Recently I decided to lease a new car for 3 years. I spent a long time examining the various methods of ownership. From outright cash purchase, hire purchase, PCP and Lease. When taken into account my own personal case and the reason I needed the vehicle I chose, the Lease route was the least expensive. This is because I happended upon a very good deal at that particular time, which meant all the payments were actually less than the depreciation over 3 years. Therefore the depreciation factor outweighed the cost of ownership. I really could not have obtained that vehicle on any terms as good if I had to fund the depreciation myself. Now, there is a rub! many factors come into play for this equation. Vehicle make and model, specification, mileage and length of ownership. All these affect the ultimate future value and the monthly payments, no matter which way the purchase is made. It is a bit of minefield, but can be worked out. The easiest way is to set a budget and work around that. This way factors can be included or discarded to fit the budget. The ultimate way of purchasing and having cheap reliable motoring is to do what I did with my last car. Buy it outright ( dealers are no longer interested in cash buyers though) with a good warranty, extend the warranty as far as possible. Service and look after car properly. Then keep it for 12 years. It will owe you nothing and worked out over 12 years the costs will be very affordable, but you will be driving a 12 year old car. Modern cars are now so complicated that they are electronically managed for nearly every function. This makes repairs difficult and replacement parts more likely, these are expensive. So if you lease a new car for 2 or 3 years you are protected by warranty. It's all a matter of choice.

Cheers Concrete

That's why it is being sold at auction.

Yes, it might just need a new auxiliary belt. Or it MIGHT need a new engine. Or anything in between. ...

Just thought I'd update this in case it's of use to anyone else. I asked around and was told that the H4 connectors tend to fail. I used a pin into the wires the loom side of the connector block to check continuity and it was fine there. The old connector block wire was showing signs of overheating (blackened copper) so confirmed that seemed to be at fault. Got an H4 connector block from Halfords and used inline heat shrink crimps to replace the old connector block and is working fine again now.

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Thanks to everyone for the feedback, time to find a replacement stalk!

All the rhetoric about 'you broke the law, so pay up' seems misplaced. The law is there to be upheld by both parties involved. Those observing it and those enforcing it. If a legal traffic order specifies a limit on a certain section of road and also the signage to indicate that limit and make it abundantly clear is also specified, then that is what should be in place. Otherwise how does a motorist know, without doubt, that a traffic order is in place? It is encumbant upon the police to ensure the order is complied with in every detail, otherwise the order is unenforceable. DVD pointed out quite succinctly the process involved and as a ex traffic police officer I will follow his advice above others.( Nice to see you responding again DVD).

The arguments regarding the observance of speed limits are irrelevant to this situation. The OP clearly uses that road, with a 50mph limit, regularly. If a temporary order reduces that to 30mph it is wholly reasonable this is made extremely visible, so complying with the order and the law. If the OP did 44mph and the order is not complied with correctly then he is innocent of the offence of speeding. QED....