Leasing can be an affordable, practical route into having your own private car, but it's not always easy to tell the good deals from the duds.
The experts at our sister magazine What Car? work hard to find you the best pay-monthly schemes, taking into account mileage allowance, montly outlay, contract length and initial deposit. We'll be bringing you the best deals they find from a different segment each week.
This week, family-sized hot hatches:
1. Renault Megane RS 280
£305 deposit, £1830 per month, 24 months, 8000 miles per year
Old Renaultsport Méganes were great to drive, and the latest, five-door-only model is no exception. It’s incredibly agile and has a sweet-sounding and punchy turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The optional Cup chassis gives a very firm ride, mind you.
2. Mercedes-AMG A35
£423 deposit, £2498 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year
The AMG versions of the competent A-CIass have always been a hoot. The A35 may sound like an old Austin but believe us, with 302bhp, it really flies, and it’s wonderfully rewarding to drive fast. To top it off, it has a lovely interior with all the gadgets that you could want.
More Mercedes lease deals 
More Honda lease deals
Join the debate
xxxx
Warning
It's all very good promoting WhatCar leasing but buyer beware especially on cheap cars.
When you hand it back expect an end of lease bill, you'll be charged for a professional clean, paintwork marks, wheel scuffs and just about anything the company think (all at dealer rates) they can get away with.
Beastie_Boy
And why wouldn’t you pay for any damage caused to a lease car?
We leased a Polo GTI that was returned to the lease company last year. The guy who collected it spent ages checking over it only to turn round and say it was the cleanest 2 year old car he’d ever seen.
Given that a car is probably the most valuable thing you’re likely to sink your money into, after a house, why wouldn’t you look after it?
Once the Polo went back we had to look for a second hand car. Any damage I found on a second hand car would mean I’d consider it to be worth less than a prestine one and I’d expect the asking price to be reduced to reflect this (or be repaired by the seller).
Surely if you return a scruffy lease car, you should make up the shortfall in the cars value.
xxxx
Ans
Basically when you trade in YOUR car or sell privately you don't take it to a main dealer and ask him to do £200 Valet inside and outside, respray all minor blemishes/marks including possible repair and repaint of all wheels regardless of how small the kerbing is. You don't do because you're get a big bill that you won't get back from the sale.
It's not just how many marks they'll find it's the fact you'll be charged top dollar, and, in the case of £150 a month leases it'll be disproportionate. Bear in mind with a private sale the buyer will be more forgiving than a dealer who can make a few more bucks.
This needed pointing out, which is why I did it.
scotty5
What planet?
Not sure which dealers you are talking about but you're right, you can hand it back without going to the expense of repairing any damage however the dealer will have knocked down the trade-in price to compensate.
Go try selling to webuyanycar.com or similar sites and they'll knock money off for every scratch.
As for Valeting the car - not sure what state you return your cars in but 5mins with a hoover will save you that £200. To be honest the interiors of my cars are handed back in the same condition as the car I'm about to buy.
xxxx
Now a department handles it
Would never use webuyanycar as they always knock the price down when they see it, explains why they get so many complaints. Valet a car in 5 mins good luck!
Either way Goverment Finacial Ombusmans deals with car lease complaints these days, they have far more experience, gained from disputes, than you or I.
scotty5
More rubbish
It's simply not true. If you describe the car accurately then how can they reduce the price that's guaranteed for 7 days? I've sold cars to them and others, never once had an issue. Any problems usually caused by owners not describing their cars accurately.
As for my 5mins claim... yes indeed, 5 mins with a hoover - if it takes any more than that then you haven't been taking care of the car and deserve to be penalised.
xxxx
Nope,
My knowledge has been gained from personnal and other people experiences, please be careful when you accuse people of lying. You must be one of the few to defend WeBuyAnyCar, not sure why you'd go back to them again and again, you'd always get alot more privately.
Best you look at the Indeed employee review website and you'll soon learn what sort of company they are.
WallMeerkat
Beastie_Boy wrote:
True, but you don't typically move your house about (those living in campers / touring caravans excluded) at speed on the roads, or parked up where sports utility houses can park tight beside them and ding their front door into your brickwork.
And even at that, it's the same as a Landlord keeping the deposit wanting the carpets shampooed and the gutter timbers repainted.
supermanuel
Warning?
@xxxx I have leased 7 cars over the last 15 years and have never been charged for anything other than excess mileage on one vehicle.
xxxx
@super
you've been lucky to not even be charged a valet. There's specialist lease return companies for a reason, articles on MoneySavingsexpect etc will also help out on the pit falls of returning a car.
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