Hi, first post on here so please be nice 
I’ve tended to take my cars on a PCP deal these days but when my current deal runs out I wont be making the balloon payment. This got me thinking that really PCP is just another form of leasing and whether i should just be doing that instead - i don’t really know much about leasing though and the best way to get a good deal
Are any leasing pro’s able to offer some advice on the pro’s and cons and maybe even suggest some of the good brokers?
Cheers!
Hi Yorkie and welcome 
I’ve done all 3 - bought outright, leased and PCP’d. In the order of (my) preference it would be PCP, buy outright, Lease.
Financially, buy outright is best followed by PCP and lease. The reason I say this is (despite the usual, and rapid depreciation with cars) you have something at the end of it - like to keep, sell or use as a deposit on a newer car. With leasing it’s literally gone and if you can’t afford to buy outright you’ll be back into paying a large deposit on the next lease one.
Also consider hidden costs with leasing. The car is not registered in your name (unlike buying & PCP) - it is the leasing company that own it. So if you speed or get a parking ticket, the authorities send the paperwork to the leasing company who then pass it onto you, along with an extra administration fee. Personalised registrations can also be ‘extra administration’ fees too - both to put on and take off, in addition to the DVLA retainer cost to take off.
Of course, each person’s financial position and preference will be different but in my experience I’d avoid leasing.
There are an infinite number of vehicle leasing companies in the marketplace and some will offer better deals than others. I’d recommend putting time into researching the available options so you’re well prepared if you choose to lease.
Bit of a ‘non-answer’ this, but it’s a big and subjective subject!
thank you!! appreciate the advice, I think i may stick to PCP
I am at a similar conjecture here and wanted some advice from the Forum. I only have about 16 of 49 payments left on my car. I don’t intend to go till the end and provide a balloon payment as i don’t think i will have the money for it (plan to put it on the house)
My 4 years will be up in 2024 July. Right now I have the typical 3 options of either giving it and walking away or upgrading to a newer version of the car or giving the optional final payment and keeping it which i do not want to do
Giving it back and walking away means I will not have access to a car and this would make me lose more capital buying a smaller second hand car and i am not sure i want to be spending more money than my current outgoings right now
Upgrading to a new car - just wary that i have done over the mileage i was allocated and i do have two small scratches on the car and i am not sure if they will charge me for this if i swap for another car with the dealer
Is the best option in this current climate just to keep paying it for the next year or so?
This is what Jag have given me, i requested the settlement figure. I’ll have a look at the resale value and see if there is something i can get here based on equity
I got the car on a 3.9% interest rate back in 2020. Just don’t want to rush and end up paying deposit for a newer car along with a higher interest rate to go along with
I am leaning towards your advice about keeping it for now, if the interest rates start to go down by the end of the year, I’ll think about swapping it. not sure if i want to own a car in the end, PCP seemed to be the best option 
You read a lot of bad things about We Buy Any Car but I had a great experience with them. Not only was the valuation good but the price that their system offered me after inspection (the person you deal with looks the car over and then fills in an online form) was actually greater than the valuation.
This is exactly the experience I had with them too in December.
That said, I’ve found the dealership that bought the car from WBAC and they’ve had to reduce the price multiple times. It’s still not sold, and they’re only going to make the slimmest of profits at the current price. Not my problem though, I’m the winner here.
I have just entered in to a PCP agreement and I’ve been told that all is approved ahead of collecting the car in the next few days. I am surprised though that I wasn’t asked any details about income? Is this the new normal?!
When I swapped cars for a new deal recently they crossed through the income bit and said they were no longer allowed to ask. They still do a credit check.
Seems crazy they don’t ask for income anymore.
For our most recent Stellantis finance deal they asked income. That was about nine months ago I think. But it was asked quite late in the process so maybe they don’t use it for the main decision.
I should clarify this is… (edit to remove this actually, so if you know you know)
I used to work alongside a car finance department and a significant minority of people would finance a car they couldn’t afford and then try to haggle for a deal. Ths most memorable was someone with a very recent purchase of a £100,000 car offering £1 a week as they thought it might make the recovery people go away for a bit. As you said, they just took the car.
They could take the car back but potentially the dealer and/or finance company would lose out financially.
I was surprised not to be asked about income but equally, other than a mortgage, I’ve never been asked to prove I earn that money. It’s always been trusted that the figure I’ve given is accurate.
Maybe in my case it’s a decision by the parent company or dealership to stop asking about income. Agreed though it seems a questionable move. It’s totally reliant on the person to have ensured they can actually afford to make the repayments.
I wasn’t asked about my income either when I purchased my current car. I wonder if it depends on your credit history and if they don’t have enough background they’ll ask more questions?
We’ve gone down a different route, with a subscription model with Renault. Didn’t need to pony up the deposit so more expensive monthly, but get insurance, maintenance and roadside included in the price, and for a brand new Megane E Tech with 100 miles on the clock
: since i assumed that’s what you meant and not westealanycar haha