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Will someone talk me out of this idea?
It's new car time, we have been driving a 1.0 Ecoboom Focus and have hated it since day 1. Too small and not enough power.
I always thought that lease cars are a rip off but I'm getting tempted this time. We are a family of 3 that bike and boat frequently. So we want something huge that we can fit 2 SUPS in + holiday stuff for a week, something I can just chuck a bike in and occasionally sleep in.
Not sure I want to buy something this time. If I just get a four year lease then maybe electric will be a better option?
Do I really want a Berlingo? Thinking of the 7 seater. What engine? £500 tax!
Cheers,
Mick
£500 tax!
Seriously?! That's twice what my massive LWB Transit costs! Eek.
If you have literally no interest in the 'driving' aspect at all, then Berlingo/Partner/Rifter/Whatever they are now is the perfect vehicle.
My Dad has had loads of the older ones, and has just bought one of these (Identical) :
Rifter GT Line
I've always admired them, the newest one is brilliant. It would be perfect for a family holiday - in fact I've already asked if I can borrow it next year. More storage than out kitchen, it uses no fuel, its comfoy, easy to drive, realtively cheap to buy and run (big tax is because its new, just buy a 3 year old one!). Dogs, bikes, SUPs, kayaks, kids, airbeds in the back, cooking under the boot lids etc, its great.
The only reason I dont own one myself is I actually enjoy driving and it would frustrate me for the majority of the time when I'm NOT carrying all the clobber. Would have to be a weekend only car for me.
I love mine and I'm looking for a newer one as had this for 6 years now and although it is brilliant, I'm thinking it is time to get a newer one.
Leasing works very well if you don't want something long-term and aren't tied to the idea of actually owning the vehicle. If you are happy to accept that you pay to use a 'tool' then leasing works very well indeed.
I'd suggest going for it, I find it a comfy place to be for driving and will happily sit there for a 5-hour drive (although we normally stop just after 2 hours for a leg stretch and food break).
It doesn't feel big when driving it but it seems to manage with 3 bikes on the back, inflatable 3-man kayak and all the associated kit for that, camping kit with a 5-man tent (and all the required kit plus clothes and cooking stuff for a couple of weeks (assuming you can wash the clothing!)...it is a great vehicle.
That’s twice what my massive LWB Transit costs!
Go buy a new one and see what the cost of tax is....
Fwiw if you have no interest in making progress and just want to move a good amount of kit in reasonable comfort without too much cost or hit on the fuel economy then it's hard to see a better alternative.
Electric Berlingo is coming but sub 150 mile range might be limiting. Cost quite a bit more too.
Lease deals on petrol/diesel look ok (low mileage though) but check what PCP deals are like through brokers like carwow, check the Vauxhall and Peugeot equivalents too. If it meets your needs then paying the balloon payment at the end to keep it may make sense, you don’t get that option with a lease.
Next size up PSA passenger vans (Spacetourer, Traveller, Proace Verso) worth a look too. M is just under 5m long but they do an XS that is virtually Berlingo length. Toyota especially seen keen to do deals on them.
Echo all the above.
Don't get new, look at the older shape ones and look for the BlueHDi engine. Personally I'd go for an auto but that's just because I've lived with the manual for 7 years and I just think it would make life easier. Only other thing I would look for is the opening boot window, means you can open that and chuck stuff in without opening the full boot.
I love driving ours full or not. We accidentally bought a powerful one
But i would (have) wreck(ed) the interior which might incure charges on the lease when returning it. Your family might differ but boating and bikes will be a challenge to the keeping ii in showroom condition
Love the idea of the new long wheel base
Yeah I'm edging towards one a couple of years old now. Our cars have a hard life.
I love my MK1 facelift for it's practicality and don't GAS attitude to keeping it clean. I also hate it for generally being a pretty shit car.
If I had loads of ££££ I'd consider a new one. But the old shittynes of it is part of the appeal. It gets a thorough clean out once a week but other than that bikes get leant against it, oily chains get dragged over the interior, I've cut into pannles to add accessories, I've hacked about with the electrics, etc. If I had to look after it then it'd be a different prospect.
2nd hand prices of new-ish cars are daft though so I don't know what the sensible answer is.
don’t GAS attitude to keeping it clean……………… It gets a thorough clean out once a week
My cars are lucky if they get a thorough clean out once a year. One a week is full car geek level
Also consider if you have an accident, when giving it back. A mate of mine had a rear end shunt, had it fixed by the recommended garage only to have to pay a larger final fee when giving it back because on the shunt. Apparently when the leasing company came to survey the car, they picked out some minor faults in the repaired paint work. Two years down the line it's difficult to get the repairer to take liability, especially when the leasing company signed of the work in the first place.
If you are using as you said then it will naturally suffer from accidental damage.