Can anybody tell me if there is a company in Ireland that offers Car Leasing or lease purchaseto private individuals. (i.e. not companies). I know that this facility is available in the UK and the US.
I guess the answer is yes. Just went to see a dealer and told her that I was not sure yet whether I wanted to buy or take out a new company car, especially since the car I have in mind would kill me in Benfeit in Kind taxation. She said they would also lease me the car and the interest portion of the lease I could deduct from my tax. Not sure whether this is applicable to me, but to come back to your question, visit a dealer and ask them.
Short answer is yes - I've leased a couple of cars over the last ten years in a private capacity (one was private from the start, one was where I took over the lease payments on a company car).
Try asking a dealer of the make you're interested in.
I'm afraid I'm no expert: I think a lot depends on your own particular circumstances, and your view on whether or not you really want to actually own a depreciating chunk of metal.
I'm not sure where you could go for independent advice. Ask here?
A number of dealers offer leases to retail customers but disguise these leases as outright sales. Generally speaking if a dealer requires a very small downpayment (e.g. €300) on a new car followed by monthly repayments of the same order, it's likely to be a consumer lease deal rather than a sale. The car can be purchased at the end of the lease term for what's described as a balloon payment but otherwise you can just hand it back and walk away.
The advantage of this deals is that it allows you to drive a fairly expensive new car without having to come up with the full purchase price. It also means that if by some chance you end up driving a "lemon", it's someone else's problem.
The downside is that you never get the chance to build up any equity in a car meaning that you'll always be restricted to a model within the range of the monthly repayments you can afford.
Ultimately, it's a question of balancing the depreciation you'll suffer as a purchaser against the "dead" money you'll spend as a renter.