First car : lease or buy?

[hst43102]

I'm hopefully going to be passing my test within a couple of months and looking to get a reasonably cheap car to start off with.
I don't have any particular preferences but it would need to be very reliable and comfortable for long periods of motorway driving - I'll be starting a job requiring 10k miles of driving or so per annum at the end of the summer.
Used cars seem to be very expensive indeed at the moment - my local dealer has a nine year old Skoda Fabia for £7500 in the lot!
I did find this remarkably good leasing offer on a new Vauxhall Corsa - it would work out at around £180 per month based on my requirements. In a way this does seem to be too good to be true though - has anybody had any good/bad experiences with leasing new cars?

 

[birchesgreen]

Personally i wouldn't have a new car as my first, as the chance of "incidents" will be higher (and thus more expensive). My first car (in 2003) was 295 quid.

You need to look at the T&Cs of the lease as accident damage may be ruinous. A young friend of mine dented his leased car early on and didn't tell the leasers until the end of the term as he knew it would cost a bomb.

An older car will be fine for 10k a year, its not a huge amount. My ancient Fiesta comfortably did that every year.

 

[Bletchleyite]

An older car will be fine for 10k a year, its not a huge amount. My ancient Fiesta comfortably did that every year.

The OP might actually find that, as long as the body is solid, an older small normally-aspirated petrol-engined car with a 1 or 1.2l engine will be cheap to insure and to repair. Petrols are generally more reliable and cheaper to fix than diesels as they're simpler, but the most modern turbo petrols have more risk of issues because the small engines are more stressed.

Now isn't a great time to buy price-wise unfortunately, but you are I guess where you are.

I'm sure leasing would be fine in principle, but you would need to fix any and all scrapes etc before handing back, and this could be costly.

To be fair my first car was brand new, but there were far better deals going on brand new purchases (rather than leases) back in 2001 than there are now.

 

[bspahh]

Leasing or a PCP is a good idea if you need a new model of car for a specific period.

However, as a new driver, you are more likely to pick up bumps and scrapes than after having more experience. If you need to return a car at the end of the contract, then you are more likely to have to pay for these to be repaired.

The lease for £178 a month is for 5 years, so you would pay £1610 up front and then £10680 and not own a car at the end.

For used cars, I would check prices at a car supermarket like https://www.motorpoint.co.uk/ They have a 2019 Corsa for £171 a month over 5 years plus a £2000 deposit where you would end up owning the car at the end.

Used or Nearly New Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 Sri Nav 5Dr (1336191) in Black for sale at Motorpoint Burnley.

Take a look at this great car from Motorpoint and find your next one at motorpoint.co.uk

www.motorpoint.co.uk

 

[Bletchleyite]

I've bought a few cars from a car supermarket - Available Car in my case. I found them perfectly OK to deal with and cheaper than Cazoo and Cinch. And it saves you all the faff of haggling and whether they can be trusted or not.

It would be a very good idea to get a credit card if you don't have one, and pay the deposit of at least £100 on it. Then you have some added protection.

 

[Cheshire Rover]

I paid £500 in 1987 for a 1975 Vauxhall Chevette with 20000 miles on it. Insurance was £500 for TPFT. Cheap motoring, got all my minor bumps and dings out of the way in it and sold in for the same price I bought it for a year later.
I wouldn't have a new car as a first car.

 

[Iskra]

I would buy your first car and get something cheap to repair/maintain, let's face it you are likely to bump or scratch it and lease companies will inspect the car in minute detail and can charge heavily for any damage when you return it to them at the end of the lease, same if you go over the agreed mileage.

My advice is to start with a car you own, keep it until you have got some experience under your belt and then move onto lease cars later on. I owned my first car, then have leased the subsequent 3.

 

[RichJF]

Get something cheap but reliable as a first car where you can obtain dirt cheap spare parts if you ever need them: Something like a Fiat Panda, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Aygo. Don't forget as a very new driver your insurance is going to high for a couple of years. Worse so on a newer car!

Run it for a couple of years to get your "new driver" bumps & scrapes (it happens to everyone) out of the way & to build up a couple of years no claims bonus. Then as your 2nd car start looking for something nearly new (aka 3-4 yrs old but low mileage).

 

[8A Rail]

My advice, being your first car, purchase a second hand one until you gain more road experience (two / three years) and then think about a 'new' one. No matter how careful you try to be, you will end up doing something silly (although not intentional) and if it is a second car hand, then you are able to brush if off and put it down to experience.

There are many good small cars these days were the likes of Fiesta, Corsa, Polo, Clio, Renault 108 etc could be ideal. Certainly the likes of the Corsa and Fiesta, spare parts etc are easy to come by. Engine wise due to insurance reasons, stick to anything under 1400cc - probably 1200cc would fine. Depending on your budget, a 5 year old car with say 50000 miles on the clock (and service history) will likely to give you good reliability too. There is a saying, you look after the car, the car will look after you. If you don not look after it, then don't expect trouble free motoring.

 

[hst43102]

Thank you all very much for the advice. One of the reasons why I'm quite tempted to lease a brand new car rather than buying used is that there won't be any MOTs needed during a three year lease. I haven't had a good look into insurance prices yet, that will probably be a major factor in choosing a car for me.

Get something cheap but reliable as a first car where you can obtain dirt cheap spare parts if you ever need them: Something like a Fiat Panda, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Aygo. Don't forget as a very new driver your insurance is going to high for a couple of years. Worse so on a newer car!

I did consider getting one of these cars - obviously much cheaper for maintenance and insurance - but I'm a little unsure that they would be suitable for long periods of driving. My job is quite likely to involve frequent trips from the north to London, Scotland and even Ireland - I'll try to make most of these by train but driving will be needed for at least some trips. A few friends of mine have small cars - Volkswagen Up/Ford Ka types, and they struggle at 70mph on the motorway and definitely not suitable for frequent long journeys! Hence why I was thinking of getting a five door Corsa or suchlike, it should be a little better for longer journeys!
I'm also a little unsure about buying a new-ish used car at the moment, it would probably have to be on finance as I can't afford spending £10k or so on a three-five year old car at the moment. If used car prices stay as high as they currently are this won't be much of a problem, as I could sell it in two or three years for a good fraction of the cost spent. However if prices do fall I might lose most of this investment - obviously, leasing a new car won't provide any returns at the end of the lease period, but at least I won't have spent anything on maintenance or depreciation. For the Corsa listed above, I think that would cost me around £6500 for a three year period - probably a fair bit more than buying a used car would be, but without the headaches caused by issues or maintenance. Would anyone be able to advise how much maintenance costs (and time!) a five year old small car would require? Some other friends of mine have had to replace their cars at around 8-9 years of age due to catastrophic failures (clutch, engine) costing more than the car was worth - I certainly wouldn't want to risk having such a failure when I need my car. Once again, thanks a lot for all the help - I really appreciate it!

 

[cactustwirly]

The OP might actually find that, as long as the body is solid, an older small normally-aspirated petrol-engined car with a 1 or 1.2l engine will be cheap to insure and to repair. Petrols are generally more reliable and cheaper to fix than diesels as they're simpler, but the most modern turbo petrols have more risk of issues because the small engines are more stressed.

Now isn't a great time to buy price-wise unfortunately, but you are I guess where you are.

I'm sure leasing would be fine in principle, but you would need to fix any and all scrapes etc before handing back, and this could be costly.

To be fair my first car was brand new, but there were far better deals going on brand new purchases (rather than leases) back in 2001 than there are now.

I think you'll find that Diesel engines are more reliable because they're simpler?
Petrols have a lot of sensors to go wrong, as the air and fuel mix needs to be precise.
1L and 1.2L car can be expensive to insure as they're popular first cars so crashed a lot, and a lot of them are driven with little sympathy so you're more likely to end up with a lemon

 

[Vespa]

Definitely buy a car, in the end the cost would be the same either lease or own, any dings and scrapes you can live with it and if you run the car for at least 10-15 years til it eventually dies you got your money's worth or if you sell you get some your money back.

Leasing cars is dead money.

Brought my C max ghia 2005 9 years ago for £3,750 with annual repairs and maintenance of £300 a year that's cheap motoring., I plan to run it for as long as possible if I can get another 7 years out of it, I would be happy.

 

[8A Rail]

I did consider getting one of these cars - obviously much cheaper for maintenance and insurance - but I'm a little unsure that they would be suitable for long periods of driving. My job is quite likely to involve frequent trips from the north to London, Scotland and even Ireland - I'll try to make most of these by train but driving will be needed for at least some trips. A few friends of mine have small cars - Volkswagen Up/Ford Ka types, and they struggle at 70mph on the motorway and definitely not suitable for frequent long journeys! Hence why I was thinking of getting a five door Corsa or suchlike, it should be a little better for longer journeys!

You bet to factor in higher car insurance in consequence then, if you intend to drive a lot of miles especially if it more than 8000 / 10000 miles per year, even more so being a first timer!

Your friends cars mentioned i.e. Up / Ka are likely to be 1 litre engine. So you be looking at petrol 1200 / 1400 cc then for what you are seeking, again that increases your car insurance.

May I suggest before you decide on any particular car, you check out your proposed car insurance premiums as ultimately that may dictate what car you have have or afford. That may be reason why your friends have got a Up / Ka.

 

[whoosh]

...but at least I won't have spent anything on maintenance or depreciation.

Leasing cars is dead money.

One would argue that leasing is literally paying for the car to depreciate. In the leasing deals where you can pay a lump sum amount at the end to actually own the car, it's what the car is worth for that age and mileage. So the leasing part has paid for it to have lost value.

If you did high mileage and needed a reliable car, then leasing a new one and swapping your deal every three years or so would be worth looking into, but for 10,000 miles a year I'm not sure it's worth it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think you'll find that Diesel engines are more reliable because they're simpler?
Petrols have a lot of sensors to go wrong, as the air and fuel mix needs to be precise.
1L and 1.2L car can be expensive to insure as they're popular first cars so crashed a lot, and a lot of them are driven with little sympathy so you're more likely to end up with a lemon

Sensors are cheap. Diesel injectors and dual mass flywheels are not, nor are turbos.

It was true but it hasn't been for years.

 

[cactustwirly]

Sensors are cheap. Diesel injectors and dual mass flywheels are not, nor are turbos.

It was true but it hasn't been for years.

But they hardly ever fail.
Most modern petrols have turbos anyway

 

[MotCO]

If you want assurances on reliability, why not opt for one of those manufacturers offering 7 year warranties, e.g. Kia? Cars are quite reliable these days, providing you look after them, service them in accordance with the manufacturers spec, and don't ignore any warning lights. You may also want to consider whether or not cars have a cam belt which will need replacing after at least 40,000 miles.

Or alternatively, Toyatas are renown for reliability and maybe a Yaris might be a bit bigger than the Corsa if you want something bigger for your motorway journeys.

There is also nother thread on this Forum on best and worst cars which may give a few pointers.

 

[Rhinojerry]

Thank you all very much for the advice. One of the reasons why I'm quite tempted to lease a brand new car rather than buying used is that there won't be any MOTs needed during a three year lease. I haven't had a good look into insurance prices yet, that will probably be a major factor in choosing a car for me.

I did consider getting one of these cars - obviously much cheaper for maintenance and insurance - but I'm a little unsure that they would be suitable for long periods of driving. My job is quite likely to involve frequent trips from the north to London, Scotland and even Ireland - I'll try to make most of these by train but driving will be needed for at least some trips. A few friends of mine have small cars - Volkswagen Up/Ford Ka types, and they struggle at 70mph on the motorway and definitely not suitable for frequent long journeys! Hence why I was thinking of getting a five door Corsa or suchlike, it should be a little better for longer journeys!
I'm also a little unsure about buying a new-ish used car at the moment, it would probably have to be on finance as I can't afford spending £10k or so on a three-five year old car at the moment. If used car prices stay as high as they currently are this won't be much of a problem, as I could sell it in two or three years for a good fraction of the cost spent. However if prices do fall I might lose most of this investment - obviously, leasing a new car won't provide any returns at the end of the lease period, but at least I won't have spent anything on maintenance or depreciation. For the Corsa listed above, I think that would cost me around £6500 for a three year period - probably a fair bit more than buying a used car would be, but without the headaches caused by issues or maintenance. Would anyone be able to advise how much maintenance costs (and time!) a five year old small car would require? Some other friends of mine have had to replace their cars at around 8-9 years of age due to catastrophic failures (clutch, engine) costing more than the car was worth - I certainly wouldn't want to risk having such a failure when I need my car. Once again, thanks a lot for all the help - I really appreciate it!

I have a Ka and recently bought VW Up,both are great on the motorway at cruising speed.
The Up is very roomy and comfy for a small car,and cruises beautifully three up with luggage on mway..

 

[Egg Centric]

The above is all excellent advice so I will not repeat it, I'll just add a few other angles:

Firstly, no way would I ever pay £10k for a first car. There's all sorts of beautiful cheap metal around if you know where to look. And that's where you should look unless you have some kind of work or "getting laid" related reason to project a certain image. If either of those are the case, well you're not really asking for advice from us!

How old are you? If you're under 25 you *must* look at the insurance costs as it is proably more important than the price of the car; given that you should take advantage of insurance oddities and that it will likely be cheaper to get something very unlikely and you are probably best running a bunch of quotes... all I'd say is find something unconventional. Put your mother or (should she be dead or not responsible) a mother figure on as a named driver too as this will save you hundreds (but do NOT get the insurance in someone else's name you MUST build up no claims and in any case it's illegal).

I was driving a 4 litre jaguar when I was 19; it cost me £750 and the insurance was about £600. More "conventional" cars like a 1.2 litre fiesta would have cost about £3k to insure at the time. It's crazy what you can find if you set your mind to it.

Orthogonally to all of that, again depending on your job bare in mind your job could almost surely be described in multiple ways which have slightly different risk profiles: try this excellent calculator here on how to describe it: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance-job-picker/

Very important too to know how much of the "work" stuff you need this car for is going to be expensed. Said above 4 litre jag plan would be suicidal if you're paying for petrol yourself - it could do 2mpg up hill

One other thing - buy cars on condition, not age or mileage. One fairly unremarked upon point is that the days of truly awful cars more or less ended a couple of decades ago. All car models are alright, none are truly dreadful.

 

[D365]

Thank you all very much for the advice. One of the reasons why I'm quite tempted to lease a brand new car rather than buying used is that there won't be any MOTs needed during a three year lease.

MOTs are not expensive. Can be found for ~£40 at any reputable garage.

 

[Egg Centric]

(Also since you say you're on Tyneside, whereabouts? I have a friend of a friend who's a used car dealer but it might be a bit too "arms removed" if I go them and say "some guy(?) on a railway forum* wants a car" but I could give it a go to ask if you like?)

*I will immediately have the piss ripped for this bit but I'm used to it

 

[bengley]

I'm firmly in the used car camp. My first car was a crap Peugeot 106 but served me well and I wasn't worried about damaging it.

I have had a few cars on finance in the years since but am firmly a believer of buying what you can afford. You'll be amazed at what a good car you can pick up for 2 or 3 grand if you shop around.

 

[Speed43125]

May I suggest before you decide on any particular car, you check out your proposed car insurance premiums as ultimately that may dictate what car you have have or afford. That may be reason why your friends have got a Up / Ka.

I would agree. When me and a friend were sorting out our first 'own money' first cars around a year ago (ie. his second overall, my first), we compiled a spreadsheet of cars, their price, their insurance, and road tax. Ultimately if the very smallest cars are no good for motorway journeys, I'd still recommend something a little bit 'granny like' where insurance ends up being relatively cheap.
All that said - in my experience, based on one's combination of address/mileage/recent licence/whatever, insurance premiums settled at a bottom point which gives you a pool of different cars available for similar insurance money.

Sensors are cheap. Diesel injectors and dual mass flywheels are not, nor are turbos.

It was true but it hasn't been for years.

For something Euro 6 - which may well be needed if driving for business is required - I'd agree with you, DPF and associated emissions wizardry can easily get expensive as the cars mileage goes up.

If we were looking at the 9 year old Fabia OP mentioned *if it hasn't been thrashed*, its perhaps closer to even, particularly since the VAG diesels (and the HDi/dCi engines from PSA/Renault for that matter) tend to be pretty reliable.

Ultimately individual condition probably has a greater bearing on your chances of needing (major) repairs than a generalisation on types of fuel however.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would not even consider buying a non Euro 6 diesel. ULEZs are going to spread like wildfire over the coming years.

If it's an old car, it must be petrol.

 

[Crossover]

I wouldn't necessarily discount the likes of Skoda - they are essentially rebadged VW's and have a good reputation from what I have heard. I have a Golf (and had one previous to it) which has been doing up to 20k miles a year (now somewhat less due to more home working)

Definitely look at insurance costs as a part of the search process as you may find some to be too costly. As someone else has said, also consider adding another driver to the insurance, as it will often help with the costs (I think it is assumed that having two drivers listed increases the chances of shared driving and makes things like driving tired statistically less likely - I know a friend I was speaking with only a few days ago said her insurance cost dropped when adding her husband to the insurance to allow him to drive her car)

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wouldn't necessarily discount the likes of Skoda - they are essentially rebadged VW's and have a good reputation from what I have heard. I have a Golf (and had one previous to it) which has been doing up to 20k miles a year (now somewhat less due to more home working)

Skodas are great, but now people realise that the prices are getting a bit high. Cheaper than grossly overpriced VWs where you're paying for the badge, though. Seats are also badged VWs.

 

[Egg Centric]

Skodas are great, but now people realise that the prices are getting a bit high. Cheaper than grossly overpriced VWs where you're paying for the badge, though. Seats are also badged VWs.

That's not entirely correct. Unless you want to argue certain Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Audi models are all "badged" versions of the same thing. Or taking an example away from a certain car manufacturing behemoth, to argue that some Breitlings and Tag Heuers are the same. Or a 168 and a 171!

 

[Russel]

I did find this remarkably good leasing offer on a new Vauxhall Corsa - it would work out at around £180 per month based on my requirements.

I would advise against buying a a Corsa.

Everything about them is cheap and nasty and for a small car, they aren't overly economical.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Or a 168 and a 171!

As the difference between those is the coupler, I'd say that they are basically the same thing, yes; a coupler is de-minimis. If you wouldn't that'd explain why we didn't see this the same way.

 

[zwk500]

Thank you all very much for the advice. One of the reasons why I'm quite tempted to lease a brand new car rather than buying used is that there won't be any MOTs needed during a three year lease. I haven't had a good look into insurance prices yet, that will probably be a major factor in choosing a car for me.

MOTs are cheap, I wouldn't factor that in as long as you go for something reliable with parts easily available. Insurance as a first-time driver will be your major cost.

I would not even consider buying a non Euro 6 diesel. ULEZs are going to spread like wildfire over the coming years.

If it's an old car, it must be petrol.

Agree with this (and @Crossover about Insurance costs).

Personally I'd look at something up to about £2,500 for your first car. I'd aim for the more popular models as well - they sell because they do the job, they have parts quite readily available and most garages will be happy to service them. Don't go for too big an engine either, as the insurance will rocket up. Something in good cosmetic condition and smooth mechanical condition won't be hard to find if you shop around.