Being a finance nerd, I never bought a car new and hence never was offered a low finance rate that comes with new cars. Refusing to borrow someone else’s money for 7-10% I have always bought my cars outright.
My last 5 cars (including MY94 993, MY08 GT 4.2, MY08 F430, MY10 E93 M3) were rather old and quite down the depreciation curve which helped reinforce my perception of “be smart, buy used, outright”.
However, 6 months ago,I almost fell for a new RR Velar (D180 SE w a few nice options) on lease as the financials weren’t as bad. £2k deposit, £305 a month over 3 years, including the annual car tax. Bizarrely, the total cost of ownership (inc insurance, fuel, depreciation, service and maintenance) was only averaging £2k more a year than my 2013 Touareg - bought from VW for £20k in late 2016.
I was amazed how high the assumed residuals were on the velar to justify crazy low monthly’s.
A £2k difference annually to be driving a new RR vs my old and basic VW, and have peace of mind at the end of the lease that I won’t have to worry about selling a diesel car (should be radioactive in 3years time) - I thought was absolutely worth it. I did put an order in for it, only to cancel it 4months later when the delivery date was pushed out by another 2 months for the 3rd time.
I now understand why people go for PCP or leases - as very few can saved 5-10k to buy a used car, when they can have a new one for £149 a month. Our next DD might be a lease - and it might still be that velar