Bye bye GTI

[NORTHERNER]

Interesting, been watching this discussion as after selling my GTi last year I am hankering to get back into the comforting arms of another (preferably a second hand Edition 30) and am speaking to a couple of people about theirs that they have for sale.

As part of my return to the Golf I did consider leasing a new VW scirroco... cost is 3+ 23 with the monthly cost at £305...  that includes road tax - so that would have been total of:

Cost over 2 years:  £915 + £7105 (23 x 305) = £8020, less £170 a year for tax gives: £7680, which is £3840 a year...

Comparing this is buying a Scirroco at say £20k, would you assume after two years it would be worth more than £12,320? The likely answer is "yep"  but then you need to factor in that most people would fund part of the purchase with a loan... so, say you have £10k cash and £10k loan... that means that your probable real purchase price for the car is more like £21k (which is based on the fact that a 10k loan over 2 years you would pay back £11k at 7.9% apr)  so then the real question becomes... would you be able to sell your car after two years for £13,320...

After spending several hours pondering all this and getting twisted about I just though "ahh f*ck it" - I like to OWN a car    Hence why I am now looking!!

Now, if I could just flog my current run around to someone I would be able to get back in the fold!!!  Anyone want an Alfa 147 for £3750?  

[Saint Steve]

Other thing is, your paying out for something you never actually Own, If you had the choice of buying outright or paying Lease payments, £400 a month approx outgoings is alot to spend out every month on a car!  . (almost have a mortgage payment based on 100k).
If you are fortunate to have the money then Buy it, theres nothing better then to look out onto your driveway with the thought of nothing to pay for it, it owes nothing except fuel!!!. I couldnt justify leasing tbh but everyones situations are different.

[R32UK]

I can see the arguments for and against leasing.


As for the looking out of the window and owning the car point.. Its yours as you are the registered keeper. It wont be taken off you.. its yours!!! And you can take consolation in the fact that when they do come and take it away... there will be a nice new shiney car stood there as your next lease car



For me the figures stack up, and if thats the case then its a no brainer. I certainly dont have 20-25k to blow straight on a car, although understand that some of you do. But why would you want to put 20k of your own money into a depreciating asset?? Surely 20k put elsewhere at a time like this would yield a much better return. In fact I would be confident enough to know I could turn 20k in to £28k over 2 yrs and hope that it would pay for itself (but thats me).


The reason that many people rule out leasing is that they dont fully understand the concept (no offence). Lets say you want a car but dont have alot of money to put down for whatever reason, but are confident of making a regular payment. When you go out and buy a car from the dealership be it with finance from them or the bank, you are paying back the total amount of the loan + interest on that amount.

However.. when you lease the car you are simply paying for the amount the car will depreciate + interest on that amount. The depreciation amount being much lower than had you gone down the finance route. The depreciation is calculated by the leasing company and hence the mileage set from the off, although this can be changed.


I run a business too so as you can understand it also has a few small but reasonable benifits. BUT the main reason for leasing, and this really is the main reason.. is that having a set budget for your car is a definate bonus. You know exactly what you pay each month, and dont have to worry about residuals/new models/known faults developing.

I have listed a few more advantages below 

1. You can drive it like you stole it (from cold) Which I do!!
2. Road tax paid for
3. Free VW roadside assistance
4. Totally hassel free motoring (if anything goes wrong, its under warrenty)
5. They do allow for small damage depending on the mileage (VW do anyway) e.g dents upto 25mm diameter, stone chips on bonnet
6. If you take it back to the garage that owns it, they do like to take extra care of it (it is going to go back to them eventually).
7. You get a brand new car every 2yrs, depending on how long your lease is or how often you want a new one.
8. The beeeatches love it!!

Its not for everyone.. but its an option. I certainly wouldnt have even looked at the R32 before I found that deal. Was actually looking at the GTi and the dealership quoted me a price of just under £500. Went on the net and found one for about £350 without any extras. Then I was pointed to the R32 and the rest is history.

[No Golf Clubs at all]

What's the reality of all this car "ownership" ? I bet most people fund the purchase from finance of some sort, at the end of the repayments they trade in and get another loan ...... Do they ever really own the car anyway? 

I paid my own money for a brand new mini, my cash.... It felt like I left the dealership with the sun roof open and the money escaping in a trail behind me...

It's certainly not an open and shut case 

[Saint Steve]

I can see the arguments for and against leasing.


As for the looking out of the window and owning the car point.. Its yours as you are the registered keeper. It wont be taken off you.. its yours!!! And you can take consolation in the fact that when they do come and take it away... there will be a nice new shiney car stood there as your next lease car



For me the figures stack up, and if thats the case then its a no brainer. I certainly dont have 20-25k to blow straight on a car, although understand that some of you do. But why would you want to put 20k of your own money into a depreciating asset?? Surely 20k put elsewhere at a time like this would yield a much better return. In fact I would be confident enough to know I could turn 20k in to £28k over 2 yrs and hope that it would pay for itself (but thats me).



I run a business too so as you can understand it also has a few small but reasonable benifits. BUT the main reason for leasing, and this really is the main reason.. is that having a set budget for your car is a definate bonus. You know exactly what you pay each month, and dont have to worry about residuals/new models/known faults developing. I have listed a few more advantages below 

1. You can drive it like you stole it (from cold) Which I do!!
2. Road tax paid for
3. Free VW roadside assistance
4. Totally hassel free motoring (if anything goes wrong, its under warrenty)
5. They do allow for small damage depending on the mileage (VW do anyway) e.g dents upto 25mm diameter, stone chips on bonnet
6. If you take it back to the garage that owns it, they do like to take extra care of it (it is going to go back to them eventually).
7. You get a brand new car every 2yrs, depending on how long your lease is or how often you want a new one.
8. The beeeatches love it!!

Its not for everyone.. but its an option. I certainly wouldnt have even looked at the R32 before I found that deal. Was actually looking at the GTi and the dealership quoted me a price of just under £500. Went on the net and found one for about £350 without any extras. Then I was pointed to the R32 and the rest is history.

From that list points 3 and 4 ,you would like to think you'd get the same service if the car was yours! ( under manufactures warranty)

Point 6 again should be the same but as we know some dealers seem to not give a to$$ who owns it whether its their car or your own hard earned.
Point 7 you can do the same, but  instead of paying monthly ,  you take a hit on depreciation and after 2 years on lease, you will be paying in one hit rather then monthly outgoings, which in the current climate everyones trying to cut there Monthly costs/outgoings. Based on a £400 a month, you pay approx £9600 in 24 months  , or take the depreciation route and hope after 2 years the cars loses less then the Lease figure payed out monthly.

My advice as there's no winners in this, is to buy a cheap banger that owe's you nowt, and keep your hard earned till the climate gets better.

i know wear and tear, ie tyres are replaced free in some cases but i doubt you'll see much benefit after only 2 years of brief ownership.
When you sit and add this up in both choices, there's not much in it.

Keep the car, dont sell up , not the time for calling time on a PCP agreement, ride the storm Edition30 

[R32UK]

^^^ Yep!! Like I said everyones situation is different. Everyone knows you loose a packet when you buy a new car... this just helps soften the blow slightly.

Buying a year or so old is usually the best route to go down. But again means you have money tied up in the car.. which I simply do not wish to do.

As for buying a banger.. just couldnt take the risk of my car not starting/breaking down on a morning. Although have found myself fishing round a few MK1's until I can find a deal im happy with (or should I say the new Gti is out )

[carl1]

why would anyone want to put 20k into a car, because i do make money out of money which is elsewhere which pay for my cars. you would be a bit silly to 20k on a car if thats all your savings. but then i think its silly to pay £370 a month on a car if you got no money/savings behind you,i would do other things with it to turn it in to more money to pay for my cars, but thats my way thinking.

[illyun]

why would anyone want to put 20k into a car, because i do make money out of money which is elsewhere which pay for my cars. you would be a bit silly to 20k on a car if thats all your savings. but then i think its silly to pay £370 a month on a car if you got no money/savings behind you,i would do other things with it to turn it in to more money to pay for my cars, but thats my way thinking.

I like your thinking but what would you do to make more money out of £20k?  What if you lost it all?!   

[carl1]

why would anyone want to put 20k into a car, because i do make money out of money which is elsewhere which pay for my cars. you would be a bit silly to 20k on a car if thats all your savings. but then i think its silly to pay £370 a month on a car if you got no money/savings behind you,i would do other things with it to turn it in to more money to pay for my cars, but thats my way thinking.

I like your thinking but what would you do to make more money out of £20k?  What if you lost it all?!  

im not saying i can make that much money out of 20k in a year to cover my depreciation (but i do cover my depreciation out of more than that), the money i spend on my car is my reward to myself. if i lost my money, just sell my car and start again, i had nothing to my name 6 years ago , just go back to my old workhorse astra diesel.

It has opened my eyes up about leasing reading this thread and is something i will look into when buying my next car.Not for saving money cause i still be think it all works out round about the same only difference you havent got to sell. But lets see what i can get when the new gti comes out, and i still can not find a lease where you only pay 24 payments and no deposit they are all 3 or 6 months down payments then 23 payments

[R32UK]

Like I said carl.. it works for some, and for others it doesnt. Remeber that no one is going to give a car away, but its nice to know that there are different option there, which I hope this thread has opened up to a few people by highlighting both the positives and negatives.

I just wanted to quell the rumours thats its an waste of money or expensive way to fund a car. Let me add that there are many if not more lease deals out there that are a rip off. For example I looked at the 3 series coupe (320 msport) when it first came out, and was quoted £279pm. Which was a special offer at the time. Try finding the same car 2yrs on and you will struggle to get the same lease for less than £400pm.


On the other hand there was a deal of £299pm for an audi A6 avant 3.0tdi with leather and sat nav, which after comparing it to the cost new, is very cheap. Its only a deal if a special offer is on!! You will struggle to find a deal on a new GTi as its a highly desirable car esp when a new model is released.... unless its a totally new design which they want on the road so it grows on people or is a model coming to the end of its lifecycle.

As for the deals out there most used to be a 3+ but recently I have seen a change to 6+. Mine was a 3+ but I guess I over looked that as I used the money I made from selling on my last lease car as the deposit.


I would just say that obviously in the current climate dealers are looking to get cars off their books... so there is deals to be had which ever route you choose to go down