[Porscha!]

Please see the Citreon thread, re some questions I asked about car leasing, as this has gone dreadfully off topic.

Some more questions I wanted to ask -

It all sounds very complicated really, I'd be leasing the car not my mum she does events catering hence the LR, sometimes though she has to go and see clients so I presumed she could say I was going there in this car (which sometimes I do go and see them) and claim back half the VAT, is this not possible?

Could I not claim anything off tax (i.e. petrol) for when I start my contract with the music partnership?

Does it cost much more to have a 20,000 mile p/a lease?

What is maintenance?

For insurance purposes do you have to declare yourself as not the owner of the car or is it like normal car finance where you get a log book and finally do you have to service your car at a main dealer?

[E902717]

Most lease quotes that you see advertised are normally for 10,000 miles pa you will need to ask the dealer to quote you for 20,000.

maintenance means included in the price is the servicing for the car but not tyres!

not 100% but i think you get the road fund licence included. remember there will be a penalty for going over the mileage.

You can claim mileage to cover petrol etc.. at 40p a mile for the first 10,000 then 25p per mile thereafter but you will need a business to do this if you have it as your 'own car' if you have it as a company car you will have to pay benefit in kind tax on it but you could claim some of the vat back.

Also once you have signed up for it for say 2 years and your bored after 9 months it is nigh on impossible to get out of it, the others that lease cars will be able to confirm.

[pjs]

mileage penalty on the ciroen is 8.4p per mile over 30k miles

Made sense to pay for 15000 miles per year over 2 years as only about £14month more than 10000 miles per year.

RFL included

Citroen keep the V5

[Porscha!]

E - I don't have a business but am a self employed music teacher, believe the same principal applies though.

Not good if you like to swap cars? You can't just ring them up and say you want to swap it!

Don't think this is for me

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by Porscha!

E - I don't have a business but am a self employed music teacher, believe the same principal applies though.

Not good if you like to swap cars? You can't just ring them up and say you want to swap it!

Don't think this is for me

Unless you are VAT registered (turnover >£55k if i remember) you can't claim back vat at all.

Leases and contract hire are designed to appeal to businesses as the costs are simple tax allowable overheads, just like buying stationary or paying the office electric bill, rather than if the company actually BUYS and OWNS the car then it will be taxed as a depreciating asset plus other complicated rules about vehicle ownership costs, plus its better for forcasting costs as there's no nasty suprises in leasing, you know what you're paying then you give it back.

I have leased / pcp / contract hired cars both personally and through my own VAT registered business, and in my experience you ALWAYS get the V5, as that is for the registered keeper, not the owner.

I don't own the leased / contract hire cars but I am the registered keeper, thus I hold the V5 with my name on it.

The purpose of the V5 is for DVLA to know where it can find the vehicle and to issue notices to, nothing to do with ownership. (police also etc)

If you want a new car, then the contract hire / lease hire / pcp options are good as the deposit is low because you only pay the depreciation and give the car back at the end.

Theres loads of onlne quote sites where you can pick from all makes / terms / mileage / deposit etc.

[xenon]

To prove the exception to every rule, I leased the last four cars I had and never had the V5 which stayed with the leasing company. Doesn't make much difference at the end of the day.

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by xenon

To prove the exception to every rule, I leased the last four cars I had and never had the V5 which stayed with the leasing company. Doesn't make much difference at the end of the day.

+1 - I have leased and been involved in leasing lots of cars and never had the v5 issued. Stops you selling the thing!

If you PCP a car you will get the V5 though

Any fines for speeding etc gets sent on by the lease company. Some add on an admin fee, others don't

PS: I wish I was a student! They can contemplate getting brand new £300 a month Honda S2000's - when I was a sudent I had a £300 ford cortina!


www.contracthireandleasing.com is a great site for special deals

[Looney Toon]

Originally Posted by redE93cab

+1 - I have leased and been involved in leasing lots of cars and never had the v5 issued. Stops you selling the thing!

+2. I've never been issued the V5 document either, and i've leased a lot of cars. Any speeding notices etc just get forwarded by the lease company (owner) to us.

maintenance means included in the price is the servicing for the car but not tyres!

Not usually the case. Tyres are usually included in a 'Full Maintenance' deal and it takes away a lot of hassle.

and finally do you have to service your car at a main dealer?

Yes generally, as the Contract hire Company won't pay the bill. Same with tyres, they usually specify you have to use Kwikfit for example.

Leases and contract hire are designed to appeal to businesses as the costs are simple tax allowable overheads

Spot on. It's off balance sheet and allows easy forecasting.

[PeteJ]

I've had company cars via LeasePlan and I didn't get a V5. The car was "owned" by LeasePlan and the car was under full maintenance which included everything... Tax just got sent to me every year.

I had a problem with my car and LeasePlan also arranged for a hire car while mine got sorted. Phoned LeasePlan at 10am, Hertz arrived with the hire car at 3pm!!

[Gibbo]

VAT registration is available at any turnover but compulasary for a company with 'taxable supplies' over £67,000 in the last 12 months.

Small companies can be on a flat rate scheme of VAT where they pay over at a agreed rate to the revenue applicable by industry.

[sheps]

I look after our company's fleet - we have approximately 20 cars/8 commercial vehicles leased.

I put everything through one company. I have found cheaper on the web, but the service is an unknown - service has a value in my opinion, and what I receive from the company I partner with is unparalleled across the rest of our supplier network.

There would need to be massive pricing disparity before I considered signing with anyone else, and bearing in mind he is one of 4 'superbrokers' in the UK for most of, if not all the primary finance companies/underwriters, that huge disparity just doesn't exist.

Anyone looking for a solid supplier (business or personal), who I guarantee will not be outperformed when it comes to service and supply should speak with Marc Hallsworth, Sales Director of Central Contracts on 01782 644388 tell him Simon Shepherd referred you.

A cooler bloke you will not meet.

[PeteJ]

Originally Posted by sheps

Anyone looking for a solid supplier (business or personal), who I guarantee will not be outperformed when it comes to service and supply should speak with Marc Hallsworth, Sales Director of Central Contracts on 01782 644388 tell him Simon Shepherd referred you.

A cooler bloke you will not meet.

Hope you get a good lunch for that recommendation!

[M3-FAST]

Just checked out their web site Sheps, they are only up the road from me!

Prices are not at all competitive tho

The Citroen we are leasing for under £200 is £377 at Central Contracts

The Grande Punto we have at work was £139 on 30k per annum, they are £182 on a 10k.

M3 saloons are £1525 on there - Over twice as much as what I am getting mine for and prob just standard spec as well.

I am also not paying larger deposits to get my rentals cheaper either - all a standard 3+23 or 3+35

I know what you are saying about loyalty and service, but price has to come into it nowadays. We had 4 cars through the same broker but in the end he kept losing out on price. I still always give him a go at quoting and I still recommend him but I like value for money!

If I looked after the amount of vehicles you do, I can understand why you would pay a premium for service though

[sheps]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the web prices.
The relationship is good, but if he were 100% out it wouldn't exist!

[Porscha!]

Thanks all, think this has confirmed that this is not for me

If my MR2 T does meet it's reserve, I have seen a nice TVR Wedge or if it has gone I'm going to look for another nice 944 or a nice MGB GT (chrome bumper, pre-72) or possibly a rather tatty Triumph TR6.

[DaveC]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Unless you are VAT registered (turnover >£55k if i remember) you can't claim back vat at all.

If you are over the threshold you have to register for VAT (I think its 63k now), if you are under you can still register to allow you to claim back VAT (and to charge it) but you dont have to.

[Looney Toon]

Originally Posted by redE93cab

I know what you are saying about loyalty and service, but price has to come into it nowadays. We had 4 cars through the same broker but in the end he kept losing out on price.

I agree Red. Yes service and loyalty is important, but different brokers get different 'support' (ie discount off list) from different manufacturers at different times.
So it's in my interest to look around, and i generally get quotes from 3 or 4 big brokers that i've dealt with before, because any of them might be able to offer the best price at that time for that particular model.

While 'grouping' costs over different cost centres/companies, certainly can save money with things like insurance/security/stationery, my experience is that it just doesn't work for Contract Hire.

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by Porscha!

... or possibly a rather tatty Triumph TR6.

I saw a 1974 British Racing Green TR-6 for sale for $2800 when I was in college. I asked my dad if I could borrow the money from him. He said he'd have to see the car first. He did and then bought it for himself. The first car I saw (through the window of the B-747) when I first came to England in 1978 was a BRG TR-6. That's one of my favorite cars.

[RichardM]

Originally Posted by Looney Toon

+2. I've never been issued the V5 document either, and i've leased a lot of cars. Any speeding notices etc just get forwarded by the lease company (owner) to us.

I've never heard of anyone leasing a car being given the V5 document before. It stays with the registered owner who is the lease company. I've had many leased cars and it works well for me personally. I've never had the V5.