Persoal Car Leasing Help & Guidance

[Fusss]

Hi there,

I am seeking some advice and opinions from people with experience of Personal Car Leasing.

I have been looking into this for quite a few weeks now, and as you can imagine there are some very tempting offers as we need to look into getting a larger car with our expanding family.

The main two companies that I have narrowed my search down to are Gateway2lease and Intelligent Car Leasing.

Service provided so far has been great, and all reviews on trust pilot etc are very favourable, however this is all based on taking delivery of the car etc. I am more concerned about the other end of the agreement when the car needs to be returned!

Understand that firms adhere to the BVRLA standard, however upon reading this does seem very open to interpretation and my main worry is getting hit with extortionate charges at the end of the agreement for things which could be borderline?

Obviously major dents and scrapes need to be fixed and the car needs to be properly maintained which is not a problem, but does anyone have any experience with these companies or any other similar companies with regards to the return of personal lease vehicles?

Looking at 48 month contract and the inevitable little stone chip and scrape here or there I would expect to be accepted, but is it easy to get caught out with major fee’s on this kind of thing? Where do you stand if they hit you with a lot of charges?

The car I am looking at has a 5 year warranty so is a 4 year lease risky or not?

Many thanks

[Begall]

I had a Fiesta ST on lease with G2L for 2 years and I had no issues with the return - but to be honest the only damage on the entire car was a kerb marking on one wheel that was around the limit of acceptable wear & tear. They didn't say anything about that and I paid nothing extra.

In my case it was Manheim that did the collection, but I suppose this will vary based on who the finance company employs.

[cootuk]

You will have to have MOTs for a 4 year lease.
For 3 year leases you can hand the car back slightly early, serviced, but avoud the MOT.

The fair wear and tear guidelines are pretty generous, and smart repairs are fairly cheap unless you're a persistent dinger and they add up.

[Dimebars]

Conventional wisdom states that a 2 year lease seems to offer the best in terms of value for money, and that you shouldn't get hung up on a particular make and model

You're tied to the agreement, and 4 years is a long time to be tied in. Consider changes in circumstances that may impact affordability and mileage. Easier to suck it up for <2 years than 4

[TJC46]

Dimebars said:

Conventional wisdom states that a 2 year lease seems to offer the best in terms of value for money, and that you shouldn't get hung up on a particular make and model

You're tied to the agreement, and 4 years is a long time to be tied in. Consider changes in circumstances that may impact affordability and mileage. Easier to suck it up for <2 years than 4

This..............Dents and scrapes can happen any time, but leasing a car over four years, it is definitely going to be showing a lot more signs of wear

and tear.

If the leasing companies guide lines on "fair wear and tear" are the same irrespective of the length of the lease, then i would rather be handing a car back

after 2 years than 4.

2 years wear and tear, you may get away with, but four years ?

In a 2 year lease with limited mileage, you should not need tyres, you may not even need to get it serviced depending on service intervals. Obviously no mot requirements......just generally less to pay out over a 2 year period.

Change again in 2 years and have a new car again.