Car Leasing Blog

Just found a great article for all you green-concious out there. A hydrogen powered BMW 7 series looking to go into production

The BMW Group is proud to announce that the BMW Hydrogen 7 - the world’s first hydrogen-powered luxury sedan - has been selected to participate in the first-ever WIRED LivingHome. Designed by Ray Kappe, FAIA, this modern luxury residence will serve as an example of how people can effectively balance green living with high technology and high design.

 For more on this, please visit

http://www.thecarblog.com/euro_cars/bmw_hydrogen_7_gets_wired_for_llivinghome.php

Carleasingblog.co.uk is now recruiting for contributors and forum moderators.

A keen interest in cars is very useful, but things are getting a little busy for me.

Please give me a shout (comments or email to admin@carleasingblog.co.uk) with your credentials and I will add you as a user.

thanks in advance

The first step with walking into the daunting world of car leasing is gather your quotations from various companies and brokers.

Once you have gathered your quotations, start to order them by merit. This doesn’t always mean by price, the following factors should be built into your filtering process.

Very importantly, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS IN WRITING ! Thats the last time I will say it, if it goes wrong - dont post it here if you dont have it in writing.

1. The validity of the quotation - Check the smallprint for how long the quote is valid for.

2. The validity of the supplier - do they have a consumer credit licence, data protection licence, company reg number, etc,etc,etc. Alot of the industry is built up of part - time brokers and you may have to ring them while they are at work doing their real job.

3. Who is funding the deal - this should be a well know financial institution such as lex,lombard,lloyds,etc.

4. Who is supplying the deal - the exact dealership your car will be coming from.

5. How long - what is the delivery date, do they have a courtesy car provision if its late?

 Once you are perfectly comfortable with the provider of your quotation, its time to go ahead and complete a proposal form.

next time..

The Consumer Credit Act 1974 requires most businesses that offer credit or lend money to consumers to be licensed by the OFT. This includes where credit is arranged to finance the purchase of goods or services. Licensing arrangements may also be required by debt collectors, debt advisors and businesses that offer goods for hire or leasing. Trading without a licensing arrangement is a criminal offence and can result in a fine and/or imprisonment.

 Basically, if you are going to pass your information to a third party for any from of debt counceling or credit reference,loans etc. The company or person should hold a valid consumer credit licence.

You can ask for a copy of this licence at any time, and people should. In over 10,000 loan applications over a 5 years period, I dont think I have been asked to produce mine once! scary.

If you, or one of your friends are considering terminating a car leasing contract early, you really need to read this. The implications for terminating a lease early are varied depending on wether it was a business leasing contract or a personal leasing contract. But in both cases, the implications arent great.

Business Leasing Contract

Normally speaking we are talking about contract hire. Basically the contract hire company can charge what they like. But the general rule of thumb is 50% of the remaining payments, so if your payment is £200 per month and you have 10 months to run, expect to pay £1000 return fee. Dont forget that you will still have to pay for anything that isnt deemed fair wear and tear.

Personal Leasing Contract

If the contract you have is PCH, please refer to the answer above, however if your contract is PCP or HP - stop now!. With a regulated hire purchase agreement (such as HP or PCP), returning the vehicle early is commonly knows as Voluntary Termination and finance companies take a very dim view on it.

Yes, it is your consumer right once 50% of the contract is paid to return the vehicle without penalty, but just you try to get a loan or credit card afterwards - no chance.

I have worked in a sub prime department, and usually VT (Voluntary Termination) cases go nowhere, even when CCJ cases can be placed.

So (and this is very important) if you are considering sending your lease car back early - make sure you get the right advice first, otherwise you could be paying for it next time you want a mortgage or loan.