So, you’ve decided you want to take out your next car on a lease deal.
That’s a fantastic start, but the next step is to find the best lease deal.
Of course some lease deals are better than others, so with our tips of the trade, we’re going to help you to find the best one.
Sit tight, amigos!
Look at the Right Time of Year
You’ll usually find that the best discounts on lease deals come about in March and September. This is because these months coincide with the time when new models are released, so dealerships tend to slash their prices in order to clear the forecourts for the newer cars. This means that the prices could be a whopping 30 to 40% cheaper than usual.
Still, whilst there are some particularly good months, we’re keen to point out that in today’s industry there are good, discounted deals to be had all year round.
Look for Stock Cars
By ‘stock cars’, we don’t mean the ones you see driving full pelt around race tracks in Canada and America (that’s ‘stock car racing’).
No, in leasing terms, a stock car means one that’s ‘in stock’. In other words, it’s a car that’s already been delivered by the provider and is ready to go. This means that going for a stock car is often the quickest and most affordable way to get behind the wheel of a brand-new motor, with the only downside being that they don’t tend to come with any additional add-ons.
Plus, any deal acquired through LeaseLoco comes with free UK delivery. Happy days!
Choose a Shorter Lease Agreement
Yes, going for a longer contract term might drive the monthly price of your rentals down in the short term, but you will still inevitably end up paying more overall. The simple reason for this is because the rentals cover the depreciation (loss of value) of the vehicle.
For example, if a car costs you £178 each month over a 24-month contract, your monthly payments will total £4,272. And let’s say your initial rental is three months, which will mean an upfront cost of £534, leading to a grand total for the full cost of the deal to £4,806.
Now, if you go for that same car on a 36-month contract, you pay £169 for the monthly payments, and the total cost across the whole lease deal goes up to £6,084. That’s before your initial rental is paid too. Using the same formula as before, the three-month initial rental would be £507. Overall, the entire lease cost would be £6,591.
Do the math. That’s an extra £1,785 for just a single more year of having the car. Also, there’d be a greater chance of a car fault occurring in that longer duration of time.
Do yourself justice and go for a shorter lease!
Choose a Lower Annual Mileage Agreement
General rule: less miles = less money/expenses. That not only applies with fuel as you go, but also with the terms of a lease agreement.
You’ve got to know exactly how many miles you’re covering each month. Once you’ve worked that out, it's a simple case of lessening the cost of your lease car by limiting the number of miles in the agreement. This is an important step, because going over your permitted annual mileage is going to incur fees once you hand the car back at the end of the lease agreement.
One of the most common mistakes you can make is to overestimate the number of miles that you actually do. If you find that you generally average 5,000 or less each year, make sure you choose a mileage allowance which reflects that, and not a value that’s lower or higher. It can be tempting to go for a higher allowance ‘just in case’ you end up covering more, but we wouldn’t recommend that as the best way to go. Remember, the more miles you choose, the more your monthly payments are going to be.
If you find that you are covering more miles than what you originally thought or planned, you do have the option to increase or decrease your annual mileage allowance at any point during your lease agreement. The bonus good news is that this is usually going to work out cheaper than having to negotiate an excess mileage charge at the very end of your lease because you went over the limit (typically costing you between 5p and 10p per mile).
Stick to Your Budget
Same as before with annual mileage. It might sound obvious, but another way to ensure that you get a good deal on your new car is to make sure you stick to your budget for each month.
Luckily, our site helps you do just that by letting you search via budget and price range. It’s a very good way of finding a bargain if you don’t already know which exact car you’re after, but do know roughly how much you want to spend.
Target the Trim
When buying a car, entry-level trims tend to be the cheapest, and top-of-the-range trims the most expensive. But that’s not the case with leasing. In the leasing world, you can often find the more expensive trim levels at better value and sometimes even at a lower cost.
Why is this?
Well, for the simple reason that these vehicles hold their value better and are worth more to the leasing company when you hand the car back.
Avoid Fancy Specs and Optional Extras
Yep, we’re sorry to inform you, but the more gadgets, metallic paints and leather upholstery you add to a lease vehicle, the more it’s going to cost you. No surprises there. So, if you do have your heart set on an extravagant, pimped up vehicle, you’re probably going to have to look at special offers to see if you can get hold of any discounts.
Always worth a try.
LocoScore
If all of that wasn’t enough, we also have our trusty LocoScore on hand to show you the rating for each deal.
That’s right. We have our very own unique algorithm which does most of the heavy lifting so that you don’t have to! You’ll see the icon beside each deal, rating it up to 100.
Signing Off
So, we’ve told you all the secrets we know to finding that pesky best deal. Now it’s up to YOU to go out there and find it.
Adios, amigos!
Leasing With LeaseLoco
Here at LeaseLoco, we make it super quick and super easy for you to search through the hottest car and van leasing deals on the market. We want to give you every confidence that you are working with the very best brokers and car dealers, which is why all of our leasing partners have signed our Ethical Code of Conduct and why we have the highest advertiser partner criteria in the industry.
Plus, all of our available deals include . . .
- FREE delivery to your door (mainland UK)
- Full manufacturer's warranty
- Full breakdown cover
- Road tax
Now that you’ve read our top tips on how to get the best lease deal, why not check out the hottest deals available to find the one that suits you best.