Is leasing a good alternative to replacing our car every three years?

Every three years my wife purchases a brand new car. She saves each month from her hard-earned salary and trades her car in to make up the total amount. Every three years we have the anxiety of trying to sell the car privately or accepting a rather derisory trade-in price from the dealer. Many of our friends are leasing their cars rather than buying them. The disadvantage appears to be that she would never actually own the car but the advantages appear to be that she would not have that traumatic period at the end of each three-year period in having to sell the existing motor. The money that she saves each month would presumably pay the leasing fee. Surely, it cannot be as simple as that because everyone would do it. What are your thoughts on this practice?

Asked on 5 May 2012 by BW, West Malling

Answered by Honest John
Leasing or PCPs are good ways to pin down your costs. But leasing outfits do not exist to give money away. They need to make money. That said, because of their superior bulk buying power, they can buy at significant discounts, so the cost to the user need not be much greater then self-financing the car. The alternative to part-exchange heartbreak is to dispose of the old car quickly and cleanly using www.sure-sell.info.
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