Click here for the full lease terms

The Audi A1 1.6 TDi SE 3-door diesel hatchback is on offer on the site on personal car leasing with full maintenance from only £247.20 including VAT. This great looking super-hatch returns a remarkable 74.3 combined mpg, emits just 99g/km of CO2 and looks great too.

The terms of the Audi personal car leasing special offer are a two year contract, 6 rentals in advance, fully maintained (vehicle excise duty, maintenance, servicing, tyres, batteries and exhausts included) and 10,000 miles per annum. Other terms are available from our car finance partner.

Car financing methods

If you are thinking of financing a car in the near future you will probably get bombarded with different car finance options from hire purchase, leasing, contract purchase, contract hire, etc. It can be really confusing deciding what’s right for you and if you run your own business we recommend you consult your accountant before proceeding with any new car finance agreement.

Comparecontracthire.com specialises in contract hire, which confusingly is sometimes called car leasing as well. However there are many types of leasing including operational leasing, finance lease, contract hire- the list is endless.

To help you decide which car finance, funding, purchasing or leasing option is right for you, have a look at the following link where we have tried to “de-mystify” the different finance options.

http://www.comparecontracthire.com/car-finance-funding-purchase-and-leasing-methods.html

CLICK for further details

The Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI 105PS BlueMotion Tech Match 5-door hatchback is a superb, reliable, well-built car that offers a remarkable 68.9 combined mpg and emits only 107g/km of CO2.

The Volkswagen business car leasing offer on the site starts from £209.31+VAT on a three year deal, 10,000 miles per annum, non-maintained and a payment profile of 3 months initial rental followed by 35 subsequent rentals.

Other terms are available from our car finance partner and if you are interested in leasing this car, click here. Please note the image shown may not represent the actual model and metallic paint is an extra monthly cost.

A redundancy cover protection policy has now been launched by MB&G to protect car buyers’ finance payments.

The Vehicle Purchase Unemployment Protection Insurance policy protects your finance payments for up to 12 months. Available on both new and used vehicles the new product is available to both employed and self-employed customers.

The theme for the FLA Motor Finance Convention in November is called “the recession as a catalyst for change”. The convention is being held at The Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire on the 11th November 2009.

The guest speakers will be covering the dynamics of the motor finance industry and how things have changed in the past twelve months.Tickets are available at www.flaevents.org.uk .

If you are baffled by all the technical jargon with all the different car finance options offered to you, help is at hand. The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has launched an independent website which should help buyers understand the differences between car leasing, hire purchase, personal contract purchase etc.

When you look at getting a new car, you probably tend to think about What make?, What model? What colour? New or used?. These are much easier questions to answer than “How will I pay for it?”.

www.financingyourcar.org.uk is an impartial website to help you understand the different types of car finance. The website features a “car finance decider” which is a shortlist of questions about your general circumstances and car buying habits and recommends the best form of car finance for you.

As a small business, when looking for your new car, your first car finance decision has got to be “do you want to own the vehicle?”

Many of the new car dealer finance schemes are structured around a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) finance product, which does enable you to finally own the vehicle after all payments have been made. You pay your deposit, then pay an agreed number of monthly payments for the term, then you have the option of paying the GMFV (Guaranteed Minimum Future Value) and the car is yours. It is a really simple way of buying a car.

This final payment option also gives you the opportunity, if you prefer, to just return the vehicle if you don’t want to pay the final amount. Provided you have not exceeded the mileage limit allowed and the condition of the vehicle is in a fair wear and tear condition, there is usually nothing more to pay.

PCP schemes are similar to car leasing in this way, if you never intend to pay the final payment and you don’t want to own the vehicle. If all you are looking for is to pay the least cash for the period- say three years, you can compare the total payments made on both these products, to see which suits you best. Cars will depreciate in value and the costs may not be as straight forward as they seem, so here are some guidelines on comparing PCP dealer car finance to business car leasing (contract hire);

Dealer PCP finance – the general scheme structure -(may vary by manufacturer)

- A deposit is usually required.

- Then add the total number of payments to follow.

- Total the initial deposit and the total number of payments together and see what this figure comes too.

- The dealer will specify the contract agreement for you at the outset i.e. normally three years at 10,000 miles (always check what the contractual mileage will be and confirm if maintenance cover is included). In most cases you normally have to pay for the maintenance yourself, so do ask if this is an extra cost, or if it is included in the payments you are making.

- Remember on a PCP -if you want to own the vehicle, the optional GMFV is the payment you have to make to finally gain title of the vehicle.  

Once you have established this you will then know what you have will to pay for the three year PCP contract.

When looking at a car leasing rental plan for the same car (or contract hire leasing as it is sometimes called), on a three year term, at 10,000 miles per annum, non maintained contract hire, the payment structure would normally be as follows;

Car leasing (contract hire) leasing) plan 

- Initial rental is usually three months in advance (check this as some companies may charge six rentals to make the monthly payments seem lower).

- Thereafter on a three year contract, your next payment starts in month two and you will pay 35 subsequent payments i.e. 38 payments in total.

- Your total rental payments therefore should normally be 38 times the £ monthly rental.

- At the end of the contract hire period you just send the car back and then order a new one.

- Please note car leasing (contract hire) is fixed to an annual mileage for contract period and if you go over this allowance there will be a charge. This is usually the same arrangement for a car dealer PCP finance scheme as well i.e. possible excess mileage charges and fair wear and tear. 

- VAT treatment – if you are a private customer, you need to make sure the VAT has been added to any car leasing rental quoted to you (currently VAT is levied at 15%). Some companies advertise personal car leasing prices without the VAT, which can be misleading.

- If you are a normal VAT registered business, then there is currently a 50% recovery restriction on the finance rental so if you are looking at prices without VAT, add 7.5% (half of the full 15%) to find out the true cost to your business. This is sometimes called the “effective rental”.

- If you are a sole trader and are not VAT registered then you have to add the full VAT charge at 15%.

The comparison 

Now you have got the two total figures for the car dealer PCP finance scheme and the car leasing rentals you can compare the difference.

A couple of final things to consider -the CO2g/km emissions figure is important, if you want to get the best tax relief on your vehicle, so it is probably best to look at cars with a CO2 figure of less than 160g/km if you are running a business, whether you buy or lease.

Finally before making any final decision it would make sense to speak with your own accountant, to just make sure the finance package you have chosen is right for your business.

Useful checklist (payments for PCP, rentals for Car Leasing)

Contract Hire is form of rental that allows a customer to rent a vehicle for a period of time, normally over three years.

At the end of the contract you hand the car back to the leasing company who then has to sell it. The leasing companies have many ways they sell their vehicles i.e. through auctions, through dealers, through buyback arrangements with the manufacturers and direct to the public.

However not everyone wants a brand new vehicle on contract hire and some people still prefer to buy used cars. The question around this last point is if you want to buy ex-fleet cars direct, where do go?

comparecontracthire.com has just launched a new service allowing buyers to view a selection  of the vehicles offered by some of their leasing partners. The attraction of buying ex-fleet vehicles is the leasing company will have a record of what has happened to their vehicle throughout its life. They will usually have had only one registered keeper as well (i.e. the leasing company).

Robert Wastell, founder of comparecontracthire.com said  ” The site is primarily focussed on providing new business contract hire rentals, compared on line, direct from FN50 companies. However I have often been asked how to buy ex-fleet cars, direct, from the leasing companies.  In order to help our partners sell their ex-fleet vehicles we have created a new section on the site.  Buyers who prefer to buy (or finance) used cars can now see a selection of ex-fleet vehicles at trade prices”.

UK car production fell by 33.3% in November and is 2.7% down, year to date, reports the SMMT.

Commercial Vehicle production was down by 50.2% for the month causing further concern. The rapid slowdown has been caused by a fall in domestic and export demand. Urgent action by the Government, is called upon by the SMMT, to stimulate growth by proving better access to credit and finance.

The partners on Comparecontracthire.com are all blue chip finance organisations who all have access to substantial vehicle finance funds.  If you are looking for a car or commercial van contract hire quotation you can compare prices from up to 12 finance companies at www.comparecontracthire.com . Then deal direct and save time and money.