[Closed] Car leasing, then

1. I did test drive at local dealer. (Arnold clark)
2. Work out what service costs are PAYG and make a choice
3. Depends.
4. Look at lings and other lease brokers. There are some broker sites that will find the deal for you.
5. It's all set out in the trade agreement what constitutes fair wear and tear . I got a smart repair done on wheels for £70 cheaper than the £100 a wheel I expected. Depends how tough you are on cars. Always take your own pics before they take away.
6. Never done that
7.?
8. Never broken down. Yes you can do that. I fitted a towbar to mine and remove before handing back.

1. I generally don't bother test driving - years of hiring cars for work means I know I'm unlikely to find anything uncomfortable. Endless youtube tests out there to get a good feel for if I'll like it or not. But yes, if you must touch and drive the thing, just tell your local dealer you're thinking of buying one.

2. Generally yes for EVs. Maintenance is much lower - mine doesn't have first service for 2 years, and even that is just an inspection (£90 iirc).

3. Think there's a 2 week cooling off period first but very quick after that.

4 & 5. Have a look on leaseloco.com, leasing.com, whatcar leasing. It's mostly brokers, who are arranging deals on behalf of big leasing companies (Arval, Network, Alphabet etc) or manufacturer finance arms (VWFS, etc) for a small cut. Sometimes it's the business/fleet person at a dealership. Once the deal is done and you've got the car there's no need to talk to the broker at all, it's all through the bigger company. That goes for end of lease too, it's handled by the larger company or a subcontractor and to a set of guidelines (google "bvrla fair wear and tear" for examples). Our last car went back with two kerbed wheels, small dent in the wing and a small scratch deemed past fair wear and tear and the bill was £130. I couldn't have fixed them for less.

6. They offered it on our last one (via BCA auctions), the price was pretty much what you'd pay at a dealer for one. Maybe worth it if you really liked the car. You also tend to get the option to extend a lease if you want, normally 6 months informal (just keep paying the same) or they can quote to keep for another 12+ months. PCP finance might work out better if you think you'll keep long term though.

8. Yes, if it's not on a maintained contract it's like your own car. Nail in tyre? Get it repaired or replaced. Get it serviced to schedule. Get it MOTed if the contract is long enough. Manufacturer warranty for anything going wrong, and any other perks that a new car gets like breakdown cover for x years.

1. Yes, but many people don't bother with test drives. You could find out who their supplying dealer is and go there.

2. Depends on what the deal is. I'm sure you will check it out. A cautionary tale - a neighbour payed for one of these and then found out it had to go to a particular dealer who had the contract from the lease company. The dealer was 90 miles away. He also had a problem with warranty claims. the local dealers would say they were fully booked and give him a date 8-10 weeks in the future for investigation, so he would end up at the supplying dealer for those.

3. You should be able to get it once the finance is sorted, I would think within days if lease company rules allow. There may a cooling off period though.

4. That seems like a good way to get the deal that you are happiest with

5. They are there to make money, so in that respect yes, they will most likely try to wriggle on any wear and tear. You may find if you buy at the end of the lease the law means they will sort a lot of items at service to avoid future issues for them. E.G. new brakes, tyres etc.

6. Depends on what you want to do, if you look after it and want to keep for a long time then yes - you know that though.

8. Yes but what does the contract say, but be careful with doing things yourself, they could use it to wriggle.

1. Do they expect you to test drive at the dealership whilst lying about your intentions to the salespeople?

2. Are the bundled maintenance plans a rip off? Looks like £20/mo ish for these cars on top of the lease

3. How quickly do you get your car if it’s ‘in stock’?

4. Am I a mug if I just search on Auto trader and click through the deal I like?

5. Are these companies sharks? I mean am I going to face a battle over what constitutes fair wear and tear in 2 years?

6. Is it economical to buy the car after the lease?

8. For breakdowns the car is presumably under manufacturer’s warranty, but everything else is on us right? Tyres, wiper blades etc? Can I touch the car myself for stuff like bulbs, wipers and that?

1. I suppose yes, although maybe be honest with the dealership, they can offer some almighty deals and will likely prefer to make a small amount off you now than none at all.

2. It varies with Petrol / Diesel cars, with mine is was a good deal, I paid a bit less than I would have for the servicing as/when needed.

3. I leased my last one from a dealer, I got it after 3 days. When I worked for a Leasing Co. We waited the two week cooling off period before we delivered as a returned 2 week old car meant a big loss.

4. Erm... the PCP deals I've seen on used cars on Autotrader don't seem great, wildly more expensive then I've got from a dealer, but new cars are easier to compare and it's not hard to shop around.

5. It really depends, we used to lease and return a lot of cars in work, some went back with nose to tail scratches down the side, knackered wheels and cracked lights and we never heard a thing, then we returned a van that had a 3rd of the mileage of the contract, spent 3 years basically sitting around not being used and never heard the end of it. Most go straight from pick-up to auction and unless it's a total wreck they don't care.

6. Yes, No, Maybe. Don't count on it, Leasing companies are in the business of leasing new cars, not selling old ones and they want to keep you on the wheel so to speak.

7. No, definitely not, don't do that.

8. New cars typically come with breakdown cover up to the first service which you can extend by maintaining it with the manufacturer, the rest is up to you, but if you're leasing a new car for 2 years, most of that stuff can be filed under "other peoples problems".

I have breakdown recovery via my bank, I'm thinking having stuff fixed etc.

So I should also visit the dealers to check for lease deals? This would give a good ecxuse to test drive.

EDIT the PCP deal on renault.co.uk is not as good as the one on Autotrader...

My experience with contract hire re wear and tear was very positive. I had one (very) badly kerbed alloy, a dent from the bin blowing into the car and another from some tit opening their door into me. £125 quid. I was frankly amazed. We had the maintenance plan.

Rear brakes seized (common VW/Skoda/Audi issue) and they replaced both calipers, discs and pads at a cost to them of something like £800 quid. So I was glad we had gone for it.

Test driving - if anyone who will be driving is out of the average range of size it’s worth getting a test drive. My wife is 5ft and we have found some cars she struggles to be comfortable - for example when her seat was far forward enough her knees hit the dash under the steering wheel.
I don’t have an issue finding a comfy position but I do need a steering wheel that goes in and out as my arms are quite short - thankfully most do have that now.

I am possibly getting a Toyota Corolla on lease through work and I’ve organised a test drive this Saturday with a local dealer. If you’re honest with them they are generally ok with it. If they aren’t ok then maybe steer clear anyway!!

Big Dog!

I have a big dog that makes the boot of my car his own - covers it in hair in a way that you will never remove more than 80% of it - even with whatever you might try to do to 'cover it'. Does that exclude me from leasing? Any real world experience of this?

For our last one I used What Car leasing listings on their website - then contacted dealers. Ended up at Volvo and an xc60, test drove, happy, negotiate to find out that local dealer couldn't match Volvo UK prices for leases! We got there in the end but they had to do some wrangling at their end to confirm the advertised prices from Volvo UK.

The end of lease thing seems less cowboy like now. Previous car was extended on a very flexible basis, down to a named day rather than month and at the same price as original lease agreed. The guy inspecting actually explained that it is usually cheaper to let them repair any damage afterwards (wheels scuffs and the like) and showed the price list (you get it with lease docs). All up front and transparent - also gives detail on what paint work is wear and tear and what needs reparing.

We've leased an egolf direct from vw in Preston.
I'm in the second year of a 4 year lease.
Doesn't need servicing till 2 years old and we prepaid the service plan when we leased as it was a decent price.

If you go for a new lease you have to have gap insurance so factor that in as an extra cost.

Have an option to buy the car after 4 years for 10k but will probably just lease another as cars with better range will be available by then.

This is our second lease car and had no problems when it had to go back. No fees as the car was looked after and kept clean

Our outgoing car was an absolute state, because we brought up two kids in it. Everything was sticky and there were manky bits of food everywhere. It stank after being locked up for a few days. During lockdown we left it with the seats down for a few weeks so the rear seatbelts were extended in warm humid conditions and they grew a decent layer of white furry mould.

Hoping we're beyond that stage now 🙂

1. It's what I've done for years. No need to lie even, "I'm looking to lease and..." Dealers do leases, remember.

2. Depends on the plan.

3. A couple of weeks is fairly typical. Could be considerably longer, I had to wait several months once because they'd run out of steering wheels.

4. Never used Auto Trader, sorry.

5. I've never had a problem, a degree of 'fair' wear and tear is expected. Obviously if you knock bells out of it though it'll likely be a different story.

6. Not in my experience. You might not be given the option even, that's what PCP is for. If they do offer to let you buy it it'll be on the high side of its value, but hey, one careful owner! You could probably try and haggle, I've never done so.

7. You need to work on your maths.

8. Tyres are usually an optional extra. I declined on a two year lease agreement, figured I'd get 20,000 miles out of a set and send it back with Right Said Fred on the front corners. On my current 3-year agreement I took it, which has proven to be a mistake because of the huge mileage I haven't done thanks to covid. Wiper blades are a consumable but £12 from Halfords (or £45 fitted at the dealer!). I cannot remember the last time I had to replace a bulb, I think it was in a MkIII Ford Escort.

7. No, definitely not, don’t do that

🙂

My Mrs has a Puma on lease. We got quotes from a broker then went back to Ford and they beat it by quite a bit. If the car is already in the system then you can get it in a few days. If it needs building to your spec then it could be months.

1. Just be up front. Some dealerships have a separate team who cover personal/business contract hire.

2. Depends on the service schedule and expected use. It's an EV, what actually needs servicing? I'd expect it to be v cheap to maintain.

3. Depends what 'stock' means. That can really be anything from on a boat to sat on the back lot.

4. Look up the leasing thread on Pistonheads.

5. No, they operate to a industry standard code for fair wear and tear. Google BVRLA. However, different financiers may charge more or less than you could pay privately for a repair.

6. It depends on how much the financier wants for the car (if they are willing to sell at all). You can sometimes extend the lease for favourable rates but this can tip the TCO balance if you start to run in to added maintenance costs from MOT, larger service, worn tyres etc

8. You can replace consumables yourself, yes. You'd be doing well to need tyres on a limited mileage EV lease over 2 years (unless you have a blowout or unrepairable puncture).

I'm about to start a 2 year lease on a Kia e-Niro. I pick the car up in a couple of weeks. Like you OP I thought a short 2 year lease would be best because the tech is changing so rapidly. In fact some interesting new vehicles will be released by Hyundai and Kia 3Q this year but I need a car now and also figured there would be restricted supply to start with.

I searched on a few lease comparison sites. Leasing.com is good and I found a deal with Nationwide vehicle leasing.

I have not gone for the maintenance option because maintenance is so cheap on EVs.

One thing to watch out for. The lease company will probably try to sting you with Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance. Say you drive off the forecourt and have a crash which totals the vehicle then some insurance companies will not pay you the full vehicle value. GAP is there to insure you against the insurance companies- yes really! I didn't take GAP but I will be taking out insurance with a company where they guarantee to pay the new cost of the vehicle if its totaled any time within year 1.

I’m about to start a 2 year lease on a Kia e-Niro.

Do you mind telling how much you are paying?

I'm just in the process of sorting a lease on a Leaf, too.

I've only had one leased car myself, which I returned 5 years ago. That was a bit of a hassle, they sent a fairly well-itemised bill listing a load of damage and the cost to put it right (was almost £2k!). Fortunately, I'd documented everything and taken a walk-around video of the car the day I returned it. Any scratches / dings (there were a couple) were photographed with a ruler (proving they were within the 'fair usage' criteria), and the tyre tread depth was measured and photographed. After I submitted the video, they backed down, it seemed like they were just trying it on.

Aside from that minor hassle, the lease was great. No servicing / MOT / tax to worry about, and a brand new car.

3. A couple of weeks, I'm told. The guy I spoke to today said the car is pre-registered and physically parked outside his offices, though. The last time I waited a few months for it to be built (but I did get to choose all the options/colours).

6. The current lease agreement says there's no possibility to keep the car at the end of the lease, though it may be possible to extend the lease.

8. Probably not officially, though you'd have to read the small print. The leasing companies are finance companies, not car guys. Any mods, even if you think they add value, are just hassle for them. Of course, if they never find out about them, you don't have to worry.

Do you mind telling how much you are paying?

Here you go. Play with the sliders yourself to fit your requirements.

https://www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk/car-leasing/kia/e-niro/150kw-4-64kwh-auto

3. How quickly do you get your car if it’s ‘in stock’?

4. Am I a mug if I just search on Auto trader and click through the deal I like?

5. Are these companies sharks? I mean am I going to face a battle over what constitutes fair wear and tear in 2 years?

6. Is it economical to buy the car after the lease?

3. Can be days if you are lucky. But likely a couple of weeks.

4. Most brokers charge an admin fee, which is their profit (£150 - 500). So a lot of the great deals on the WhatCar-type comparison sites will be subject to a fee if they are from a broker.

Most main dealers (i.e. not brokers) don't charge the fee, so you can save this by buying from a dealer. But they are not always the most competitive on monthlies. So you won't be a mug, but do compare the total costs between broker and main dealer.

6. Probably not. The price you get (if offered) is made by computer and doesn't take into account the car's condition, and maybe not even actual mileage. I'd not bother as it seems to include a chunk of margin.

I have just leased a VW ID.3

-Its taken around 4 weeks to go through the process and was due to be delivered tomorrow, but delayed due to the software update failing 🙁
-I've leased before and never had a problem with the fair wear and tear, infact I touched up a few marks that I thought would be noticed and weren't.
-Keep an eye on leasecar.uk its where I got mine, and I got a total bargain preregistered and was about 50% of the cost of a new lease to my spec, there are some great savings to be had if you are quick.

I've never had issues returning a car with wear and tear.

In fact the last one went back a couple of weeks early to avoid MOT and I got a 95 quid back. Go figure.

There's plenty of good deals around but definitely waiting longer ths usual for my next car. Normally 2 months from order or so if not in stock.

My Kodiak has taken 2months so far and I've not got a build date.

Pandemic and Brexit etc.

Our outgoing car was an absolute state, because we brought up two kids in it. Everything was sticky and there were manky bits of food everywhere. It stank after being locked up for a few days. During lockdown we left it with the seats down for a few weeks so the rear seatbelts were extended in warm humid conditions and they grew a decent layer of white furry mould.

That describes most lease cars that come into where I work! Motability and Enterprise in particular; Motability cars seem to have a peculiar odour as well, a sort of sour, sharp smell, which after five years of driving them I’ve become pretty familiar with.
Enterprise vehicles we don’t touch, just store them, and most seem to contain lots of empty food and drink containers, for some reason.
Arval generally speaking, aren’t bad, but then we get Range Rover, Tesla, Alfa Romeo, Golf R, Porsche, etc from them. Apart from the rejected cars, they get a full valet, but the Motability cars, after being sat around during the summer for a few months, always seem to have the smell come creeping back out of the upholstery! And some aren’t even that old, less than a year, quite often.
My EcoSport is an ex-Motability car, fourteen months old with 3100 miles on it when I got it, but apart from a tiny scratch on one wheel-arch, and some tiny marks on the passenger seat, in stunning condition, but those are the exception.