Last year there were several makes and models of cars that were really popular on Comparecontracthire.com. Contract hire essentially provides you a fixed monthly rental to lease your car and can cover most of the costs of ownership, including vehicle depreciation. You may find therefore that cars that cost the same to buy, may have widely differing contract hire monthly rental costs as a result.

For example, an Audi 2.0 TDI 2.0 TDI 136bhp 4-door saloon (Start/Stop) has a manufacturer list price of  £24,485

The Alfa Romeo 159 diesel saloon 2.0 JTDM Lusso 4-door saloon has a manufacturer list price of £24,429.47

On a three year, non-maintained contract hire rental, on 10,000 miles per annum, payment profile 3+35 rentals, the Audi rental is £314 plus VAT and the Alfa Romeo is £339.32 plus VAT per month.

That’s just over a £25 per month difference for two cars that basically cost the same to buy. The best way to see what is the best car you can get for your money, is to use the contract hire vehicle shopper and select your body style (i.e. saloon car), favourite manufacturers and then how much you want to spend. You may be surprised by some of the results and could find a car that you never thought you could afford.

The 2010 list of top contract hire models is below

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

What Van? has announced the winners of their prestigious What Van? Awards and this year named the Renault Master and Vauxhall Movano as joint winners of “Van of the Year”. The two vans are so closely related that it was hard to separate them.

Paul Barker, Editor of What Van? explained,”The Vauxhall Movano and Renault Master are excellent new additions to the light commercial vehicle market and have proved themselves to be worthy recipients of the top “What Van? Award.The increased breadth of range, including rear-wheel drive models for the first time,and the industry-leading levels of interior functionality and practicality in particular swayed the judges”.

The other category winners are shown below and contract hire leasing prices are available now on all makes and models of commercial light vehicles.

What Van? Award winners:

Van of the Year:  Vauxhall Movano/Renault Master

Small Van of the Year:  Ford Fiesta

Light Van of the Year:  Fiat Doblo Cargo

Small Panel Van of the Year:  VW Transporter

Large Panel Van of the Year:  Vauxhall Movano/Renault Master

Pick-up of the Year:  Mitsubishi L200

One-Stop Shop Award:  Citroen

Minibus of the Year:  Ford Transit

4×4 Van of the Year:  Ford Transit AWD

Safety Award: Mercedes

Green Award: VCA

Technology Award:  Renault Kangoo ZE

Editor’s Choice Award:  Renault

It can be an exciting time choosing your new car and after finally making up your mind which Audi, BMW or Volkswagen you want to contract hire lease, you then find out that the car you want, in your colour choice and your accessory specification is going to take 20 weeks to build it!

Vehicle lead times and availability for the most popular cars do vary and if you can be flexible on your colour choice or accessory options, you may well find a vehicle in stock at the dealer, or in pipeline (part-build). However when the dealer places a factory order, the car manufacturers will quote you approximate factory build times, based on their respective schedule build programmes.

The build programmes however can be quite structured i.e. BMW for example may be building BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series in November but the build programme for BMW 1 Series may not start until December for example (this is an illustration of the process and not fact). So when you are quoted 10 weeks for a factory order, it may also be 10 weeks from when the actual build programme for that model starts, so your wait may be longer. And if your vehicle has to be shipped from Germany or wherever, add another week or so to the expected delivery date.

So, in summary, if you know want to order an Audi, BMW, Volkswagen or Mercedes-Benz or indeed any other vehicle, whether that be on contract hire, dealer finance or whatever, it is always best to order sooner rather than later, to avoid disappointment.

We have summarised below the latest Vehicle Lead Time Availability on selected models – data is supplied courtesy of Inchcape, one of the UK’s largest dealer groups and is a guide only.

Manufacturer Make and Model	In stock availability Physical Cars actually at the dealer showrooms.	Factory order lead time To build from scratch or  in “pipe-line” (or some cars in build progress already)
Audi A1	None	28 weeks
Audi A3 Cabriolet	Low	22 weeks
Audi A3 Hatchback	Low	16 weeks
Audi A3 Sportback	Low	26 weeks
Audi A4	Low	8 weeks
Audi A5 Cab and Coupe	Low	24 weeks
Audi Q5	Low	28 weeks
Audi Q7	Low	26 weeks
BMW 1 Series Convertible	Low	10 weeks
BMW 1 Series Coupe	Low	10 weeks
BMW 1 Series Hatch	Low	8 weeks
BMW 3 Series Convertible	Low	8 weeks
BMW 3 Series Coupe	Low	8 weeks
BMW 3 Series Saloon	Low	8 weeks
BMW 5 Series	None	12 weeks
BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo	Low	16 weeks
Ford Fiesta	Low	6-8 weeks
Ford Focus	Average	8-12 weeks
Ford Mondeo	Average	12-16 weeks
Honda Accord	Low	20 weeks
Honda Civic	Average	2 -12 weeks
Honda CRV	Average	2-20 weeks
Jaguar XF	Low	12-14 weeks
Mercedes-Benz CL	Low	16 weeks
Mercedes-Benz CLC	Low	20 weeks
Mercedes-Benz CLS	High	12 weeks
Mercedes-Benz E Class	Low	12 weeks
Mercedes-Benz SLK	High	12 weeks
Mini Countryman	None	16 weeks
Mini Clubman	Low	12 weeks
Volkswagen Golf	Low	12 weeks
Volkswagen Golf Plus	Average	14 weeks
Volkswagen Touran (New)	None	N/A
Volkswagen Scirocco	High	16 weeks
Volvo V50	Average	8 weeks
Volvo XC60	Low	15-16 weeks
Volvo XC90	Low	10-12 weeks

The most popular model on Comparecontracthire.com for the month of September, was the BMW 3 Series diesel saloon in various model options, however the EffiicentDynamics model is proving particularly popular.

Year to date there are is one popular pick-up that has now entered our top five vehicles and that’s the Nissan Navara diesel. The full list of the Top 20 vehicles (where customers have contacted our contract leasing partners for more information) is below. It is clear that diesel is by far the most popular fuel with 18 out of the Top 20 models being a diesel option. Our Car leasing prices and data is updated daily and you will be able to find any new make or model of car on the site.

Top 20

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

Comparecontracthire.com is used by many small businesses when searching for their next company car as it provides live pricing, online, compared DIRECT from the top UK vehicle finance companies. These are the companies who take the risk on the asset and actually own the cars or vans.

We are often asked what are the top models on the site and here is the latest data on models year to date;

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 Coupe 7) Volkswagen Scirocco Diesel 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) Mazda Mazda6 Diesel Hatchback 16) Audi A4 Diesel Avant 17) Audi A5 Diesel Coupe 18) BMW 1 Series Diesel Coupe 19) Audi Q5 Diesel Estate 20) Honda Civic Diesel Hatchback

One new model that is starting to gain a lot of interest is the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta and we expect this model to break into the top 20 model list shortly.

TRACKER, the UK’s leader in stolen vehicle recovery, has recently highlighted that there are shipping loopholes that allow car thieves to export stolen cars via the docks.

Two stolen Mercedes cars were found (one had a TRACKER system installed) in shipping containers, ready to be exported, with one bound for Hamburg. TRACKER’s data has found this is an increasing trend. Even though the stolen cars are contained inside metal shipping containers at the docks the TRACKER system, using VHF technology, can still locate them. 

More worringly, 75% of cars are stolen using the owner’s key, through car jacking, house burglary or from public places. Stuart Chapman,Police relationship manager for TRACKER said,”Every month we help to recover an average £2 million worth of stolen vehicles. And to date we have recovered more than 19,000 stolen vehicles,worth a staggering £420 million, and assisted the police in making over 1,900 car thief arrests.

TRACKER is also planning to launch some new technology that will prevent car thieves using GPS jammers imported from China. TRACKER Locate will provide a significantly enhanced defence system against vehicle theft, incorporating GSM,GPS and VHF technology in one unit.

The Infiniti car leasing terms are based on the following;

- Business car leasing on a non-maintained contract over a three year term at 10,000 miles per annum.

- 3 months rental in advance followed by thirty-five subsequent rentals (38 equal payments in total)

- “With maintenance”, metallic paint and other vehicle options can be added at an extra cost.

- The image shown may not represent the exact model.

Infiniti, the luxury Japanese car manufacturer, has added a new bespoke 3.0-litre V6 direct-injection diesel to the range and the engine will be available in EX and FX crossovers initially, with the Infiniti M performance sedan getting the new engine later.

This new diesel is a key element to the strategy of Infiniti in growing its presence in Europe and with its five models lines, G37 saloon, coupe and convertible plus the EX and FX ranges, it is now set to take on the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes. The sixth model will be the Infiniti M Line which will be launched sometime in 2010 with either a petrol of diesel engine. Infiniti business car leasing is now available on the site.

Driving in the dark has become even safer according to Bosch who have further developed their night vision system. “Night Vision plus” provides a high-contrast image of the area immediately in front of the vehicle.

The image is  analysed and pedestrians are also highlighed on the screen allowing the driver to take approriate action at an early stage.The first production car to feature this system was the Mercedes-Benz E Class in 2009 and it is also available in the new generation S-Class.

Mercedes-Benz has brought out a special edition Mercedes-Benz C-Class Executive SE offering added value with an exterior styling pack and interior upgrades. The car is available now and is powered by the manual C180 KOMPRESSOR BlueEFFICIENCY engine in saloon or estate.

New look 16-inch “Pristix” alloy wheels will be available and the boot lid and exhaust also get chrome finishes. Inside the superb multimedia system is all controlled via the upgraded multi-function steering wheel.

The car offers 44.8mpg on the combined fuel cycle and CO2 emissions of 154g/km making it an ideal choice for a company car driver. Like all Mercedes-Benz cars the vehicle is packed with loads of safety features with Pre-Safe, Adaptive brake lights and of course a five star EuroNCAP rating. Mercedes car leasing prices are coming onto the site soon.