Long Car Deliveries Lead To Unstable Lease Rates

Saturday, 17. October 2009

Things are not getting any easier for us brokers or our funders. I heard yesterday that a large part of the Audi range is now on Feb/Mar 2010 delivery for orders placed now. Most funders will price fix for 3 months from the date of order which means that the monthly rate will be held as long as the vehicle can be delivered within the 3 months. However, if delivery is beyond this, rates may be subject to review as a result of manufacturers’ price increases or a review of expected end of contract resale values. So even though you may place an order on one of the Audi’s stating a rate, this may be subject to change. In fact it almost certainly will as we expect a price rise before next February. With other German cars falling into this delivery black hole I can see the problem getting worse as we move into 2010. So if you are looking for a car, move sooner rather than later and watch out for the 3 month clause. By Graham Hill