Enormous depreciation?

I will go back to a Personal Lease if I purchase another EV again (most likely will).

Two year lease on an XPower will cost £10,547 at the moment (see below quote).

My car has depreciated by around £14,000 already in six months based on the WBAC quote of £20,625.

Never really contemplated a lease deal for an X Power. But there seem to be some good ones about. For example.
New Volcano Orange X Power.
24 month contract.
9 month payment = £2671.65
23 x monthly payments = £296. 85
Fees = £299.99
Total cost = £9799.19
I'd then sell my car for about £6000
Or I've spotted this.
73 reg Volcano Orange X Power £28999
Milage 2000. 4 months old.
Presume PX value for my car. £6000
Balance £22.999. Cash payment.
Must admit the lease deal does sound good. But I do like modding me cars, which you can't do with a lease car.
Mmmm, a bit of a quandary.
I know it's my decision at the end of the day, but what's your thoughts.

salty said:

Never really contemplated a lease deal for an X Power. But there seem to be some good ones about. For example.
New Volcano Orange X Power.
24 month contract.
9 month payment = £2671.65
23 x monthly payments = £296. 85
Fees = £299.99
Total cost = £9799.19
I'd then sell my car for about £6000
Or I've spotted this.
73 reg Volcano Orange X Power £28999
Milage 2000. 4 months old.
Presume PX value for my car. £6000
Balance £22.999. Cash payment.
Must admit the lease deal does sound good. But I do like modding me cars, which you can't do with a lease car.
Mmmm, a bit of a quandary.
I know it's my decision at the end of the day, but what's your thoughts.

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I’m probably not the best person to advise you on what lease deals to go for. In my time I’ve been known to rush into things without giving it much thought, my wife says sometimes I have more money than sense

Now I’m more than happy with my Long Range & will definitely hold onto it for at least the 12 months but I’ve looked into the X Power & there’s some fantastic deals & who knows, 12-24 months & I might be tempted myself.

I’m sure you will look into it properly, financially, practically & if you can do it & you feel it’s good for you, why not?

I traded in my Kia Soul 30kwh EV against the MG4. Bought from same dealer. Paid £17k for the Soul, trade in value £6.5k after 4 years. They've got it up at £11k ( vgc) .
I track my car values with 'we buy any car'. They were showing the Soul at £6.3k.
Thought I'd check the MG4 on we buy any car. SE LR, brand new. RRP £29495. Deal price £24k. 2 weeks in we buy any car price £18k. Now THAT'S depreciation!! .
Still, there was a point shortly after we bought the Soul that we buy any car were offering £21k ( covid & scarcity ) .

Don't also forget salary sacrifice (if available to you) - my work are currently offering: 36 months x £275 for a basic MG4 (or £300 for 12000 miles pa), which includes everything* (aside from the electricity),

*What's Included
Fully comprehensive insurance, including 4 additional drivers
Routine servicing
Tyre replacement
Breakdown cover
Vehicle excise duty (car tax)
Windscreen replacement cover
No deposit
No credit check
Monthly deductions taken directly from salary
On the road support from a dedicated Aftercare Team for the duration of your lease

My ZS lost just under 50% of its value in 12 months from November 2022 to 2023. The only advice I would give would be not to buy new however as others have said our loss / my loss is now a gain for others as the same car new now is considerably cheaper. I’ve never leased a car myself but seeing some of the guaranteed values people have been quoted I imagine some of these lease companies are going to be losing a lot of money when the car is returned 3 or 4 years later….gulp.

DaevM said:

I traded in my Kia Soul 30kwh EV against the MG4. Bought from same dealer. Paid £17k for the Soul, trade in value £6.5k after 4 years. They've got it up at £11k ( vgc) .
I track my car values with 'we buy any car'. They were showing the Soul at £6.3k.
Thought I'd check the MG4 on we buy any car. SE LR, brand new. RRP £29495. Deal price £24k. 2 weeks in we buy any car price £18k. Now THAT'S depreciation!! .
Still, there was a point shortly after we bought the Soul that we buy any car were offering £21k ( covid & scarcity ) .

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I did note that EVM was quoting £21.9k for a (near?) new MG4 SE SR in recent days:-

EX MG Owner said:

My ZS lost just under 50% of its value in 12 months from November 2022 to 2023. The only advise I would give would be not to buy new however as others have said our loss / my loss is now a gain for others as the same car new now is considerably cheaper. I’ve never leased a car myself but seeing some of the guaranteed values people have been quoted I imagine some of these lease companies are going to be losing a lot of money when the car is returned 3 or 4 years later….gulp.

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Some lease companies don't pay VAT on purchase price + manufacturer discounts means that a £30k car new costs them, ~£20-23?k, so add on the lease payments that they receive = they are not going to be losing much money.

salty said:

Never really contemplated a lease deal for an X Power. But there seem to be some good ones about. For example.
New Volcano Orange X Power.
24 month contract.
9 month payment = £2671.65
23 x monthly payments = £296. 85
Fees = £299.99
Total cost = £9799.19
I'd then sell my car for about £6000
Or I've spotted this.
73 reg Volcano Orange X Power £28999
Milage 2000. 4 months old.
Presume PX value for my car. £6000
Balance £22.999. Cash payment.
Must admit the lease deal does sound good. But I do like modding me cars, which you can't do with a lease car.
Mmmm, a bit of a quandary.
I know it's my decision at the end of the day, but what's your thoughts.

Click to expand...

Personal Leases are great for peace of mind about depreciation and they will also pay full vehicle tax throughout the lease. At times like now (when new car sales are hard) there are some terrific lease deals about which just can't be beaten by PCP ./ outright purchase IMHO) . And remember with a lease you can invest the cost of the car (assuming you already have the cash to buy) and earn 5% interest a year on that.

The downside is you can't mod it too much and it needs to be serviced on time and kept in good condition (although BRVLA Wear & Tear Guides allow quite a lot).

I've leased since 2015 and never had any problems but you are bound by the lease term so not as easy to get out of as owning yourself should your circumstances change.

With an ICE there is also much higher service costs plus consumables such as oils, filters etc. Plus of course cost of fuel and if you have a PV system you can effectively run the car for zero cost fuel wise. In the case of the Xpower, how much would premium fuel cost for a 430hp ICE car? How much would premium oil cost and the service for such a car?

Tig170 said:

Some lease companies don't pay VAT on purchase price + manufacturer discounts means that a £30k car new costs them, ~£20-23?k, so add on the lease payments that they receive = they are not going to be losing much money.

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Ok interesting, my car sold for £19k after 12 months ( I was offered £16 from motorway),

JonnyG said:

Personal Leases are great for peace of mind about depreciation and they will also pay full vehicle tax throughout the lease. At times like now (when new car sales are hard) there are some terrific lease deals about which just can't be beaten by PCP ./ outright purchase IMHO) . And remember with a lease you can invest the cost of the car (assuming you already have the cash to buy) and earn 5% interest a year on that.

The downside is you can't mod it too much and it needs to be serviced on time and kept in good condition (although BRVLA Wear & Tear Guides allow quite a lot).

I've leased since 2015 and never had any problems but you are bound by the lease term so not as easy to get out of as owning yourself should your circumstances change.

Click to expand...

Do you have to pay quite a large deposit too or is that not the case ? The main reasin I've never leased is that when I sell a car , I use the profit (if there is any) in the sale to put down as the next deposit, in most cases that's worked for me.

Out of curiosity, when the 24 months lease agreement is over, what does the lease company do with the car? Lease it again or sell it? I presume they will only get the current market value at the time. So could I buy it off them? Save them selling it. Particularly in my case the car will still be immaculate. If I've liked the car, I would willingly buy it.

I have a slightly different take on this. I live in Thailand, bought my MG4 Model X (Trophy equivalent) 13 months ago and love driving it every time I get on the road, despite having driven most BEVs available here and owning a BYD Dolphin as a second car. The MG cost 869,000 THB (about £19k depending on what day it is) and, as with most EVs that included a "Promotional Package" of a year's insurance, roadside assistance, servicing etc. I've no intention of selling it and as one who's been into computers and photography for 50 years or more, I'm long resigned to seeing last week's/month's/year's cutting edge Must Have quickly eclipsed by developing technology and market trends.
All that said, I was surprised and not a little disappointed today to see MG showing the exact same car as mine in a shopping centre at 689,000 THB - just north of 20% less than a year ago which undermines its value not only for owners like me who have had a decent period of use out of it, but a significant number of customers with cars not yet out of warranty. Were I amongst them, I'd feel cheated; as it is I'll keep enjoying mine.