Been looking into the financing options for a freelander 2. The way I see it is you pay £450 a month for a brand new car for 3 years, then hand it back to take out another one. The other option is to buy a 1 or 2 year old used example and put my current FL2 down as a payment, and pay the rest off in finance. Then at the end of 3 years I'd have paid about £200 a month but the car is mine to own!

What do people think ? I hate the thought of paying out about £15k over 3 years and having nothing to show for it.

I did it once - I basically had a car (Disco 300) that was so unreliable I couldn't trust it to get to the end of the road, and had no way of financing a new car. So I traded in and got one of the first Freelander 1 models on a lease deal.
Downside - I went a bit over the allowed mileage (drove it to Turkey once) and had to pay extra. Also decided to get the odd dent fixed as I was sure they'd knock the value down.
Upside - they depreciated faster than expected, so when it came to either handing it back or paying the balance I just walked away (and bought an old Disco 200 from a friend).
What amazed me was that the dealer had never had one given back before and didn't know what to do with it. It went back to BMW Finance, who parked it in a field for a couple of years and lost all the paperwork. It was eventually sold as "low mileage" and was still registered in my name!
If you don't want the hassle of part-exchange, you can get the right mileage deal and price, then go for it.
As a matter of interest, all the BMW finance deals in Germany used to (maybe still do) go back to one massive BMW supermarket in Munich, where they are sold with BMW warranty etc. Went there with a friend and watched him get all "Bayerisch" as he haggled the price.
ps - worth checking whether you'd have to pay for service, and if so whether it's got to be expensive main dealer. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

£450 per month? Is that including tax and insurance? That seems a lot of cash for as you say nothing to show for it after 3 yrs.

One advanatge of the PCH is that the vehicle will have have a three year warranty. If you buy a S/H one you'll only get 12 months warranty (generally) and then after that you're on your own.

I've never gone down the PCH route but might consider it next time I change my car. If I could get a deal somewhere with three years warranty, servicing, RFL and insurance included, at a 'reasonable' cost, I wouldn't hesitate.

IMO contract hire prices are too high for car that seems to hold its value like the freelander. New model might influence that in time though?

I have done PCH on the last 2 cars - a Kuga and now a FL2.
Some tips:
The more deposit you put down, the less the monthly payment
Use a 0% credit card for your deposit
The higher the contracted miles, the less the residual value will be
You can haggle the contract period
You can haggle the price of the car - I got some bits thrown in. Stand your ground - they need your money more than you need their business. Be polite, be firm.
You don't have to wait until the end of the contract to swap out for anew car on a another new PCH
You have the option to either purchase the vehicle at the end for the residual value, use any equity in the car over and above the residual value or just hand it back.
I pay between 3 an 4 a month for mine. * GONE. GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
* 2011 4.4 TDV8 Full Fat. Amazing piece of kit.
* GONE.2012 RR Sport HSE SDV6 Orkney Grey. Rocket ship. 33mpg.
* Range Rover Classic '93 200Tdi Factory fit
* 1949 80" in family since 1975

Slightly off topic but PCH interests me, do people have any hassel putting private plates on a car paid by PCH or is it straight forward? Black MY2013 SD4 GS Auto, Wood Company Armrest, Freel2 sticker.
Gone MY2010 Freelander 2 Manual TD4.e S, Alaska White.

Harrim51 wrote:

£450 per month? Is that including tax and insurance? That seems a lot of cash for as you say nothing to show for it after 3 yrs.

LandRover products have high lease or PCH costs as they have no trouble selling them either in UK or elsewhere in the world - factory is running flat out building all it can sell. Cheap lease deals are usually subsidised by the manufacturer to help shift metal. If the metal doesn't need help shifting then the rate is not subsidised.

Thanks for all the feedback. It is a difficult choice to make. For now I think I shall sit tight for another year or so and then decide once this one's warranty has expired.

Cheers Guys

Dont forgot you can also get this deal on 2nd hand cars. get a 1 year old car on a similar deal and you may save yourself some money. 2011 Freelander 2 SD4 HSE
2007 Freelander 2 TD4 SE - Gone

oh I didn't realise that. thanks

If you ask nicely theres 0% finance on PCH for FL at the moment and you can juggle your payments to bring the final payment down if you want.

Seemed rude to turn it down (I went in for a s/h car but the monthly payments were more than this deal)

Good choice.

I'm on my third FL2, all bought on PCH (or equivalent) and I'm very happy with it. There is a great peace of mind to having nothing but tyres and fuel to pay for.

Also, LR very often kick in an extra 'loyalty' payment when you come to change. Last time it was £1800 and with the good equity in the vehicle I had a much higher deposit than I expected, and it happened to coincide (March last year) with great options packs thrown in for 13MY.

I do worry a little now that FL2 will be a disco branded vehicle so probably instead of starting around £24,000 as today it will be nearer £30,000 or maybe more. I wonder if the value balance will change. Let's see