Let’s face it, buying a new car outright is expensive. Depending on the type of car you want to get, the price can be in the high £10,000s all the way up to £60,000 or more! That is a huge amount of money to either pay upfront or get into debt with.
On top of that, there’s also the fact that the value of the car immediately goes down as soon as you start driving it, so there’s no way to recuperate that financial investment by selling the car later.
That’s why so many people in the UK decide to buy used cars instead. They are far more affordable than buying new cars, and you don’t really need to worry about the value of the car as it will have already decreased significantly.
However, there is another option; car leasing. So, let’s take a look at how buying a used car compares to getting a new car on a lease deal.
The Initial Costs
This is probably the hardest part to compare, since the price of a used car can vary significantly. After all, it is possible to pick up a used car for £50, or another one for £10,000. It all depends on the make, model, age and condition of the car in question. However, you’ll typically find used cars going for around £1,000 to £3,000 on average.
If we were to take the cost of the lowest Nissan Juke on a popular used car website at the time of writing, and compare that to the initial deposit of the same model as a lease deal (again, at the time of writing), that would give us a good basis for understanding the difference.
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Used 2012 Nissan Juke 1.5L – £2,650
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Brand New, 2020 Nissan Juke 1.5L Initial Deposit – £2,662
Now, the prices of each of these can fluctuate depending on what used cars are available and what car lease deals are currently active. However, you can instantly see that the initial cost for a lease is almost the same as buying a used car.
On top of that, you’ll be getting a brand new car rather than one that is 8 years old or more. So, you’ll have the reassurance that it is in perfect condition, rather than having hidden problems that will only surface after you’ve bought it.
Then, of course, you do have monthly payments to make on the car lease, but you’d be surprised at how low they are, especially for those more luxury models! In fact, why not take a look through some of the car lease deals we have available to see just what you can afford?
The Security
The other aspect that puts car leasing ahead of buying a used car is the fact that you likely won’t have to worry about maintenance costs. The large majority of faults with the car will be covered by the manufacturers’ warrant anyway, and because you give the car back at the end of the lease, you’ll probably never need to take it for an MOT.
So, not only is leasing a car almost the same initial cost as buying a used one, but you also get peace of mind on top of it. That is a win-win situation!