Nail on the head
My last 2 cars have both been PCP, I sold the 4 year pcp S3 after 2.5 years with just under 18,000 miles on the clock and I was up by a few hundred pound after paying off what was owed to Audi finance.
With this current 36 month PCP A5, I'm only on 7,900 mile after 2.5 years! (I said it would do 8,000
per year), yet the px price today is what will still be owed on the car in September after the last payment...so I've had the win on this, as Audi will be hit with the loss not me
However, my next car I intend to buy outright as 1) My mileage has more than halved since owning the S3, 2) I'm downsizing to around £21k and 3) I intend to keep it for at least five years. Even after five years it will only have around 16,000 mile on it...so it will still be a good low mileage car for someone.
But going back to the leasing side and changing every 3 years....yes it makes sense. I saw a deal on a VW T-Roc R which included full maintenance, tyres, servicing and road tax. Total cost including upfront payment worked out at roughly £13,500 over the 3 years, you'd probably find the car on its own would depreciate that much if you bought it outright!