Car Leasing?

[JohnH]

Hmmm... I love hassle free

Would make sense if it's an M4 or something if maintenance, tax and even tyres are included! But if a 518d is that much then I don't want to know how much something interesting would be

Good to know though!

Given that an m4a is roughly double the cost of a 518d it'd be at least double, which would actually be quite cheap for the first 3 years on an m4...

[rebel.ranter]

Just remember that a lot of these schemes that are on offer require a hefty enough deposit at the start. Take the example of a BMW 318d SE (i.e. Boring spec), from here:

http://www.bmw.ie/ie/en/owners/financial_services/finance/select/financeoffers3series.html

While the deal might say €400 month in the adverts the true monthly cost actually works out a hell of a lot more per month if you divide the deposit cost of €9,521 across the 36 months & add that to your monthly repayment. A quick tot up over the 36 months for the 318d SE is more than €660 per month not the €400 a month quoted. And you own nothing at the end, unless you want to hand over a balloon payment of €20k for the privilege of owning a 3 year old basic enough spec 3 Series, a quick check on Carzone shows that you will pick up a 2011 318d SE (3 year old) for much less than that, so you get ridden a second time.

[kdevitt]

Personally, I think the PCP schemes are pretty decent value once you go in with you eyes wide open. Sure you might end up with no asset at the end of the fixed term, but if your deposit + repayment amount more or less total the value of depreciation the car incurred plus the servicing required (if included) then its not terrible value. Naturally, BMW or whoever won't structure the payments in such a way that would result in them losing money, so there is a premium to be paid, but it gets you into a brand new car - if thats your thing. Equivalent standard finance would be a lot more expensive considering you're covering payments on the full amount of principal minus the deposit.

That said, if you have any ambitions of mortgaging a house in the next 5 years, I'd ensure you don't engage in any type of financing for a car.

[Peter-E36]

Pardon my ignorance, but am I right in saying this can only be done for a brand new car? Or can it be arranged for a "premium selection" car?

[tonyd]

I've yet to see a decent lease deal in ireland - nevermind for a decent car.
Makes more sense in the uk.

There was a deal up north for a golf r, £1.5k down, 200 per month for 2 years

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/300bhp-vw-golf-r-5dr-24-month-lease-1555-deposit-inc-document-fee-229-20-per-month-1926066

there's also been a few decent pcp deals on the m cars with bmw doing 0% interest on the m5 last year and i think payments were something like £500 per month.

[rebel.ranter]

Pardon my ignorance, but am I right in saying this can only be done for a brand new car? Or can it be arranged for a "premium selection" car?

BMW will offer finance on any car, however the term of the finance will be reduced the older the car is. I'm pretty sure they won't do a lease on a second hand car though.

[michael320]

The last main dealer car I bought was on finance, it was premium selection from BMW. They explained that no finance company will underwrite cars after that car is 8 years old, this means that a 5 year old car can be financed for a terms of 36 months, a 6 year old for 24 months and so on... That said its rare to find a five year old car on dealer forecourts these days unless it something special of has exceptionally low miles.

I don't have any experience with car leasing but with vans it can make a lot of sense. Northgate for example will hand out a new berlingo van for as little as 295 + VAT per month, no deposit and a flexible contract however your miles are fairly limited.

[Paddy]

The last main dealer car I bought was on finance, it was premium selection from BMW. They explained that no finance company will underwrite cars after that car is 8 years old, this means that a 5 year old car can be financed for a terms of 36 months, a 6 year old for 24 months and so on... That said its rare to find a five year old car on dealer forecourts these days unless it something special of has exceptionally low miles.

I don't have any experience with car leasing but with vans it can make a lot of sense. Northgate for example will hand out a new berlingo van for as little as 295 + VAT per month, no deposit and a flexible contract however your miles are fairly limited.

This must apply to Main Dealers and main dealers who give finance such as BMW or VW etc? I have had finance on 5 year old cars over 4 years making the car 9 years old when finance ends, but I didn't buy through a main dealer. Finance was arranged through 'Close' I think.