It's coming up to that time again.
The cheap-lease Audi cabriolet is coming to an end in August this year and I'm chewing through the options.
It's been a bit of a problematic car, but in fairness, true to my original belief it has been pretty well suited to my requirements. The warranty has picked up the repair costs as needed and other than two tyres and an oil service, has cost nothing to run maintenance wise. Even the tax is free.
It does me fine as a daily runner - parked outdoors, short journeys, cold starts, traffic jams etc. Certainly things that older cars don't like and contribute to wear and tear more than the miles suggest. I can drive this car with no guilt, it's not mine, it's new and under warranty and I'm not concerned for the future of it. Sounds harsh but the car has treated me no better so it's fair game in my opinion.
I'm comfortable with the amount that it's cost over this leasing period, I guestimated that in total it will have cost no more than the depreciation if I'd have bought one outright, with the sweetener being that I didn't have to find £28k to buy it new and I don't have the hassle of trying to sell a 2-year old car for cash either.
I still own a car which means more to me than this car has or will, but I'm keeping this strictly for pleasure use, that's the 190E 2.5-16.
So, I now have to make a decision.
Do I look for another lease offer? Being honest I can be steered towards something that is a good deal for the money, ie the A4 cabriolet was easily cheaper than some of the more mundane cars on offer. I think the impending facelift allowed some good discounts on dealer stock, hence it was cheaper than usual.
Do I buy a cheap daily runner? I'm not doing heavy mileage at the moment and I've just recently bought a house so I guess some extra cash would be nice although not essential. I'm sure I'd get frustrated with a boring car for day to day use although it wouldn't stop me from being able to change as and when I wanted to.
The more wild card option is that I've seen several cars that I've have been following for some time, cars that weren't in my price range when I was looking two years ago. Ie, CLK55s and C32s are available for under £15K, possibly even less when the summer arrives and the W204 is launched? This would obviously mean higher running costs but with the relatively low mileage I am covering at the moment and the lower insurance costs this is looking more viable than it was last time around. All considered, I am pretty sure I could run such a car for similar or less cash than the amount the Audi is costing. Obviously much more fun to drive but older and more risky. Might take some of the appeal away from the aging 190E too!
I have a couple of months to decide, to be honest I am currently swaying between the first and last options.
Any comments or advice appreciated
Will
The cheap-lease Audi cabriolet is coming to an end in August this year and I'm chewing through the options.
It's been a bit of a problematic car, but in fairness, true to my original belief it has been pretty well suited to my requirements. The warranty has picked up the repair costs as needed and other than two tyres and an oil service, has cost nothing to run maintenance wise. Even the tax is free.
It does me fine as a daily runner - parked outdoors, short journeys, cold starts, traffic jams etc. Certainly things that older cars don't like and contribute to wear and tear more than the miles suggest. I can drive this car with no guilt, it's not mine, it's new and under warranty and I'm not concerned for the future of it. Sounds harsh but the car has treated me no better so it's fair game in my opinion.
I'm comfortable with the amount that it's cost over this leasing period, I guestimated that in total it will have cost no more than the depreciation if I'd have bought one outright, with the sweetener being that I didn't have to find £28k to buy it new and I don't have the hassle of trying to sell a 2-year old car for cash either.
I still own a car which means more to me than this car has or will, but I'm keeping this strictly for pleasure use, that's the 190E 2.5-16.
So, I now have to make a decision.
Do I look for another lease offer? Being honest I can be steered towards something that is a good deal for the money, ie the A4 cabriolet was easily cheaper than some of the more mundane cars on offer. I think the impending facelift allowed some good discounts on dealer stock, hence it was cheaper than usual.
Do I buy a cheap daily runner? I'm not doing heavy mileage at the moment and I've just recently bought a house so I guess some extra cash would be nice although not essential. I'm sure I'd get frustrated with a boring car for day to day use although it wouldn't stop me from being able to change as and when I wanted to.
The more wild card option is that I've seen several cars that I've have been following for some time, cars that weren't in my price range when I was looking two years ago. Ie, CLK55s and C32s are available for under £15K, possibly even less when the summer arrives and the W204 is launched? This would obviously mean higher running costs but with the relatively low mileage I am covering at the moment and the lower insurance costs this is looking more viable than it was last time around. All considered, I am pretty sure I could run such a car for similar or less cash than the amount the Audi is costing. Obviously much more fun to drive but older and more risky. Might take some of the appeal away from the aging 190E too!
I have a couple of months to decide, to be honest I am currently swaying between the first and last options.
Any comments or advice appreciated
Will
