Personal car leasing has seen a huge increase in popularity in recent years. This isn’t just a fluke, there’s many reasons why we think it’s a great option.
We have a wide range of personal car lease deals available. You can either view our special offer stock vehicles. Or order one direct from the factory, exactly how you want it.
Want more information? read on!
Personal car leasing (or personal contract hire (PCH)) is a financial agreement that allows you to use a car for an agreed period and mileage allowance.
As long as you have a valid UK driver’s license you should be able to lease a car. The main obstacle will be your credit check. Your acceptance depends on two things:
Your credit score – This score depends on your past financial behaviour. If you’ve missed or failed payments in the past you may find it more difficult to get accepted.
The vehicle – This one’s pretty straight forward. The higher the value of the car you’d like to lease the more risk on the leasing company. You need to prove you can make higher payments on a flashier vehicle.
Ultimately, if you have a good financial history and you are leasing a car that’s within your means you should be accepted for a private car lease.
Leasing is simple! You simply select:
How long you’d like the car for – This determines the length of your agreement and is usual 24, 36, 48 or 60 months long. It is important that you chose a length of time that is suitable for you. PCH agreements are designed to run their full course. Ended them early can be expensive.
Your initial rental – You can essentially see this as a non-refundable deposit. This is normally equivalent to 3, 6 or 9 months’ worth of rentals, paid upfront. It doesn’t matter how much you pay; the overall contract cost is the same. Paying more upfront lowers your monthly cost. Paying less increases, it. Simple!
Your annual mileage –The annual mileage you chose dictates the maximum number of miles you can drive in a year. To estimate this, you can go off your previous driving experience or predict how much you might drive. Starting a new job with a long commute? You may need to take this into account. Choosing the correct mileage isn’t essential, but it is good to get a good feel for how much you will be paying. Once you’re driving your vehicle you can increase or decrease your mileage depending on your current driving. Be aware, if you go over your mileage and fail to adjust your contract accordingly, you could be liable to pay charges. These grow fast! Please contact us if you need to readjust your mileage.
An optional maintenance contract – Choosing a maintenance contract gives you a worry-free leasing option. With a maintenance contract, all your standard servicing and repairs are included. This means you don’t have to worry about unexpected costs in order to keep your vehicle on the road. Our maintained contracts start from around £5, we think you’d be stupid not to upgrade. You can read more about our maintenance contracts here.
Once you’ve selected these, you’ll get a finalised quote, will have to fill in a credit form and finally, order your vehicle. Here you can find more information on our leasing process.
At the end of your contract you simply hand the vehicle back! With a lease agreement, you will likely never own the vehicle. There are three things that you need to be aware of with this:
Vehicle damage– If there is any damage to your car beyond what is considered fair wear and tear you will be charged. Fair wear and tear is determined by the British vehicle renting and leasing association, you can find a guide to this here.
Misuse of the vehicle – Losing keys, wheel locking nuts, charging cables (for electric vehicles) or any of the standard vehicle equipment may leave you vulnerable to possible charges. If your servicing book is lost or not filled in correctly this could also incur charges. An invalid MOT will mean that your car will be refused collection at the end of your contract hire agreement.
Excess mileage – Going over your mileage can yield expensive charges. If you think you’re going to exceed your mileage. Message us as soon as you can to get this adjusted.
You shouldn’t be put off leasing a vehicle. Just follow the rules and look after your vehicle and you will be fine! A little bit of common sense goes a long way, we have thousands have happy customers who have leased vehicles from us. You can view some of our reviews here.
A personal car lease has many advantages! This makes it an excellent choice for a large majority of people. Here’s some reasons why leasing is great:
Improves your personal cash flow – When buying a car outright, this costs a lot of money! As you don’t own the vehicle you may never have to pay its full value, helping you free up your cash to spend on other things.
Drive a better vehicle – Leasing allows you to drive a car you likely wouldn’t be able to afford. Whether you’re looking for a more professional image, a faster car or a flashier motor to pick up your date in. Leasing means you’re less financially confined when it comes to choosing a new vehicle.
Easier to budget – With a personal car lease you know exactly how much your car is going to cost you every month. Include an optional maintenance contract in your lease and you can factor in servicing as well. With a known outgoing for your vehicle every month, this allows you to budget for other things easier.
Maintenance costs are lower – With leasing, your vehicle is always going to be brand new. This means the chance of it breaking down is significantly less than if you were to buy a used car. With our optional maintenance contracts, you’re even less likely to encounter additional maintenance costs.
As a member of the British vehicle and leasing association and as kind Yorkshire folk, transparency is important to us. There are a few things that you need to be aware of:
You need to put down a payment upfront – Nothings free in life. Especially when it comes to your cars. With leasing you will have to put down an upfront rental of some sort.
It might work out more expensive when compared to a purchase agreement – With leasing you may never own the vehicle. Sometimes at the end of a purchase agreement the vehicle will have a residual value greater than that of your outstanding payments meaning you can sometimes profit from these.
You may never own the vehicle Some lease agreements do offer the option to purchase at the end of your agreement however many don’t. Sometimes you fall in love with your motor. With a private lease agreement, you generally have to part ways at the end of your contract.
Early termination applies – If you want to end your contract early it can be expensive! You need to ensure that your contract is for a sensible period that suits your needs. If you know you are leaving the country in 6 months’ time, a long period lease will not be right for you.
It is difficult to give a conclusive answer with this one and depends on the contract between you and the leasing company. This will be made clear to you before you sign your agreement and will be documented in your personal leasing agreement. As a rule of thumb, you generally have to pay for half the outstanding rentals if you want to leave your contract hire agreement early. This done change though so please check if you think there will a chance you need to end your contract early. If you’re unsure, ring us to discuss your options. We have a variety of different finance options available.
You can’t lease a vehicle through a business on a personal agreement. For businesses we have business contract hire (BCH) agreements. We can do single vehicles or large fleets for any UK business.
Well that’s just a silly question isn’t it. Only joking, we’d love you to lease with us but we can’t make your mind up for you. There are a few things to look out for.
Dealership or Broker?
Dealerships work in partnership with certain manufacturers and leasing companies. This means they have limited cars; finance types and offers. The advantage of dealerships is that you can have a good look around their stock vehicles and often drive away in the same day. If you know exactly what you want, they can be good if you can find the exact right deal. Often, they can be very time consuming and avoiding pushy salespeople at every dealership ruins the experience. As dealerships only use few manufacturers you may be sold a vehicle that doesn’t suit your needs.
A broker works with multiple leasing companies and can access all makes and models of cars. They also have access to numerous financial packages so if a personal car lease isn’t for you, they can offer you a different contract. Brokers tend to have a wider variety of deals making them better value overall. A broker should do their best to put you in a vehicle that’s right for you. Using their knowledge of all car manufacturers to pick the best option for you, and at the right price. Often brokers have a better knowledge of the financial packages that come with their vehicles as well. Helping to protect your consumer rights and giving you the correct information so you can make the right decision.
For the majority of people, we think going to a broker suits them better!
Accreditation – Look out for a broker that is a member of the British vehicle renting and leasing association. This ensures they will be held to the highest standard of professionalism and quality. Make sure your broker is also regulated by the financial conduct authority.
Numerous leasing companies – Choosing a broker with several leasing companies under their belt ensures they have access to a larger number of PCH deals. This helps you get the best price available.
A large broker isn’t always the best – From experience, we pick up a lot of customers that have had terrible experiences with the larger brokers. This is usually due to miscommunication. For a personalised service, we recommend using medium sized brokers.
You can read more on what to look for in a finance broker here.
