This is written at a time where a potential hung parliament is dominating the news and who is going to govern the country and what policies will dominate the country is the bigger picture. But we all have our own smaller agenda, what will the picture be for the contract hire or lease market? How will interest rates be affected, even though car manufacturing is currently up, will any cuts in spending reduce the amount new cars bought, or for that matter will businesses and private buyers decided just to hang on with the purchase of their new car, either leased or bought?
As many people are glued to the TV. either wondering or hoping for a slid final solution so at last they know where they stand, only the bloggers and media guys seem to be busy. This is an unprecedented day, where for most the company vehicle purchase is down the list of priorities.
If you are thinking of a cost effective option for meeting your driving needs, getting a suitable vehicle through a contract hire is one of the smartest options you can go for in today’s times. With a large number of car lease companies offering the latest models of automobiles at amazing bargain deals, there has never been a better way to having a great driving experience than hiring your dream car.
Contact hire is a general term of reference used for the system for leasing a vehicle from a car hiring company for a fixed period for individual as well as commercial needs. Listed below are some unique features that make leasing a vehicle a greatly beneficial option as compared to owning a car:
1. Wide range of options – One of the best features of getting a vehicle through contract hire is that customers can choose from the latest and the best selling models available in the market ranging from city cars, SUV’s, sports cars to top end luxury brands.
2. Cost effective choice – Compared to buying a car, leasing one is a highly cost effective choice as there are no heavy investments and loans involved, especially when it comes to high end models as customers need to pay for only a fixed amount of time through contract hire.
3. Flexibility to switch models – Another great feature of availing car lease services, is the unique benefit of switching models as per your wish which is otherwise extremely difficult if you own a car as you would have to deal with the hard task of reselling the previous vehicle before opting for a new one.
4. No vehicle maintenance – By getting a vehicle through contract hire, customers do not have to bother with the hassles of vehicle maintenance as the car repair and upkeep services are taken care of by the leasing company.
5. Easy payment options – Contract hire, also gives customers the benefit of easy payment options which can range from a small down payment to monthly installments based on the period of lease as well as the users choice.
6. Secure transaction – When you opt for a vehicle through contract hire, you can be rest assured about the security of the transaction as the company will make you sign a legal contract and ensure that you are well aware of its terms and conditions before leasing a suitable car.
Contract hire is one of the smartest ways of meeting the lifestyle and driving needs of today’s times. So go ahead and lease a suitable vehicle and enjoy an amazing driving experience at a great bargain deal.
Summary – Opting for contract hire is a wise and cost effective way to meet the diverse driving needs in today’s times. Some unique features of leasing a suitable car include the wide range of options, cost effective deals, flexibility, no maintenance, easy payments and secure transaction process.
It is an interesting equation that the contract hire business is directly affected by the used car market more than the new one. Speaking to an Audi dealership recently he told me how few cars are beeing sold and how many are being released on contract hire options, the reason being such high residual values at the moment. In short this means monthly payments are down and superb cars are being driven away cheaper than last year. Talking to a seperate Mercedes dealership they exlpained than when it comes to contract hire, do not assume the cheapest C series saloon will be have the cheapest monthly payments, oh no there is one particular model which is cheaper to hire than the base model, because it’s current residual value is so high.
When a contract hire agreement is made the monthly payment is based on how mcuh that vehicle will be worth at the end of the contract. the more it is worth, compared with th intial buying price, the less the monthly payments should be. So the current high resellable prices has meant contract hire for some models is cheaper than ayear ago. Of course you should do your own research as there is still variable prices out there from dealerships and brokers.
Many online directories don’t give the customer the full story. Sometime competitive contract hire prices are published to get customer interest, only to withdrawn when insufficient cars are bought that month, or the price looks cheap, but it is not until you read the small print that you find each car has to do less than 6000 miles and there is a 6 month deposit to put down. Leasebam was designed to combat some of these issues. In short, you ask for a price on what you want, and get a real prices based on your requirements from several contract hire firms in one go.
It has been a bit hard for some of the car lease companies to get behind leasebam. They don’t like their prices to be next to others and even though there is no such thing as an exclusive lead, they still feel they want all customers to themselves. However price comparison websites, have proven that customers want more than this. They want choice and clarity regarding the prices. Leasebam offers this as a solution and soon many contract hire firms will be queing up to be on the site.
Here is an owner of a contract hire business based in Newcastle. She became semi famous when she appeared on the Dragons Den to ask for £50000 to help market her contract hire business.
However Ling was a bit unsure about here figures so she never go the investment. Anyway she did have a good business idea regarding contract hire and her site lings cars is very Eastern and takes a while to understand.
She claims 20% of cars in the USA are bought using contract hire but only 1% here in the UK. However other sources suggest that up to 50% of cars are leased in the UK, although not quite the same thing, it is a simialr concept.
Watch Lings attempt to raise mony for her contract hire website here.
There are some companies that offer short term contract hire options. Of course the monthly payments will probably be higher as longer term, especially as most of the depreciation of a vehcile occurs in its first year, and depreciation is a major factor in your monthly premiums.
Anyway for some short term contract hire may be a solution ot get you by until you are buying a car or funds become available. You never know you may like contract hire so much you end up doing this full time.
There are just some vehicles you would just like to own either for leasure driving or even for work reasons and a Land Rover or Range Rover may be just the ticket. These vehicles are often descibed as the best four wheel drive cars in the world, so one way of getting your hands on one of these vehicles could be by considering Contract hire.
In better words you just hire the Land Rover for a set duration and then hand the car back. Keep you money in the bank. You will have to do your sums to see if contract hire is right for you, but at least it should be a consideration.
Our new blog or news section is based around the world of contract hire and how it can help businesses keep money in the business and still have new cars or where it is easier to control outgoings.
However contract hire is not for everyone so will be showing you some of the downsides of considering contract hire. So Ok we are not here today, but tommorrow we will update and search the net for useful information.