Lease Vs Agility ?

[travelininstyle]

Hello all - I think I may be coming to the end of my relationship with car ownership.Since 1987 - I have purchased and traded my way up through various car - mostly using finance/Bank Loans etc - occasionally I have even paid outright.Well before my last purchase - my current car that is - I began to question the economics of the whole deal - I mean,by the time you have paid 36 payment,its worth very little and you end up falling into another cycle,or accept that the car will inevitably get older and occasionally more expensive to run.I do not want to get into an argument about 'banger economics' either - so,in July,I am free of my last payment and sometime in the future want to consider the possibility of the top titles - lease Vs Agility - I currently drive between 9k -10k miles a year and could use my 2005 registered MB as a deposit,but what are the pitfalls - have members had positive,or negative experiences of either scheme ? - your experiences would be a great guide.

 

[Palfrem]

At 10K miles a year - no business miles? - personally, I'd buy a car you really, really liked and stay with it.

When I retire I'll buy a really nice something-or-other and just pootle to my demise in a (potentially) classic car.

Like you I have aways owned my cars. Albeit paid for by my company car allowance etc.

At 30K per year I burn used MBs (and VWs - but, hey that's another thread altogether!)
- but when I am put out to grass it'll be in a very nice (older?) car that I'll be happy to keep for years.

I have always bought AUC to give me the MB warranty - in around 170K miles (i.e.5 AUC cars @ 45K / 50K miles each when bought) it's only been servicing and two parking sensors, some minor brake problems and 1 turbo (phew, covered by warranty - EEK!).

If I die tonight, I have a car on my drive that will bring £10K in for my family.

Buy one to keep that you will love.

 

[fuzzer]

If youre going down the pcp route ( what the real world calls it outside mercedes land) Expect to loose youre deposit. Its just there to fund a cheaper monthly payment

As long as you understand that , the pcp route is just a lease you can realistically get out of with your shirt on your back A lease if for life , not just for christmas

 

[travelininstyle]

If youre going down the pcp route ( what the real world calls it outside mercedes land) Expect to loose youre deposit. Its just there to fund a cheaper monthly payment

As long as you understand that , the pcp route is just a lease you can realistically get out of with your shirt on your back A lease if for life , not just for christmas

Thanks - I appreciate your advise - none of it makes pleasant contemplation - I think for sure that I will run mine for a year - I have a C180K coupe,2005 Reg. - with 40000 miles - I guess its worth between 6k- 7k tops as a deposit against agility - I am looking at maybe a 2009/2010 CLK Cdi - do not really want to pay more than 15k - 17k with hard bargaining - so,its whether I go for 10k on a personal loan - or agility and get the newest/lowest milage CLK I can on Agility ?

 

[hawk20]

I find PCP a good method of financing car ownership. The finance from MB usuually comes at a very reasonable rate (under 6% APR) way cheaper than BMW or most other premium makes. And the big advantage of a PCP deal is that you get a guaranteed residual (GFV) at the end of the 3 years. No worries about depreciation or having to find a buyer for your car. At the end of the 3 years you can hand the car back knowing that the guaranteed residual will cover the outstanding debt, or you can part ex it against another car (new or secondhand), or you can buy it and keep it by paying the guaranteed residual (in cash or with finance). Or you can sell the car privately.

 

[Rory]

The overall cost of personal leasing and PCP should be fairly similar. PCP has the potential advantage that you can keep the car if you want to at the end of the term, with lease you generally cannot keep the car.

Lease usually has lower deposit but can be difficult (expensive) to get out of early if the need arises.

One snag with both these schemes is they tend to best suit fairly standard cars - start loading options on and the monthly cost shoots up. Also the best deals are usually on cars already in MB UK stock - MB subsidised schemes tend to only apply for the current quarter. Often they carry on in the following quarter but there's no guarantee of that.

 

[fuzzer]

The overall cost of personal leasing and PCP should be fairly similar. PCP has the potential advantage that you can keep the car if you want to at the end of the term, with lease you generally cannot keep the car.

Lease usually has lower deposit but can be difficult (expensive) to get out of early if the need arises.

One snag with both these schemes is they tend to best suit fairly standard cars - start loading options on and the monthly cost shoots up. Also the best deals are usually on cars already in MB UK stock - MB subsidised schemes tend to only apply for the current quarter. Often they carry on in the following quarter but there's no guarantee of that.

Yes , rule of thumb with options on either a lease or a pcp is devide them by the term and add a little bit extra to cover the interest.

Options are worth virtually nothing come resale time. Dont listen to any BS about sat nav or the like. You will loose tonnes regardless. Buy what you want and doing that will make you happy and content for a while

To give you an idea of the value of your car , call a few dealers outwith your area and ask them for a price to buy your car for cash. This gives you an idea of its current value plus if you do offload it this way , you can buy a car from a dealer at a heavy discount because you don't have a trade in ( walk away with any less than about 8-10% on the table) and deal with them all over the phone and save a huge amount of time and hassle once youve worked out what youre after.

Best times to buy a car are the ends of the quarters in march and september. Aim to ahve the deal done by the middle of the month to give them time to get the car for you / register it and arrange the finance on it.

BMW are also doing low rate finance on their cars just now too Don't dismiss them and go and ahve a look and see what you see


good luck

 

[travelininstyle]

Thanks Gentleman - as ever,your collective experience has provided all the necessary information I needed and I feel better able to make some decisions,based on that.I think it will between PCP - given there is a GTV - my worry about selling to a dealer is that they will play the old 'the car is the old shape' etc,everyone wants the new shape - plus its age at nearly 6 years,but it has full MB Dealership Service History and only 40k miles on clock - Interestingly someone from a Manchester Dealership said,if I went down the PCP route,I was concerned about the Service Care,I have taken out last year,but not yet used - said they could arrange that it could be refunded ????

 

[fuzzer]

Thanks Gentleman - as ever,your collective experience has provided all the necessary information I needed and I feel better able to make some decisions,based on that.I think it will between PCP - given there is a GTV - my worry about selling to a dealer is that they will play the old 'the car is the old shape' etc,everyone wants the new shape - plus its age at nearly 6 years,but it has full MB Dealership Service History and only 40k miles on clock - Interestingly someone from a Manchester Dealership said,if I went down the PCP route,I was concerned about the Service Care,I have taken out last year,but not yet used - said they could arrange that it could be refunded ????

I think you will be surprised at what they offer you , do a good number of calls as a parity check on what they are offering. I got a really good price over the phone and subsiquently sold my car to the highest bidder which was 3k more than the lowest Check out the price on webuyanycar and use that as a base price to work from. Also look at what they are retailing them for and knock 2k off.

Happy hunting.

 

[travelininstyle]

I think you will be surprised at what they offer you , do a good number of calls as a parity check on what they are offering. I got a really good price over the phone and subsiquently sold my car to the highest bidder which was 3k more than the lowest Check out the price on webuyanycar and use that as a base price to work from. Also look at what they are retailing them for and knock 2k off.

Happy hunting.

Thanks Fuzzer - I really appreciate this advise - I guess second hand car values are holding up more than I thought.

 

[hawk20]

Best way to get a value is to use the Glass's Guide website. They will give you part ex, private sale and dealer values. Put in all the details on your car and use the valuation as a useful tool for haggling. I have found it very effective and have always equalled or bettered the Glass's Guide part ex value -after a bit of haggling. I found better prices further North.

 

[Rory]

... plus its age at nearly 6 years,but it has full MB Dealership Service History and only 40k miles on clock

The low mileage will help, but you may well find the age of the car makes it very marginal for dealers - they may not want to retail a car of that age so that does somewhat constrain the px value.

 

[travelininstyle]

The low mileage will help, but you may well find the age of the car makes it very marginal for dealers - they may not want to retail a car of that age so that does somewhat constrain the px value.

Thanks Rory - you are always sound in your judgment - to be honest,If I get 6k against a PCP - I will be satisfied.I am looking at a CLK 220Cdi - hope its a reasonable upgrade.

 

[st4]

Would you consider an HP but over a longer term, it will be a higher monthly, but you will have complete ownership of the car if you decide to keep it

 

[Benzowner]

The biggest pitfall with any lease by whatever name is after the 3 year period when the car is returned. The lease company expects to receive the car back in showroom condition with no blemishes whatever and they will inspect the car with a fine tooth comb. Be prepared for a bill for putting the car back to their condition or take out the insurance to cover small dings without affecting you NCB

 

[hawk20]

Thanks Rory - you are always sound in your judgment - to be honest,If I get 6k against a PCP - I will be satisfied.I am looking at a CLK 220Cdi - hope its a reasonable upgrade.

If buying secondhand on a PCP it is important to keep asking for the APR ( the properly defined interest rate you will be paying) not the phoney "fixed rate" which can be as little as half the APR. They tend to whack up the interest on secondhand deals and often it is cheaper to buy new as the deals and the APR are so good.

There is an agreed code of what size dinks, dents and screatches are acceptable. Showroom condition is not expected. the AA and RAC offer a pre-return inspection service.
See also http://www.clean-image.co.uk/lease-returns.htm who will give an independent assessment or arrange for repairs to be done. And give you a free copy of BVLA standards.

 

[hawk20]

see this useful thread: -

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/gene...back-leased-pcp-agility-cars.html#post1026481

 

[Rory]

And give you a free copy of BVLA standards.[/FONT]

Does Mercedes Finance (or whatever its called) agree in the contract to be bound by the BVRLA, or any other, apart from their own, standards?

I don't know - so it's not a trick question. But Mercedes and VAG are absolutely notorious for trumped up end-of-hire charges.

ETA: Here's the MB return video: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/con...rvices/existing_customers/vehicle_return.html