Can I buy my lease car?
There are several ways to buy your lease car. The best way is to negotiate this at the beginning of your lease, which is probably not what you want to hear. If you are reading this, it is likely that you are at the end of your lease already, so it's a little too late. But it can still be done.
You have a few options. The first thing you can do is call your lease company and ask them if you can buy it. There is a chance they will tell you 'no', because, if they put it through the car auction, they assume they will get a good price for it, the car is gone and dealt with, and you will be looking to lease another car from them. But if you buy it from them, then they become a retailer. As a retailer, they have a continued legal responsibility for that car. Should the gear box suddenly blow up a month after you bought it, they are responsible for getting it fixed. Selling it through the car auctions is just far less aggravation for them because it will be 'sold as seen' and caveat emptor applies.
If they do decide to sell it to you, they will charge you more for this very reason. However, this is no bad thing as you are making a retail purchases and get all the benefits which come with that.
The alternative is to actually go along to the car auction and bid on your car. You might not even need to go to the car auction, as these days you can bid online. However, it isn't just a case of turning up on the day or logging into the website. You are likely to need to pre-register and pay a refundable deposit of £400.
We would not recommend this for most people because you will be competing against professional traders. It is far better to get somebody who knows what they are doing, to do this for you. There are professional buyers who will do this for you for a fee. Alternatively, you could ask a dealer in your area if you could purchase the car through them. If you got the car through a local main dealership, you might even ask them. Again, you will pay more, but you are now making a retail sale.
We believe the best way to buy a lease car is to buy it through the lease company by negotiating this at the beginning of the lease. You will not get it at a trade price, but you will buy at book price for a car in average condition, often without them inspecting it. This puts you at an advantage because if you know you will be keeping the car, you can prepare it at the beginning, protect it with coatings, keep it maintained, and hopefully, at the end you have a car which is in excellent condition. The price difference between cars in average condition and excellent condition can run into thousands of pounds. This way, you are sure to be getting a bargain.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 16/06/2022 15:51