Well, our third LR Discovery has come to the end of its road. We just wear them out.
Now, before anyone starts on with a load of Landy jokes, I'll just say that we've found them to be extremely practical, and ideal for our situation - part family car, part work vehicle. But we do work them hard and do a lot of heavy towing and I'm not that hot on maintenance.
Trouble is, what to do now. MOT runs out on Tuesday, and the next few weeks are our busiest with sheep sales, so need to be able to tow. To put this Disco back on the road would cost substantially more than the vehicle is worth, and would take a couple of weeks to do, so that's a non-starter, and there's no funds in the kitty for a replacement vehicle of any sort.
So, I'm looking at contract hire options. Seems a no-brainer in a way, as the monthly payments would total in a year no more than we've currently been paying in mechanics bills just to keep the disco going. Plus the benefit of a brand new vehicle - no MOT etc.
Trouble is, most of the suitable vehicles I can find available on these schemes at affordable rates are double-cab pick-ups, which I can't stand! But that's a minor point - I'm sure I could get used to driving a horrible looking vehicle if it wasn't costing me too much!
Would be interested to hear of anyone else's experience of sourcing their vehicles in this way - good points / bad points, and any recommendations.
Also, what about finance lease (where you end up owning the vehicle)? I don't think this is really an option for me as I wouldn't be able to afford the final payout, but would be interested to hear the pros and cons, and how it compares financially with contract hire.
Now, before anyone starts on with a load of Landy jokes, I'll just say that we've found them to be extremely practical, and ideal for our situation - part family car, part work vehicle. But we do work them hard and do a lot of heavy towing and I'm not that hot on maintenance.
Trouble is, what to do now. MOT runs out on Tuesday, and the next few weeks are our busiest with sheep sales, so need to be able to tow. To put this Disco back on the road would cost substantially more than the vehicle is worth, and would take a couple of weeks to do, so that's a non-starter, and there's no funds in the kitty for a replacement vehicle of any sort.
So, I'm looking at contract hire options. Seems a no-brainer in a way, as the monthly payments would total in a year no more than we've currently been paying in mechanics bills just to keep the disco going. Plus the benefit of a brand new vehicle - no MOT etc.
Trouble is, most of the suitable vehicles I can find available on these schemes at affordable rates are double-cab pick-ups, which I can't stand! But that's a minor point - I'm sure I could get used to driving a horrible looking vehicle if it wasn't costing me too much!
Would be interested to hear of anyone else's experience of sourcing their vehicles in this way - good points / bad points, and any recommendations.
Also, what about finance lease (where you end up owning the vehicle)? I don't think this is really an option for me as I wouldn't be able to afford the final payout, but would be interested to hear the pros and cons, and how it compares financially with contract hire.