Should I buy my ex lease car?
Normally at the end of a vehicles contract hire term the finance company will arrange to collect your car, they do not generally offer the car for sale. You can however ask them for a price for the car but will the price at which they offer it to you be a bargain?
Usually not, what they generally do is check the retail and the trade price of the vehicle, offering it to you at somewhere between the two. Why do they not offer it to you at the trade price? Simply because you are not a trade buyer and they want to get as much as they can for the vehicle.
If you are interested in buying your ex contract hire car maybe for a member of your family, bearing in mind they are unlikely to do anything special on the price, does it represent a good deal? Well it does have its advantages, in that there is a lot be said for perhaps one of your children driving a car where you know the vehicle's history from new. For example you will know that it hasn't been in any major accidents and that any less serious body damage has been repaired satisfactorily at the main dealership.
Although they should not, it is not unheard of for the hirers of contract hire vehicles to have damaged bodywork repaired at a local garage rather than the main agent. Sometimes this can affect the anti corrosion warranty. If the finance company becomes aware of this on the vehicles return, it can be costly for the hirer.
So how do finance companies dispose of cars when they come to the end of their term? The auctions is where most are sold, some finance companies have their own sites where traders can go and bid on vehicles, even EBay is used by some companies nowadays.
It would be nice to buy your car at a lower price than it was offered to you by the finance company and if you were sure it was going to be sold at auction and you knew which one, you probably could.
You could consider going to an auction and buying an ex lease vehicle, although it wouldn't be the same as buying the vehicle you have been driving for the past two or three years and its warranty probably would have expired, which makes it rather more risky than buying the car you know.
Private buyers do buy at auctions but auctions are really best suited and geared to trade buyers, sometimes private buyers miss vital warning signs on a car that trade buyers will pick up on. Some ex contract hire cars are sold with "no major defects" which means that if it is found to have a major defect, the vehicle can be rejected but only either on, or shortly after the day of sale. Others are sold on a "bought as seen" basis. However this cannot be interpreted that there is something wrong with the car, it is just some company's policy to sell all their vehicles in this way.
Private buyers can often be seen paying far too much for cars, as they get carried away with excitement of the moment. Trade buyers know what they want to pay for a car, that's not to say that they don't sometimes get tempted in to paying a little more but not too much more. Whereas private buyers sometimes can't seem to stop bidding and auctioneers have been known to take "bids off the wall", this is where a very enthusiastic private bidder, who is clearly not going to stop bidding, is bidding against a non existent bidder.
Buying an ex lease car can be quite a good idea. They are generally in reasonable condition, the mileage is usually correct and it will have been serviced at the correct intervals. Of course if you can buy one that has just come off a twenty four month term, even better; with most manufacturers but not all, you will still have one year unexpired warranty and usually the option to extend it.
Do make sure that you check the service history, because if the hirer has forgotten to carry out a service and the leasing company has not picked up on it, it could invalidate the warranty. Also be aware that at auction "no major mechanical defects" usually means major components like engine and gearbox etc; the vehicle could have a reoccurring electronic problem that probably would not be covered. In summary buying your own car at the end of the term is probably the safest bet. - 21393
Usually not, what they generally do is check the retail and the trade price of the vehicle, offering it to you at somewhere between the two. Why do they not offer it to you at the trade price? Simply because you are not a trade buyer and they want to get as much as they can for the vehicle.
If you are interested in buying your ex contract hire car maybe for a member of your family, bearing in mind they are unlikely to do anything special on the price, does it represent a good deal? Well it does have its advantages, in that there is a lot be said for perhaps one of your children driving a car where you know the vehicle's history from new. For example you will know that it hasn't been in any major accidents and that any less serious body damage has been repaired satisfactorily at the main dealership.
Although they should not, it is not unheard of for the hirers of contract hire vehicles to have damaged bodywork repaired at a local garage rather than the main agent. Sometimes this can affect the anti corrosion warranty. If the finance company becomes aware of this on the vehicles return, it can be costly for the hirer.
So how do finance companies dispose of cars when they come to the end of their term? The auctions is where most are sold, some finance companies have their own sites where traders can go and bid on vehicles, even EBay is used by some companies nowadays.
It would be nice to buy your car at a lower price than it was offered to you by the finance company and if you were sure it was going to be sold at auction and you knew which one, you probably could.
You could consider going to an auction and buying an ex lease vehicle, although it wouldn't be the same as buying the vehicle you have been driving for the past two or three years and its warranty probably would have expired, which makes it rather more risky than buying the car you know.
Private buyers do buy at auctions but auctions are really best suited and geared to trade buyers, sometimes private buyers miss vital warning signs on a car that trade buyers will pick up on. Some ex contract hire cars are sold with "no major defects" which means that if it is found to have a major defect, the vehicle can be rejected but only either on, or shortly after the day of sale. Others are sold on a "bought as seen" basis. However this cannot be interpreted that there is something wrong with the car, it is just some company's policy to sell all their vehicles in this way.
Private buyers can often be seen paying far too much for cars, as they get carried away with excitement of the moment. Trade buyers know what they want to pay for a car, that's not to say that they don't sometimes get tempted in to paying a little more but not too much more. Whereas private buyers sometimes can't seem to stop bidding and auctioneers have been known to take "bids off the wall", this is where a very enthusiastic private bidder, who is clearly not going to stop bidding, is bidding against a non existent bidder.
Buying an ex lease car can be quite a good idea. They are generally in reasonable condition, the mileage is usually correct and it will have been serviced at the correct intervals. Of course if you can buy one that has just come off a twenty four month term, even better; with most manufacturers but not all, you will still have one year unexpired warranty and usually the option to extend it.
Do make sure that you check the service history, because if the hirer has forgotten to carry out a service and the leasing company has not picked up on it, it could invalidate the warranty. Also be aware that at auction "no major mechanical defects" usually means major components like engine and gearbox etc; the vehicle could have a reoccurring electronic problem that probably would not be covered. In summary buying your own car at the end of the term is probably the safest bet. - 21393
About the Author:
Should you have any queries or questions with regard to Fleet Management, Licence checking, Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Lease Purchase or vehicle Hire Purchase, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536. www.bowaterprice.com.
posted by X - Men @ 3:22 AM
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