How can I personalise my lease?

Leasing is widely regarded as one of the most flexible funding methods for your new vehicle.

Here we outline the various elements you are able to personalise when choosing your lease contract to make sure it is best suited for you and your individual requirements.

Choosing business or personal contract hire

Contract hire is available on both personal and business terms: the only difference being that VAT is included in personal contract hire prices while it is excluded within prices under business contract hire. Personal contract hire is the best leasing option for private individuals who may use their vehicles for personal use or through using a business car allowance. Business contract hire is for vehicles involved with professional use. The essential difference is who is funding the vehicle - whether it is a person or a business. Applications differ depending on which you are applying for, so it is important to know which contract type you require.

Choosing your Term

There are a number of terms available for you to choose from when considering your lease. You can decide between 24, 36 and 48 months. Generally speaking, the monthly payment reduces the longer you have the car because depreciation slows as a car ages. However, due to different discounts we are able to negotiate, this is not a steadfast rule. Therefore, if you are not set on a specific term, we recommend comparing them online or asking your leasing consultant to advise on the most preferential rate.

Choosing your initial payment

Your initial payment will be a multiplication of your monthly payment figure. The increments you can choose from are 1, 3, 6, or 9 times your monthly fee. Unfortunately you are not able to deviate from this in order to invest custom amounts.

The higher your initial payment, the lower your monthly payment will be. This is because you are paying a larger amount of the total owed across the lease. The overall cost of the lease will ultimately vary very little regardless of your initial payment, it is just how you choose to divide up the total cost.

You will see lease profiles referred to in the form of a calculation, for example 3+23. These numbers are both documenting the lease term and also the payment profile. In this case, the 3 represents the amount of monthly payments that constitute the initial payment, and the 23 the remaining months of the agreement. Therefore, the lease is 24 months long in total, with 3 payments put down as an initial payment and 23 months single payments following this. Working out the total cost of the lease is therefore simple: multiplying the monthly cost by the total amount of monthly payments.

For example, If your monthly payment was £250 and your lease profile was 3+23 – you would pay £750 as an initial deposit (3 x £250), followed by twenty three further payments of £250. Overall, your lease would be twenty four months in duration and would cost £6500 (250x(3+23)).

Choosing your mileage limit

With a lease you will be required to agree to a set mileage limit. If you have exceeded this limit at the point when you hand the car back, you will be charged a number of pence per mile. This excess mileage charge will be documented on your order documents and is available at any time from your Leasing Consultant. When choosing your mileage, the most common options are 5,000, 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000. But you are able to go up to 40,000 miles per year with some lease deals.

We recommend being as accurate as possible with your mileage limit choice, allowing yourself plenty of extra miles to account for any unexpected journeys. Some funders will allow you to increase your mileage limit mid term but this will incur an administration fee.

Choosing added extras

You will also have the choice of adding a maintenance package to your lease. This package can cover everything from services and MOTs, to faults and replacement tyres. Otherwise, you will be responsible for insuring and maintaining the vehicle to recommended servicing standards.