Lease, finance or buy

DieselJake

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Just looking for what you guys have done and personal experience with either leasing, financing or buying a car (or pcp which is kind of like a combo).

I've always paid cash for what I can afford but down the line I have no idea what's the best way to go as the next car will most likely be something a bit more expensive (but not ridiculous).
 
For me the key thing is to put or have enough money to cover any negative equity in the car so you can buy yourself out of the finance deal If you going new then make sure you use place like carwow to find good discount, you should be looking for around 10-16% depending on model. Also with new the finance rates are low at around 4.5% at the moment.

I've got my cars on PCP but intend to keep them , I use PCP as it lowers the monthly payment so I can save up the balloon payment over the next 3 years and if there is a tight month, I've not maxed out my budget.
 
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Used or new?

Used cars I would only ever do cash or cash + personal loan (obviously lease isn't an option).

New cars....well new cars are more expensive and depreciate more. No getting around that. Buying it on a PCP just adds a few thousand in interest on top of the high price and high depreciation....

Lease can be the cheaper way of getting a new car, but have to find the right deal. Not always available, adding options gets expensive and there is no flexibility if you want to change early.

Technically, if you get a PCP where you have very high discount and a high GFV, you can treat it like a good lease deal. But this is rare. Finance companies aren't in the business of losing money...
 
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If you lie changing your car regularly, can't beat Leasing TBH

Like the good Doctor says, find the right deal & time it right & all will be fine

Personally, I won't buy another car, I'll only lease 'em
 
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Personally, I went for 2 year old reg when I bought my S4 back in 2016. I was lucky to get a good discount from Aberdeen Audi. I had been saving money for the car for some time before settling on S4 and out right purchased it. I got a bank loan at the time as well, which is all paid off now. One of the reason for going for a 2 year old car and not a new one was; depreciation and like yourself I have always paid cash for my cars. At 2 years old S4, in my view has done most of the depreciation that it should. There will be depreciation after that but not as much as £20k giving to a dealership and walking away with nothing.

To me the idea of ‘leasing’ or a similar arrangement on a car is complete bonkers. I can’t get my head round paying someone between £12k - £20k over 2-4 years and then walking away with nothing in the end - my simple brain can’t do this kind of math, at all. To say that £20k offsets the ‘servicing and maintenance costa’ again, difficult to understand.


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Personally, I went for 2 year old reg when I bought my S4 back in 2016. I was lucky to get a good discount from Aberdeen Audi. I had been saving money for the car for some time before settling on S4 and out right purchased it. I got a bank loan at the time as well, which is all paid off now. One of the reason for going for a 2 year old car and not a new one was; depreciation and like yourself I have always paid cash for my cars. At 2 years old S4, in my view has done most of the depreciation that it should. There will be depreciation after that but not as much as £20k giving to a dealership and walking away with nothing.

To me the idea of ‘leasing’ or a similar arrangement on a car is complete bonkers. I can’t get my head round paying someone between £12k - £20k over 2-4 years and then walking away with nothing in the end - my simple brain can’t do this kind of math, at all. To say that £20k offsets the ‘servicing and maintenance costa’ again, difficult to understand.


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@Tashfeen - I hear what your saying about leasing, but it may be just me, but I think you figures are a bit way out, unless your buying something exotic

I'll be paying £6k over 2 years (on a lease deal) for this £31k car
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...mk3-seat-leon-cupra-300-5-door-manual.340323/

No depreciation / negative equity or road tax for me. Hand the car back after 2 years for another (hopefully decent) lease deal

Took me a while to get my head round leasing but works for me as I like changing my car regularly

However, I do accept leasing doesn't work for everyone
 
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Yea as BH says, when we say good lease deals, we mean ridiculous ones like that!

But, you really have to compare apples to apples here to understand the difference.

Firstly, a used car bought with cash or cheap personal loan will always be cheaper than buying the same car new using either cash, finance or probably even lease.

The only way to understand finance or lease is when you compare it to buying a new car outright, where the depreciation is likely to be the same as the cost of the finance. I.e buying a brand new car at £30k cash, it's likely to be worth about £20k in two years when you come to sell it. Obviously finance includes interest on top, but if you can negotiate a good discount then you can negate this (although you can negotiate the same discount with cash, so not really an argument IMO). The point is, the cost of the car is the same.

Obviously a used car won't cost as much, so that comparison will never work, but then you don't get a new car...if that's important to you...

Guess it is with spec, since you can get exactly what you want. Some will also argue about warranty, but given you're paying an extra £3k on a new finance, that will be way more than any repair bill on a 4 yr old car!

Basically, I agree with you mate. After doing a new car PCP, I can't ever justify buying a new car again.

It's not so much that it's on finance, it's the whole new car and heavy depreciation that makes it expensive!
 
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Used or new?

Used cars I would only ever do cash or cash + personal loan (obviously lease isn't an option).

New cars....well new cars are more expensive and depreciate more. No getting around that. Buying it on a PCP just adds a few thousand in interest on top of the high price and high depreciation....

Lease can be the cheaper way of getting a new car, but have to find the right deal. Not always available, adding options gets expensive and there is no flexibility if you want to change early.

Technically, if you get a PCP where you have very high discount and a high GFV, you can treat it like a good lease deal. But this is rare. Finance companies aren't in the business of losing money...

Most likely used but still undecided at the minute, yeah I was thinking along similar lines with a personal loan.

@Bristle Hound your insane deal was one of the things that got me on to this topic! Very tempted to go a similar/same route as yours is incredibly appealing.

Thanks for all the input so far, quite like how it's turning into a bit of a debate as you guys are bringing all the ideas I had one way or another and adding things I hadn't even thought of :happy:
 
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I tend to keep my cars for a long time (unless they break). However for the last 5-7 years I was running old cheap finance free cars (A4 B5 & A6 C6) as I was doing 20K in commuting alone, however my job changed and started a family, and I was getting sick of spending all my time fixing car's due to the mileage.

Now I only do about 1K a year commuting so I decided to ditch the old cars and get a new one's to my specification that I would be happy to own over the next 7-10 years, I also got a 5 year warranty so don't have to touch the cars for the next 5 years. It also allows me to spend more time with the family rather than under the car. Ok I've got payments for the next 3 years then I'm clear for the next 7 years.
 
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@Bristle Hound and Doc - I see where you are coming from and I completely agree that the lease deal you got on your MK3 is insane! It is a very good option if you are looking at it either as a second car and/or not really too much bothered about what you are driving . One of my friends has leased an E220 and will paying around £11,000-ish over two years for his car, which isn’t a bad deal (I think).

However, I look at it slightly differently. I buy a second hand runner for £12k and let’s say for example get a £5k maintenance bill (unlikely, but you never know) over two years and all the hassle that comes with it. Now when I sell the car, imho if I should be able to get around £8k for it and I’ll still be £3k better off (£8k minus the £5k maintenance bill).

I agree with Doc here as well re: lease v a new car. To me, driving a brand new car is not that important but a well maintained low mileage car is. When I went to buying my car I had to make a comprise over a new vs a slightly used car and that is why when I bought mine it had only done 11.5k miles in 2 years and I was happy with it. The mahoosive depreciation on a brand new car will always be a factor stopping me from buying one plus an experience which will always stop me from buying one every time I’ll think about it. Like BH who likes changing his cars regularly I like doing it too. So far, I have only ever bought a brand new car once and it was a 13 plate VW Passat (yes, I know and I am too ashamed to even mention it in my signature ). As I work as self-employed IT contractor my daily commute back then was from Oxford to Atherstone near Nuneaton and was nearly 800 miles/week (work only) and I clocked up nearly 52k miles in one year. It was 1.6 Tdi and very economical but it cost me money when I returned it after 1 year - never thought about buying a new one after that

Like I said I like changing regularly I won’t be selling my S4 that soon. For my wife’s B7 A4, which I bought Jan last year I am already thinking about changing it and she doesn’t know that yet

Given that so many people do lease/PCP deals I am sure there is something in it that works. It hasn’t for me yet. However, it might in future who knows. Us human beings are very much capable of changing our minds and I am no exception


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I lease and I have done for the last 3 new cars. I will be paying just over £7500 for a fully maintained A4 Avant Black Edition over 2 years which if I had bought the car I'm fairly sure I would have lost close to that in depreciation costs anyway so for me it seems to make sense. If I'm wrong though please point me in the right direction as I'm not stuck hard and fast on leasing, it's just what seems to work for me.

I like to change my car every 2 years as I get bored of them after a couple of years. I like to be able to shop around and get a good deal on another new car and so far have picked up so good deals.
 
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£7,500 for a B9 A4 is a really good deal. You guys are convincing me to go for one as I am looking at upgrading my wife’s car. Let’s see what I can find.

Any good car leasing companies you can refer?


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£7,500 for a B9 A4 is a really good deal. You guys are convincing me to go for one as I am looking at upgrading my wife’s car. Let’s see what I can find.

Any good car leasing companies you can refer?


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There are a few mate. I shop around. But I find contracthireandleasing.com ok. But I personally used cars2buy.co.uk as their leasing search is pretty good. Then when I got my best deal I contacted my current lease car provider and got them to match the quote. Then using this quote I went to Audi and asked nicely and they matched the quote too. That way I'm dealing with Audi this time instead of a lease company. Worked for me as I could collect the car and get 5 days free insurance so I overlapped the cars and was never without a car as trying to get one delivered and one collected and the insurances to swap at the same time would've been a pain.

My current lease company is gateway2lease. Can't fault them.
 
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There are a few mate. I shop around. But I find contracthireandleasing.com ok. But I personally used cars2buy.co.uk as their leasing search is pretty good. Then when I got my best deal I contacted my current lease car provider and got them to match the quote. Then using this quote I went to Audi and asked nicely and they matched the quote too. That way I'm dealing with Audi this time instead of a lease company. Worked for me as I could collect the car and get 5 days free insurance so I overlapped the cars and was never without a car as trying to get one delivered and one collected and the insurances to swap at the same time would've been a pain.

My current lease company is gateway2lease. Can't fault them.

Thanks @A4AvantBlackEdition. Yours as well as BH’s deals are insane. Let me see what I can find and if there is something similar that you guys have got I might go for it. The only difficulty would be the mileage. I would like to have one allowing for around 12k miles as she has too many ‘friends’ and ‘coffee mornings’ to attend to and does fair bit of miles.


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Thanks @A4AvantBlackEdition. Yours as well as BH’s deals are insane. Let me see what I can find and if there is something similar that you guys have got I might go for it. The only difficulty would be the mileage. I would like to have one allowing for around 12k miles as she has too many ‘friends’ and ‘coffee mornings’ to attend to and does fair bit of miles.


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Mine is with 10k a year. I know they still have a similar deals on cars2buy.
 
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Thanks @A4AvantBlackEdition. Yours as well as BH’s deals are insane. Let me see what I can find and if there is something similar that you guys have got I might go for it. The only difficulty would be the mileage. I would like to have one allowing for around 12k miles as she has too many ‘friends’ and ‘coffee mornings’ to attend to and does fair bit of miles.


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Currently £224 a month on a 9+23 for black edition Avant a4. That's just having a quick look.
 
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Currently £224 a month on a 9+23 for black edition Avant a4. That's just having a quick look.

Cheers mate. Just had a quick look at contracthireandleasing.com and there are some interesting deals coming up on C220d, A4, A3s (1.0) and an S3 that I have already enquired about - seems to good to be true.

f4e887c27568b2eabdf8127507aaf338.png



Will also have a look later today at cars2buy.com as well - cheers for that

And it looks like I am quite capable of eating my own words


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Cheers mate. Just had a quick look at contracthireandleasing.com and there are some interesting deals coming up on C220d, A4, A3s (1.0) and an S3 that I have already enquired about - seems to good to be true.

f4e887c27568b2eabdf8127507aaf338.png



Will also have a look later today at cars2buy.com as well - cheers for that

And it looks like I am quite capable of eating my own words


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Yeah, there are some stonking deals out there. I VERY nearly stumped up the extra £100 a month and went S4 instead of A4 but my sensible self took control. An S4 for £350 a month is nuts and will possibly be my next car.
 
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Yeah, there are some stonking deals out there. I VERY nearly stumped up the extra £100 a month and went S4 instead of A4 but my sensible self took control. An S4 for £350 a month is nuts and will possibly be my next car.

Agreed. The C220d that I checked was cheaper than the S3 @£239/ month for 23 months and an initial payment of around £2k, which is a bonkers deal tbh.

The ad for the A3/S3 says manual but the description I believe said auto. For £8.5k over 2 years is a good deal and I might be happy losing couple of grands for what it is worth. But this thread has definitely helped me start thinking about lease as an option.


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Remember Tash, the leases are cheap relative to buying new every couple of years... given the ridiculous depreciation its not that difficult...!

Spending ~£4k per year, and after just 4 years (or two lease deals) and you've spent £16k. You could very happily spend £16k on a used car and sell that 4yrs later for about £8k and therefore only spend half as much....
 
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Agreed. The C220d that I checked was cheaper than the S3 @£239/ month for 23 months and an initial payment of around £2k, which is a bonkers deal tbh.

The ad for the A3/S3 says manual but the description I believe said auto. For £8.5k over 2 years is a good deal and I might be happy losing couple of grands for what it is worth. But this thread has definitely helped me start thinking about lease as an option.


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I love leasing. Most companies deliver the car right to your door and collect it when it's finished with. tax, breakdown etc all included and for a little extra a month, servicing and maintenance and tyres are included too. They can even arrange your services for you and arrange collection and drop off.
 
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For these kind of numbers I wouldn’t mind giving away £6-£8k of my money to someone and walking away with nothing tbh.


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Remember Tash, the leases are cheap relative to buying new every couple of years... given the ridiculous depreciation its not that difficult...!

Spending ~£4k per year, and after just 4 years (or two lease deals) and you've spent £16k. You could very happily spend £16k on a used car and sell that 4yrs later for about £8k and therefore only spend half as much....
You're not adding maintenance costs to those sums though. Servicing, tyres, breakdowns, MOT's etc. They all add up.
 
Remember Tash, the leases are cheap relative to buying new every couple of years... given the ridiculous depreciation its not that difficult...!

Spending ~£4k per year, and after just 4 years (or two lease deals) and you've spent £16k. You could very happily spend £16k on a used car and sell that 4yrs later for about £8k and therefore only spend half as much....

Doc, don’t do this to me . I still remember the discussion we have had on leasing v Outright purchase a few months ago and whilst I am still in two minds I think I am getting convinced. However, your two lease deal thing is spot on and it has been exactly the kind of thing stoping me from going ahead.

I’ll still see what the leasing company comes back with and we’ll take it from there.


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Doc, don’t do this to me . I still remember the discussion we have had on leasing v Outright purchase a few months ago and whilst I am still in two minds I think I am getting convinced. However, your two lease deal thing is spot on and it has been exactly the kind of thing stoping me from going ahead.

I’ll still see what the leasing company comes back with and we’ll take it from there.


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I think it boils down to whether or not you are bothered about a brand new car every two years. I personally love getting a new car every couple of years. I wouldn't want the same second hand car for 4 years. But everyone is different. I don't smoke, or drink (much ;)) so for me a nice shiny brand spanking new car is my little treat every couple of years so if I do happen to pay a few grand a year more for the privilege I'm ok with that. Life is short.
 
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You're not adding maintenance costs to those sums though. Servicing, tyres, breakdowns, MOT's etc. They all add up.

Tyres = £400 over 4 yrs
Servicing = £400 over 4 yrs
Breakdown cover = £160 (£40 a year)
MOT = £160 (£40 a year)

Total £1,120

Still £7k up....

And I'm talking about a 12/18m old car, not 6yr old. MOTs/breakdown only in final couple of years and can even find one with an extended warranty, not that out of warranty repairs adds up to much unless you are really unlucky...!

Even still, it will have to cost you over £7k to still be same price, which isn't realistic...
 
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Doc, don’t do this to me . I still remember the discussion we have had on leasing v Outright purchase a few months ago and whilst I am still in two minds I think I am getting convinced. However, your two lease deal thing is spot on and it has been exactly the kind of thing stoping me from going ahead.

I’ll still see what the leasing company comes back with and we’ll take it from there.


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Don't forget to ask the dealers if they can match or beat the lease deal. BMW and Merc couldn't get anywhere near on my previous cars so I was amazed when Audi agreed to match.
 
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I think it boils down to whether or not you are bothered about a brand new car every two years. I personally love getting a new car every couple of years. I wouldn't want the same second hand car for 4 years. But everyone is different. I don't smoke, or drink (much ;)) so for me a nice shiny brand spanking new car is my little treat every couple of years so if I do happen to pay a few grand a year more for the privilege I'm ok with that. Life is short.

Which is perfectly reasonable. Just don't be under any illusion it's cheap....!
 
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Tyres = £400 over 4 yrs
Servicing = £400 over 4 yrs
Breakdown cover = £160 (£40 a year)
MOT = £160 (£40 a year)

Total £1,120

Still £7k up....

And I'm talking about a 12/18m old car, not 6yr old. MOTs/breakdown only in final couple of years and can even find one with an extended warranty, not that out of warranty repairs adds up to much unless you are really unlucky...!

Even still, it will have to cost you over £7k to still be same price, which isn't realistic...
I'd be the unlucky one. ;)
 
It’s a fair point that Doc and @A4AvantBlackEdition has made. Life is short and hence I bit the bullet and bought an S4. Don’t want to be 50+ and buy to realise that I should’ve when I had time and money and more importantly age on my side. Nothing wrong with being 50 but imho tis a bit too late to start having fun. Life is not all about making money!

I will see what the lease guys come back with and see if Audi can match. However, I am definitely not going back to Oxford Audi, which is local to me.


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It’s a fair point that Doc and @A4AvantBlackEdition has made. Life is short and hence I bit the bullet and bought an S4. Don’t want to be 50+ and buy to realise that I should’ve when I had time and money and more importantly age on my side. Nothing wrong with being 50 but imho tis a bit too late to start having fun. Life is not all about making money!

I will see what the lease guys come back with and see if Audi can match. However, I am definitely not going back to Oxford Audi, which is local to me.


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A bit of a treck but Jess at Doncaster Audi has been more than helpful. And she is rather easy on the eye. :D
 
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It’s a fair point that Doc and @A4AvantBlackEdition has mentioned. Life is short and hence I bit the bullet and bought an S4. Don’t want to be 50+ and buy to realise that I should’ve when I had time and money and more importantly age on my side. Nothing wrong with being 50 but imho tis a bit too late to start having fun. Life is not all about making money!

I will see what the lease guys come back with and see if Audi can match. However, I am definitely not going back to Oxford Audi, which is local to me.


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Go for it buddy.

As he says, at the end it's about £200 a month, and you get 2 new cars in the same period of time. That's not a bad deal at all.

For me, even though I'm only 28 and could happily afford my S5 and loved it to pieces, selling it the other week was more of a relief than anything....so nice to be free of a regular monthly payment.

It was relatively small to my income and what I save each month (not having any kids yet helps on thy front...), but it still got on my nerves!

I worked out that the PCP deal cost me £13k in all and I would love to go back and keep my 09 used A5 2.0tfsi and save that £13k. It just wasn't worth that much to me. I think if I had got it for £8k I would have felt the same....
 
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Go for it buddy.

As he says, at the end it's about £200 a month, and you get 2 new cars in the same period of time. That's not a bad deal at all.

For me, even though I'm only 28 and could happily afford my S5 and loved it to pieces, selling it the other week was more of a relief than anything....so nice to be free of a regular monthly payment.

It was relatively small to my income and what I save each month (not having any kids yet helps on thy front...), but it still got on my nerves!

I worked out that the PCP deal cost me £13k in all and I would love to go back and keep my 09 used A5 2.0tfsi and save that £13k. It just wasn't worth that much to me. I think if I had got it for £8k I would have felt the same....

Doc, I’ll be lying to say that I have started thinking differently overnight. Before looking at this thread I was looking at Auto Trader for used A5s/A4s and S3 with a max budget of £12k. I will continue with both the searches till the time I find a deal, a sensible one money-wise


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PCP for me because it suits me.

I’ve got enough savings to buy a brand new S3 (for example) but I have other things to buy too, such as a new kitchen and paying for other general improvements or maintenance around the home so I don’t want to empty my savings account to buy a car.

In the past I’ve always paid around £5k cash (or traded in) plus a bank loan to make up the difference.

I’m fortunate enough to be quite well paid but I still feel uneasy spending more than £300 a month on a car. Yet I am OCD so I want a new car.

Therefore paying £2k deposit plus £260 per month PCP just works for me. Yes I’m paying interest (4%) but I’d pay a similar rate on a loan and I’ve already said I wouldn’t empty my savings account to pay outright.

I’d consider leasing too but the deals vary from one week to another. When I bought my A3 the PCP payments were around £150 a month cheaper than I could have leased an A3 for.

I also like to change my car every 3/4 years so I will never pay the balloon payment.

Horses for courses, but it works for me. If I didn’t have a lease or PCP, considering my self-imposed limit of £300 a month, I could probably only ‘afford’ around £18k for a car. With PCP I’m paying the same amount but I’m driving a car with an SRP of £26400.


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Tyres = £400 over 4 yrs
Servicing = £400 over 4 yrs
Breakdown cover = £160 (£40 a year)
MOT = £160 (£40 a year)

Total £1,120

Still £7k up....

What you are missing here is the repair bills, Yes you could get lucky, but with the complex systems in the car + DPF's, egr etc etc you could add £2-£3K on that price for repairs + the cost of brakes & clutches. You could also add gearbox servicing, major service (that's not £100) brake fluid change etc etc. It all depends on the miles you are doing and the engine size.

Also if you wanted to keep full Audi service history then your more look at £800-£1000 over 4 years.
 
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What you are missing here is the repair bills, Yes you could get lucky, but with the complex systems in the car + DPF's, egr etc etc you could add £2-£3K on that price for repairs + the cost of brakes & clutches. You could also add gearbox servicing, major service (that's not £100) brake fluid change etc etc. It all depends on the miles you are doing and the engine size.

Also if you wanted to keep full Audi service history then your more look at £800-£1000 over 4 years.

My 09 A5 had the entire engine needing to be rebuilt due to excessive oil consumption. £0. Had both window regulators replaced. £100. In two years out of warranty repairs was £100.

GF Mini Cooper is 7 yrs old. In 5 yrs she's had to replace a thermostat for £300.

Dads 7yr old Lexus RX450h has had no out of warranty repairs.

Remember I'm talking about just a 12/18m old car....! It will largely go through the exact same servicing schedule for the exact same price. In fact, the serving gets cheaper after 3yrs from Audi as you benefit from the fixed service prices.

You are grossly overestimating the costs here mate.

Even still, it needs to add up to £7k over 4yrs to match the cost you spent buying new. Not going to happen.

You have to replace tyres and brake pads on a 3yr old new car as well! I nearly replaced all my tyres on my new S5 through punctures alone....!

You seem to think 10yr old banger when I say used. I'm talking about literally the exact same car with 5k miles and a year older. To me, no different at all from brand new.
 
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You stated £16K for a 2 year old car with 5K on the clock, that is a base model A3 you're not got to get a 2 year old A4 or upwards from Audi for £16K with 5,000 on the clock.

Oil consumption is a know issue with Audi (on a range of engines) and they are replacing the parts FOC, however if you were unlucky enough to have own a BLB or BRE engine car back in the day, with the faulty oil pump then you are looking at a four figure bill. As I said you just have to be unlucky.

Again brakes & tyres etc all come down to mileage and for the servicing costs a CVT gearbox service will cost you over £200 and that has to be done every 38K miles, so there is over 50% of your servicing budget depleted.

This is just a quick search on Audi's web site at my local dealer just searching A3, A4 & A5 there was not much for 16k.
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You stated £16K for a 2 year old car with 5K on the clock, that is a base model A3 you're not got to get a 2 year old A4 or upwards from Audi for £16K with 5,000 on the clock.

Oil consumption is a know issue with Audi (on a range of engines) and they are replacing the parts FOC, however if you were unlucky enough to have own a BLB or BRE engine car back in the day, with the faulty oil pump then you are looking at a four figure bill. As I said you just have to be unlucky.

Again brakes & tyres etc all come down to mileage and for the servicing costs a CVT gearbox service will cost you over £200 and that has to be done every 38K miles, so there is over 50% of your servicing budget depleted.

This is just a quick search on Audi's web site at my local dealer just searching A3, A4 & A5 there was not much for 16k.
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That was just a flippant example.

But I have taken the trouble of finding a used A4 black edition 2.0TDI with good spec for £19750. Probably get it down to £19,500 easy.

https://usedcars.audi.co.uk/usedcar...,800|1041,20000|1070,2014/l|12,1,PRICE_SALE,U

Now you put down £5k and get a £14,500 loan from the bank at 3.9% APR over 36months (which is £420 per month). Cost of loan is £700.

You sell the car 3yrs later for 50% of its value (probably get more), so lets say £10k. Looking at 7yr old A4 black edition with 50k, thats more than fair.

So cost to own that used A4 over 3 yrs is £19,500 + £700 for the loan - £10,000 for the sale price. Thats £10,200 in depreciation and interest.

Equivalent spec A4 black edition brand new is £40k. £38k base and about £2k worth of options. You can get 18% discount so looking at £33k discounted price, and with a £5k deposit over 36m and 10k miles it's £370 per month, so that totals £18000.

A whopping £8k more than buying a 15plate used model with 17k miles on the clock....

You cant honestly tell me you expect the servicing and maintenance on a 15plate A4 with 17k miles is going to cost you more than £8k over 3 yrs....??

You're buying it after its major service, so have to factor in another minor and another major, and the major will be cheaper than new as you can use fixed prices. So cheaper than New.

Add in £200 for gearbox oil and £60 for brake fluid.

It will have new tyres and brakes as part of approved used, will have 12months warranty, and still wont need MOT in its first year of ownership.

An extra £1k if you're lucky. Extra £3k if you're really unlucky. Still

And while you put in £5k into the PCP, you have to find another £5k for the next one, despite already spending £18k!
For the used car you put in £5k, and now you have £10k!

New cars a vastly more expensive. Any notion that repair bills on a barely used car will exceed the deprecation and interest paid on a new car is just false IMO, and I've yet to see anything to convince me otherwise...

Again, if you want new cars, thats perfectly fine. I don't get the need to try and justify it as 'cost effective' over a used car. Just not true! Everyone knows new cars are stupidly expensive!!
 
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I think it boils down to whether or not you are bothered about a brand new car every two years. I personally love getting a new car every couple of years. I wouldn't want the same second hand car for 4 years. But everyone is different. I don't smoke, or drink (much ;)) so for me a nice shiny brand spanking new car is my little treat every couple of years so if I do happen to pay a few grand a year more for the privilege I'm ok with that. Life is short.
^ This :)
 
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