Does it make sense to rent your car?

Car leasing, where you never actually own your car, may not be the best deal for you, Emma Lunn explains.

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Do the sums before you sign
(Image credit: andresr)

Leasing can seem a good way to get a new car more cheaply and flexibly than buying one. In return for a fixed monthly payment, you get to use the car for a few years, return it at the end of the lease and perhaps replace it with another brand new vehicle. However, if you're tempted, it's important to consider whether an arrangement under which you never own your car is really the best option.

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Emma Lunn

Emma Lunn is a multi-award-winning journalist who specialises in personal finance and consumer issues. With more than 18 years’ experience in personal finance, Emma has covered topics including mortgages, first-time buyers, leasehold, banking, debt, budgeting, broadband, energy, pensions and investments. Emma’s one of the most prolific freelance personal finance journalists with a back catalogue of work in newspapers such as The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday and the Mirror. As a freelancer she has also completed various in-house contracts at The Guardian, The Independent, Mortgage Solutions, Orange and Moneywise. 

She also writes regularly for specialist magazines and websites such as Property Hub, Mortgage Strategy and YourMoney.com. She’s particularly proud of her work writing about the leasehold sector and a Guardian front-page story about a dodgy landlord. She has a real passion for helping people learn about money – especially when many people are struggling to get by in today’s challenging economic climate – and prides herself on simplifying complex subjects.