New tool beta
Buy vs Lease comparison
Compare two acquisition strategies side by side — PCP vs PCH, salary sacrifice vs loan, or any other combination. We reuse the same clear layout and plain-English guidance as the Car Cost Calculator, focusing on real total cost of ownership (TCO) including finance, maintenance, insurance, taxes, and mileage penalties.
Align this with the term or how long you plan to keep the car.
Used for mileage limits and excess fee calculations.
Scenario A
PCP on new car
New vehicle · Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)
Total cost
$34,689.00
≈ $963.58/month
- Upfront & admin$4,095.00
- Monthly payments$14,004.00
- Running costs (fuel, insurance, tax, other)$9,090.00
- Balloon / final payment$12,500.00
- Equity / vehicle value at end-$5,000.00
Typical PCP with dealer contribution and GFV. Equity remains if the market value exceeds the balloon.
Scenario B
Lease with maintenance
New vehicle · Personal Contract Hire (PCH)
Total cost
$25,129.00
≈ $698.03/month
- Upfront & admin$1,399.00
- Monthly payments$15,120.00
- Maintenance package$1,260.00
- Running costs (fuel, insurance, tax, other)$6,810.00
- Excess mileage costs$540.00
PCH deal with road tax included and a maintenance add-on bolted into the monthly.
Headline insight
Lease with maintenance is cheaper by $9,560.00 over 3 years
That’s roughly $265.56 per month versus PCP on new car. Tweak deposits, balloon payments, or mileage caps in the forms below to stress-test each finance method.
Timeline
3 years · 36 months
Mileage used in model
12,000 miles/year
36,000 miles over the full horizon
Configure each scenario
Keep the layout and tone consistent with the Keep vs Buy tool: short helper sentences, grouped fields, and sliders or number inputs that encourage experimentation.
Scenario A
PCP on new car
For cash / finance scenarios this is the amount you are purchasing the vehicle for.
Acquisition type
Purchase method
Finance & lease structure
Set to the value or equity you expect to have at the end (resale, GFV, etc.).
Running costs
Set to 0 if covered in the lease.
Warranty, tyres, breakdown cover, etc.
Reuse figures from the main running cost calculator.
Mileage policy
0 = no limit.
Add context such as guaranteed future value, company car BIK, or handover fees.
Scenario B
Lease with maintenance
Acquisition type
Lease structure
Finance & lease structure
Running costs
Set to 0 if covered in the lease.
Optional maintenance add-on charged monthly.
Warranty, tyres, breakdown cover, etc.
Reuse figures from the main running cost calculator.
Mileage policy
0 = no limit.
Add context such as guaranteed future value, company car BIK, or handover fees.
Helpful prompts
- • Stretch the ownership period to see how PCP equity compares with long leases.
- • Toggle maintenance-included deals versus paying ad-hoc servicing to understand guaranteed vs variable costs.
- • Test best- and worst-case mileage scenarios; excess fees stack up quickly if you exceed the cap.
- • Use the notes field to document incentives, company car tax, or return charges so nothing gets missed.