Getting the most from car leasing
Article Date: Sep 01 2004Brown’s Chauffeur Hire (BCH) is a London-based provider of chauffeur services, with customers ranging from blue chip companies and five-star hotels to celebrities such as pop and film stars.
The company prides itself on meeting customers’ wishes when it comes to their choice of car so rather than owning cars that would spend a lot of time sitting idle, it leases much of its fleet for between three months and a year, as demand dictates. The summer months see a higher demand for its services.
After shopping around several different options, Chris Panayiotou, managing director of BCH, plumped for Flexxi Lease to supply its vehicles. He says one of the reasons why leasing works so well is that cars can be sourced at very short notice – ‘often within two or three days of ordering a specific vehicle that has been requested by a client, and sometimes even the same day’.
Another aspect of leasing that Panayiotou finds particularly useful is that the company can make requests for ‘unusual cars’, which have to be specially made, and they are usually delivered within a month.
BCH pays around £4,000 to £5,000 a month for eight cars, although this depends on the type and maintenance, and insurance is also offered as part of the deal.
For those considering leasing a fleet of cars, Panayiotou advises that, ‘It’s worthwhile checking out the manufacturers themselves as they do some good deals. I’d also advise not putting all your eggs in one basket – use more than one company as you never know what’s going to happen. And do your homework. There are a lot of good deals out there and it’s worth taking the time to find them.’
Need to know — Car leasing firms
Arval PPH (www.arvalpph.co.uk) Offers a range of services for companies of all sizes. Its Mini Lease service is available for any period between one month and a year, and gives you access to a range of models
Fleetline (www.leaseplan.co.uk) Part of vehicle leasing company LeasePlan, Fleetline can cater for SMEs that require between 10 to 100 vehicles. It also offers additional services such as maintenance and fleet administration
Flexxi Lease (www.flexxilease.com) Its car leasing services range from £99 - £1,495 a month. Minimum leasing period is three months and fixed monthly rental rates for a fixed period can be arranged
Oxford Vehicle Leasing (www.ovl.co.uk) Deals in all aspects of car leasing and vehicle contract hire to suit the individual, business or large fleet customer. In some cases, monthly rental can be reduced by up to 25 per cent.
