Lease Advertisers Are Not Usually Leasing Companies
Sunday, 15. May 2011
I seem to cover this subject frequently but in case you have only recently started to see my newsletter/blog let me explain the relationship between the person advertising lease deals on the Internet, dealers and you. First of all the people advertising on the Internet, often called something like amazingcarleasing.co.uk are not actually leasing companies at all, they have deals from leasing companies such as Lex Vehicle Leasing, Arval, Santander etc. They are intermediaries and, if professional, can provide some great advice as well as place you with the most appropriate finance company, which is often as important as the finance itself.
They don’t work for the leasing company as you are paying for their services out of the rental that you pay, so they actually work for you.
They are known as brokers. But some can be crooked, offering deals that don’t exist and occasionally messing up your credit for many years to come so it’s important to know who you are dealing with and that they are professionals and not just a bucket shop providing poor information simply to get you on their books.
You may get a great monthly rental but if anything goes wrong you won’t see them for dust. You may ask what can go wrong?
Well you may have difficulties with your repayments due to redundancy or illness, you may have a problem with the vehicle that the dealer isn’t interested in, maybe you are travelling more or less miles than the contract allowance and would like to alter your monthly payments to reflect this change.
There are many reasons why a professional broker could be of great use but the bucket shops are like car supermarkets, you get keen rates but don’t expect service.
And don’t be fooled by the rates, they may hide away lots of hidden charges that I mention on my blog from time to time. So would it not be safer to use a dealer for everything, supply of the car, finance and servicing?
I’ll be honest some of the most competent car finance advisors work in dealerships but they have loyalties which are primarily to their dealership, manufacturer and funder rather than you. When a dispute arises, regarding the car, he will take a company line.
If you have an issue with the finance his loyalty will be with the manufacturers own finance company rather than you. So there is a grave lack of independence.
That’s not to say that they won’t try to sort things out for you, as they want your repeat business, but they are limited due to the fact that the dealership pays their wages. My advice is therefore use a professional broker, one who is a member of a trade body such as the NACFB or BVRLA, and go by recommendation.
Don’t forget, if you have a problem with your car you could be inconvenienced, have a problem with your finance and you could lose your home. What experiences could you share? By Graham Hill
