How to Get the Best Personal Car Lease Deal for Your Budget

How to Get the Best Personal Car Lease Deal for Your Budget

Personal car leasing offers considerable benefits and cost savings compared to buying a car outright or on finance. There are ways to make considered decisions and carry out research which could save you some money and maximise the standard of vehicle you can aspire to on your budget.

Here we have outlined what factors you need to consider and explained how car leasing deals are structured, to give you a better understanding of the process and provide you with information to help negotiate a deal that suits you. Cheap car lease deals are definitely out there, but you also want to get value for your money and secure the best possible vehicle for what you can afford. Read on for how to get the best personal car lease deal for your budget.

What Factors Affect a Personal Car Leasing Deal?

Many considerations are made when a leasing company sets a monthly cost for a car lease deal. These will include:

• Depreciation – How quickly will a vehicle lose its value? Usually, a more expensive vehicle will depreciate faster, although that’s not always the case, it can also depend on market popularity and mileage. A vehicle with a slower depreciation will most likely result in a cheaper leasing cost.

• Residual value – The leasing company wants to maximise the value of the vehicle at the end of the lease when it is returned to them. The higher that is likely to be – i.e., the fewer miles you do and the slower the depreciation rate – the lower your monthly lease payments will be.

• Vehicle brand offers – Manufacturers sometimes run promotions and incentives for the car leasing company, which can be passed on to the motorist in reduced costs.

If you understand these factors and do some research on them, they can help you make a decision on the right car for you, and put you in a good place to negotiate suitable terms for your car lease deal.

Securing the Best Possible Car Leasing Deal

Now let’s look at some of those factors in more detail:

• Choose a vehicle with good residual value

Some vehicle brands hold their value based on reputation and reliability. This makes them more cost-effective to lease and can provide you with a good quality vehicle for your money. Such brands include Honda, Volvo and Toyota.

When you are paying your monthly fee to the car leasing company, you are effectively covering the depreciation cost to ensure the leasing company doesn’t lose out on the residual value of the vehicle when it is returned to them. This means that the higher the residual value, the less depreciation you have to cover.

• Check out vehicle brand offers

Look out for ‘in stock’ deals as in stock vehicles are often better value as they are ready to be leased and the supplier wants to move them on. There are also special promotions on certain brands and models which run for a limited time. At the end of a sales quarter, suppliers may want to reduce an inventory quickly to make room for new stock.  

When you choose an established car leasing company with a wide range of vehicle brands, they are likely to have long-standing relationships with motor manufacturers and suppliers. This helps to obtain popular models and offer the best possible deals on the market.  

If you are flexible with when you want to start the lease you can consider a wider range of deals. To help with this, most car leasing companies will have a dedicated page for special offers.

• Consider your mileage allowance

The mileage allowance is the most direct way you can positively impact your monthly payment. This relates to depreciation and how much the car will be worth to the leasing company at the end of the lease. The higher the mileage, the higher the deprecation. A high mileage allowance leads to a lower residual value which you will have to cover with higher monthly payments.

It pays to be honest and realistic with your mileage expectations. Track your mileage to help establish what mileage allowance you will need, this should include forecasting what might happen over the course of your lease agreement, which could be up to four years. Are you likely to move house or move jobs? If your circumstances change, this can affect your mileage. Balance your everyday needs with additional mileage for longer journeys to avoid excess mileage charges when you return the vehicle.

• Think about the total cost

Should a low monthly leasing cost catch your eye, there are a few more factors to consider. Paying a larger deposit will reduce your monthly payments and make the deal more affordable during the leasing term. If you prefer not to pay an upfront deposit, consider zero deposit car leasing deals. There are also maintenance packages which could impact the monthly cost, whether you take one or decide not to. The price of insurance is another factor, it is worth comparing quotes for each vehicle model you are interested in. You also need to think about fuel efficiency and whether a vehicle is the right size and capacity for the type of motoring you are going to be doing.  

Great Value Personal Car Leasing Deals from Pink Car Leasing

Whether you are interested in a specific model or open to offers on a range of vehicles, taking all these factors into consideration will enable you to take advantage of great value car leasing deals and find the best personal car lease deal for your budget.