Car Leasing FAQs

Quite simply, whether a car or van, vehicle leasing is another term for renting. In much the same way as you may rent a property, you treat it like your own and rent it for an agreed period of time at a fixed price per month throughout the rental period, but never actually own it.

Getting your head around the world of leasing couldn't be simpler – just check out our super-quick online guide.

In our opinion, there are no cons. While some may argue that leasing means you'll never actually own a vehicle, we believe that in today's market, this isn't a bad thing.

Not only does leasing offer great flexibility and peace of mind, you won't be left with a vehicle facing negative equity when your contract is up. What's more, due to the financial flexibility, leasing often means you can drive a newer or higher spec car than you would have been able to afford if paying outright.

By leasing only new vehicles, all our cars come with a full manufacturer warranty for your safety and peace of mind.

In short it's because we offer value, choice and great service. But if you want to read more about why should lease with us, simply check out this handy guide.

One key element to why you should consider Leasing Options is our terrific buying power. When an opportunity arises where popular makes and model are available, we secure a quantity in order to maintain our promise of offering you the best prices possible; this is reflected in our Price Match Promise!

Still need convincing? Just check out the independent reviews we've received over the past 25 years– we really do aim to deliver OUTSTANDING service.

Although we generally refer to it as leasing, you’ll hear the term contract hire too; in short they essentially mean the same – contract hire is normally used for a business lease.

No problem – all we need is a full and valid UK driving license to get you started, whatever your age.

Yep! We recommend putting it on following delivery of your vehicle. Remember it’ll need to be removed before the end of your lease though. For more information, speak to your account manager.

We recommend you do your research on this one; you’ll be able to find a number of discussions online.

Leasing a vehicle through your business could be a great way of claiming back some of the VAT you pay on your lease, but that's not to say it’s the perfect option for everyone.

With a personal lease, you may well be able to benefit from the same rates as our larger business clients too, and because of our ‘Price Match Promise’ you’ll always be offered the most competitive prices available.

For more information about personal and business leases, simply head over to the leasing school and see explore the options available to you.

Leasing direct with Leasing Options! Contact us and you will be assigned your own account manager who will discuss your vehicle requirements to suit your budget, mileage allowances and preferences.

Absolutely. As Leasing Options offer a variety of different funding options for businesses, all you need to do is contact an account manager. We can have a chat with you to arrange the quickest and most suitable solution to get you in your new vehicle.

Due to our expertise in the vehicle leasing industry, if there is a specific car or van that you wish to lease and you don't see it listed, have no fear. In keeping with our excellent reputation, we have the ability to source almost any vehicle to match your exact requirements, so contact our team.

No, we only offer new vehicles at Leasing Options.

As we source our cars direct from manufacturers we do not have a forecourt, because the cars are not coming directly from us. We suggest you visit your local manufacturer dealership if you want a proper look or a test drive, then come back to us for the best prices and service!

It depends on the model and the manufacturer. Due to our great relationships with dealerships and manufacturers, a business lease is possible to arrange within 10 working days and personal lease vehicles usually within 3 weeks, depending on their availability.

No, with any lease agreement, we ensure driven delivery of your vehicle direct to your door. What’s more, in mainland UK, we also collect the vehicle at the end of your term. Transportation can be arranged as an alternative if preferred, but a fee may be incurred by yourself.

Yes! We offer very competitive, fair prices for your current vehicle. We’ll even pick it up for free! Just enter your registration number here for a quote.

Free driven delivery to UK mainland locations in England, Scotland and Wales is included within the cost of your leasing arrangement. For non-mainland locations (eg Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight), delivery to the nearest mainland port is available, please speak to your account manager for more details.

It's simple, there is no catch. No hidden surprises or nasty shocks.

Because of the way we operate as a business, we're dedicated to presenting you with the best solution for your motoring needs. We want to build a long lasting relationship and provide your next five cars – not just one.

We constantly carry out checks on over 11,000 vehicle rental opportunities that we provide to ensure that they are always superbly priced. In addition to this we do above and beyond to make sure that our exceptional service and outstanding reputation remain first class.

Don’t believe us? Try reading our reviews on TrustPilot and check out what other people are saying about us.

One of the great aspects of leasing with us is our ability to offer a flexible solution to meet your budget.

Initial payments usually equal six months payments but can vary from one to nine months upfront, just see the question below for more details on initial rental payments. Every order also includes a standard processing fee of £199 inc VAT.

However, depending on the funding option you select, the initial rental figure can be higher or lower. Speak with our account managers for further details.

Your initial rental is calculated within the depreciation of the vehicle, factored into the arrangement, so it isn't a deposit and doesn't get returned.

As an example let’s look at a 24 month lease on a £100 monthly rental – If you chose an initial rental of 6 months, your first upfront payment in the first month would be 6 x £100 = £600. You’d then pay the remainder, £100 monthly, for 23 months. (£2,900 overall.)

If you choose to pay a bigger initial payment, for instance 12 months upfront, you’d pay more upfront in your first month, but less per month for the remaining 23 months. Using the example above, you’d still be paying £2,900 overall though.

Think of your lease like sharing a cake between 24 people – if the first person wanted a large slice, the other 23 would have smaller slices, if the first person wanted a smaller slice, the others would have more each. Overall though, whatever initial rental option you take, the total rental cost would be roughly the same, so how much you pay initially is up to you.

In the majority of cases, the usual timescale for requesting the initial rental payment is seven days after the delivery of your vehicle. However, this date and subsequent payment dates will depend on your finance company.

The flexibility of finance companies generally means that you can arrange suitable dates to coincide best with your financial cash flow. Speak with your account manager to discuss this further.

With any leasing arrangement, we work to assist you as best as possible throughout the process. This includes carrying out our own credit checks necessary for financing a new vehicle. Our thorough service presents you with a quick decision, offering you advice if unsuccessful.

In order to have a credit score, you need to first have history of paying back debt – leasing can help you do this.

The benefits of affordability and knowing exactly what you’re paying each month can also help you manage your finances better, especially if you’re the kind of person who’s not used to having a number of outgoings each month.

In short, if you can afford the monthly repayments and still have a comfortable amount left to see you through each month, leasing can help you improve your credit. Just remember, this works both ways too - so if things are tighter than they ought to be, you might want to reconsider in order to avoid missing any payments and reducing your reducing your credit score.

If you lease on a personal basis, unfortunately you cannot reclaim VAT. However, if you lease a vehicle through a business that is VAT registered and you do take out a VAT qualifying contract, then you are fully capable of reclaiming the amount that is set by HMRC.

Our team are on hand to talk you through this when arranging your leasing contract, so if you're unsure, please don't worry. In the meantime you may want to look at our handy tax calculator.

With over 25 years of expertise as an independent vehicle leasing specialist, creating strong relationships with manufacturers and carefully selected funders alike, we will tailor the funding to your requirements.

From a possible 12 available finance funders, we work with six primary companies, including: Arval, Lex, Alphabet, Network, ALD and Hitachi, each helping to offer you the very best service.

This is completely up to you. You can decide (with the help of your account manager if needed) what mileage you expect you’ll cover per year. Mileage allowances start from 5,000 up to 50,000 miles per annum dependant on the vehicle funder.

We do advise that this is something you will need to think about, simply because exceeding your allowance will alter the depreciation of your car or vans value and will incur fees.

At the other end of the spectrum, rebates are not available for unused miles, so it's important when choosing to select the correct mileage allowance. Our account managers can help you here.

The answer is depreciation. A vehicle’s value at the end of a lease contract is determined by how many miles it has covered during its time rented to you. The more miles you cover, the less the vehicle's resale worth will be once the agreement is over.

Leasing Options offer a maintenance option that can be tailored to suit your exact requirements, including the cost within your monthly price plan. If you choose to add this option, most maintenance is covered and if you choose not to include it, you will need to fund this yourself. Obtain a quote here, or see our maintenance PDF.

If you've taken the maintenance option with us then you can visit any of the manufacturer' approved UK based dealerships for any servicing or maintenance, taking advantage of their courtesy car and other services offered.

There may be a time when you might need the use of a replacement vehicle, especially when yours is in for a more detailed servicing. Your servicing provider/dealership may be able to offer a courtesy car as an optional 'relief vehicle' for you. Speak to your chosen servicing outlet directly.

Although it is to be expected that nothing major should occur whilst driving your lease car, you still need to carry out maintenance checks to ensure the vehicle's condition remains as good as possible.

Failure to maintain your vehicle would invalidate the warranty, therefore any problems or damage that would arise from not servicing your lease vehicle would leave you liable for the costs of repair.

As we deal with thousands of cars and vans at any one time, you can appreciate managing individual servicing times is simply an impossible task. However all the information you need on when to service your lease vehicle is located within the instruction manual.

Yes, absolutely. Every vehicle we lease is covered by their respective UK manufacturer’s warranty. For further details please ask our team.

All manufacturers now offer at least 12 months breakdown assistance, some more than this. When you receive a new car there will be details of this breakdown assistance within the vehicle guide. Alternatively, many insurance policies often cover breakdown assistance too. If you are unsure ask your account manager.

Most of our leasing contracts include road tax for the entire duration of your lease agreement. Certain contracts may only include the first year's road tax but this is something our account managers will more than gladly discuss with you.

On standard contract hire deals, insurance is not currently offered. Insuring your car or van is something you will have to arrange yourself. We inform you of the delivery date of your vehicle so that you can pre arrange your insurance.

Like any other car or van on the road, you must be insured, and under fully comprehensive cover throughout your term when leasing a vehicle.

We are launching 'Total Care' which is a complete, full package insuring the lease and covering maintenance of your vehicle. Ask an account manager for a 'Total Care' quote.

We can also offer Gap insurance, which protects the remaining difference between the outstanding finance on your lease, and what an insurance company will pay out. Ask your account manager or give us a ring today to find out more about this.

No. Only vehicles registered on or after April 1st 2017 are affected by the changes.

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For details on what condition we expect the vehicle returned in, take a look here.

As BVRLA members and maintaining a seat on their committee, we have worked to identify the British understanding of what is acceptable wear and tear in regards to leased and contract hired vehicles.

A guide that every vehicle finance company strictly adheres to, is available here or on request from your sales consultant.

Although we work to present you with the best possible service, excessive damage that occurs outside of these guidelines falls on you as the lease contract holder, meaning you will be charged accordingly.

Yes, but much like any other contract, cancelling your contract before the end will incur charges, so you will need to get in touch with us in such circumstances so that we may present you with a termination quote. We do everything possible to keep you in our best interests throughout such occurrences.

No, you may be able to ask for a lease purchase however. Ask your account manager to discuss this with you in further detail.

The option to purchase vehicle depends on the type of lease you take out. As there are a number of different vehicle contract plans offered by Leasing Options, there are some that offer you the opportunity to purchase your car or van for a specified price once you reach the end of your agreement. The best option is to speak to one of our advisers about this.

If you have a contract which allows you to purchase your vehicle at the end of your lease, the price you pay will depend on several factors; such as the mileage that’s already been covered and the car’s age.