£2k used car, or cheap lease deal?
Discussion
Hi,
My sister is just launching a new business. It’s just a small independent thing and she will most likely work part time around it to keep herself funded for a few months.
Bad timing as ever, but her car has failed the MOT quite spectacularly, so she’s looking for a replacement. She is of course limited with what she can spend, given that she’s just put a lot of money into the new business so she’s only looking to spend £1500 to £2500 tops.
She’s asked me to look for her and I’ve found a few half decent cars, but it’s quite likely that anything around this price point is also going to need money spending it in the near future. So I’ve been wondering if a cheap new car on a lease is worth looking at. There may be a benefit in buying it for business use perhaps? I’m not really sure.
What do the masses think? You need a reliable runaround, mostly for around town but the odd run out further afield now to meet clients and suppliers. Would you spend £2000 on a 10 to 15 year old cheap hatchback with lots of miles, or consider a £100 to £150 pm lease with minimal deposit on a new hatch. The obvious advantage is some lease deals have a very small initial payment, meaning she doesn’t have to fork out £2000 straight away. But the ongoing costs would most likely outweigh the running costs of the old car.
And of course, please feel free to send me recommendations, either links to suitable used cars, or links to good lease deals.
To give you an idea of what she likes, she had her 2.0 Hyundai Coupe 2.0 for ten years! She prefers black cars. No other real requirements!
My sister is just launching a new business. It’s just a small independent thing and she will most likely work part time around it to keep herself funded for a few months.
Bad timing as ever, but her car has failed the MOT quite spectacularly, so she’s looking for a replacement. She is of course limited with what she can spend, given that she’s just put a lot of money into the new business so she’s only looking to spend £1500 to £2500 tops.
She’s asked me to look for her and I’ve found a few half decent cars, but it’s quite likely that anything around this price point is also going to need money spending it in the near future. So I’ve been wondering if a cheap new car on a lease is worth looking at. There may be a benefit in buying it for business use perhaps? I’m not really sure.
What do the masses think? You need a reliable runaround, mostly for around town but the odd run out further afield now to meet clients and suppliers. Would you spend £2000 on a 10 to 15 year old cheap hatchback with lots of miles, or consider a £100 to £150 pm lease with minimal deposit on a new hatch. The obvious advantage is some lease deals have a very small initial payment, meaning she doesn’t have to fork out £2000 straight away. But the ongoing costs would most likely outweigh the running costs of the old car.
And of course, please feel free to send me recommendations, either links to suitable used cars, or links to good lease deals.
To give you an idea of what she likes, she had her 2.0 Hyundai Coupe 2.0 for ten years! She prefers black cars. No other real requirements!
zed4 said:
but the odd run out further afield now to meet clients and suppliers.
Lease a small new hatch (VW up or similar, or depending on the nature of the business something quirky/stylish like a fiat 500), and put some (subtle!) stickers on it.Put the lease on the company, and use it to project a somewhat professional image. Potential Clients will take a new (washed!) "company" hatch more serious then showing up in a 10 year old focus.
Vitorio said:
zed4 said:
but the odd run out further afield now to meet clients and suppliers.
Lease a small new hatch (VW up or similar, or depending on the nature of the business something quirky/stylish like a fiat 500), and put some (subtle!) stickers on it.Put the lease on the company, and use it to project a somewhat professional image. Potential Clients will take a new (washed!) "company" hatch more serious then showing up in a 10 year old focus.
It seems to me that the types of cars where leasing/PCPing can really make sense are A) low-ish spec diesel repmobiles and B) small runabouts. Since what your sister is after is a small runabout, even though I'm very much a 'buy cars with money you've actually got' type, I probably would go down the lease/PCP route if I were her. if she's not overly concerned with a particular make/model then she should be able to find a deal that is so cheap that the money she might save from running an older car is so little that it's not worth the potential hassle.
This what I went for to replace my old Diesel work car. Great company to deal with...... 
https://www.jetvehiclefinance.co.uk/VAUXHALL/10968...
https://www.jetvehiclefinance.co.uk/VAUXHALL/10968...Vitorio said:
Lease a small new hatch (VW up or similar, or depending on the nature of the business something quirky/stylish like a fiat 500), and put some (subtle!) stickers on it.
Put the lease on the company,
Good luck getting a lease for a newly established business, most want a minimum of 3 years accounts.Put the lease on the company,
Just weigh up the pros and cons of each and choose based on that.
Used is good in that the car is paid for. Yes, you run the risk of bills or issues, but if you buy clever you can minimise this. If it's a runaround I guess it doesn't matter if it is used.
PCP is good in that you will have a brand new car for 'x' amount a month. The negative to this is that you will have a balloon payment after 'x' amount of years and cannot simply hand the car back until 50% of payments have been made. If circumstances change drastically, you are stuck with this until the finance can be cleared or the car is handed back.
Leasing is like PCP in that you will have a brand new car. However, I think that with leasing you are completely tied into the deal? Therefore, if circumstances change, you are stuck with the lease. I may be wrong about this as I have never leased before. Happy to be corrected.
With PCP and lease, you are also mileage limited. There is a pence per mile charge that needs to be considered before any of these options are taken. If the business takes off and your sister ends up doing big miles, this could sting her. I've seen similar recently where a lady who visits our site had a local job, bought a new car on PCP, then changed jobs and is now double her mileage allowance. Be careful.
If image is of vital importance, a brand new car looks good. However, there are used cars out there that don't realty show their age.
Used is good in that the car is paid for. Yes, you run the risk of bills or issues, but if you buy clever you can minimise this. If it's a runaround I guess it doesn't matter if it is used.
PCP is good in that you will have a brand new car for 'x' amount a month. The negative to this is that you will have a balloon payment after 'x' amount of years and cannot simply hand the car back until 50% of payments have been made. If circumstances change drastically, you are stuck with this until the finance can be cleared or the car is handed back.
Leasing is like PCP in that you will have a brand new car. However, I think that with leasing you are completely tied into the deal? Therefore, if circumstances change, you are stuck with the lease. I may be wrong about this as I have never leased before. Happy to be corrected.
With PCP and lease, you are also mileage limited. There is a pence per mile charge that needs to be considered before any of these options are taken. If the business takes off and your sister ends up doing big miles, this could sting her. I've seen similar recently where a lady who visits our site had a local job, bought a new car on PCP, then changed jobs and is now double her mileage allowance. Be careful.
If image is of vital importance, a brand new car looks good. However, there are used cars out there that don't realty show their age.
FN2TypeR said:
PTF said:
Buy a japanese petrol hatch.
I picked up a corolla 1.4. 2005. 33k miles. 1 owner. Serviced every year. Mint condition. £2k.
They're worthless and will run forever
You were robbed big time then.I picked up a corolla 1.4. 2005. 33k miles. 1 owner. Serviced every year. Mint condition. £2k.
They're worthless and will run forever
ds on this forum. Dude probably wouldn't even wipe dog st off his shoes with £2k (in £50's). He is right though. Jap. Petrol. NA. Cheap to buy. Cheap to run. Will not die.
Leasing must be the way to go surely?
You can buy brilliant reliable little £2k cars but it's a gamble unless you know (or are) a good mechanic.
I've had 3 lease cars which are easy to budget for and never really went wrong once. No MOT to worry about and they sort the tax for you. When you're busy with a new business and juggling priorities, the last thing you want to worry about is avoidable admin and booking scarily priced repairs out of the blue.
You can buy brilliant reliable little £2k cars but it's a gamble unless you know (or are) a good mechanic.
I've had 3 lease cars which are easy to budget for and never really went wrong once. No MOT to worry about and they sort the tax for you. When you're busy with a new business and juggling priorities, the last thing you want to worry about is avoidable admin and booking scarily priced repairs out of the blue.
It's hard to be ojective without seeing what specific options are actually on the table but I was just going to question how straight forward it will actually be to get a lease under these circumstances. As I understand it, leases are subject to normal affordability and credit checks so it may be an issue.
I'd go for the 2k car depending on what type of business she's starting up a focus sized hatch would be a good shout, especially if you look at some leftfield options.
2007 Toyota Auris 1.6 70k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2008 Fiat Bravo 1.4 60k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2007 Fiat Bravo 1.4T 65k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2009 Kia Ceed GS 1.6 52k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2008 Citroen C4 Cachet 1.6 22k (with a 2 year warranty)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2007 Toyota Auris 1.6 70k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2008 Fiat Bravo 1.4 60k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2007 Fiat Bravo 1.4T 65k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2009 Kia Ceed GS 1.6 52k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
2008 Citroen C4 Cachet 1.6 22k (with a 2 year warranty)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
I'd advise her to lease.
Do as I say, not as I do.
My family and I all run sub £2000 cars as our dailies because I do all our maintenance/ repairs and we each have enough to buy a replacement straight away if something catastrophic (or merely uneconomic to repair) goes without warning.
For someone who would be stretched at £2000, I wouldn't pay any more than £1000 for a 'banger'. You're just as likely to strike it lucky with a £1000 car as £2000 one and you're left with an emergency pot to replace it if need be. At that sort of value of car, it doesn't make sense to spend money on it so if she doesn't have anyone who can service/repair for free or very cheap, it makes more sense to lease.
Also, if she's running a business, a fixed cost per month is far easier to work with than the risk of unexpected bills, and of course, tax deductible.
Do as I say, not as I do.
My family and I all run sub £2000 cars as our dailies because I do all our maintenance/ repairs and we each have enough to buy a replacement straight away if something catastrophic (or merely uneconomic to repair) goes without warning.
For someone who would be stretched at £2000, I wouldn't pay any more than £1000 for a 'banger'. You're just as likely to strike it lucky with a £1000 car as £2000 one and you're left with an emergency pot to replace it if need be. At that sort of value of car, it doesn't make sense to spend money on it so if she doesn't have anyone who can service/repair for free or very cheap, it makes more sense to lease.
Also, if she's running a business, a fixed cost per month is far easier to work with than the risk of unexpected bills, and of course, tax deductible.
Thanks for all the replies.
We used to have a 2003 Honda Civic 1.6 Sport which was great. Low miles and I think we sold it for around £3500 ish. Might look into one of those for her.
Good points regarding getting a lease as a new start up. Not sure if that's going to be possible or not.
Thanks also for the cars posted above. I'll send them to her.
We used to have a 2003 Honda Civic 1.6 Sport which was great. Low miles and I think we sold it for around £3500 ish. Might look into one of those for her.
Good points regarding getting a lease as a new start up. Not sure if that's going to be possible or not.
Thanks also for the cars posted above. I'll send them to her.
One of these,
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Change the cambelt as a precaution if not already done and run it forever as they just don't go wrong. Comfortable for long trips, Not a bad place to sit when in traffic. Slightly thirsty but not that bad really. My wifes is coming up 18 years old and still looks good and drives well.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Change the cambelt as a precaution if not already done and run it forever as they just don't go wrong. Comfortable for long trips, Not a bad place to sit when in traffic. Slightly thirsty but not that bad really. My wifes is coming up 18 years old and still looks good and drives well.
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