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My lease company called two weeks ago.
My contract is ending in October and they wanted to know what new car I wanted.
I told them my current car is WAY to expensive, €475 a month for a Peugeot 208.
It used to be A LOT cheaper, but I switched lease companies (because I switched employer), the contract was changed a couple of times and then it went from my employer over to me because I didn't want to pay an €8000 fine.
If I got the same car now it would save me €150 A MONTH, so go figure.
For the record, I currently drive less than 10K km a year, so my car is literally gathering dust most of the time.
Anyway, I told the salesman and he said a new contract would be a lot cheaper because it wouldn't have a history.
I said I already made my choice for another lease company, but the salesman asked me to give him a chance.
I gave him the chance and he came up with an offer that would just as expensive as the other company.
So I asked him if he could do anything about my current car, but he couldn't and instead he could subtract €15 from the new contract, which made it a pretty good deal.
I told him I'd think about it over the weekend.
Unlucky for him, I found an even cheaper company.
So I just called the guy to tell him I've made up my mind and I'd go for the cheapest option, which wasn't them.
A good salesman would have congratulated me, tell me he regrets my choice to leave them and wish me all the best with my new car (what else can you do, I've clearly made up my mind?).
Not this one.
He says he feels like it's personal and not fair because he made an effort for me.
Also, this is not how they do business so I didn't need to come back if my new lease company is not what I thought it would be.
I'm not a salesman, but when I lost a sale I went over to the customer and gave the manager a bottle of wine and the team a Christmas treat.
The next sale went sour too, but I thanked them and told them I hoped to see them back in the future.
And some months later they came back and I got a small project from them.
That's how it goes, you win some and you lose some, but you never lose your cool to a customer!
Not this guy, he acted like a crybaby and burned this bridge 
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Sander Rossel wrote: I currently drive less than 10K km a year
brommer not an option?
here they got a car sharing scheme (little electric hatchback things) for those times you need a whole (well being small really like half) car. I'll admot not tried it yet, but they say once you're registered it's way less hassle than traditional rentals (and no 3-day minimum crap, can even do 1/2 days.)
pestilence [ pes-tl-uh ns ] noun
1. a deadly or virulent epidemic disease. especially bubonic plague.
2. something that is considered harmful, destructive, or evil.
Synonyms: pest, plague, CCP
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Car sharing in the age of COVID-19. Sounds awesome! 
If you can't laugh at yourself - ask me and I will do it for you.
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I'd suggest if using a share-car bring a can or 20 of disinfectant spray along and bomb the insides and handles / door frames before going anywhere.
It's gotta beat taking public transport (for those with the choice/ability to avoid - some workers don't have any option).
Me: I'm really happy on my bicycle - here if 'exercising' we're allowed to go without the mask (must still put on before starting / after stopping).
pestilence [ pes-tl-uh ns ] noun
1. a deadly or virulent epidemic disease. especially bubonic plague.
2. something that is considered harmful, destructive, or evil.
Synonyms: pest, plague, CCP
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A Peugeot for €475 pcm? 
A quick check here says you can have a nice Merc for that! https://www.mercedesonlease.co.uk/[^]
(I don't lease, I buy second hand instead and avoid the worst of the depreciation that way).
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: A Peugeot for €475 pcm?
Yes, it started out as €325 or something.
Somehow they managed to add €150 a month because of "contract changes" and there's not a damn thing I can do about it 
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Stuff leasing; buy second hand. A couple of years old, and you'll probably end up paying less than you are at the moment, and you get the asset at the end.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
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Yes, but I'm a sucker for new and mistrusting of everything second hand 
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Then buy it new instead.
Assuming a three year lease, 475pm is 17K - which is around 1K less than the purchase price of a new one (rrp)
At the end of the contract, you have sod all, they have a car worth 8 ~ 10K in perfect condition (because they will charge you to fix any damage, even if they don't actually do it) and that's all bunce. OK, you have to add on costs for servicing, tyres, probably insurance, but you also get to exercise your haggling skills in terms of reductions / upgrades on sales staff that haven't seen a customer in months due to social distancing and lockdowns ... it's worth thinking about.
[edit]
Wow - I just spotted your reply to lopatir: 5 year lease?
And you aren't "customer of the month" every single month with a nice clock and a birthday card?
Can I strongly suggest you sit down and take some quality time with a spreadsheet before you sign on any more dotted lines? Please?
[/edit]
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
modified 11-May-20 11:50am.
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My new car will be about 25K new and I'm leasing it for €360 a month for a five years.
That includes vehicle taxes and insurance and any garage visits I have (although I probably have to pay a part of those).
At the end I'll have paid 22K, but I'll have no rest value.
On the other hand, I'll be able to drive a brand new car in five years time.
Of course buying will be cheaper if I'm keeping it for 10 or even 15 years, but then I'll be driving an old car.
Anyway, I'm choosing lease because it saves me some hassle as well.
The €475 a month is ridiculous so don't use that for any calculations.
Luckily, that'll be over in five months
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Have a go - spend an hour with the internet and Excel and work out the costs involved in buying the same new and selling (or even trading it in) after three years. (I.e. before any major faults are likely to rear their heads)
You may find it interesting, and possibly even profitable (as well as a new car each 3 years if you want, instead of 5. Even newer, even shinier ...  )
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
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Yeah, I know.
But costs aren't the issue here 
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"But costs aren't the issue here"
At least you're honest about it.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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It never is when you lease a car
I just want no hassle, deliver that car to my front door, pay for repairs, insurance and tax and in five years replace it with a new one.
That's worth some additional money spread out over five years
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I'm with Griff on this one.
Your five year old car isn't worth 25k - 22k = 3k, it's worth considerably more. Put it into autouncle.nl (or whatever site is the best in nl) and check for yourself.
Also, if you are going to own the car you need to reconsider what brand you want. Go to Reliability Index[^] for some data on cost of ownership, and how often they break down.
I've had a Peugeot 206 once, I'll never do that again, it's the second most expensive car I've had.
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Thanks for the link. Looks promising.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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It has some limitations one must be aware of though.
The newest cars isn't in the statistics because there simply hasn't been enough of them that has broken down yet.
The values are absolute, I would have liked to compare the costs relative to the price of the car.
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Good to know, thank you 
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I do not know about Euroland, but here most new cars come with free servicing for 3 years and 5 years warranty. Non such risk in buy new, Just the depreciation in the first few years is high, but it tails off after a few years. At 5 years and the depreciation will be relatively small.
A Fine is a Tax for doing something wrong
A Tax is a Fine for doing something good.
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Sander Rossel wrote: I currently drive less than 10K km a year, so my car is literally gathering dust most of the time.
If only it was just dust.
My 13-year old car (it'll be 14 years ago in July I've bought it brand new) still hasn't turned 89,000 km. I've refilled the gas tank somewhere in March, and the time before that goes back to somewhere around Christmas.
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Welsh 111[^] for non Brits
About an hour to try and work out the roadmap to exit quarantine, and the consensus is: I can leave now, Herself can leave in 48 hours - so I'll remain indoors for that time too, I really don't want to risk giving it to others. Apparently, you aren't infectious 7 days after you start showing symptoms, but since we are still both coughing up mucus that seems rather surreal ... this time last week I was fevered, sweaty, coughing up brown stuff, and in real difficulty - there is no way I wasn't infectious!
Then starts the hard work of building back up stamina / energy so I don't worry people unduly by having to stop for a rest as I walk round the supermarket ... 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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 Good to hear that you're both on your way to recovery!
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