How would you like to take delivery of a brand new car every year or 18 months, and pay less in monthly repayments than someone buying new?

If that does appeal, then consider leasing your next car. This has long been the preferred solution for businesses that give employees company vehicles.

For a set monthly fee, they effectively "rent" the car for a fixed period, usually between one and three years, and at the end of the term simply hand it back.

The idea is being adopted by many drivers choosing to opt out of a company car scheme. However, it has generally been avoided by private motorists, still emotionally attached to the idea of buying.

But according to our figures, many private motorists would be better off leasing. In purely economic terms, there is little difference to buying on finance.

You make the monthly payments but the lease company is the one suffering the depreciation, and the headache of disposing of the vehicle at the end.

The only difference is that it is often considerably cheaper to lease a car than to buy. One reason is that several car manufacturers sell cars to leasing companies at big discounts

Last week Worcestershire-based leasing firm Direct Cars UK was offering a new five-door Citroen Picasso HDI for £235 a month over 18 months.

This is substantially less than finance - and the £4,230 total is not much more than you would have lost had you bought the car and traded it in at the end of the term.

The price assumes you will drive fewer than 10,000 miles a year and includes car tax and delivery. You have to pay two months up front as a deposit - and stump up for insurance and servicing.

Alternatively, if you take a Renault Scenic (diesel) over two years, the payments are £211 a month. This model would cost around £13,000 new after discounts.

If you borrowed that amount from the Alliance & Leicester (at 5.9%) over five years you would pay £250 a month without protection, or £293 with it. At the end of the 60 months, your five-year-old car will probably be worth less than £3,000.

You can sometimes get lease payments down even further if you are prepared to take a nearly new car.

Lex Leasing, for example, can typically deliver an eight-month-old car with 5,000 miles on the clock.

But be warned, there are drawbacks. According to John Maslen, editor of Fleet News, leasing only offers cheaper motoring provided you fit certain criteria.

"Until now, private car buyers have shied away from leasing because you effectively own nothing at the end of the three-year period.

Leasing is very popular among private buyers in America, but it is not perfect for everyone here. "When you take out the lease you are required to predict how many miles you will cover over the period of the lease - that's fine if your mileage doesn't change. But go over that amount and you are liable for extra charges (typically 5-7p a mile) which can really add up.

Most people get into problems if they move house or change jobs, and suddenly face a much longer journey to work."

Mr Maslen says business customers collectively paid out more than £100m in add-on charges last year, partly down to excess mileage charges, but also due to damage. The terms of the lease require that you return the car with fair wear and tear.

If your child throws up over the seats and rips the upholstery, you may be hit by a repair bill. Similarly, minor dents have to ironed out before the vehicle goes back.

He suggests that private motorists should try to lease cars from companies that are members of the British Vehicle Renting & Leasing Association, as this sets out in great detail (including photos) what is, and what isn't, considered "fair wear". A spokes woman for Direct Cars UK says leaseholders can sometimes renegotiate the terms of the lease if a change in their personal circumstance means they will exceed their mileage limit - it is worth asking whether this will be possible before signing the lease agreement.

One good thing about leasing is that you have an extra level of protection if the car goes wrong.

Your contract is with the lease company and you can reject it if it keeps breaking down - it is then up to lease company to sort out any problems with the manufacturer.

Two final things to note. You have to get the car serviced in line with the servicing schedule set out by the manufacturer - just as you would if you owned the car. Lastly, make sure any quotes include VAT - lots of companies don't include it in their literature.