Recommend a lease company

I found the cheapest deal on one of the lease comparison sites and then went direct to a few actual dealers for the car i wanted i.e. i went for a seat leon so i emailed the Full dealers around my area.. Two got back to me, one was the same price and 1 one slightly cheaper.

Same happened with a VW dealer who beat any other lease deal i found but i decided against it.

Good to hear @winifer , what was the experience like when returning the car? That's the part that concerns me, being hit with hidden charges for issues that maybe a figment of their imagination. I don't mind paying a reasonable fee if I caused a fault (just want to add that to the mix)
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romeospadre9 m ago

Good to here @winifer , what was the experience like when returning the …Good to here @winifer , what was the experience like when returning the car? That's the part that concerns me, being hit with hidden charges for issues that maybe a figment of their imagination. I don't mind paying a reasonable fee if I caused a fault (just want to add that to the mix) Read lessRead more

A neighbour returned her car last week that was on lease. I watched the fella who was picking it up go over her car with a fine tooth comb, even using his finger nail to check little marks. He checked for curbing, checked tyres, stone chips, scratches, top to bottom and front to back, then checked boot and under bonnet plus interior. The fella was from a leading car auctions can't remember the name, might have been BCA. He spent about 20 minutes going over it. They allow for fair wear and tear so a small trolley dint should be ok depending where it is but a big dint or long scratch won't be ok nor poor body work if it's had any done. Baldy tyres will be charged for and rips in upholstery. Always best to get scratch and dint insurance plus gap from honest John's.

romeospadre9 m ago

Good to here @winifer , what was the experience like when returning the …Good to here @winifer , what was the experience like when returning the car? That's the part that concerns me, being hit with hidden charges for issues that maybe a figment of their imagination. I don't mind paying a reasonable fee if I caused a fault (just want to add that to the mix) Read lessRead more

I got a booklet with all the damages that are acceptable and what is chargeable - Mostly stuff like you can have this number of chips on each panel with a maximum depth and width etc..

They found no problems that were chargeable. Obviously i had some chips on the car as that is impossible to avoid!

I had lease car gap insurance to cover myself for a total write off - £100 to cover the 3 year lease, but there were additional options to cover stuff like chips, scrapes to alloy wheels etc but i didn't do that.

Think about 3 of my colleagues have lease cars aswell, and when they go back a person comes and checks over the car and it usually only takes 15 minutes so they don't go over the top and none have ever had chargeables.. When i sold my car to one of those we buy any car similar places they spend 2 hours going over the car for a comparison...

It was my first lease experience and aslong as you treat the car as you would your own and take the risk of someone in a carpark bashing your door you'll be fine.. Same with everything if a price sounds too good then they probably are a shady company and i'd avoid.

I don’t know what company this was, but a family member had a lease car (he had a discount through work). They weren’t given the option to pay it off and keep it (even though they were originally told that that would be an option). When he had to return it after two years, he was charged (I think) £150 for one scratch and then another few amounts for a few other things.

Looking for a few websites that people have used and been happy with

Most websites tend to be brokers rather than lease companies. They simply charge you a fee for taking your order and introducing you to a lease / finance company. If it were me i'd simply use a broker quote to haggle with your local dealer. My last two leases have been this way.

You shouldn't have any problems with charges at the end of your lease if it's through a BVRLA registered company, as they have guidelines on what is and what isn't acceptable wear and tear. There are no hidden charges. I can tell you now, if you follow the rules and look after the car you'll be fine or very unlucky. If you're careless or clumsy and damage the car, you'll probably be charged. It isn't a way of making money, they're simply passing on the reduction in value, as a damaged car won't be worth as much when you hand it back. The charges are actually quite reasonable, for example VWFS charge something like £40+VAT for a damaged alloy wheel. Try getting a refurb at a reputable company for less than that. Some people hand them back damaged and are happy to be charged, as it can be cheaper and less hassle than arranging their own repair.

Guzzle12 h, 47 m ago

Most websites tend to be brokers rather than lease companies. They simply …Most websites tend to be brokers rather than lease companies. They simply charge you a fee for taking your order and introducing you to a lease / finance company. If it were me i'd simply use a broker quote to haggle with your local dealer. My last two leases have been this way.You shouldn't have any problems with charges at the end of your lease if it's through a BVRLA registered company, as they have guidelines on what is and what isn't acceptable wear and tear. There are no hidden charges. I can tell you now, if you follow the rules and look after the car you'll be fine or very unlucky. If you're careless or clumsy and damage the car, you'll probably be charged. It isn't a way of making money, they're simply passing on the reduction in value, as a damaged car won't be worth as much when you hand it back. The charges are actually quite reasonable, for example VWFS charge something like £40+VAT for a damaged alloy wheel. Try getting a refurb at a reputable company for less than that. Some people hand them back damaged and are happy to be charged, as it can be cheaper and less hassle than arranging their own repair.Read lessRead more

Thanks @Guzzle , good point with the charges. With the prices you mention its probably worth not getting the car repaired yourself and leaving it to the lease company. Is it worth getting a price list off them for repair charges? Does this exist with all companies?
I must admit I've seen lots of lease cars with poorly kept alloys but at those prices I can see why they don't care.

Have only returned two lease cars so far. On returning Mercedes were an utter nightmare to deal with, their definition of fair wear and tear was only applicable if I drove home from the dealership and wrapped the car up in bubble wrap and never drove it.

VAG on the other hand was awesome, with no additional bill despite the mrs curbing two of the alloys. Hence VAG have got our business again and mercedes won't be seeing another penny.

DKLS39 m ago

Have only returned two lease cars so far. On returning Mercedes were an …Have only returned two lease cars so far. On returning Mercedes were an utter nightmare to deal with, their definition of fair wear and tear was only applicable if I drove home from the dealership and wrapped the car up in bubble wrap and never drove it.VAG on the other hand was awesome, with no additional bill despite the mrs curbing two of the alloys. Hence VAG have got our business again and mercedes won't be seeing another penny.Read lessRead more

@DKLS Many thanks for the information. Its a VW that I am looking at so this really helps.

romeospadre6th Apr

@DKLS Many thanks for the information. Its a VW that I am looking at so …@DKLS Many thanks for the information. Its a VW that I am looking at so this really helps.Read lessRead more

I was expecting a bill for the alloys from VAG, and it would have been justifiable, but they classed it reasonable after 16k miles.

Its worth having a look on Pistonheads for a bit more research, there are a number of threads of Leasing deals and experiences of returning cars.

I returned a VW car on lease. Was very pleasantly surprised, no chargeables. Unofficially the guy said if any damage caused was likely to cost less than a grand at cost to fix then they don’t bother because they want your business again. I also heard from him that Mercedes and Bmw were a bit of a nightmare.