Have seen a new shape Octavia vRS TDi with metallic at Lingscars.com for £278/month (inc VAT) on a 3+35 Personal Contract Hire deal. Am seriously tempted. I know the contract adds up to a fair wedge, but buying new brings with it 3 year warranty and full road tax and peace of mind. I have a couple of questions regarding the spec if I may:

a. I see most cars have a large display on the dash, I don't think this is satnav, so is this standard?

b. What is maxidot?

Thanks

a. That'll be the Bolero - 6 cd changer with touchscreen. Which is standard yes. The columbus is the upgrade which gets you sat nav.

b. I couldn't do a justice with a good explanation, but my basic description is it lets you get at more stuff via the multi function computer - see + configure more stuff. I'm sure someone else will give a better description of exactly what it allows, but there are loads of threads about this.

Edited 27 January, 201016 yr by SlimAdy

Thanks.

So is the standard Bolero a decent set up?

The Bolero is simply excellent!

And £278 inc vat on a 35+3 is a bit of a bargain too.

What mileage is this based on or is mileage not an issue?

What mileage is this based on or is mileage not an issue?

Its based on 10K pa. I have asked for a quote for 12K.

I've spotted the downside.

It's a diesel.

Steve

Remember if non maintained contract, you MUST get dealer service, use only approved tyres or replace like for like, and it rules out most mods as they remain the owner and will be upset if you ruin their warranty.

Also try getting insurance when you arent the owner. You'll find very few if any on the price comparison sites will quote, which means phoning round and explaining your leasing arrangement. You may also have to pay for the roadtax seperately.

Been there done that - and I had a maintained contract!

IMHO you're better getting a PCP deal, and putting cash away to maintain it.

I think that you can get it serviced at any VAT registered garage using OEM parts, but I would have it serviced at a main dealer. No issue as it would only be two services and one is just an oil service. Can't see servicing costing more than £400 over 3 years. I have no issue with buying proper tyres and I never mod my cars anyway. I don't understand your point about insurance, I would be the registered keeper and there would be no probloms getting insurance surely! Finally, road tax is definately included.

you wouldn't be the registered keeper that would be the finance company, I got insured np with direct line, not expensive imho either just under £400 for 30yr old clear license and full ncb

I think that you can get it serviced at any VAT registered garage using OEM parts, but I would have it serviced at a main dealer. No issue as it would only be two services and one is just an oil service. Can't see servicing costing more than £400 over 3 years. I have no issue with buying proper tyres and I never mod my cars anyway. I don't understand your point about insurance, I would be the registered keeper and there would be no probloms getting insurance surely! Finally, road tax is definately included.

My contact said main dealer only servicing OR another agent by approval in writing from the lease co.

Yes you are the keeper, but you arent the vehicle owner. Try it on confused or what ever and see how few quotes you actually get. the reason for no quotes will be "you arent the registered owner". The issue comes as the leased co will be an interested party (you must tell insurance co their details, they'll be listed on the cert of insurance), and in the event of a crash will be the ones liased with regarding repairs or payout in the event of loss. You wont get a say, unless claiming for belongings or injuries.

I've had 2 personal leases so far

I bow to your superior knowledge, but my name would be on the V5c, that is what is asked on the insurance comparison websites - registered keeper. If I bought on finance (HP/PCP) I would not be the 'registered owner' either. The car belongs to the finance company, so whats the difference?

If you have a personal lease, you are not the owner, but the registered keeper. The owners name will be on the V5, and you will not receive that. Neither do you have to pay for roadtax, as the owner is liable for that. I'm currently 14 months in a personal lease, and insurance was no more difficult to arrange than when I owned my car.

With regards to maintenance, it depends on your contract specifics, but most will specify that you use main dealer only.

I still think leasing is an expensive way to "own" a car. This lease will cost you about £10,500 for three years. Don;t forget they will inspect on return and charge for any marks/knocks internal or external. I bought my vRS 2.0TFSI just over a year ago for a discounted price of £13,995. Best way would be to take out a low interest bank loan and hunt out a good discounted price.

My wife's previous car was a personal lease VW and would not go that route again, it worked out fairly expensive and there was a lot of stress when we returned the car.

Very true. I am going through the end process of returning my Mercedes at the end of a PCP contract and it is stressful!

The cheapest I have seen a new Octy vRS TDI is just over £16K without metallic paint, I agree that it would be worth considering buying one outright with a bank loan, but this is probably just as expensive if not more so. The lease deal is £10500 over three years, with nothing to show for it after that time. What would a three year olf VRS be worth? £8K?

The cheapest I have seen a new Octy vRS TDI is just over £16K without metallic paint, I agree that it would be worth considering buying one outright with a bank loan, but this is probably just as expensive if not more so. The lease deal is £10500 over three years, with nothing to show for it after that time. What would a three year olf VRS be worth? £8K?

If current values are anything to go by the current basic £15250 vRS 2.0T will be worth £9500 in part exchange in 3 years and 36k miles. Leasing it across the same time and mileage will be almost twice more expensive.

My Type R GT is leased via Honda.

You are not the registered owner the lease company is! You do not get the V5 docs at all they remain with the lease company.

It is very tricky to find insurance as posts suggest most will not quote for the above reason. Your insurance certificate will be in your name, however the insurance company will note that the car is owned by a third party.

Directline do not charge additional for this however, well they did not this year with my insurance. Although they were beaten by Chris Knott this time round (insurance due Feb).

I love lease cars, as they are not mine, I suffer no depreciation on the asset (although you pay this for the company from which it is leased). I dont give a monkey about ''guaranteed' future prices or how much equity is in the car. I simply return the keys, cheers see you later and go pick another vehicle I want. I do however only go for 24 mth leases as only have one service to pay for, and get to change car more regularly.

Also I tend to find the excess milage rates are lower on leases than PCP (or have been in my exp).

I am considering buying the car this time though and really like the look of the facelift Octy VRS. Think it will be almost new car unless I get a good deal. Anything with torque will do the civic lacks it big time.

Edited 28 January, 201016 yr by adamC

Cheers Adam. I did check with Lingscars.com and you (and the others who have commented) are quite correct - i never doubted it! The V5 remains with the lease company. I just ran two quotes through confused.com for the insurance; one with me as owner, and the second as the registered keeper being the private lease company. The result was the same, the cheapest quotes came through identical with Admiral and Elephant giving the same low figure. So, insurance is not an issue.

I really like the look of the facelifted Octavia vRS too, it looks the part and the spec is very generous, the interior is miles ahead of the competition. Also looked at the Seat Leon FR TDi, same engine but the Octavia wins on just about every score, accept that the leon is marginally cheaper per month. I also share your view on the benefits of leasing, and for completeness the written lease quote says that there is no requirement to have it serviced at a Skoda dealer, so long as OEM parts are used - the exception is warranty issues (no brainer there).

I have also looked at buying outright, or at least on a loan, the cheapest quote I have had for an Octy vRS CR is £15,895 which incudes metallic paint. This is a 'special' discount rate for the Armed Forces, regretably though it cannot be combined with the subsidised Skoda 7.9% PCP offer, thats a real shame. Drive the Deal has it for £16,288.

Next of is a trip to my local dealer this weekend to see if they have one as a demo for me to drive.

I'm due to be getting my Octavia VRS DSG (another in white! ) delivered next week by Ling and her team,

To be honest, the whole process, although long because of the factory waiting times, has been a breeze, with regular status updates on what stage the car is at, everyone is very friendly and easy to get along with, I ended up going through them because I got along with them and wasn't just dealing with a 'company' but with some people. The price was also actually VERY competitive.

I'd recommend if you were looking at leasing then definitely give them a shot, i put my mileage up to 20k pa and added a few extras (Xenons, MDI, Auto Lights and some other various bits), I know its in the country, I know my Reg, just waiting for the docs to be confirmed then it will be delivered by the dealer.

I went for leasing mainly cause I KEEP racking up extreme mileage in Private cars (I own an IT business and travel alot!) and is just causing huge depreciation, so looking to realise the cash in my current car and that will spread over the majority of the period of the lease.

Hope this helps!

Thanks Jay, nice to hear good things about Ling and her team. I would probably stick with 10K pa and would limit extras to Metallic, which is 'free' anyway and probably just the MDI and Maxidot. I just need to bottom out whether I can get an equally competitive deal (monthly price - going down the PCP route) having had a v good price offered at £15,895 for the car.

Hi guys

I have a VRS coming in March also through Ling. I originally was after the Leon FR but there were some issues with the funder. Im glad she sorted out a deal for the VRS as its a much better proposition than the SEAT.

Im getting a 2 year deal as that is all Im comfortable being "locked in" for. Looking forward to it especially as I havent had a car since early January.

Echo the feedback on Ling. Very good to deal with. She even emailed me when she was on holiday in China!

Hi

The UK system for Personal Leasing ( we it call Operative leasing) is rather strange to me im afraid, here's how ours goes here in Croatia.

Net price for car, not including VAT

+VAT = 22% = total car price.= leasing amount)

Buyback value = 20% of Net price not including VAT

+VAT = 22% = total buyback value

Payments based on 2 things 1/ number of months 2/ taking into account agreed KM per yr, and that is how they arrive at the final monthly payment figure.

So buyback figure is fixed for any duration of the lease.

VAT ( called here PDV) can change if country changes its VAT as it has here during last 2yrs.

Insurance was arranged by the leasing company ( which is the owner of the car) all we get is a bill, and lose our own no claims bonus by a bit every year.

Other sting in our lease payments are that its calculated in Swiss francs, but we pay each month in local currency, so we can gain or lose on currency fluctuations.

As for when the expiry date arrives we are aware how much we have to pay to keep it, and have accounted for that sum. and second hand values in Croatia should make us a small profit. If on the other hand prices have severely dropped through the floor at expiry date, then because we have allowed for 40,000km per yr and put in seat covers, mud flaps, and other protections, + less km driven and garaged in its life, we believe we can knock car back and walk away. Damage is calculated on normal yearly wear and tear, so what is there to worry about. One other thing, you can transfer lease at anytime to a private person or company, but be prepared to lose a lot in the first 2yrs to walk away.

To be fair that sounds like a PCP - Personal Contract Purchase. Not a Lease as we in the UK would know it. A lease is simply a rental, like having a hire car for a set period. Most lease schemes do not allow you to buy the car at the end of the lease period.

Hi Peterg

No !! what you have said we call a (financial leasing) and that would be the case. However ours ( Operative leasing) is normally used only by companies but can be used for private, but it is more expensive because you can not claim the VAT ( PDV back. In the long run with the buyback its not more expensive.

Have read some of the replies and add:-

I have Citroen G Picasso from Lings who are very efficient, if a little quirky to deal with they are v good at keeping you updated.

Insurance totally not an issue I have mine via Elephant from confused, leased vehicle no problems at all.

Road tax posted in advance each year

Less than 40k miles in 3 years equals 1 minor service suggest £300.00

Tyres not an issue according to my contract unless you give it back bald.

Lings just a broker my contract with citroen uk.

However my 59 VRs facelift petrol i did on the skoda 'options' type plan over 42 months 42000 miles as I could up the spec and have the option to sell car and pay of finance. Or keeep car at the end etc...

I love my Vrs FL even more than my Mk1 it is a fantastic drive and great value not sure why someone would pay 10k more for an Audi?