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Hire Purchase. You pay a deposit, then fixed monthly payments that clear the full price of the car across the term. Nothing large is left to pay at the end. Technically you are hiring the car until the final payment, so the lender owns it during the agreement and you cannot sell it without settling first. At the end you pay a small option-to-purchase fee, usually somewhere between £10 and £300, and the car becomes yours.

Conditional Sale. Almost identical to HP — same deposit, same fixed monthly payments, same result at the end. The difference is in the contract: it is a sale from the start, with ownership conditional on you completing the payments. That means no option-to-purchase fee, and the car transfers to you automatically once the last payment clears. Monthly costs are usually the same as HP, so the choice comes down to which the lender offers.

Personal Contract Purchase keeps monthly payments lower by deferring a large chunk of the cost to the end. You only pay off the difference between the car's price and its estimated value at the end of the term, plus interest. At the end you choose: pay the optional final payment and keep the car, hand it back, or part-exchange it. Mileage limits usually apply and going over them can cost you.