Lease Deals - Help!

[ShinyF1]

Facing the dilemma of a gearbox rebuild on my [until today] trusted 14 year old W210 or bite the bullet and replace it. Pure financial choice is do I spend more than the car is worth fixing it? It is otherwise a good one [next to no rust, good engine etc]

I think I want something similar [E Estate, ML or similar sized]

Options are buy second hand [< 5 years old]
Lease/Hire new - now I'm stuck. Can anyone recommend any good personal leasing companies or give me some tips on the best route to go for a new car, and what models you have seen good deals on.

Sorry for the wide open question, but a novice to this having had my last two cars for 8 years apiece...

Thanks

Sean

 

[clk208]

Car leasing | Contract hire | Van leasing is a reasonable comparison site for these deals..

As has been the case for years with MBs, many PCP deals are crazy cheap compared with buying a new car outright.

Man maths has to enter the equation though as you probably already realise that several hundred £ to fix a gearbox in a car which has very little value and already depreciated as far as it will go will be by far the cheapest option compared with a new PCP or even buying a 5yo car (which will likely need repairs etc of its own in due course). Good excuse for a change of vehicle though!

 

[ShinyF1]

Gearbox rebuild likely minimum £1500 versus the alternatives. Difficult choice

 

[geraldrobins]

Might be worth looking at a secondhand box from a breakers.

 

[BlackC55]

Every second hand box I have fitted has been knackered.

 

[clk208]

Cars always cost one way or another I guess.

I went from a 12 year old CLK to a 4 year old CLS kind of expecting reduced overall spend on maintenance but with a couple of window regulators, a polybelt, machine polish of paint, duff parking sensor I find that any MB can swallow a grand if it decides to over the space of a few months. More of a dilemma when the cost of repairs exceed the vehicle's value though for sure.

 

[Dieselman]

At £1500 the gearbox rebuild is about 4 months payments or depreciation.

Will the W210 last more than 4 months when the gearbox is done?

 

[stevehg]

I think I want something similar [E Estate, ML or similar sized]

Lease/Hire new - now I'm stuck. Can anyone recommend any good personal leasing companies or give me some tips on the best route to go for a new car, and what models you have seen good deals on.

For new you can get ~£7-7500 off an eclass estate if you place your order through someone like drivethedeal.com, carwow, carfile etc. They put you directly in touch with a UK dealer and you order from them and have access to all the normal MB finance options. I would think on PCP, the entry level for an eclass estate is about £300 a month for a standard SE auto. I've personally used drivethedeal to buy a new eclass estate and it was very easy to build spec online and order.

I can't recommend any leasing companies as I haven't used any, but there are a number of posts recommending companies in this section and a visit to their website will give you an idea of prices.

The benefit of new whether buying, financing or leasing is no surprising costs over next 3 years and for the majority of people a hassles free driving period. Naturally it's never going to stack up to owning a used car over a long period, but you already know this.

Good luck with decision

cheers, Steve

 

[ShinyF1]

Am rather liking an Audi A6 Avant TDI Ultra - sacrilege I know but it seems a lovely car.

Is it wrong to.... etc

or a three year old S212 - if only there were more 350CGIs to choose from. I can only find two and neither is quite right for my taste.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Am rather liking an Audi A6 Avant TDI Ultra - sacrilege I know but it seems a lovely car.

Is it wrong to.... etc

I've ordered one

 

[ShinyF1]

So I think we have made a decision.

I had almost made the commitment to lease/finance a new(ish) car and the decision was simply between the Audi A6 and E Class estates having decided that a 5 series is just too small. We were looked after very well by Audi Coulsdon for a couple of hours yesterday who could not have been more helpful. The A6 Avant is a cracking piece of kit and I came away very impressed.

Wandered over to MB Retail at Kingston this afternoon to look at a couple of nearly new E classes, and to compare the the 220 and 250 CDI engines. I have to say I wasn't too impressed. They were very helpful but the car felt like it was in a class below the Audi in SE guise. I would guess they the AMG Sport would be even less refined.

Then we have the sensible reality conversation. I've decided to roll the dice and get the gearbox in the 210 fixed. And I think more importantly we have to show a little more faith in the old girl after the good years we've had, as it's a good one still overall with a strong engine and it's not been consumed by rust so still polishes up well.

Our next car will be an A6 Avant though. Great to be in, great to drive - it just feels right. MB you need to up your game with the E Class.

 

[ShinyF1]

I've ordered one

Which model? I loved it - drives so well for 2.0TDI FWD car.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

So I think we have made a decision.

I had almost made the commitment to lease/finance a new(ish) car and the decision was simply between the Audi A6 and E Class estates having decided that a 5 series is just too small. We were looked after very well by Audi Coulsdon for a couple of hours yesterday who could not have been more helpful. The A6 Avant is a cracking piece of kit and I came away very impressed.

Wandered over to MB Retail at Kingston this afternoon to look at a couple of nearly new E classes, and to compare the the 220 and 250 CDI engines. I have to say I wasn't too impressed. They were very helpful but the car felt like it was in a class below the Audi in SE guise. I would guess they the AMG Sport would be even less refined.

Then we have the sensible reality conversation. I've decided to roll the dice and get the gearbox in the 210 fixed. And I think more importantly we have to show a little more faith in the old girl after the good years we've had, as it's a good one still overall with a strong engine and it's not been consumed by rust so still polishes up well.

Our next car will be an A6 Avant though. Great to be in, great to drive - it just feels right. MB you need to up your game with the E Class.

Good to hear you liked the A6 Avant. I've ordered one but haven't actually driven one, or even been a passenger in one

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Which model? I loved it - drives so well for 2.0TDI FWD car.

A6 Avant 3.0 BiTDi [313] Quattro Black Edition

Catchy name, eh?