Getting a car on a lease deal is becoming more and more popular in modern day society. It is appealing because you can ultimately drive a car which would cost a hell of a lot more than you could afford if you were to buy it outright. For example to buy a Lexus LS you would need a good £70,000 at your disposal, but Lexus LS leasing would only cost you £1,250 a month for 48 months. If you have a regular source of income then this is feasible especially if you aren’t very good at saving money, or if you are impatient and need the car sooner rather than later (assuming you haven’t yet got £70,000 saved). Obviously the price is relative, so if you are looking at a model that is cheaper to buy, it will also be cheaper on a contract hire scheme.
However this is not the only thing to consider when you are deciding whether or not you should buy or lease your next car. J. Paul Getty put it nicely when he said “if it appreciates, buy it. If it depreciates, lease it.” Basically this means that you will have to do a bit of research, let us take the Renault Megane for example. Leasing a Renault Megane Coupe Renaultsport could cost you £406 a month for 24 months, which would end up costing £9744. Buying one on the other hand would cost £21,000, so you then work out how much you would get back if you were to sell it after 2 years as a second hand Renault Megane. The Megane will have depreciated to around the £10,400 mark after 24 months, so if you were to get £10,400 for it on the used car market, you will be £10,600 pounds down as opposed to the £9,744 you would have been down if you had of leased it. That is assuming you find a buyer who is willing to give you the £10,400, a problem that is completely avoided by leasing as you simply take the car back after 24 months and walk away. So here it would seem leasing is the better option
Generally, this process will help you work out whether or not it is worth wile leasing or buying outright, I currently drive a contract hire Mercedes Benz E-Class, and I don’t think I will ever look back. As soon as your contract is up you can get yourself a new contract on a new car, meaning you will be driving a brand new car every 2 or 3 years, and you are never tied down to your previous car. For some people however it is important to have ownership and I do understand that, and in the long run I guess ownership will save you a lot of money if you don’t plan on selling the car 2 years down the line.
With me though I like the options car leasing opens up and the privileged feeling of always driving a new car knowing that if you are getting a bit bored of it, it’s only a small matter of time before you can get a different, fresher model. I think a contract hire Nissan GT-R is next on my list!