UKC

Time to get rid of the old family car and I was thinking of leasing a new (Kia) car over 2 or 3 years. Never leased one before any advice / pitfalls anyone can think of? Read the previous forum post. Had a look at Lingscars (she of dragons den) which is about a grand cheaper (over 2 years) than the main dealer's offer but an insane website.
Cheers.


(edited as I can't spell after 3 glasses of wine)

Leasing makes sense where your mileage is normal or high, especially if you change your car on a regular basis. I was doing 20k/year and selling after 4 years, with 90-100k on the clock. Leasing I can have a more reliable car (new, rather than 2-3 years old), less risk of problems, warranty, and I know up front the cost.

If you buy you basically gamble that the depreciation will be less than expected, with the risk being high maintenance costs. Also, you've got the risk of an accident wiping out your asset.

In reply to Daysleeper:

The dealer will try to entice you with gap insurance, if you decide you need it don't take it from the dealer, go online to ala.co.uk - much cheaper. Also do the sums for mileage, I normally do 20k miles pa, if I tell the dealer that the monthly payment goes up. If I say I do 10k I pay the excess mileage charge at the end of the lease which is much less than the incremental monthly payment I'd have made if I made the initial contract for 20k pa.