A Greenhorn’s Manual To Vehicle Leasing We Explain The Complexities Of Different Auto Lease Types
by Lee Jamerson on 14/10/10 at 3:37 am
Commercial fleet managers, small business owners, and personal automobile users are increasingly interested in car or van leasing, guaranteeing them the quality and reliability of the newest models at a decreased price than purchasing. The transition from car ownership to vehicle leasing is however one that can be frustrated by difficulties in offloading an current vehicle.
Disposal of a used vehicle is not always straightforward. Protracted negotiations with dealers or expensive advertising costs are often the order of the day. Furthermore, at the end of the process there isn’t any guarantee you’re going to get the sale price you are after.
The dilemma becomes all the more fraught if you’re counting on the proceeds of the sale to fund the initial down-payment for your new lease or, worse still, if you have an outstanding finance agreement to settle on your vehicle. The good news is that the very best automobile leasing companies can offer a part-exchange on your present car at a pre-agreed rate.
For those who get pleasure from driving expensive prime quality cars but do not have quite enough cash to buy a new model or to pay for the finance, personal contract hire might be a perfect way forward. Contract hire is a type of automobile leasing whereby you can choose the newest model of your choice and keep it on a long-term basis (say, two to 4 years), and yet only pay a comparatively modest monthly fee. The catch is that you have to hand the car back at the end of the contract interval, but would you not want to choose a different vehicle then anyway?
Contract hire is cheaper than outright purchase or finance options because your payments are based on the depreciation of the vehicle through the contract period. Now, that is where it starts to become fascinating, if you happen to lease a costlier model, the depreciation will probably be comparatively low. Due to this fact your month-to-month payments may well be lower than those for a less expensive car over the identical period.
It may be frustrating having to return a valuable vehicle at the finish however you’re then free to lease a newer model with out the hassle of having to sell on the previous vehicle. You will therefore always enjoy the benefits of the latest technology and always be protected by the most recent safety features.
There are some conditions connected to contract hire, including sticking to an annual mileage agreed on the outset. However, if you happen to like the convenience of a regular monthly cost and see ownership of a car as much of a burden as a privilege then private contract hire may very well be for you.
When taking out an automotive lease, many companies prefer to choose one that provides them the option of buying the car outright as soon as the contract has come to an end. This sort of car lease, referred to as contract purchase, is sometimes seen as giving companies the best of both worlds: hire the car and return it, or hire the car and purchase it. Many are puzzled therefore as to why any enterprise would wish to opt for a contract through which they formally commit from the outset to buying a car at the finish of the contract. There are in actual fact good explanation why it may be worth considering this sort of car lease, often called lease purchase.
If a business goes down the lease purchase route it is often interested at the beginning in buying a car rather than leasing, per se. The advantage of taking out an automobile lease rather than buying an automobile at the start is that buying an automobile, and even financing a credit agreement to purchase, can take a huge bite out of a enterprise’s cash flow. Securing lower automobile lease payments for the first couple of years may be an economically sound way of deferring final payment. This is a particularly good idea if the long-term purpose is to secure ownership of a high value vehicle.
Secondly, committing to eventual possession of a vehicle often means avoiding having to pay the leasing firm any penalties for unexpected depreciation over the lease period. The risk of unexpected depreciation can be costly to a business.
The vehicle leasing experts at lease4less have the best deals to be found online, and a vast range of vehicles to match, we are recognised as leaders of the UK contract hire marketplace.