Contract Hire UK

Contract Hire UK - the best one-stop website for all your contract hire needs, both for the business or corporate consumer and for the individual or private user. We have access to a nationwide franchised main-dealer network, enabling us to source any vehicle that you require at a competitive price. In addition, every vehicle can be delivered to your location of choice on the UK mainland or Northern Ireland. Our funders are among the most well known names in the contract hire industry and over the years in the contract hire marketplace we have been able to build up a strong and lasting relationship with them all, thus us to give you the benefit of our expertise with our ability to source the best prevailing rates for their contract hire vehicle or vehicles, along with our comprehensive knowledge of the industry and the current market.

Our broker team here at Contract Hire UK are all vastly experienced in the contract hire market, and most have previously worked in motor dealerships, giving them a sound knowledge of the motor vehicle marketplace. They all have extensive knowledge of contract hire provision and will be happy to advise on the best contract hire for you, whether you are a private individual who wants to contract hire just one vehicle or a corporate client with a fleet of vehicles.

The generic term ‘contract hire’ refers not only to contract hire but also to the other methods of vehicle funding, namely contract purchase, lease purchase, and hire purchase. Occasionally one of these options may be more suitable for the client’s needs than contract hire, and all of these options would be explored during the discussion stage to establish the right type of contract hire for each individual client’s needs. Using these types of agreement to cover the cost of a company’s motoring needs – for one vehicle or several – gives the business or corporate user a pre-determined monthly payment, a predictable monthly and annual vehicle costing and leaves only the variables (insurance and fuel, and maintenance if not included in the contract hire agreement) to add to the final budget figure, making easier monthly budgeting and to project accurately the annual costs.

Further explanation of each of these options is given in the following paragraphs:

Contract Hire: contract hire is historically the most popular form of car funding provision for the business or corporate market, and is probably the most well known. In a contract hire agreement the monthly costs – or rentals – are calculated by using the purchase price of the vehicle, the duration of the contract hire period required, the projected annual mileage and the value of the vehicle at the end of the contract hire period. This method of calculation is used as the basis of every type of contract hire agreement including those mentioned above. The monthly payments are then given as a ‘quotation’. When we prepare a quotation we can include add-ons such as full service and maintenance (including tyres), additional breakdown cover, roadside assistance and relief vehicle provision. The end user has the final decision to include any or all of these options in the contract hire agreement, and the final quotation will show everything that’s included, clearly explained. It is possible to provide quotations on various vehicles, if required, and also to vary the contract hire terms and mileages, to enable comparisons to be made and to ensure that the client has sufficient information to make the final decision. The industry norm is for contract hire is for three year contracts, and these prove to be the most popular as the vehicle is then returned just before it needs the MOT – thus minimising any costs to the user with a ‘non maintenance’ contract , whereas a maintenance contract would include the MOT test and fee. However, contract hire and other contracts can be tailored to a time-scale to suit the end user, up to five years duration. At the end of the contract hire period the vehicle collection is arranged by ourselves and we can, of course, tie this in with the delivery of the replacement vehicle, if appropriate.

Contract Purchase: as with contract hire, the monthly costs of a contract purchase agreement are calculated using the same formula: cost of vehicle, duration of the contract, projected annual mileage and the value of the vehicle at the end of the contract. In a contract purchase agreement this figure is known as the guaranteed future value, or more popularly the “balloon figure”. The main difference is that at the end of a contract purchase type of contract hire the end-user has the option to purchase the vehicle for the balloon figure, or to return it, as above. Again, the add-ons of service and maintenance, tyres, breakdown cover and roadside assistance can be included if required, entirely at the end-users discretion.

Lease Purchase: again, as with the contract hire and contract purchase, the monthly costs are calculated in exactly the same way using the cost of the vehicle, the duration of the contract, the projected annual mileage and the value of the vehicle at the end of the contract – which is again known as the “balloon figure”. Again, the opportunity to include maintenance, tyres, breakdown cover and roadside assistance is available. The differences between contract purchase and lease purchase are that firstly the leasor has an obligation to purchase the vehicle at the end of the contract term and secondly the leasor is able to settle the finance at any time during the lease purchase contract (at a figure obtained from the finance house) and thus own the vehicle.

Hire Purchase: calculating the monthly payments on a hire purchase contract is done slightly differently to the three options featured above. The purchase price of the vehicle, plus the interest charges, gives a total amount owing. An agreed deposit is then made and this is deducted from the sum due, with the balance split into monthly instalments for the life of the agreement. At the end of the agreement the vehicle then becomes the property of the company who paid the instalments and they are free to continue to use the vehicle or to dispose of it themselves.

In summary – all the methods described above, contract hire, contract purchase, lease purchase and hire purchase, will all enable the business or corporate user to fund their company’s motoring needs in a simple and affordable fashion. Vehicles which may be expensive to purchase become much more affordable when they can be funded in this way. Rather than a heavy initial outlay, the contract hire in most instances requires an initial rental payment equivalent to three monthly rentals and some elements of the all the contract hire rentals are VAT-reclaimable. The company has no asset depreciation costs and furthermore does not have to bear any disposal costs. The only costs at the end of the contract hire period would be for excess mileage or de-hire damage costs. Contracts can be written to include any or all of these add-ons: service, maintenance, tyres, breakdown cover, roadside assistance and/or a relief vehicle and can be tailored to the end-users time frame. Every vehicle is supplied by a UK based franchised main dealer can be delivered by them to the workplace or other designated address and in addition will have the benefit of full manufacturer’s warranty and breakdown cover. Full details of the duration of these two items will be explained in a letter following receipt of the vehicle.

Corporate or business clients also benefit from our knowledge of the commercial sector, where we are able to supply both vans and trucks on contracts – contract hire, contract purchase, lease purchase and hire purchase - which have the option to include full maintenance and tyre replacement. Each contract hire type is tailored to the company’s requirements – including mileage and duration - whether for one unit or several, or for a quantity of similar vehicles – sales team cars or small vans, for example – or for larger vehicles. Our team will be happy to discuss your corporate requirements for cars, vans and trucks and ensure that we are able to provide the right vehicles at the right time and at the right rental.

Private individuals are becoming much more aware of the benefits of contract hire and of the various options open to them. Personal Contract hiring* enables the user to choose the car best suited to his or her needs and pocket, often a car which would be an expensive purchase is very affordable on personal contract hire. For those who receive a car allowance from their employer contract hiring their vehicle is an economic and sensible way to utilise their car allowance, using the monthly payments to fund the hire of the car of their choice. Our team are experts in finding the right car to fit the budget and will be happy to discuss options and costs – contracts can also include the servicing and tyre replacement if required. Further information can be found on our page “Personal Contract Hire” Can we put a click link here for the personal contract hire page elsewhere on the site?

We ensure that every client receives individual and personal attention at all times. Each client has their own dedicated account manager, who looks after them with the back up of our administration team throughout the contract negotiation period and right up to and including delivery of their vehicle or vehicles – ensuring continuity of care for the client. Every contract hire type is specifically written for the client’s requirements, for the duration required and has the option to include service, maintenance and tyres and additionally roadside assistance, breakdown cover and even a replacement vehicle. Advice on the provision of any or all of these additions to the basic contract hire type agreement will be given to enable the consumer to make their final decision. We continue our involvement with our clients with a Customer Care department whose services are available to the client at any time throughout the duration of their contract hire, and of course the client’s account manager will be happy to assist if further vehicles are required.

Email this page