Leasing a Car

Has anyone had any experience leasing a car as a new arrival in Oz? I'm a heading to Brisbane this month and really don't like the idea of buying a banger to get us going as even rubbish cars seem crazy expensive... I know this is probably just like trying to get a loan right as you step off the plane... but i have a job lined up so would have some backing. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers!

Has anyone had any experience leasing a car as a new arrival in Oz? I'm a heading to Brisbane this month and really don't like the idea of buying a banger to get us going as even rubbish cars seem crazy expensive... I know this is probably just like trying to get a loan right as you step off the plane... but i have a job lined up so would have some backing. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers!

check the excess on the insurance. It's often several thousand, and you have to pay more to reduce it.

...on Renting or Leasing?

B

We spent $6000 on a car when we arrived. It was hardly an old banger and had FSH, low KM's and was in really good condition. 3 plus years on its still with us and we've no plans to sell it or spend more on something newer. Not yet anyways. We are a one car family and it was money well spent as I didn't worry about dings and dents happening as I might a newer car or a leased one.

I'm in my 10th year of novated leasing and love it! The savings you make aren't huge (about $2k a year) but i like simply that everything is taken care of and I don't have to worry about fuel, servicing or any unexpected bills that comes up.

I don't think cars here are expensive. We bought a couple of them since we moved here. There are places that sell ex gov cars, FSH etc

In Sydney there lots of big car 'warehouse' type places that shift lots of cars. I'm sure it'll be the same all over.

...on Renting or Leasing?

 

B

I'm in my 10th year of novated leasing and love it! The savings you make aren't huge (about $2k a year) but i like simply that everything is taken care of and I don't have to worry about fuel, servicing or any unexpected bills that comes up.

Can you elaborate as to what this is?

B

Salary sacrificing. Presently I sacrifice about $1000 a month which gives me a fully serviced car (downgraded from a Prado to a Tucson as we don't need the huge space of the prado anymore). They assume the amount that the extras are going to cost like fuel, insurance, servicing etc and part of your sacrifice is allocated to a kitty for those, and at the the end of the lease you get any extra back.

You have a balloon payment to make at the end of the lease (35% of the purchase price of the car if it's a 4 year lease) and if you sell it for more you pocket the difference. You also don't pay GST on the vehicle so it's cheaper in the first place. When we ended the lease on the Prado we had to pay $21k as a balloon payment but sold it for $38k, plus got $6k back from the excess we had paid for fuel over 4 years. We won't get anywhere near that on a Hyundai though.

I really like the arrangement, though I believe there are people here who have had bad experiences with it. They've had to change the scheme recently so you pay both a pre- and post tax contribution: something to do with fringe benefits.

Novated leasing can be a great way to get a car and can save a lot of money but you've got to be wise with what you buy. It's all about the residual value i.e. the difference between the final payment and what you can sell it on for at the end of the lease. Japanese cars (Toyota, Subaru etc) will always make you money. Stay away from high depreciating Holdens, Fords and "disposable" Korean makes.

Also the shorter the lease term you can afford the better. You can pay off around 35% on a 1 year lease but this only rises to 55% for a 3 year lease for example.