Car Leasing News

Car leasing or buying - which is better?

This is always a question that causes a lot of debate and many people just say “I like to buy because you always own the vehicle at the end of three years”. This is true but the bigger question is how much will it be worth? When our finance partners calculate a contract hire rental (or car leasing as it is sometimes called) they set a future residual value. This is calculated by using a number of factors and there will always be variances between each FN50 vehicle leasing company. The depreciation of a particular vehicle is the biggest factor in what the contract hire rental will look like.

If you want to get an idea of the running costs of your future car where can you go to find this information? Well one of the answers would be What Car magazine, who publish running costs and future residual values at the back of their hard copy magazine. If you want to see the data on-line, on all manufacturers and makes, on different mileage parameters, then have a look at the Fleet News website under running costs.

You can drill down to an exact model or just look at a range of cars i.e. Ford Fiestas for example. It’s simple to use and you will get an idea of all running costs including the MRV figure (residual value) which is also shown as a monthly depreciation figure.

This is only a guide but you will see the sorts of residual value variances between different manufacturers and the different maintenance costs as well. The forecasted maintenance costs are displayed as a pence per mile figure under the SMR (Service Maintenance Repair) column. So for example if it shows 2.17p and you travel 10,000 miles a year, your annual servicing and maintenance costs will be approximately £217 per annum.

So before you buy, think about depreciation as none of the MRV (residual value) figures shown are higher than what the car cost at the outset - they will all lose money over time!

This is why it is best to choose your car, when contract hiring, by the monthly rental rather than by how much it costs. You will see some cars that actually cost more to buy, may have a lower rental on contract hire, due to a better residual value.

Fleet News is the UK’s leading motoring publication for the fleet industry and is part of the Bauer Media Group.

59 registration plate

If you are thinking about ordering your car or van on contract hire leasing the 1st September registration plate change does seems a long way away. However even if you do not want your vehicle until say the 15th September, you can still order now specifying the delivery date you require. The leasing company will deliver the vehicle on the date you tell them and will instruct their dealer to hold onto the vehicle until you are ready.

Scirocco stock is low

Don’t assume if you order a car or van in a few weeks, that the vehicle of your choice will be available as a stock vehicle. Factory order lead times can range from  8-16 weeks, depending on the make and model. For example there is low stock of Volkswagen Scirocco and Audi A3 hatchback and sportback so you need to place your order as soon as possible, otherwise you may have a long wait.

A pizza delivery scooter was stolen in North London and the thieves thought they had got away with it. The scooter was later hidden in woodland off the M1, however the vehicle was recovered safe and sound thanks to TRACKER, the UK’s leading stolen vehicle recovery company.

Working closely with the Metropolitan, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces, TRACKER activated their vehicle homing system which located the vehicle very quickly. The covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around a vehicle and is not visible to any potential thief. Using VHF and GPS satellite navigation technology, TRACKER’s SVR system enables the police to pin-point a stolen vehicle whether it is hidden in a container, a lock-up or even if it is taken abroad.

Sergeant Rob Squire from the Metropolitan Road Policing Unit said,”The bike appeared to have been used for off-roading and had probably been moved around by a van over a number of days, crossing between the different counties. But it was eventually tracked down to a well hidden area of woodland near a motorway service station”.

New Peugeot 3008

Peugeot has released details of the new Peugeot 3008 which is targeted at the medium car segment. The new Peugeot 3008 can provide something a bit different and has the flexibility and space of an MPV, the rugged looks of an SUV and the vehicle dynamics of a family hatchback.  

New Peugeot 3008

The model range will consist of three trim levels, Active, Sport and Exclusive with six power trains on offer. There are eight exterior body colours and two standard interior trims, Sibayak black cloth (Active) and Ombrage black cloth (Sport and Exclusive) with Claudia black integral leather available as a cost option.

“Active” standard specification highlights include;

17-inch steel wheels with Michelin Energy Saver tyres, cloth interior trim, leather steering wheel, RD4 Radio/single CD player, front fog-lights, electric front windows, air-conditioning, Multiflex interior (flat folding rear seats), automatic parking brake with hill-assist, ESP, remote central locking, ABS brakes with EBFD (Electronic Brake Distribution Force).

The 3008 will have a range of competitors, such as.

The combined fuel economy consumption ranges from 38.2mpg to 57.7mpg and contract hire prices should be available shortly.

Kia VG saloon

Kia Motors has released images of an exciting new saloon car that will go on sale in Korea at the end of 2009. At this stage there are no plans to bring the car to the UK however looking at the pictures let’s hope Kia changes their mind.

The new model is currently known by its code name VG and will replace the Opirus model in Korean, North American and European markets. This new saloon concept car was first unveiled at the Seoul Motor Show earlier this year.

Kia VG saloon

Hyoung Keun Lee, Senior Vice President and COO of International Business Division at Kia Motors Corporation said,”VG clearly demonstrates the next stage in Kia’s design and evolution and showcases our new design principle of sophistication and simplicity. The exterior is a seamless blend of powerful front, sleek profile and sophisticated but simple rear lines to create an elegant and luxurious appearance”. Kia contract hire rentals are currently available off the site on all their UK range including the popular Kia Cee’d.

The RAC Foundation in conjuction with Ipsos MORI has published the results of a survey that concluded over half of motorists would rather take the chance of getting stuck in a traffic jam rather than get on public transport. These findings are amongst a report called “The Congestion Challenge” which is a new survey on car use and congestion.

The survey found the following:

- 53% of drivers prefer being stuck in a traffic jam rather than having to use public transport.

- 77% however support increasing the number and frequency of buses to tackle traffic growth.

- 41% think congestion is a serious problem in their area however this has fallen from 63% in 1999.

- 61% think that congestion will rise over the next five years.

- 44% of drivers oppose any form of congestion charge for driving into city centres even if the money is spent on improving local transport. This has risen from 32% in 2001.

- Support for congestion charging schemes has also fallen from 54% to 41% over the same period.

Ben Marshall, who is the Research director of Ipsos MORI and a co-author of the report said “Perhaps the biggest challenge facing policy-makers and politicians is what to do next. In particular, should public opinion be followed, or led? Who should do this, and how?

Traffic congestion will always be an issue especially in the “rush hour” and with continuing road-work improvements, however before setting off on your next journey try the Trafficmaster mapping service at Comparecontracthire.com. Trafficmaster is a leading authority in satellite and navigation tracking.

Trafficmaster road mapping

This unique mapping feature allows you to search throughout the UK to find out road speeds and potential jams so you can avoid them. You can increase or decrease the scale of the map by using the icon “magnifying glass” in the top left hand corner of the display.

ACFO - for fleet operators

ACFO, the UK’s premier organisation for fleet decision-makers has announced a new recruitment drive for small and medium sized businesses. ACFO membership currently includes many organisations running just a handful of vehicles although most members are in the 100+ fleet category, with some having fleets up to 25,000.

In many small businesses it is usually the company director who is invariably responsible for fleet operations. ACFO wants to bring the expertise from its current membership to help SMEs understand some of the complexities involved in running even a small fleet of cars or vans. Sharing best practise could help a small business save time and money as many of the current ACFO members are experienced fleet professionals, whose sole role is running a fleet as efficiently as possible.

Duty of care is only one area where staying on top of the current legislation is vital for any small business as ultimately the directors of any company are legally responsible. Stewart Whyte from ACFO said,” Fleet funding and acquisition strategies, in-life vehicle management, tax and managing at-work driving, are all highly complex topics that without the right expertise could prove troublesome and expensive to to the unwary. ACFO helps by spreading best practise examples”.

The ACFO website has recently been re-launched and is packed full of useful information. The organisation operates via nine regional groups, covering the whole of the UK, thereby offering nationwide coverage.

BSM and Fiat

BSM (the British School of Motoring) and Fiat has announced a new partnership that will see Fiat supply over 14,000 cars to BSM, the UK’s most popular driving school. Most the cars will be the award winning Fiat 500 with some Grande Punto models being supplied as well.

The Fiat 500 car was chosen for its manoeuvrability, safety credentials, its low impact on the environment plus its great visibility. The Fiat 500 1.2-litre 69bhp model for example returns 55.4mpg on the combined fuel cycle and emits only 119g/km CO2.

Abu Shafi, managing director for BSM, said ” We believe very strongly that the car we use for our fleet is the strongest depiction of our brand so it was of the utmost importance for us to find a car that shares both the heritage of BSM and the brand’s modern outlook and appeal”. Fiat 500 contract hire prices on this award winning car are available now from our panel of finance partners.

Fiat Panda - new milestone

Fiat has celebrated as the 1.5 millionth Fiat Panda has come off the production line at the Fiat Auto Poland plant in Tychy. The left hand drive car was a 1.3 MultiJet in magnetic blue and is on its way to an Italian customer.

Panda production at Tychy started in 2003 and in 2009 alone 285,000 vehicles will be produced exported to over 74 countries. The Fiat Panda is available in 1.1-, 1.2- and 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engines with full Fiat vehicle specifications available here.

Fiat Fiorino van

Fiat Professional’s Fiorino van is offering greater capability with the option of an electronic differential lock system for improved grip and control. The new system is called Traction + and is being introduced in the 1.3 MultiJet SX diesel engined version of the Fiorino van and 1.3 MultiJet diesel Combi.

The vans will also get body and chassis enhancements as well, including under-engine protection, front bumper and chrome finish, 15-inch steel wheels and the suspension will be raised by three centimetres. The new Traction + system gives much better handling in mud, snow and other wet conditions however has no impact on fuel economy. Contract hire prices on the Fiat Fiorino are available now.