal may not always be compatible. The general mantra on the lease deals thread is "Buy the deal, not the car" - it pays to not be too fussy and take the best deal that suits your needs. But again, if you want a specific car and you're happy with the payments then crack on.

It's always worth getting lease quotes then ringing round a few dealers to see if they'll match/beat them. Can't hurt and seems to be fairly common to find dealers who'll play ball.

Fantastic, thanks for the info. Gives me a good grounding

[mholt1995]

Leasing Options (no affiliation) is quite a good site for quickly pricing up the cost of options over a lease. Alternatively, just use Cost of Option / Payments (e.g 26 if on a 3+23) to work out options cost. As previously mentioned, you pay in full for options on a lease unfortunately so work out the proposed PCP rates vs a good lease deal + options and you'll be in a better position to know what's cheapest.