Leasing using broker vs dealer

[Director76]

Originally Posted by encroute

I have ordered an XC60 (leased) through a Broker.

I used 4 different Volvo dealers, but could not get close to Nationwide Vehicle contracts price. Based on a 4 year deal - total cost was £1300 - £1900 cheaper over 4 years than the dealerships.
Mileage is cheaper w/Volvo - by a few pence.
If I was getting an in stock item, there may have been more flexibility - but it's a factory order. Not due till July unfortunately. :-(

2019 T5 Momentum, Xenium, Intellisafe Pro, Smartphone Integration, Keyless Drive & Spare wheel.

I’ll be another voice to speak up for brokers - used one first time for the T8 on BCH, 2 previous PCH cars have been via dealer. I also got a deal much cheaper monthly, nearly £100 less than the best Volvo dealer. Their fee was was only £150, which I think they more than earned! They were incredibly helpful and obtained various quotes from finance companies including the ‘official’ one used by the main dealer. They then negotiated a reduction in the excess mileage rate, still higher than the main dealer finance co but the sums (many, many done!) still favoured it. The broker had a good relationship with the dealer I think and got a few extras like full set of OEM rubber mats and a set of my private plates made up for the subsequent plate swop, all FOC. I researched the finance co and their reputation and so far my dealings with them have been good. They follow BVLRA guidelines plus they have a published menu price for damage (wheel scuffs etc) which I find reassuring.

Won’t name the broker or dealer here on open forum but certainly I’d recommend.

[Phil117]

Dealer directly where possible. As others have stated, Volvo PCH is competitive itself which dealers can offer.

It really can change from time to time as to if a lease company is doing a deal which you can't do privately through the dealer and will need to go via a broker.

You used to be get amazingly cheap deals on BMW's through Alphabet (owned by BMW) when they were clearly trying to shift certain stock. You could get M135i's at the time for about £200 a month and dealers PCP or own contract hire were minimum about double.

There was a big hoo-ha a few years back with Volkswagen. They had a scheme whereby if you were a small business (less than 10 cars), you get stuff very cheap, Touareg @£300 a month for example so dealers were selling to private individual but classing them all as sole traders to get the discount. When VWFS woke up to this and changed it so it was harder, you still get the same cheap deals through Leaseplan and Arval, just had to go via a broker. My partners current Tiguan is done on this and my local dealer told me to order through this broker who will use them and they can do it cheaper for her that way. Crazy.

Think it can depend massively on manufacture to manufacture as well as current offers.

[volvocamper]

Originally Posted by pagan8c

how do you find the way they check the vehicle at the end of the lease. Are they very picky and charge for any little marks etc. I am considering this route when I change my XC90,which at the moment is on a PCP, but I am a bit worried it will cost me loads at the end. I do look after my cars and don't do a lot of mileage but I don't know how they look at things.

I have car OCD tbh so I WANT to keep my (PCH/PCP) cars in perfect condition so possibly not best example of how picky they are. My first xc90 was collected from my house by BCA drivers (car was on PCH via Volvo main dealer). They need the car to be clean and walked round it noting any dents/dings/scratches/missing service book/wheel lock keys etc (nothing at all on my car) and we both signed to say initial visual was fine. They said it then goes to a workshop where they take a more detailed look (not sure this happens tho tbh). Off it went and heard no more.
Colleagues have cars on PCP/H (not Volvo but with brokers/dealers who use the BVRLA guidelines for assessing wear and tear) and by their own admission do not have my level of OCD but do treat them with some respect and they have been surprised at how lenient the inspections/costs have been. One last month had a VW with a large scuff on a couple of the diamond cut wheels - he fully expected a hefty cost and the collecting agent said just £30 per wheel cost.
With more and more cars on private leases I feel the industry is having to be fair in their assessments and I have not read much about people complaining they feel they have been treated unfairly.
I guess one safeguard is to ensure whoever you lease through WILL use the BVRLA guidelines on return.

[optimistic]

Volvo have been updating their website for MY2019. I've been watching the finance calculator and there were some incredible deals on there, for example on 6th April I built a CX90 Momentum T8 that gave a PCP deal of £432.89pm for 48 months on 6k miles pa with a £15k deposit. The identical build with the same OTR price is now £615pm. The interest rates shown are fixed 2.52% pa and 4.9% APR on both quotes. The difference is due to the 6th April quote showing a residual value (final payment) of £35,400 and the current deal showing it as £24,220. The residual value on the 6th April quote looks far too high.

The Volvo website was in a bit of a mess at the time. It looked as though they were making changes to the on-line site rather than testing off-line first and errors got into the live system. I know that dealers were using the Volvo website figures for quotes but it would be interesting to hear if anyone actually managed to get one of these high residual value deals, or if they got one but were subsequently dissuaded from it.

[Whippy]

I wonder whether any of you can advise on another aspect of PCH? I have a personal plate. (treasured prezzie from wife), how easy / difficult is it to get the dealers to sort this out at begining / end of period??

[volvocamper]

Originally Posted by Whippy

I wonder whether any of you can advise on another aspect of PCH? I have a personal plate. (treasured prezzie from wife), how easy / difficult is it to get the dealers to sort this out at begining / end of period??

My wife has one and have transferred it twice on PCP/PCH cars. My advice would be have the plate put on retention at end of lease of current vehicle, *have new car registered and delivered on ‘normal’ plates and then transfer it over once you have vehicle (and then back on retention at end of lease) like this YOU remain in control of the ‘cherished’ plate. If car arrives with the private plate you can find it has been registered from new on that plate and you cannot swap it.
Just my experience, others may advise differently. Nissan and Mazda dealers over last 5 years/2 car changes have said they can have car arrive on the private plates.....but then changed their minds. It has been easy to switch them once car has arrived but in case of PCH (where you will not have the V5) it has been with the assistance of the dealer in completing paperwork.
*Do keep the original plates safely as in our case the reg no. the car has reverted to at end of the lease has been the original plate so you can simple put them back on - provided you remember where you kept them!

[SuffolkBoy]

Originally Posted by Whippy

I wonder whether any of you can advise on another aspect of PCH? I have a personal plate. (treasured prezzie from wife), how easy / difficult is it to get the dealers to sort this out at begining / end of period??

We changed our car last November and went for a PCH deal for the first time. When the Dealer checked the paperwork, he advised that the car couldn’t be registered on the private plate and gave me the Santander (the Lease Co.) paperwork to transfer the plate over.

There is a £50 administration fee payable to the Lease company to all ow the transfer and the plate has to be removed 2 months before the end of the Lease.

Whilst the plate is on the car, the plate is “owned” by the Lease company.

We decided in the end not to transfer the plate over as we are on a 24 month lease and it didn’t seem worth the hassle.

Our plate is on Retention and up for sale.

[Whippy]

Thanks for the replies, much as I thought. I will be going for a three year term so it's probably just worth the effort of transfer. Thanks again.

[Director76]

Originally Posted by Whippy

Thanks for the replies, much as I thought. I will be going for a three year term so it's probably just worth the effort of transfer. Thanks again.

Don’t forget to ask your dealer / broker nicely for a set of your private plates FOC to be left for you in the boot. I emailed a (certificate number redacted) copy of the retention cert to my broker in case the supplying dealer wanted to see it before making the plates (I have no idea whether they wanted it or not). They were very obliging and even made me up a second rear (trailer) plate which I didn’t ask for.

Also means I have a set of Volvo dealer plates on the car rather than the lease company branded ones or Halfrauds - which I always think looks better on a premium motor.

The finance co did the transfer on line whilst i was on the phone to them to pay the admin fee - took seconds on the new electronic system (easy admin money for them...!)

[volvocamper]

Mrs VC switched to a PCH financed Mazda last Oct from local dealer. Mazda also use Santander and quoted £50 admin fee but in the end they did not require us to pay so fair play to them. Was comforted that by Jan this year Volvo had switched to Santander finance altho no private plate on my car.