Vans, Cars and Leasing

To lease, you have two possible choices: either lease through a dealer’s finance source or through an independent lease company. A conventional dealer has a captive finance source, which can be the car manufacturer’s financial company, such as BMW Financial Services, Honda Motor Credit or General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), or a major national bank such as Chase Manhattan.

Independent lease companies are no financial obligation to any single one manufacturer financing source, but work with dealers anywhere in the country.

So which one is better?

Conventional dealers provide better lease-deals on limited-time promotions. Factory-subsidized cars that have subvented money factors and residuals are very attractive lease deals and can be very hard to beat anywhere else.

Independent lease companies can offer you unbiased and professional advice on vehicle selection regardless of make and model. This is because they are not tied to a single manufacturer or financing source, unlike conventional dealers who have to sell specific models.

They can also be more flexible regarding negotiating lease terms like residual value and mileage. Ultimately, if you prefer a more personal and customer-oriented relationship with your leasing agent, then you will do well with an independent leasing company.

Whether you lease a car to get into the latest models or have better purchasing flexibility, getting a good deal is always bound to give you a lift. Use these guidelines to help you spot one:

Check incentives: be on the look-out for factory –subsidized lease deals. Car manufacturers realise that consumers who lease vehicles from them are more likely to be repeat customers than those who simply purchase vehicles. Through their leasing companies, they adjust the residual value and offer low financing charge.

Other auto-manufacturers are also starting to give incentives on leasing, called leasing subventions. They offer these subsidies to put slow-selling models on the street, saving you even more money.

Set up a competitive: bidding environment to get the lowest price. If you already have an idea in mind of the make, model and trim level of your desired car, attempt to calculate your own lease payment before you go shopping to avoid paying through the roof.

Check online comparison tools or use a lease calculator to check your lease payment based on purchase price. This gives you greater negotiation leverage as you solicit quotes from various leasing companies.

Make sure you know all the fees involved at the beginning of your lease: you may have to pay fees for licenses, registration and title. Other fees include acquisition fees, freight fees and local or state taxes. At lease-end, you may have to pay a disposition fee and charges for extra mileage and any excess wear. Be aware that some of these fees – like acquisition and disposition fees – are negotiable.

Know your mileage needs: almost all leases limit the number of miles per year by imposing typically 10 to 20 cents per excess mile over 15,000 miles a year. If you are the kind of high-commuter who puts 40,000 miles a year on his car, then you might end up running thousands of dollars in hefty penalties at the end of your lease. Be smart and negotiate a higher-mileage limit or pad you excess miles at the beginning of your lease to avoid robber tax rates for excess miles.

Almost all leases limit the number of miles per year by imposing fees typically 10 to 20 cents per mile over 15,000 miles per year. If you are the kind of high-commuter who puts a lot miles on his car, then these costs can add up quickly.
Negotiate: Include GAP coverage: make sure your lease includes GAP coverage. This covers you in the event of the vehicle getting wrecked, stolen or totalled. Without GAP insurance, you leave yourself wide open to thousands of dollars in leased obligations. Check if the GAP coverage is included so you don’t pay it twice.

Whether you are looking to rent a car or finance a lease, Total Fleet Services aka www.lease-hire.co.uk brings provides individuals and companies with a one stop solution to all their contract hire and vehicle leasing needs, be it a whole company fleet or a single private client.

Contract Hire
Through Contract Hire, a fleet of vehicles is given to you for a set period of time. Although the vehicles are still owned by the leasing company, you are able to use the vehicles for the set monthly rate. The monthly rate is determined on an individual basis, and takes into account factors such as the time period, mileage, and maintenance costs, along with several other factors. Contract hire is a good option for anyone that is looking to implement a fixed cost for their vehicle fleet.

Personal Contract Hire
Is also an available option. This is similar to Contract Hire, but allows individual employees to take ownership of the vehicles, while still benefiting from buying the vehicles as a group.

Contract Purchase
Contract Purchase allows vehicles to be purchased over a set amount of time. It is very similar to standard vehicle ownership, but it allows the vehicle to be purchased without the risk of depreciation. A monthly payment is made on the vehicle, which is determined by the cost of the car, anticipated depreciation and mileage, and maintenance needs.

Personal Contract Purchase
Is also an available option. This is similar to Contract Purchase, but allows a company’s employees to take ownership over their cars. The employer is able to pay their employees a monthly allowance based on the employee’s level and car.

Daily Rentals
Contract periods for Daily Rentals may extend to a maximum of twelve months. This option is normally desired for companies that have staff members that need a vehicle but may not be with the company for an extended period of time. This is also a good option for companies that have normal fluctuations in their need for vehicles.

Finance Lease
A Finance Lease provides a tax efficient option for leasing a vehicle. With a Finance Lease, the entire cost of the vehicle can be paid in one of two ways:

1) The entire cost of the vehicle can be paid over an agreed lease period, with an interest charge being applied to each monthly payment.

2) A lower monthly fee can be paid, with a final payment made which is based on the anticipated resale value of the vehicle.

Lease Purchase
A Lease Purchase is the most common method that companies use to finance a vehicle. The monthly payment is determined by the total cost of the vehicle, the period of the Lease Purchase, and the estimated future value of the vehicle at the end of the Lease Purchase period. A total mileage amount is also set for the term of the Lease Purchase, which, if exceeded, will result in a fee being assessed to each mile over the original total.

Sale and Leaseback
Similar to a Lease Purchase, a Sale and Leaseback applies to a vehicle that you currently own. This option can be used to free capital that is tied up in the vehicle. In a Sale and Leaseback option, the vehicle is bought and then leased back to the original owner. The monthly payment is determined by the same factors as addressed above. This option only takes place on paper, so use of the vehicle is not interrupted at all.

 Written on behalf of Total Fleet Services Van & Car Leasing

This subject is the cause of many different phone calls daily, and lets face it - its an important one.

The first thing to get your head around is the difference between the registered keeper and the owner of the leased vehicle.

Registered Keeper - definition

Here is the definition of registered keeper according to the parking and traffic appeals service:

Registered Keeper The person or organisation recorded by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as being the legal keeper of a motor vehicle.

So basically, it is the registered person and address where the vehicle is to be kept on the most regular basis - NOT THE OWNER

Vehicle Owner

The vehicle owner is the person whom hold the title to the vehicle, so if you purchased a car for your distant neice who lived 100 miles away from you, the vehicle would need to be registered in her name, however the title (and subsequent ownership) would remain with yourself unless transfered.

Insurance companies tend to get a little bit confused (excuse the pun) about this and can sometimes lead to an insurance company refusing insurance.

The problem rarely occurs with Business Contract Hire, but can be a little problem with Personal Contract Purchase and Personal Contract Hire.

Do not dispair though, you should always have a good ring round on your car insurance renewal, and once you have explained the way things are, you will soon enough find an insurer.

One of the good places we have found for providing insurance for leased vehicles is Confused.com so it might be worth a check on there.

Dont forget! Leased cars must be insured fully comprehensivley, you really dont want to have to pay for one that gets nicked!

Written on behalf of Total Fleet Services Contract Hire UK

Your free to make copys of this alsong as you keep intact the links within the article

Introduction to Contract Hire

A contract hire facility is a service whereby the customer does not own the vehicle but can use the vehicle leased out to him by the leasing company for personal or company use. The service and maintenance costs of the vehicle are also borne by the company itself. There are a number of leasing companies listed on the website from where you can choose the leasing company which best suits your requirement.

A leasing company has extensive experience in carrying out contract hire services and can help you boost your revenues and reduce costs by helping you cut down the cost of running the company vehicles and save tax. There may be cases where your business due to financial or other difficulties does not want additional responsibility of owning company vehicles. In such circumstance you should consider Contract Hire which would be the best solution to your problems.

Contract Hire Infomation

In a contract hire service the vehicle leased to you, continues to be owned by the leasing company. The vehicle is hired by you for a fixed period of time at a fixed monthly amount which is to be paid to the company on a regular basis. The additional costs of maintenance and depreciation are borne by the leasing company thus reducing the burden of the additional costs off the customer’s shoulders.

The monthly payment to be made by customers on the vehicles rented to them depends on a number of factors. These factors include the period of the contract, the estimated mileage during the contract period and the probable resale value of the vehicle at the end of the term. This also includes the service and maintenance costs in certain cases. Under the contract hire agreement the lender of the rented vehicle retains ownership and therefore also bears the risks such as unforeseen costs and uncertain resale amounts.

Infomation on the Benefits of Contract Hire Services

There are many tax benefits for customers who take the advantage of contract hire services such as deductions against corporation tax for people using rented vehicles. Where vehicles are used partly for private use, the customer can take advantage of recovering 50% of value added tax as against 100% for rental vehicles. The other advantage of having a contract hire agreement is that the vehicles used by the company are not recorded in the Balance sheet of the company thus improving the company gearing ratios.

A contract hire service agreement gives you the benefit of using a new vehicle for a fixed monthly rent thus enabling you to release capital from your current vehicle by selling it and getting a bigger lump sum amount which you can invest for other important business needs. This also reduces the burden and responsibility which comes while owning a vehicle and you can even save on the maintenance and repair costs of your old vehicle which you can instead sell off and use the new rented vehicle instead. There are options of purchasing the rented vehicle at the end of the contract term if you are satisfied with the usage of the vehicle and if your finances have improved considerably by then.

Written on behalf of Total Fleet Services Contract Hire UK

Your free to make copys of this alsong as you keep intact the links within the article