BMW 3 Series Diesel saloon

The latest data on the top model ranges of interest on Comparecontracthire.com shows that German diesel cars are still ,by far, the most popular cars for SMEs. However the Nissan Navara Pick-up, with its strong contract hire rental, is also proving popular coming in at number four in the top model ranges. However it is the BMW 3 Series Diesel Saloon range that remains at number one, closely followed by the Audi A3 diesel Sportback and Volkswagen Golf Diesel Hatchback.

The top model ranges year to date are below

1. BMW 3 Series Diesel Saloon
2. Audi A3 Diesel Sportback
3. Volkswagen Golf Diesel Hatchback
4. Nissan Navara Diesel
5. Audi A4 Diesel Saloon
6. Volkswagen Scirocco Diesel Coupe
7. Volkswagen Scirocco Coupe
8. BMW 1 Series Diesel Hatchback
9. Audi A3 Diesel Hatchback
10. BMW 5 Series Diesel Saloon
11. Volkswagen Golf Hatchback
12. Mercedes C Class Diesel Saloon
13. BMW 3 Series Diesel Touring
14. Jaguar XF Diesel Saloon
15. BMW 1 Series Diesel Coupe
16. Mazda Mazda6 Diesel Hatchback
17. Audi A4 Diesel Avant
18. Audi A5 Diesel Coupe
19. Audi Q5 Diesel Estate
20. Honda Civic Hatchback

If you are interested in BMW contract hire, Audi contract hire, Volkswagen contract hire, or any other car or van on manufacturer leasing then you can find a lease rental on every new make and model on the site.

Audi A3 Sportback

Every month thousands of visitors use the quote engines on Comparecontracthire.com, to compare car leasing prices, direct from the top UK contract hire finance houses. This is the only car and van leasing comparison site that provides exact comparison quotes direct from the finance companies, thereby saving you time and money. Dealing direct has been proven in many other industries like insurance and utilities and car leasing is no different.

Once our customers have narrowed down their choices, they complete a CONTACT form that provides the car leasing company with all the data needed to answer a question, provide further quotes or to help you place an order. The most favourite cars, year to date on the site, are shown below and interestingly only two out of the top twelve are petrol cars - the majority are diesel.

Year to date – top dozen favourite car leasing quote requests.

1. Audi A3 Diesel Sportback
2. Volkswagen Scirocco Coupe (Petrol)
3. Audi A4 Diesel Saloon
4. Volkswagen Scirocco Coupe (Diesel)
5. Volkswagen Golf Diesel Hatchback
6. BMW 1 Series Diesel Hatchback
7. Audi A3 Diesel Hatchback
8. Honda Civic Diesel Hatchback
9. Audi A5 Diesel Coupe
10. Volkswagen Golf Hatchback (Petrol)
11. Mini Cooper Diesel Hatchback
12. Mazda6 Diesel Hatchback

Last month however some new models became popular, due to some of the keen contract hire rentals being offered by our finance partners.

The most favourite for the month of July 2009 alone are as follows;

1. Nissan Pixo hatchback – great special offer from jamjarcars.com on personal contract hire.
2. Audi Q5 Diesel Estate.
3. Audi A3 Sportback – appearing again as a favourite.
4. Audi TT Diesel Coupe.
5. Seat Ibiza Sports Coupe.
6. Volkswagen Scirocco Petrol -still a popular choice.

If you have a favourite manufacturer, or possibly two or the three and you want to see what is the best car you can get for your money, we recommend you try the contract hire £ shopper. Just select the brands you want to see displayed, select your price range and then choose business or personal contract hire. You will be surprised at the differences in rentals which is due to different depreciation factors.

Golf GTi

You have spent hours looking at different car leasing websites and finally chosen the car you want and the company you want to deal with. But is the car of your choice available now, or is it going to be a pipeline vehicle or full factory order?

You would think there would be plenty of vehicles sitting at dealerships, however the manufacturers have been cutting back on vehicle production due to the fall in demand as has been widely reported. The availability of certain models will always vary depending on your choice of car, colour and specification and your options fall into three categories:

Audi A3 Sportback

1) Vehicles that are in stock at the dealer

There will always be some vehicles that are in stock (or “physical” as it sometimes called) for you to choose from. They may not be your exact specification if you want a car that is packed full of accessories but if you can be flexible you may find a car now.

2) Your second option is “pipeline” vehicles 

Pipeline vehicles are cars that are already in production and work has started at the factory to build the model or it is scheduled to be built. These will normally be available to see on the manufacturer systems that our leasing partners have access to. The vehicle dealerships, who our contract hire leasing partners buy their cars from, will be able to conduct a search (or ”pre-locate”) for your model. However, again if your choice is simple i.e. “I want a Mini diesel in Black or Blue” then you should be able to find a vehicle quite quickly.

3) Your last option is a factory order 

Factory order lead times vary continuously as manufacturers change production schedules due to demand. If a model is particularly popular, a manufacturer may switch production to cope with the demand. However there are usually guidelines that our leasing partners can provide you on how long you will have to wait.

Factory order lead time, when quoted, is usually the time to build your vehicle to the exact colour of your choice and specification. However don’t forget that the lead time quoted is from the date the factory receives the order from the dealer and if the vehicle is built overseas, it has to be shipped to the UK and then prepared for delivery to you, which can add further delay.

So if you are thinking of leasing your next BMW, Audi, Honda, Mercedes or whatever vehicle, the best course of action is to order your vehicle earlier than you think to avoid disappointment. In order to help you with current vehicle availability, the following data is the current state of play for some of the most popular models on the site. The information has been kindly supplied to Comparecontracthire.com by Inchcape Retail, a large dealership group, is intended to be a guide and may be subject to change at any time.

Current Vehicle Availability

Audi A3 Sportback

Before you choose your next car or van on contract hire leasing we recommend you check the price of adding full maintenance cover. There are two main reasons why you should consider this option, as follows:

1) Higher disposal price for fully maintained vehicles.

The contract hire leasing Company will prefer you to opt for an “all inclusive” service package, as they want you to maintain your vehicle in line with the manufacturer’s recommended service intervals. If the vehicle goes wrong and needs fixing during the contract, they also want you to ensure it is repaired at a manufacturer approved service agent.

As a result they may take a more favourable view on the future disposal price of a vehicle on a “with maintenance” contract, over one on non-maintenance, which in turn makes the contract hire car or van leasing rental more attractive.

2) Protection from future unexpected maintenance bills.

A major benefit of contract hire is that it provides you with one rental that can cover most costs. All routine servicing and maintenance, replacement tyres, batteries and exhausts can be provided, if you choose this option. (Please note that the leasing Company will not pay for repairs if you damage your vehicle however).

To show you an example of what we mean let’s have a look at the contract hire rates for an Audi A3 Sportback 1.4 TFSI 5 Door which has a manufacturer list price of £16,335.

The least expensive business contract hire rental on the site for this car, on non-maintenance, three years, 10,000 miles per annum, with a payment profile of three rentals in advance followed by 35 subsequent payments, is £251.00 per month, excluding VAT

If you use the contract hire quote engine to change this to “With maintenance” the rentals moves to £254.00 excluding VAT, for the same vehicle.

So for £3 more per month, on the basic rental, you can enjoy full maintenance contract hire. Now, not every Audi car leasing or other manufacturer contract hire maintenance rental will be like this. However all we recommend is that it is worth checking to see if you can find a bargain like this. This same principle will also apply to any customers looking at personal contract hire as well, however don’t forget you pay the VAT inclusive monthly rental shown.