Posts Tagged ‘personal contract hire’

Car finance can make your new car much more affordable

Friday, November 18th, 2011

Looking for a new car can sometimes be a long and stressful process. A large number of factors must be considered, mainly around cost, before you can even contemplate looking at whatever new model may take your fancy. Many people believe that buying a car with cash is the best option, but car finance might just secure you a more expensive car on much more flexible terms.

Car finance has become very popular in the UK, and now accounts for over 80% of payments for new cars. Within the umbrella of car finance there are many varieties of flexible payment terms.

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Get that new dream car with car finance options

Friday, September 30th, 2011

Ever gazed out of your front window at your neighbour’s brand new set of wheels and thought to yourself: “how can they afford that new car? I have a good job, but a new car is just too expensive.” Well, your neighbour could be an international jewel thief, but it’s far more likely that they’ve taken advantage of affordable car finance options.

No matter how new, old, large or small; buying any car represents a significant outlay of your money. Second-hand cars may be attractive when it comes to pricing, but a new car offers the extra peace of mind that it has not been crashed, thrashed or stolen – and it also comes with a warranty to look after any niggles, however unlikely they might be.

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Car finance options explained

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

Does your head spin every time you consider your payment options on a new car? Does the whole process of sorting out car finance make you wonder why you are changing your car in the first place?

Well, buying a new vehicle on a car finance package needn’t be so confusing, and we are here to help. The worst thing you can do is to sign up to the dealers own car finance deal, before looking at your options.

Below are various car finance packages available, what they mean and how they can make your life easier, not harder. From car leasing to contract hire, we make it simple.

Personal Car Finance Products (for private use)

Contract Hire (also known as Personal Contract Hire or PCH)

This is a car leasing option for you, the individual car customer. This is what is commonly called a simple car lease. Signing up for a contract hire deal will result in a new car of your choice landing on your driveway for between 3 and 5 years. You decide the time frame, and when that time period is over, you return your car and most likely select your next one. You do not get the option of owning the vehicle, the benefits of this being you are never responsible for selling the vehicle, or take the hit on depreciation cost of purchasing outright. Contract hire (or car lease) can be 65% cheaper in monthly payments than taking out a personal loan.

Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)

Very similar to a contract hire or car lease, a PCP is essentially the same however with extra flexibility. If you are the type of car finance customer to fall in love with your car, a PCP deal allows you to buy the vehicle after the agreed car lease period (3-5 years) is over. With a PCP you may be charged extra for excess mileage or wear and tear. PCP can be advantageous for company car drivers who want to remove the tax liability on benefit in kind. Finance payments are not subject to VAT with this option.

Business Car Finance Products

Contract Hire

Contract hire is the car leasing product for businesses. The business will take a car (or more likely a fleet of cars) and run it for between 3 and 5 years. There is no option to purchase the car at the end of the contract hire term. The benefit for a business with this kind of car finance package, is the amount of work it can alleviate. Without the cars being owned by the company, assets, depreciation and the sale of old cars is all old news. This frees up time and makes it easier to track costs.

Contract Purchase

Getting a contract purchase deal is similar to the contract hire deal, but gives you the ability to buy the vehicle at the end of your car lease. The amount you pay for the car at the end your car lease agreement will be pre-determined when you initially sign up for your deal. This differs from the personal contract purchase discussed above, in that when the car is bought outright, it becomes an asset to the business and will therefore appear on the balance sheet.

Car finance: headache-free and affordable

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

As oil and petrol prices rise along with car prices, the auto industry is making car finance and car leasing the most obvious option for consumers wishing to move up in the motoring world. Why is this and how can everyone benefit?

With class leading manufacturers setting premium prices that seemingly increase with each new version, the last few years have seen working class hero car manufacturers such as Ford, Fiat and Renault look to keep up by producing high-style cars to compete with class leaders, both in terms of quality, design, and price. To put this into perspective, when the Ford Ka was launched in 1996 it cost circa £6k but now on the road it is closer to £10k.

This means that outright car purchasing may be a thing of the past, with car finance, car leasing, PCH (Personal Contract Hire) and PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) deals all becoming more popular amongst new car customers. The only decision you have to make is how long you wish to keep the car, and whether you prefer to switch your car every few years, or have complete ownership.

The transition in popularity from outright purchasing to car finance was slowed by the Government ‘Scrappage’ scheme, with customers able to get that new car outright due to the generic £2,000 market value put on old cars. This scheme is over now however, and people are again looking for the most economical way of getting behind the wheel of their brand new, showroom-fresh car. Increasingly, people are recognising that car PCP and Personal Contract Hire options are the most convenient and affordable way to do this.

Getting a PCP will get you behind the wheel of the car you desire, to your spec, at an agreed price. You will not need to get a high interest unsecured loan from the bank to buy the car outright, and therefore total cost is lower. You only have to deal with the monthly payments, and you can have the option of purchasing the car at the end of your car leasing period.

This means you can ignore the fluctuating market, depreciating costs and the large down payment – typically, when you get a car on finance, you will only have to provide three months’ payment up front; significantly less than the full deposit on most new cars.

Moreover, when looking at cars on finance you do not have to take into account the manufacturers’ varying ways of financing your car. Every manufacturer has their own car finance deal, which they would rather you use than an outright purchase as, of course, they know the car is worth more if paid for on car finance.

Working out which manufacturer or dealer is actually offering you the best deal can often be more time-consuming than actually deciding which car you want to buy. With Finance A car, you don’t have to worry about navigating these confusing waters, as we find you the right cars on finance, at the best rates – leaving you to focus on choosing your dream car.

Three Ways To Reduce The Cost Of Buying A Car

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

At some point all car owners have to think about upgrading their vehicle. It might be once every 15 years or it could be every 12 months – everyone’s needs and circumstances are different – but at some point an alternative or newer car will be required.

For those paying with cash, this won’t be a problem and they will often be able to walk into a dealership, pick the car they want and pay for it in full with cash. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for 80% of people who buy their new cars using car finance. Their issues are that they have to opt for a car that’s affordable whilst being practical and suited to their needs. They should shop with the mantra of finding a car that fulfils their needs and not only their wants (ie; look and fell). As we all know, the price of a new vehicle is always expensive – it is sometimes the second biggest purchase that people make in their lives. Therefore, if you’re looking to obtain (not necessarily buy) a new car and want to reduce the amount of money you spend on the finance for that car each month, you should consider the following five simple steps.

1. Consider car leasing (contract hire for a business or personal contact hire for an individual). You need to ask yourself, do you really need to own the car? Is it an absolute necessity that you have your name on the log book? Is owning the car a ‘need’ or a ‘want’. If ownership is just a ‘want’ then you should be aware that leasing a car is as much as 60% less per month than buying it with a loan. This is now being recognised by many consumers and for the first 6 month’s of this year 57% of all car finance provided by dealers were via leasing contracts.

In addition to cost savings per month, the advantages of leasing allows people and businesses to obtain a new vehicle every two to five years without needing to pay for the cars in full, as they simply make a monthly payment. At the end of the period there is sometimes an option to buy the car and if you don’t want to buy it you simply return it and get a new one (no need to fuss around with a part exchange or sale). The additional benefits of leasing for a business is that a contract hire agreement can allow a business to avoid as much as 100% of VAT.

2. Negotiate on price – It is a known fact that most people do not enjoy negotiating with a dealer when it comes time to buy a new car. In fact, a recent survey suggests that 45% of British people don’t negotiate on car price at all. If the car isn’t already marked as a ‘special’ then it is likely that the dealer has some scope to negotiate and you should always make a lower offer.

3. Shop Around Based on Monthly Payment – 90% of all car buyers use the internet to research the car that they want and to find out what might be the best price. Once they have this information, they typically approach a dealer within 5 miles and see what is the best price that they might get on the actual cost of the entire car. If you are a buyer that is likely to use finance, then you should be shopping based on a monthly payment and total payment across the finance contract period.

Different Ways Of Financing Your Dream Car

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

When buying a car there are two ways to acquire it: (i) you can pay the full cost straight away using cash; or, (ii) you can use car finance and pay a monthly amount to drive the car. If you use car finance there are three typical products you could choose – a car leasing contract, a hire purchase contract or a loan (which might be secured or unsecured). You can compare and obtain car finance through specialist websites.

Car leasing allows you to lease a car for a fixed period of time whereby you pay a fixed sum every month until your contract comes to an end. It works in the same way as a car rental agency but for a longer duration and, depending on the leasing product, at the end of your lease period you have the choice to buy the actual car (i.e. personal contract purchase) or return it to the dealership and get a new one (personal contract hire). Leasing is often a cheaper alternative to buying and is a good option if you’ve found a car that is slightly above your monthly payment threshold for a loan for that car. However, you should always shop around and compare like with like based on mileage, period and toal amount payable.

Although car leasing is a great way to finance a car that would normally be too expensive for you, if you choose personal contract purchase and you decide you want to buy the car at the end of the lease contract by paying the balloon payment, make sure that the balloon payment is not above market rate for the same car at that time. It really does depend on your preferences and your current financial situation if it is more worthwhile for you to finance your car using a loan or use leasing. Be sure to calculate the final cost of both options before entering in to a finance contract because once you sign there’s no going back!

With leasing you should be careful to consider everything. For example, as mentioned above, when leasing a car there will be a mileage limit in the contract and at the end of the contract there may be additional charges related to the wear and tear of the car, although you can avoid all of this if you treat the car as if it is your own.

If none of these options are available to you due to a poor credit history, or you don’t qualify because you don’t have a job to be able to finance your car each month, then there are alternatives to secure a ‘near new’ car for less than the cost of a new car. If you have a stable income flowing into your account every month but cannot afford a one off cash purchase then car leasing may just be the thing for you – just make sure you research all of your options correctly and if you are comparing prices, make sure that you are comparing like with like (e.g. same period, same upfront amount, same mileage).

Car Finance and Car Leasing – Who Really Owns The Car?

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

The person responsible for a car or vehicle in the UK is not necessarily the same person as the owner. In the UK this person is called the ‘registered keeper’ and they must be recorded as such with the relevant government agency.

The owner of a car holds the legal title to the motor vehicle, but in the case of car leasing, hire purchase or a car loan, the current keeper is the individual who actually has control of the vehicle. The details such as name and address of the current keeper are kept on the vehicle register which is maintained by the “Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency” in Great Britain. It is of course compulsory for the vehicle to be registered on this database if it is to be used on a public road in the UK.

This distinction between the owner and the registered keeper is necessary because really you don’t actually own the car which you’re buying on many car finance products such as hire purchase until such time as you’ve paid off the very last instalment. So you may be telling all your friends that you own a new car, but technically it’s not quite true.

With car leasing, this ‘registered keeper’ will be someone who is going to lease a car from the financing company which actually owns it. Or they may be leasing the car in a contract purchase arrangement, which is a little more like a hire purchase.

The registered details on the database include the manufacturer, model, year, engine capacity, colour and vehicle identification number. All these details are also entered on a document called the V5C which the registered keeper is meant to receive and hold on to.

If you are going to lease a car through contract hire, then you must make sure that you get hold of this V5C document from your leasing company. Otherwise you may have some administrative difficulties when you seek to insure your motor vehicle as you are required to do.

If you are not the registered keeper on the V5C document and the database, then there may be administrative difficulties if (or when) you commit a traffic violation. Say you drive 35 miles/hour in a 30 miles/hour limit zone and your picture is taken for posterity by a yellow traffic camera. The registered keeper will receive that fine in the post.
If you are the registered keeper, then it’s a simple process to pay the fine. Otherwise it will go to the funding company which has itself on the forms as the registered keeper. Some funding companies then pay the fine and then charge you an administrative fee for having done so. That administrative fee may be larger than the fine itself. Crazy? Yes, but that’s the way the arrangement could work if you don’t ask questions up front.

Car leasing should be a straightforward and simple business. The most popular car leasing product for a business is called ‘contract hire’ and if you are an individual it is called personal contact hire. The name says it all. You pay the money monthly, you drive the car and when you stop paying at the end of the contract, you choose a new car and start all over again.

Get a Peugeot for as little as £249/month – Car Leasing Special Offer

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

FinanceAcar has several new car leasing deals that have been sourced from the UK’s top lenders. For example, you can now lease a PEUGEOT 407 SALOON 1.6 HDI 110 SR for as little as £249/month. You just need to go to our Car Leasing Specials page or to the Peugeot contract hire manufacturer page, select this car, and leave your details.

According to What Car, the Peugeot 407 Saloon has a “smooth diesel engine, it is economical and it’s CO2 emissions are low. Lots of safety kit is fitted as standard and the price is reasonable for a car of this size.”

Car Finance and Car Leasing – What are the Different Options?

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

The type of car finance that a car shopper opts for is one of the most important parts of the whole car shopping process. On average car shoppers spend only 5% of their entire car shopping time considering and comparing their car finance options. Approximately 50% of car shoppers obtain their car finance from the dealer that ‘sold’ them their car. Ironically, a dealer can be the worst place for a person to obtain finance unless they have shopped around to ensure they have the best deal for that car. One of the biggest problems faced by a car shopper is trying to understand the different types of car finance available. The following is a summary of the major leasing products that are on offer for car shoppers.

Personal Car Finance Products

Personal Contract Hire (PCH)
PCH is a car leasing option for individuals that merely want to drive a new car for a 3 to 5 year period and NOT own the vehicle. It helps to minimise the cost of paying for the vehicle and the driver returns the vehicle at the end of the period. It is a good option for people that want to drive a better car than they can afford to buy outright. For example, a person using personal contract hire could drive a £29,500 Audi A4 Avant for as little as £300.00 per month compared to c.£900.00 per month for a personal loan.

Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)
PCP is a contract that grants a car shopper the option to purchase the vehicle at the end of his/her driving period (3, 4 or 5 years) or to simply hand it back to the contract provider. The driver may incur a cost for excess mileage and unfair ‘wear and tear‘ . PCP can be advantageous for company car drivers wanting to remove the tax liability on benefit in kind and finance payments are not subject to VAT.

Business Car Finance Products

Contract Hire
This is a very popular method for businesses. Contract Hire UK is best for businesses that want to remove assets from their balance sheet and the headache of selling old cars. Other benefits include the fact that companies can reclaim 100% of the VAT on the service component of the rental cost and 50% of the VAT on the finance rental cost. At the end of the 3, 4 or 5 year term, the driver does not have the right to purchase the vehicle.

Contract Purchase
This finance product is similar to Contract Hire but enables a person to purchase the vehicle the end of the contract agreement for an agreed price. One major difference is that the car will be registered in the name of the business and will, therefore, appear on the company balance sheet as an asset. An advantage of Contract Purchase is that VAT is charged only on the servicing component of the monthly payment.

If you are interested in comparing car finance products (leasing, hire purchase and loans) for all new vehicles, use the tool on the website www.FinanceAcar.co.uk

What is Car Leasing?

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Car leasing is simply the payment of a monthly sum to obtain possession of a car for a period of typically two, three or four years. The person in possession (lessee) does not own the car and when the period is finished they hand the car back to the owner and take a new lease or, may choose to buy it outright. There are different types of car leases that a car shopper can use to obtain possession of a contract car. These include:

1. Contract Hire
2. Contract Purchase
3. Personal Contract Hire (PCH); and,
4. Personal Contract Purchase (PCP).

Contract Hire and Contract Purchase are for businesses while PCH and PCP are for individuals. The difference between Contract Hire and PCH is that PCH includes the cost of VAT in addition to the lease payment. The primary difference between Personal Contract Hire and Personal Contract Purchase is that PCP grants you the option to buy the car at the end of the lease period. If you want to read a full explanation of the various car finance products then you can get these at FinanceAcar finance options.

To use a tool to get a price comparison for all finance products on any car visit FinanceAcar.