6-12 Month Car Lease – Q&A’s
By popular demand, we’ve done a few of these Question and Answers sessions on a range of our products and services, this has included Electric Vehicles, Our Car Subscription Service and our Flexi-rental Program.
This time we thought we’d cover our fixed short-term car leases, these are one of the most popular short-term programs and are usually cheaper then our flexible options.
Questions & Answers
What is a Short-Term Car Lease?
Just like a traditional 2/3 year contract hire, except this is over a shorter period of time, anywhere between 6 and 12 months.
Just as with a normal Car Lease, the vehicle is taken for a set amount of time and at the end, you hand the car back and start all over again.
Maintenance can be added and you agree a set mileage before taking out the contract. If you go over your mileage allowance an excess charge will be payable (more about this below).
What is the initial payment?
The initial payment depends on what profile you would like to take the contract on. If you would like to put more money upfront, this reduces your monthly rental.
The overall amount you pay over the fixed period is the same, but some people like to put a smaller amount of money upfront, some people like to have a lower monthly rental.
Are there any upfront charges?
Yes, we do charge a documentation fee but we do not charge any joining fee’s, etc. Part of the Documentation Fee includes free delivery in England & Wales, whereas other short-term companies do charge for this.
Can I specify the length of the contract?
No, unfortunately you cannot specify the length of the contract and is set by the make/model of the vehicle you are looking for. Eg. the majority of Audi’s are on a 7.5 month term, this is set and cannot be reduced or extended.
Should you need flexibility, we would suggest looking at our Car Subscription or Flexi-rental products.
Is Delivery and Collection included?
Delivery in England and Wales is included when you take out a short-term car lease with ourselves. Unless you are having a replacement vehicle supplied by Cocoon, Collection will be chargeable and the cost is calculated between your address and the de-fleet centre.
If you are taking another vehicle from ourselves, the swapover must take place on the sameday to get the collection for free.
To save paying a collection charge, you are able to return the vehicle back to the specified de-fleet centre free of charge. Most of our fleet centres are situated close to train stations.
Is maintenance included with a short-term lease?
Usually maintenance is not included with our fixed short-term car leases, but this can be added as an option.
Unless you are doing a lot of miles or your contract is for 11 months or more, we do not recommend taking the maintenance, as usually the vehicle is returned before the service is required.
What are the available contract lengths?
The contract length is determined by the make and model of the vehicle you are going for, however, these can include:
- 5 Month Car Lease
- 6 Month Car Lease
- 7 Month Car Lease
- 7.5 Month Car Lease
- 9 Month Car Lease
- 12 Month Car Lease
- 18 Month Car Lease
Some vehicles can also be available for as short as 3 months, but we do have some different contract lengths such as 15, 21 and 23 month contract lengths.
How many miles are included?
This again depends on the make and model chosen. The majority of our short-term vehicles include a generous mileage allowance.
If you need more than the advertised contracted mileage, then please do give us a ring or ask for a quotation. We can quote on most cars on up to 2,000 miles per month. If you need more miles than this, then our flexible car contracts would suit you better.
Where is your Fleet Centre?
This depends on the make/model of the vehicle you have decided upon. Most of our vehicles will be delivered directly from dealer, therefore, collection is not always possible. This is why we offer free delivery in England & Wales.
At the end of the contract, should you wish to return the vehicle back to the specified de-fleet centre, we will provide instructions as part of the returns procedure. Usually this would be our base in Belper, Derbyshire.
What are the hidden charges?
We don’t believe in hiding charges from our customers, which is why we publish all of these in-contract charges on our website and supply them in our contracts and with the vehicles.
We like to be upfront and we have already explained that the collection charge is payable. Other charges that could be incured during the contract include:
- Administration Charge for processing of parking, speeding or bus lane tickets.
- Supplying a VE103B should you wish to take your vehicle abroad.
- Bounced Direct Debit fee and Late Payment Charges.
More can be found on our ADVICE OF CHARGES page.
Is Car Insurance Included?
No, Cocoon Vehicles do not offer Car Insurance alongside our short-term car lease contracts.
We ask all customers to provide a fully comprehensive insurance policy or fleet policy and that the car is listed on the Motor Insurance Database.
We always recommend either transferring an existing insurance policy to cover the vehicle or take out an annual car insurance policy, as this can work out much cheaper than a short-term car insurance.
Just make sure you tell your insurance company that this is a lease vehicle and that you are not the registered keeper.
Can I send the car back early?
With our fixed short-term car leases, you are unable to send the car back early without paying an early termination charge. The cost of this will be laid out within your contract, but is usually 100% of the outstanding rentals.
Should you need a more flexible short-term car lease, we highly recommend looking at a Car Subscription or a flexi-rental program.
Do you supply an invoice showing the VAT?
Yes, we will supply VAT invoices whether your a business or a private individual. This will usually be produced 14 days before the invoice due date and taken by Direct Debit on the same day.
As a VAT registered business, you can usually claim back 50% of the VAT on the rental element and 100% on the maintenance element, if applicable.
What happens once my car has gone back?
If you take another vehicle from ourselves, the swapover usually takes place the sameday.
The driver will go around your vehicle and carry out a simple walkaround inspection of the vehicle. This must not be confused with the intensive supplier inspection.
The driver will mark down any visible marks, so its really important that your car is cleaned before the collection. The vehicle will then be taken away where a more in-depth inspection will take place.
The main idea of the inspection is to make sure that any poor previous repairs are picked up, whcih is not usually visible to an un-trained eye. The inspection may also pick up items such as under floor damage or burns internally.
Any damage outside of the return standards will be charged as per our suppliers invoices, this is not a way for Cocoon Vehicles to make money. On top of this should you have any excess mileage, this will be charged at the point of the end of contract.
All end of contracts can take up to 30 days to finalise, this can be longer, as we have seen during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Any refundable deposits and overpaid rentals, will be taken into consideration.
If we owe you money, we will request bank details from yourself and paid on receipt.
We do not want to charge anyone for any damage or excess mileage, so as per our honesty policy, we publish our return standards on our website. These will also be written into your contract as well as being supplied in booklet form after delivery.
Short-term vehicles do not follow the BVRLA’s fair, wear and tear guide.
Are these contracts covered by the BVRLA fair, wear and tear guide?
No, as this is a short-term contract, the vehicles do not follow the BVRLA fair, wear and tear guide. However, we believe in being upfront with our customers and therefore, supply the return standards on our website and within our contracts.
We also post out booklets with this information, this will be sent via post after the vehicle has gone out.
Wear and Tear should not be confused with damage caused by impact, negligence, or accidents. Please see our return standards for more information.
We do follow the BVRLA code of conduct and we are proud of the way we work.
Will I need a credit check?
Yes all customers, both private and company applications will require a credit check and supply documentation to comply with AML and the FCA.
The documents that you will need to provide will be a minimum of a driving licence and a utility bill. Its important that your driving licence is in the correct address and that your utility bill is dated within the last 3 months.
Our experienced underwriters will also ask for additional information, depending on your credit status.
If you don’t have perfect credit or you are an expat car lease customer, then please get in touch. We can still help you and our experienced underwriters will look at all applications on a case-by-case basis.
Are the vehicles new?
Yes, 99% of all of our cars are brand new and at the very least pre-registered models. Apart from our drivers, no one else will have driven the vehicles inless otherwise specified.
What car brands are available?
We offer a wide range of car brands, these include (but not limited to):
- Audi
- BMW
- Citroen
- Fiat
- Hyundai
- Jaguar
- Kia
- Land Rover
- Lexus
- Mercedes-Benz
- Mini
- Nissan
- Peugeot
- Renault
- Seat
- Skoda
- Tesla
- Toyota
- Vauxhall
- Volkswagen
- Volvo
Can I add options to my vehicle?
Unfortunately not, all of our cars are bulk ordered and the specification cannot be changed. We do, where possible ask for a 1, 2, 3 colour choice, however, this is not guaranteed.
What happens if I go over my mileage agreement?
Its very rare that any of our customer go over their mileage allowance. However, if you do there is usually an excess mileage charge.
This can be anywhere between 35ppm plus VAT and £5.00 per mile plus VAT, with the latter covering many of our performance vehicles.
Its really important to anticipate your mileage allowance before taking one of our short-term cars, we do not want to send you a bill. If you are mid way through your contract and you feel you are going over, call us. Its cheaper for us to alter your mileage in a contract then at the end.
If your excess mileage is over 10% of the contracted mileage, we may insist, as part of the terms and conditions, that you purchase the vehicle.
Do I need to pay a deposit?
This all depends on your circumstances and credit score. We usually do not take a refundable deposits with our short-term car leases.
How soon will my vehicle be delivered?
Unless your vehicle is a pre-order, we usually aim to deliver your vehicle within 1-3 weeks, depending on the manufacturer.
The vehicle I see is available, but I won’t need it for another month or two?
If this is the case, we might not be able to take your order. All of our cars are bulk ordered and require delivery asap.
More Information
If you require any further information about any of our short-term car leases, please do not hesitate in contacting the Cocoon Vehicles team on 01332 290173 or by completing the online form below.
The post Questions and Answers on our Short-Term Car Lease Programs appeared first on Cocoon Vehicles Ltd.
