Who leases a car?

[Macduff]

In order to replace our written off A4 we're considering leasing.

We had lots of options on our car and know we'll have difficulty finding a used replacement with half what we had so we're now looking at new but don't want to have to stump up a big wedge of cash.

I've done some searches and had a quote of about £570/month for an A4 Avant 2.0TDI 170 Quattro with all the extras we wanted but now can't find the company again! All the other leasing companies I've found seem to just offer a limited choice of car and no options.

So, does anyone on here lease. If so, who from and did they let you specify options?

Thanks
Dave

 

[Mart]

Have you tried ringing one of these leasing companies, to see if they'll do a option on a car for you?

 

[willnabby]

I'm just coming to the end of my private lease in a few weeks, when I orderd my A3 I was allowed to specify options but there was a a limit to the value of the options they would allow & they changed the monthly payments in line with the options, basically I think it's to do with the fourcourt price of the car when the lease is finished I:E they wont get any more for the car with or without the options when the car is sold on at the end of the lease, any options over the limit I still had I paid the brochure price for these in my deposit money, so when I added roof rails which were over my option limit I paid my 3 months deposit + £300ish or whatever it was all together, I used a company called select contracts & I would use them again because everything went smoothly with them. Also it may seem a limited choice of car on lease companys sites but they can usually order whatever model you want & adjust the monthly payments accordingly.

 

[sidibear]

I have mine on a personal lease from Audi, as long as its less than 12 months old it qualifies, you don't have the 10k a year limit either.
£409 a month for three years then I have the option to either buy the car or start again with another one.

 

[Macduff]

Have you tried ringing one of these leasing companies, to see if they'll do a option on a car for you?

I've tried some and they're very limited. There are so many companies out there it gets a bit soul destroying.

 

[quattrojames]

The back of Top Gear magazine usually has a good few pages of leasing companies to give you some ideas of whats available and some contacts.

 

[sidibear]

Try Audi themselves, I think its called a PCP.
How it works, you choose a car, put down a deposit, give them a clue on what mileage you will do in 12 months x 3 and they will work out the value in three years time.
I wanted their demonstrator, A4 Avant S-Line 2.0 tdci registered in March 08 with 5700 on the clock, £21k. Guestimated around 25k miles a year and they gave me a 3 year later value of £6100. So that left me with £15k to pay for the car over 3 years. After which I can give them £6100 and keep the car, or if its worth more I can use the difference as a deposit on another deal.

I was originally going for new until I found out that I could have a used car on the lease plan, getting a car 6 months old saved me £11k.

The reason I wanted a lease plan is that I had just changed jobs and I needed to get my own car. I didn't want to be tied to a loan in case it went pear shaped. With the leaseplan, if it does go tits up I just give them the car back and negotiate a settlement figure.

 

[RAPS3]

What your referring to is PCP (personal contract plan) which is not necessaryily lease.

A PCP is exactly what you have described. However normally attributed to new cars that you spec up yourself etc.

A lease deal is normally say 3 months initial deposit and then 12, 24, 36 monthly payments depending on your deal / agreement. They are similar but definatley not the same.

With PCP the vehicle is financed and the balloon payment at the end is offset against the finance. Thee are heavy financial penalties if you come out of the deal early. (especially if you are not at least half way through your agreement)

With a lease deal there is no option to buy or balloon payment at the end of the agreement. You simply hand in the keys and walk away.