Small and Green - Volkswagen Win Top Award

Volkswagen has long been seen as a manufacturer of desirable and good quality vehicles. We can all remember the legendary Golf Gti the hot hatch that really performed as well as having outstanding reliability. Over the years Volkswagen has developed it range and been aggressive in acquiring other brands and now stands as one of Europe's largest car and van manufacturers.


They recently had more success with their outstanding 1.4-liter TSI Twincharger which has secured overall honors at the International Engine of the Year Awards 2010. This powerful yet small capacity engine, which won the overall Awards’ title for the first time last year, boasts almost 180bhp this in part due to the intelligent use of both a turbocharger and a supercharger. The engine is now a popular choice for customers across much of the VW model range, including the Golf, Scirocco, Eos and Tiguan ranges; it is also found in the Seat Ibiza Cupra derivative.

Volkswagen have long been a popular with the mainstream Contract Hire and Leasing Companies this is due to factors such as competitive pricing,good reliability and high resale value. Many Fleet drivers....read more 

Driving Abroad - Have you informed your Contract Hire or Lease provider

With summer upon us many people will be looking forward to getting in their cars and taking a trip across the channel, but have you informed your Contract Hire or Car Leasing provider?


We all spend lots of time looking at what route we will take, where we will stay and how much money we need.  But for most of us with a vehicle on a Contract Hire agreement or a Personal lease have we remembered to contact our car leasing provider in advance.  It is important to do this as you will need to gain the lease providers  permission to take the vehicle out of the UK and for them to arrange a VE103 document.  Simplistically this document is evidence that you are not the legal owner of the vehicle but as the user your Leasing provider has given written authority for you to take the vehicle outside of the UK.

As this is very often outsourced by the Contract Hire company it is advisable to give your lease provider....read more

Company Car Use Fuel Rates Change

Many of us who use our cars for business where we claim back the cost of business fuel, have been waiting patiently to see whether the HMRC (H M Revenue and Customs) increase the advisory fuel rates to match the rapidly increasing fuel costs. Well with the new coalition governments austerity programme beginning to kick in then you won't be surprised that the changes are not exactly generous!


In fact if you are one of the many people who run a diesel car with an engine capacity of between 1401cc and 2000cc, which I suggest is the majority of us then the rate of reimbursement hasn't changed. Interestingly the larger engined vehicles of over 2000cc have been the biggest winners, is this showing commitment to reducing emissions or is it that ministers and senior civil servants all run bigger capacity cars?...read more

Mazda MX-5 - A Contract Hire favourite and JD Power winner

The Mazda MX- 5 has recently been awarded the JD Power 'Best Sports Car' award for 2010 based on their expansive survey with over 17,000 UK car owners taking part. The Mazda MX-5 an iconic two seater sports car received top scores for appearance,exterior and interior quality as well its legendary reliability. It also scored well on performance, running costs and dealer service.


In terms of numbers the Mazda MX-5 scored an overall satisfaction rating of 82.3%, beating a strong group comprising of the Mercedes-Benz SLK, the VW Eos and Audi TT to lift the award of 'Best in Class'.
It may surprise you to know the Mazda MX-5 has been with us for twenty years, this pretty little soft top has one many owners affection being well known for being fantastically reliable as well as holding its resale value well. It has long been held in high esteem by many Contract Hire companies who know they tend to fetch a premium price at the end of their contracts.
You can get a Mazda MX-5 1.8SE for only £199.00 + Vat through some advertisers on UK Leasing and Contract Hire .com a leading website where independant Contract Hire and Leasing brokers advertise some of the UK's best Car and Van leasing offers. Or what about one on a Personal Leasing contract £233.83 including Vat a great way of getting you behind the wheel of one of these great little sports cars
Mark Cameron, Sales Director of Mazda UK commented '' Today, the Mazda MX-5 remains unrivalled as a rewarding sports car that can be used for everyday motoring all year round. The MX-5 soft-top continues to offer the purest,fun to drive thrills,whilst the Roadster Coupe adds to those thrills with an even more premium experience,together with....read more

Personal Leasing a great way to drive a new car

Are you looking to drive away a new car and not have to worry about selling it at the end of 2 or 3 years? You may find a Personal Contract Hire or Lease agreement may be just the right thing for you.
A Personal Lease is a funding option where you take a new vehicle, typically over a two or three year agreement and at the end of the term [More...] the vehicle is collected by the leasing company and disposed of for you. These Personal Contract hire arrangements typically only require a minimal initial up front payment normally the equivalent of 3 months rentals, this is then followed by a further 23 or 35 payments.

With most personal leasing agreements the vehicle is delivered to your home or place of work and will have road fund licence included for the first twelve months, in fact most of these contracts will include road fund licence for the full term of the hire agreement. You can also specify whether you want to include full maintenance provision to your hire agreement. This will enable you to budget the running costs of the car accurately as all routine servicing,breakdown cover and tyres are included,only accidental damage is normally excluded.

Once your contract is due to...read more