Leasing a car. My take on it.
Discussion
Eighteen months ago I needed a new car, having sold my three year old Zafira Tourer that I had from new.
I really needed an estate car or a people carrier, definitely a hatchback, I like larger cars and I sometimes need one for carting stuff about.
I settled on a new Mazda 6 Auto estate, in that smart red colour (Soul Red), the price was £26,000, (give or take), now I could have gone out and bought it outright, but figured after three years it would be worth around £12,000, therefore a depreciation loss of around £14,000, less any discount I might have negotiated.
I decided to go down the PCH route, £900 down, and around £310pm on a three year deal (An auto more expensive). I am 100% happy with the car, it is lovely, and I accept it is going to cost me around £11,000 in total when I hand it back (unmarked hopefully).
The way I look at it is, I have the use of a brand new car, nobody else has driven it, full makers warranty during my "ownership", so no unexpected bills, other than maybe front tyres maybe early next year, and no road tax to find.
I'm no worse off than if I'd have bought it, I've not had to lay £20,000 plus out and I don't have the hassle of trying to sell it on in eighteen months time.
Yes, I know I could have bought a decent four year old car for (say) 6k, and sold it for around 3k after three years, total cost £3k against £11k, but it would not have been a shiny new vehicle, and I could have been hit by a fairly hefty repair bill...(Gearbox etc)
Having lost a small fortune in depreciation over the last 40 years, changing cars every two or three years, is it better to think of a car like an "object" such as a fridge or washing machine?
So to sum up, it will have cost me me just over £10 per day (peanuts really) to have the use of a nice new reliable car, but maybe some might consider it 11k "down the drain".
(All figures approximate)
Opinions.....
I really needed an estate car or a people carrier, definitely a hatchback, I like larger cars and I sometimes need one for carting stuff about.
I settled on a new Mazda 6 Auto estate, in that smart red colour (Soul Red), the price was £26,000, (give or take), now I could have gone out and bought it outright, but figured after three years it would be worth around £12,000, therefore a depreciation loss of around £14,000, less any discount I might have negotiated.
I decided to go down the PCH route, £900 down, and around £310pm on a three year deal (An auto more expensive). I am 100% happy with the car, it is lovely, and I accept it is going to cost me around £11,000 in total when I hand it back (unmarked hopefully).
The way I look at it is, I have the use of a brand new car, nobody else has driven it, full makers warranty during my "ownership", so no unexpected bills, other than maybe front tyres maybe early next year, and no road tax to find.
I'm no worse off than if I'd have bought it, I've not had to lay £20,000 plus out and I don't have the hassle of trying to sell it on in eighteen months time.
Yes, I know I could have bought a decent four year old car for (say) 6k, and sold it for around 3k after three years, total cost £3k against £11k, but it would not have been a shiny new vehicle, and I could have been hit by a fairly hefty repair bill...(Gearbox etc)
Having lost a small fortune in depreciation over the last 40 years, changing cars every two or three years, is it better to think of a car like an "object" such as a fridge or washing machine?
So to sum up, it will have cost me me just over £10 per day (peanuts really) to have the use of a nice new reliable car, but maybe some might consider it 11k "down the drain".
(All figures approximate)
Opinions.....
Prohibiting said:
My opinion.... I'd have gone for the £6k outright option and saved myself £8k. Could put that towards a house project or a cruise ship holiday.
Fortunately the money wasn't an issue, I have everything I am ever likely to need, and more besides, but I accept where you are coming from.To take it to the extreme, I could have bought a banger for £1000 and run it into the ground.
DaveCWK said:
Why did you choose the car you did? Purely a tick box against requirements like you would a washing machine (Size, capacity, cheapest, job done), or was there a little bit of desire, emotion & 'I want that' in there?
I find the philosophy required in leasing a car (Tool for a job, it's not mine & never will be; I have no reason to give a crap about it) incompatible with that emotional bit.
Simply because my brother leased exactly the same car two weeks earlier, (but manual in blue) and I liked it. Over the years I have had many nice new cars, Morgans, CLS's, Capri's, Westfields and I have been very attached to all of them, but I think I have just grown out of that stuff now. To me a car is just a workhorse, I'd have never have thought that ten years ago.... I find the philosophy required in leasing a car (Tool for a job, it's not mine & never will be; I have no reason to give a crap about it) incompatible with that emotional bit.
HustleRussell said:
Leasing can stack up well but only if the lease period matches the duration you would’ve kept the car had you bought it.
If there’s a chance you would’ve kept the car even a matter of months longer than the lease period then the cost of leasing really starts to bite.
You have also assumed zero discount. Who buys a car without some kind of discount.
I did mention I could have negotiated some discount off the "list" price in my OP if I'd have pushed hard, but never asked as I wasn't interested in buying at that time If there’s a chance you would’ve kept the car even a matter of months longer than the lease period then the cost of leasing really starts to bite.
You have also assumed zero discount. Who buys a car without some kind of discount.
In another eighteen months I will have exactly the same dilemma, hence why I asked for PH'ers thoughts.
DoubleD said:
Wacky Racer said:
Fortunately the money wasn't an issue, I have everything I am ever likely to need, and more besides
So why worry about this lease?
nickfrog said:
hyphen said:
Driving a leased poverty spec mazda
What does lease have to do with spec level? You can lease any spec level or engine for that matter. The best deals are often on mid or high spec. 
), it was top of the range, auto with electric everything, it even came with a steering wheel....Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff