Honda Civic

Honda Finance has loaded their special offers on to the site and one that catches the eye is a Honda Civic 1.4-litre i-VTEC SE 5 door hatchback manual. This version of the Civic has a great specification including climate control air conditioning, ABS, EBD, brake assist and much more. CO2 emissions are 135g/km and the petrol car offers a respectable 47.9 combined mpg figure.

This Honda car leasing offer is based on the following parameters.

- Non maintained contract hire car leasing

- Three year contract at 10,000 miles per annum.

- Payment terms are three months initial rental followed by 35 subsequent rental payments.

- Personal contract hire rental is £265.65 including the VAT.

Other terms and variations on this personal contract hire special offer can be obtained from Honda Finance via the contact form off Comparecontracthire.com 

Audi A3

All you then have to do is choose your fuel option (1) then the range of models you want to look at i.e. BMW 3 series for example (2), then the exact model you are interested i.e. BMW 318d Es 4 door saloon manual (3) and then Quick Quote business contract hire or personal contract hire (4).

This will take you straight to your BMW car leasing quotes with prices compared from the finance partners on the site, on non-maintained contract hire, three year contract, 10,000 miles per annum mileage allowance, three months initial rental followed by 35 subsequent rentals. Pricing terms can be amended to other parameters once you get a set of results.

This further reduces the number of clicks to get an exact model quote to four. At present, the number of Quick Quote Car Leasing links has been designed for the most popular manufacturers on the site, however more will be added on request.

Robert Wastell, managing director of Comparecontracthire.com said, ” We are always looking to enhance the site and this is just one of a number of new changes we are planning, to help customers find their prices as quickly and as easily as possible”.

Honest John, the motorist ” agony uncle” motoring website has now partnered up with Comparecontracthire.com to offer car and van contract hire leasing price comparison to its millions of visitors. Honest John received over 750,000 unique visitors in May 2009 and is a motoring columnist for the Telegraph, which has 3 million readers every Saturday.

Comparecontracthire.com will now provide Honest John site visitors with access to contract hire price comparison for car and van leasing, via its innovative quote engines.

There are currently fourteen contract hire partners on Comparecontracthire.com proving both business and personal contract hire. Sarah Thomas, publisher at Honest John said ” Our aim is to provide our customers with the best deals and to provide honest and open advice so they are always fully informed. The finance partners on Comparecontracthire.com are well respected companies in their own right and we are confident they will offer an excellent service to our customers”

Robert Wastell, managing director at Comparecontracthire.com said “I am delighted to be working with Honest John as they are a market leader in the motoring editorial sector. This new arrangement will help their customers, who are interested in financing their next vehicle, understand the benefits of contract hire versus ownership of a vehicle. Contract hire offers a customer security through fixed cost motoring, at an affordable price and we provide direct access to many of the UK vehicle finance houses”

Credit from banks is still difficult to obtain, according to Ralph Morton, editor of BusinessCarManager.co.uk. Earlier this year, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) reported that banks were still holding funds from viable small businesses. And in its most recent survey, the CBI reported that access to finance remained a serious problem for businesses, although the rate of deterioration in credit conditions had slowed.

To make matters worse, business owners turning to unsecured lending for their cars are only finding rates that have become exorbitant. A Moneyfacts.co.uk survey found that rates on unsecured loans had increased by as much as 44% over the last two years- in some cases rising from 8.6% in May 2007, to 12.4% today, despite bank base rates being at an all time low.

Ralph Morton

Leasing, on the other hand, looks a much better option and is an easier way to access funding for business cars. The beauty about leasing -whether on contract hire (CH for businesses) or personal contract hire (PCH) is that you have access to an additional line of credit. You don’t tie up bank loans and overdrafts that your business will invariably need at a time when cashflow is tight and working capital at a premium. And with regular monthly rental payments, the costs can be budgeted and aren’t prohibitive.

Of course, during such economic turmoil, long-term leasing might not be the right option for your business. But that shouldn’t hinder your company’s sales aspirations. There are plenty of opportunites to opt for short term leasing over, say, three or six months. While the rental will be slightly higher than a long term lease, it remains a cost-effective way to manage trading expenses in turbulent economic conditions.

And, finally, the other good reason to consider leasing now is that car leasing costs- since April 1st- are fully tax-deductible for all cars with CO2 emissions of 160g/km or below. Even for those cars with emissions of 161g/km and above, 85% of the rental can be put against the profit and loss account.

So if leasing hasn’t been on your radar before, it really is worth considering now.

Ralph is frequent contributor to articles on the News Blog, at Comparecontracthire.com and is the editor at BusinessCarManager, a motoring website dedicated to small businesses.

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.

Audi TT RS

The best way to find out if your monthly budget will stretch to the manufacturer you want, is to try the Contract Hire £ Shopper. 

You may not be sure which model you want but you may know that you want an Audi, BMW or Mercedes vehicle for example. The £ shopper is the easiest way to find the best value, cars or vans, sorted by their monthly contract hire rental.

Here is a useful guide on how to use the £ Shopper.

1) Just choose Cars or Vans.

2) Then either select “All manufacturers” if you are not bothered what the make is -you may just want to see the best prices. But if you know you only want to see results showing Audi, Ford, Honda and Hyundai for example just tick those boxes and only these makes will show up.

3) Then choose how much you want to spend per month.

4) Finally are you looking for business contract hire or personal contract hire?

Then click on the Proceed button.

The £ Shopper then searches all the pricing submitted by our partners to show you the best results. It will always display the cheapest rental for each individual car or van shown.

If you want to see the other results, just click on the “Orange Button” on the right hand side to see the results of all the other partners.

Contract hire rental terms displayed will be on the following parameters:

- Business or personal contract hire depending on your selected choice. Business contract hire rentals are shown without VAT and personal contract hire rentals are shown with the VAT added.

- Results based on a three year contract, non maintenance contract hire leasing rentals at an annual mileage of 10,000 miles per annum.

- Payments terms in the first instance will always be three rentals in advance, followed by 35 subsequent payments i.e. 38 payments in total. Important to know when you are comparing quotes elsewhere.

Ford Transit Connect

Once you get to the results pages you have the option to change the terms, using the modifying buttons on the left hand side of the page. Also click on the model name displayed if you want to see a picture (where supplied) and technical information on each model.

All the technical data is supplied by CAP, the UK’s leading automotive information supplier.

Now all you have to do is look through the results and see if you can spot a super rental and get the car or van you want.

The beauty of the contract hire £ Shopper is that just because a vehicle costs more to buy doesn’t mean that the contract hire rental is going to be high as well. That is because each contract hire partner sets a different resale value and they do vary.

This unique quote engine will help you narrow down your choices and if you find the right car or van at the right price for you just fill out the contact form, press send and you will be contacted by the relevant contract hire partner. 

Buy or contract hire your next car?

Historically, many small companies and private buyers have tended to want to own their vehicle. There is an attraction about owning something which hits a chord for many people. However the big question is will your car or van lose value over time and the answer to this is yes.

Contract hire is an effective way of changing your vehicle every two, three, or even four years if this suits your needs. You never own the vehicle and are effectively renting it for the period. All you do is choose your car or van, the type of contract (normally with or without maintenance), decide how long you want to keep it for and what annual mileage you think you will do. Your vehicle can be easily ordered for you, by the leasing company and then can be delivered to any UK mainland location.

The major benefits of contract hire are listed below;

1) It is fun choosing a new car every two or three years without having to find a large sum of money.

2) A low initial rental is required which is usually three months in advance, followed by equal subsequent monthly payments, thereby allowing you to budget effectively.

3) You can build in all routine servicing, mechanical repair, tyres, batteries and exhausts, to fix your outgoings if you wish and the road fund licence is also included in the rental.  

4) The vehicle leasing company also recovers the VAT when they purchase the vehicle, thereby reducing the amount to finance. This is passed onto you in the form of a lower rental.

5) You don’t have to worry about losing money over time, as when the contract is finished it is the leasing company who has taken the risk and has to sell the vehicle.

There are some other things about contract hire that you need to know before you commit yourself i.e. excess mileage, fair wear and tear or early termination for example and these are clearly explained at comparecontracthire.com whether you are a small business or a private buyer.

So if you fancy a new car or van and want “peace of mind”, contract hire could be for you.

Pendragon Contracts, part of Pendragon Plc which is one of Europe’s leading multi-franchise retailers, has joined the contract hire finance partners at comparecontracthire.com. Pendragon Contracts will be offering both business and personal contract hire and have already loaded their car pricing. Commercial van pricing will be loaded next week.

Robert Wastell, founder of comparecontracthire.com said ” I am delighted that Pendragon Contracts has joined the growing number of contract hire leasing partners on the site. This will provide even more choice for our customers, as they will now be able to compare prices directly from up to 13 finance partners. If you want to deal directly with the leading finance companies in the motor industry there is only one place to do this and that is at comparecontracthire.com”.

Comparecontracthire.com is the UK’s first business and personal contract hire price comparison site allowing customers to compare quotes on a like for like basis. All finance partners are FN50 (Fleet News 50) contract hire companies and provide dedicated support services to both SME’s and private customers. The site also provides a wealth of information on other motoring related matters. Prices can be compared on the site by exact model, by budget per month , by CO2 g/km or by combined mpg.