Man buys $270 car instead of leasing and shares how costs compare after a year of driving it
Published on Dec 31, 2025 at 7:07 PM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Dec 31, 2025 at 2:25 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A man decided to buy himself a super cheap used car rather than leasing something newer, and this is what he learned after a year of driving it.
For those who want a new car but don’t have the money to buy something outright, leasing can be a good option.
Leasing allows motorists to get their hands on a car that would usually be out of their price range.
However, Tim from the Barn Club Cars YouTube channel decided to investigate whether buying or leasing was the best financial option, and now he’s sharing his findings.
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He wanted to know if driving an old Ford Mondeo was cheaper than leasing
Getting your hands on a cheap-as-chips used car has become more difficult in recent years.
However, British car enthusiast Tom managed to pick up a 2008 Ford Mondeo for just £200, around $270, showing there are still some bargain buys out there.
The car, which previously belonged to his brother, had 213,000 miles on the clock.
But Tim wanted to know if using the car, and potentially paying for any repairs along the way, would work out cheaper than coughing up £300 per month (about $405) on a leased vehicle.
He started by saying that many late-2000 model cars are well-specced for their price, but – of course – his main question was: how reliable would it be?
Shortly after getting the car, he had to put it through for its safety inspection, which it passed.
But he did have to fork out for an oil and filter change as well as some other minor repairs, including a fix for the air conditioning unit.
A month on, he decided to have the dashboard upgraded to make the car feel newer, adding Apple CarPlay and a digital speedometer.
These two costs alone added up to more than double what he’d paid for the car, totaling £452, or $610.
About six months after buying the used car, he was hit with his first major issue when its rear caliper stuck and needed replacing.
He also opted to have the brakes upgraded at a cost of £370, just under $500.
Other expenses, including a new set of tires and a fix for the rear parking sensor, also cropped up during the year-long test.
After a year, he sat down and crunched the numbers
After a year of driving the car, Tim had put 6,500 miles on the Ford Mondeo.
But more importantly, how much had he spent?
Breaking down the cost, including the initial purchase price of the car, Tim spent £1,386, or around $1,870, over 12 months of owning the Mondeo.
So, compared to leasing a vehicle at £300 per month, he saved a total of £2,161, about $2,910, over the year.
Not only that, but the car also passed its safety inspection again, meaning Tim can hold onto it for another year – or he can sell it on and potentially make a profit.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
