Car Leasing - Dealership or Broker?

[Freelancer87]

Hello,

I am looking at leasing a car. I have not yet decided to do a personal lease or through the business but in talking to our accountant, he recommends just do a personal lease because of all of the BIK issues, etc. He recommended just take a dividend to cover the cost and claim back any business mileage. Anyway....that's not the real question here!

What the difference/benefit of doing a lease directly through the dealership vs using a broker? Are there any drawbacks from either as well?

My thought was do it through the dealer but I could be way off. If it makes a difference, it's for a Mercedes.

Thanks for the look!

 

[WB-EU]

Just leased a Mercedes E250 AMG Coupe this week (delivery next month) for a great price. Offer was with whitewater car leasing and much cheaper than the dealer and other companies.

 

[Freelancer87]

That's one of the cars I was looking at....care to share your deal (or even just PM me if you don't want to do that here).

Did you compare the pricing with a dealership?

Cheers!

 

[tony84]

I leased mine on a personal lease through @Lease4Less
I managed to get a pretty good deal through them, not a merc maybe my next one will be.

 

[Freelancer87]

This is the concern I have.....

Can you negotiate a lease deal or do you have to 'take' the special offers and advertised deals? It would seem if you are able to negotiate the RRP, what you pay over the course of the lease will be less.

What are your thoughts?

 

[tony84]

Have a chat with them?
I was offered a decent price and didnt need to try and negotiate. I think a lot depends on how in demand that specific vehicle is but I have no idea.

 

[Lease4Less]

You can of course negotiate a lease deal.

There really shouldn't be any difference between dealing with leasing company or a dealership. Both will be regulated by the FCA.

Some will be more expensive than others. You will need to have a shop round until you find a price you are happy with and a company/dealership you want to do business with.

 

[Freelancer87]

You can of course negotiate a lease deal.

Thanks for the insight on this.

Are there advantages/disadvantages of dealing with a dealership vs broker?

Cheers!

 

[WB-EU]

What I found was when dealing direct with Mercedes corporate you have to get the car serviced at Mercedes and fit like for like tyres (can be costly getting 4 19" tyres) plus they are apparently notorious for inspecting the vehicle upon return.

The broker I used got my car from a nationwide dealer called Alphabet, he said they are much more lenient and I can get the car serviced anywhere as long as its genuine parts, tyres can be anything but budget and they are much more reasonable on the 'wear and tear' front.

 

[Lease4Less]

Thanks for the insight on this.

Are there advantages/disadvantages of dealing with a dealership vs broker?

Cheers!

There are many pro's and con's for both.

Ultimately the concept is the same wherever it is supplied from. The T's & C''s will be different depending on the Finance Company, so check through to ensure you can adhere to them prior to ordering a vehicle. Both the dealership or leasing broker will be able to supply a copy of these, and if they can't don't deal with them.

I can't speak for every leasing broker, but we operate a system in that you have a dedicated account manager throughout your entire contract from the point of sales all the way to the collection/purchase of the vehicle at the end of the contract. We find that this works great for us, certainly from a customer retention point of view, but not every company is the same.

With a dealership, you probably won't have the same contact as it is unlikely the the sales person will deal with any issues you may have 6 months in, but you have the peace of mind of being able to take the vehicle back to the place it was bought for servicing/warranty work. Obviously any same brand dealership will be able to do this across the UK so it doesn't really matter were the vehicle is originally supplied from.

 

[BusinessPlexus]

Can you put a private plate on a business lease vehicle? Number plates can be good advertising "BU13 NESS"

 

[UKSBD]

Can you put a private plate on a business lease vehicle? Number plates can be good advertising "BU13 NESS"

What a silly idea.

 

[Lease4Less]

Can you put a private plate on a business lease vehicle? Number plates can be good advertising "BU13 NESS"

Yes you can put a private plate on a leased vehicle.

 

[BusinessPlexus]

Silly Idea? I dont think so... any publicity is good publicity in my view. I would not stick it on a Micra or an Punto. Currently i have a Mercedes CLA 220 CDI AMG Sport Coupe covered in adverts which looks awesome (will post a pic) and its a head turner... with a number plate you give viewers the appearance of a prosperous successful business which attracts business... Like James Caan not having meetings in his real tiny office but rather taking them out for coffees at posh shops and creating the perception of a massive successful business to his clients when in reality his office was barely big enough to fit a full size desk in. This is how he got made.

When it comes to business it helps to think outside the box especially when competition is huge. Otherwise your just going to dwell in the little shoe box

 

[UKSBD]

You obviously didn't see the avatar

 

[GenusLeasing]

The posts that have been made are all fair points, there is no difference in who you use as all cars are provided through the UK dealer network, and Brokers use various major finance companies. It will come down to the level of service and price. Look about and see who you get on best with.