PCP or HP or leasing?

Alienatrix

Active Member
Sep 9, 2017
63
12
Faced the same dilemma when I went for my 184 FR DSG Estate.

Decided to go with a 3 year lease and added a DTUK box a couple of months later.

I'm due to hand it back June 2020. Whilst I'm going to miss it, I certainly wouldn't like to be dealing with a car out with the standard 3 year manufacturer warranty.

Obviously, not everyone is the same. Some people don't mind going for a 4 or a 5 year HP deal, and investing in more mods.

However, I don't want to have to worry about parts starting to fail, arguments with the dealer about who's responsible for what etc...

Lease for ease with the satisfaction of getting a new car every 2-3 years.

Furthermore, having jumped into a Cupra 300 for a Test Drive for a few hours, whilst I love the absolute animal the car is, I miss the 500nm of torques I have at my disposal at just 2,500 - 3,000 rpm on the 184.
 

daniel_ley

Active Member
Mar 3, 2018
97
35
Dudley
I went for a lease with my Leon. Worked out the best in terms of price, and I didn't have any intention of keeping the car after the 3 year period anyway, I'm happy with my decision!
 

JCM27

Active Member
Apr 15, 2019
57
12
From a quick google, it looks like the only different with PCP and Leasing is the balloon payment at the end of the term for PCP?
 

black_sheep

Active Member
Mar 10, 2013
1,256
585
From a quick google, it looks like the only different with PCP and Leasing is the balloon payment at the end of the term for PCP?

I was under the impression that the following was the significant difference:

PCP - You are the registered owner/keeper

PCH/Lease - Finance company are the registered owner/keeper.
 

ghostbustertab

Active Member
Jun 21, 2016
285
26
Well I'm sure PCP you can keep the car at the end of the term or hand it back and lease you can only ever hand it back
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
700
252
Main drawback to a PCP is it's you negotiating alone with a dealer, usually paying them a healthy profit on top of the vehicle costs. A lease is a national company buying many cars at a discount and competing for your business. I find that usually the total lease cost is lower than the depreciation you would lose on buying the car outright and doesn't lock you into buying another PCP - otherwise you lose the equity above the surrender value.

Every lease I've had has always come with an offer to buy the vehicle at hand back - although you have no contractual right to this, or control over the price offered.
 

JonnyG

Active Member
Mar 18, 2019
62
32
Looking at getting a cupra 300 or a new 290 lux but not sure if to go PCP, HP or leasing?
What's everyone's opinions?

You really need to sit down and work out the best deals you can get on all, and then compare and decide. I've done both (PCP and Personal Lease) over the last few years. The current lease deals on Seats are very good so probably cheaper than PCP at the moment overall. Things to remember / note :

1. With a lease, the finance company nearly always pay the road tax each year, so allow for that difference. Lease deals come and go through the year and can vary drastically and so there's no certainty that what deals you see today you'll ever get close to again !

2. As above, with PCP you are the named registered keeper on the V5. You can also pay off the finance early at anytime by ringing up for a settlement figure and paying it off (or getting a dealer to pay it off if part-exing on a new car). At the end of the PCP period you can pay off the final balloon payment and you then own the car OR you can get a trade-in value (hopefully higher than the settlement value) on the car and get the dealer to settle the finance (and they own the car) OR you can give the car back to the PCP finance company. Only with the latter do you need to stick to the mileage per annum allowed on your PCP agreement.

3. With a lease you are tied into a contract and have to see it through. You are not the registered keeper and don't get the V5 (usually anyway with most lease companies). At the end of the contract your car will be inspected and you will have to pay for any damage over and above fair wear and tear. You also need to have it serviced at the right times. You are also restricted to a set mileage per annum and will be charged per mile if you go over - check out the charges before leasing.

4 You can now get GAP insurance for leased vehicles ... try and get one that covers your initial first payment which is usually 3x or 6x the monthly payments. I'd recommend taking this out otherwise you could/would lose this initial payment if your car is written off / stolen in the early months.

5. With a lease it is much better value to stick to standard spec otherwise you will be charged quite a few ££'s per month more for optional extras.

6. If you like changing your car every two or three years a lease may well be the best deal for you at the current time. If you want to keep your car long term and mod it then probably best to PCP / HP it.
 
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luke2702

Cupra K1
Aug 22, 2010
462
1
Bolton
I am also looking into this at the moment, best i have found is leasing £282 a month with £282 deposit, 3 years, 8k per year miles.
 

Laurbach

Active Member
Jan 22, 2019
49
23
On pcp/hp you can terminate your contract early, when you have paid half of the total amount.

You can't do that on a lease. You are tied to it for the entire period.
 

motty225

Polestar 2
Sep 11, 2008
953
219
Ashby De-La Zouch
On pcp/hp you can terminate your contract early, when you have paid half of the total amount.

You can't do that on a lease. You are tied to it for the entire period.
You can pay 50% of thr monthly cost for how ever many months early you want to give it back with lease, so 3 months early would be 50% of 3 months payment
 

Laurbach

Active Member
Jan 22, 2019
49
23
You can pay 50% of thr monthly cost for how ever many months early you want to give it back with lease, so 3 months early would be 50% of 3 months payment

What I meant was on a pcp/hp you can just walk away without further costs. So if you have a pcp car that's been nothing but trouble you can give it back after you've payd half the total cost.
On a lease that's going to cost you and if you want to hand it back a year early then it can be quite expensive.
 

davidstarkey11

Active Member
Jun 7, 2015
294
99
Newcastle upon Tyne
What I meant was on a pcp/hp you can just walk away without further costs. So if you have a pcp car that's been nothing but trouble you can give it back after you've payd half the total cost.
On a lease that's going to cost you and if you want to hand it back a year early then it can be quite expensive.

I can confirm this is correct, this is called a Voluntary Withdrawal, Section 99 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
 

JPR

Active Member
Dec 28, 2018
30
31
Another thing to consider is the impact to credit file. The way I believe it it work is...

PCH only the value of the lease over the term shows on your credit file eg £7k.

With PCP the total value of the car plus interest shows on your credit file so for example £35k.

This would have an impact if you were going to be applying for mortgages or large loads etc anytime soon. (Happy to be corrected if I’ve made a mistake here)
 

AndrewJB

Friend to SEAT UK & Cupra Racing
Aug 16, 2007
11,211
484
Maranello
PCP you will often find the balloon payment is lower than the value, I paid 11k to buy my Cupra at the end and sold it for 15k.

An option you don't have with lease.
 

davidstarkey11

Active Member
Jun 7, 2015
294
99
Newcastle upon Tyne
Another thing to consider is the impact to credit file. The way I believe it it work is...

PCH only the value of the lease over the term shows on your credit file eg £7k.

With PCP the total value of the car plus interest shows on your credit file so for example £35k.

This would have an impact if you were going to be applying for mortgages or large loads etc anytime soon. (Happy to be corrected if I’ve made a mistake here)

It would depend if the PCP credit account is marked as "Settled" or "Unpaid" on your credit file as to whether it affects your score/ rating. I would presume it gets marked as "Settled".
 
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