Which Lease Will You Choose, The Cheapest Or Best Value For Money?

Monday, 10. May 2010

When Kelvin MacKenzie, the ex editor of the Sun newspaper, received an end of lease charge of £1,867.48 he was shocked and immediately tore into Mercedes Benz Finance through the columns of the Sun. In the same column he said, referring to the charge from the lender and following details of the charges, “as per the agreement (my fault I didn’t read it).” He didn’t read the agreement but he’s lambasting the lender over charges that, had he read the agreement, he could have reduced considerably. He even threatened legal action, I’d love to be in court to hear that one. The point is you must treat all lenders with suspicion and all brokers similarly. If you are leasing a car you will sign an agreement choc full of clauses and as no lender that I know has registered as a charity they have to make their money somehow so for those who have risked the lowest rate you can put your shirt on the fact that at some stage you are going to run into difficulties, at which point the last thing you want is for the broker or dealer, who arranged the finance, to say, ‘Sorry you will have to take that problem up with the lender, we just arrange the finance.’ Do you really want to deal with the problems alone? Do you know who to turn to for help? You need to be looked after by a professional that can help with any problems. As Dan Kennedy points out in his excellent book, No BS Sales Success in The New Economy, as customers experience the true cost of seeking out the lowest price they will begin to look out for the best value for money, something that I’ve been providing for over 25 years. As an accountant I was taught many years ago that there is a big difference between price and cost, something that accountants should, but don’t always, point out. Sober warning over! By Graham Hill