PCH Lease deposit - high or low?

[Wrex22]

Trying to decide whether to go for 6 or 9 months up front as a deposit.  i know the overall amount paid is the same regardless.  what have other done? higher deposit and lower monthlies for more spare cash for things?

[fredgroves]

Does it make zero difference though? Isn't there effectively interest built into the lease amount anyway?

[Wrex22]

I was just wondering what others had done/preferred and their reasons 

[a9wyn]

I used to have pcp's on my cars some years ago and I used to pay quite  large deposits just to keep the monthly repayments down. And every three years I was repeating this costly process. Now I have seen the errors of my ways and realised how much money I had wasted on pcp's on a car I eventually would not own. So now I buy second hand.
 If you are in a financial position to do it. Take out the pcp and get the dealer incentive and then pay it off in full. If you still decide to go down the pcp route, consider going for a low deposit and a higher monthly repayments and use your cash for something else.

[Wrex22]

i always change my cars every 3 years and PCPs have cost me too!  So im going to take a lease over 2 years. Iit works out over £200  a  month less than PCP.  Yes I know i will never own the car, but i dont want to and I would px it with PCP and usually on cover the ballon payment

[JeffPoe]

Max 12 was what I went for. I prefer to get as much out the way to start with.

I was debating buying the car outright, PCP, a loan and leasing. On the basis of me only keeping it 3 years, I calculated the TCO and leasing worked out cheapest by a noticeable amount.

[BobbyT]

What about HP? That's how I buy cars. Put in a deposit and then get HP. Pay your money for x years and the car is yours at the end. When you sell the car once its payed off you should get back your deposit if you choose the right car.

I've always been lucky and got back more than I put in to start with, that way my deposit has always kept going up for my next car.

A car will never make you money, you'll lose one way or another but I've found with HP I've lost the least.

[Guzzle]

If you do your homework and choose the right leasing deal, then it is not impossible that leasing can work out cheaper than cash. But this isn't always the case, and it does give less flexibility than owning the vehicle. So you need to understand exactly what your requirements are before you sign up.

Personally, if the total amount payable works out exactly the same between 6 or 9 months upfront, i'd go for the lower upfront payment. Hang on to your money for as long as you can. But really only you knows what you are comfortable with.

[davyk31]

Really no odds if the overall amount paid is the same. Usually a bit cheaper monthly if you put in a higher deposit.

And it is very possible that Leasing is cheaper than PCP. i know the cost the lease company paid for my car and the discount was way higher than the best available on Drive the Deal.

[ratty_uk2000]

Higher deposit - the interest payable will normally be higher than rate you can achieve investing / saving the difference.