How to: Leasing a car in 5 easy steps
The beauty of leasing a car, is that you’re never too far from the latest trend and technology. We live in a fast-paced, and ever changing world. Trends eb and flow, consistently switching between the ones that last 5 minutes (I’m looking at you fidget spinners), to original ideas that are re-imagined to stand the fickle test of time. Par exemplé the revival of the MINI Cooper brand.
This incessant forward motion to the next “big-thing” is never more prominent than in the world of technology. With almost seismic shifts in capabilities delivered year on year. Yet, with new cars having to be planned and designed years in advance, you’d think this would cause somewhat of a headache for car manufacturers, albeit a pleasant one at that. If you want to know more about concept cars you can read our article here. These positive steps forward with in-car tech has allowed manufacturers to develop autonomous and connected driving experiences for example. Additionally, it can leave Joe Bloggs (us, the public) clambering to keep-pace, which can be costly.
So what has Apple’s flagship model, the iPhone X got to do with car leasing, I hear you ask?
Well, the keyword is “outdated”. Much like the Apple iPhone. Technological advancements with in-car tech can become outdated in a shorter time frame. This tech-gap between new and used cars, is considered as a contributing factor in the decline in the residual value of used cars. The fact is you can get more up-to date technology for your money through leasing a car. This lure of new tech every 2-5 years, is one of the main reasons our customers lease.
If this sounds like you, carry on reading for our 5 easy steps to getting the most out of leasing a car.
1. Plan in advance
We’ve put this at number one, and it is really the most crucial step if you want to drive exactly the lease car you want. We recommend starting to look at leasing your new car 6 months before you intend to take delivery.
Why does it take so long to lease a car? I hear you cry. Well, it doesn’t, let me explain a little more.
The reason we say 6 months is that many car manufacturers are running long lead times. This is how long the car takes to be built to your exact specification. But before it’s getting built you have to decide on whether you are going to lease a seven seat, or a five? should I add leather on my car lease or not? Or answering the impossible, “should I spend £22,000 on the Bentley Bentayga‘s Picnic Hamper option?” Yeah, seriously, check it out.
What I’m trying to get to is that, these decisions take time. I know how long it takes my partner and myself to decide on which takeaway we’re going to gorge ourselves on. Nevermind whether I “need” heated massage sports seats. By making these decisions in advance; a) you get exactly the car you want and b) people forget how much you spent on those “heated massage sports seats”. Worth. It.
2. Set a realistic monthly budget range
For this one we will use the iPhone X for a comparable example. So, you go to your mobile provider and say that you want the biggest model available, with unlimited calls, texts and internet. You know this isn’t going to be £15 p/m, and more like £80 p/m.
It’s the same for leasing a car. You’re not going to be able to lease an Audi RS6 Avant for the same or similar price as a Nissan Micra. When you lease a car, the monthly rental off-sets the depreciation that the lease car is subjected to over the length of your leasing contract. This is also known as the residual value.
Pro Tip: Still confused? You can request a callback and we can help you to understand the ins and outs of leasing a car.
3. Check your credit score regularly
The ad talks about how having a better credit score can help when applying for vehicle finance, amongst other financial products. This is true. By having a better credit score you are more financially reliable to pay your creditors back, and on time. When you lease a car, you’re applying for an investment on behalf of the funder. If your looking at a (PCP) personal contract purchase, you’re looking for finance to buy the asset yourself. Either way, you’d be taking credit from a funder.
Eligibility is not guaranteed. We’ll only submit your finance application after you have agreed vehicle spec, monthly cost and initial rental/deposit amount.
Ensuring you pay your credit/store cards on time, mortgage or rent, can improve your credit score. It’s worth doing your research first.
Pro Tip: Sign-up for a free months trial of Experian a couple of months before you’re looking to order your new lease car. This will give you plenty of time to improve your overall score
4. Be flexible to get the best deal
We here at Yorkshire Fleet often get asked ” how do car lease deals work?” and there are a couple of explanations. Firstly, is fleet discount changes. This is the percentage of support we can get from our funders or vehicle suppliers. This can be up to a whopping 45% on some makes and models. We’re able to access this level of discount due to relationships we’ve built and fostered over years, and also due to the amount of vehicles we order each year. It’s important to remember that this level discount isn’t available to the general public in dealerships. These discounts can fluctuate on a daily basis, hence why our special offers are constantly changing and updating to reflect that. Secondly, our funders broker deals to purchase batches of cars straight from the manufacturer, for a discounted amount, simple economies of scale. As Yorkshire Fleet are a BVRLA registered broker, with access to a wide range of funders. This enables us to have access to these discounted lease cars.
Being flexible on specification, and open-minded in makes models etc. can help us find you an incredible lease car special offer.
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5. Determine how much you are comfortable with putting up-front
This is called the initial rental amount on personal contract hire and business contract hire. Due to the fact you won’t have the option to take ownership of the vehicle. However, on pcp or bcp it’s called initial deposit. Initial rentals are varied between brokers, some advertise 12 times the monthly rental, others use one. Putting in a higher initial rental/deposit can lower the monthly rental, but it doesn’t necessarily save you any money. Most of our customers choose either 3, 6 or 9. We display all of these options on our special offers, so you can make an informed decision. If you need any assistance, our dedicated account managers can offer you impartial advice.
Pro Tip: Always check the annual mileage on a deal. Lots of brokers advertise a measly 5,000 miles per year in order to lure people in with crazy prices. As a rule Yorkshire Fleet always advertise 9 rentals in advance with a 10,000 miles per year mileage allowance.
So are you ready to use these tips for yourself? No? Why not sign-up to our exclusive email list, and be the first to know of all the latest deals, industry news and much more.
However if you are, you can get stated by viewing all our latest contract hire lease deals here.
