A pleasure for the CarLease UK team to personally deliver this executive saloon to our local personal lease customer, from Leigh (Greater Manchester) – the BMW 5 series.
Have BMW got the ultimate saloon? With some sterling competition from the Audi A6, Mercedes E Class and the Jaguar XF, choosing your next leasing deal might not be the easiest? Are modern customers really brand-loyal?
This is something we do think has changed over the last few years, as most individual and business customers are coming to the realisation that there really isn’t a “bad car”.
In particular, so long as it is one of the elite German brands, you tend to find that customers are more than happy with the end result. That being said, each manufacturer brings about its own advantages – Mercedes with their unique class-leading interiors, BMW with their ultimate driving experience and Audi with their ardent mix of style and quality inside and out. Perhaps the main contributor to the customer’s decision is the price; with contract hire and leasing the rates for each vehicle can change on a weekly/monthly basis and there is rarely a situation where all cars are exactly same price for each term.
In some situations, the E-Class may be cheaper on 2 years in comparison to an Audi or BMW, whereas a BMW may be stronger over 4 years. Ultimately, if the customer is happy with all products, it will probably be cost which determines their next route forwards.
So why did we deliver an “18” plate vehicle to the customer? Do we offer used vehicle leasing? To answer briefly and briefly – NO. There is really no such leasing product for lease vehicles or ex-lease vehicles.
What we can offer is a deal on a pre-registered vehicle.
With our industry, the manufacturer and finance companies work closely together in order to construct competitive deals. When they do so, there will anywhere between 50-500 cars arranged on any specific deal. At the point the deal is arranged, the manufacturer may say that the finance company has to register the vehicle on a certain date, for example the 30th of June 2018 in this case. At the point of registration, the vehicle will receive its formal registration number and the clock begins to tick for the MOT and the warranty. The leasing brokers will offer these deals out to their customers, making it clear that the vehicle are “pre-reg”.
A pre-reg does not mean that the vehicle has been used by another customer or that it has any miles on the vehicle; in most cases the vehicle will literally sit in a compound of holding centre until it is ready to be delivered.
This is why cars could be delivered in September/October on an 18 plate instead of a 68 plate. So long as the customer is made aware of the fact, there is nothing to be alarmed about.
The main notion with a pre-reg is that it is generating the MOT and warranty period. For a customer operating a contract beyond two years, they need to consider this as part of their whole of life cost analysis. The ability to include a funder-maintained arrangement may placate some customers, as this will include the cost of all servicing, maintenance, tyres and in some cases breakdown recovery.
For most of our contract hire companies, having funder-maintenance included is as good as a warranty.
So long as you are not too previous about not having the latest registration, there are no issues.
Why don’t we offer used-car leasing? There is no real market for our business to offer this. The residual values on a new car, coupled with the fleet discounts, makes a brand-new car as equally competitive as a used-car option. When customers see “used leasing deals” in the majority of cases they are looking at Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) funding products. This is different to contract hire, as what we offer is a usership style product. We also find that some customers are looking at used vehicles because of their credit status; contract hire and leasing is a credit based product.
If you do not have a positive credit history (i.e. you score below 850 on Experian) or your income and expenditure falls below the affordability threshold, this is not something we can assist with.
Looking to stay local with your car suppliers? If you are based in the Wigan, Leigh, St Helens or Warrington area, just pop into our offices to speak with the team. For any customers looking to go electric, be aware that Wigan Council is doing a lot to help the local individuals and businesses understand this growing fuel choice. They have already confirmed the introduction of 3 x 70kw and 50 x 22kw charge points across the district. As we work closely with the local council, we can jointly assist any Wigan businesses to understand the vehicles, infrastructures and grants available to them.
In terms of the car shown here, the BMW 5 SERIES DIESEL SALOON 530d M Sport 4door Auto, this is based on the following configuration:
· Sophisto Grey Xirallic Paint
· Dakota leather – Black/Black world with exclusive stitching
· Aluminium rhombicle interior trim with pearl chrome finish
· M Sport Plus Pack
· 20″ individual V spoke bicolour light alloy wheels – style 759
As standard the car includes heated front seats, park distance control, m sports suspension, cruise control with brake function, Daktoa leather, part electric front seats, ir conditioning, Bluetooth, LED headlights, sports seats, 19” alloys, sports ee3ats, acoustic glazing, heated windscreen with washer jets, rain sensors with auto lights, ASC, brake energy regeneration, brake assist, DTC, hill start assist, M Sport braking system, floor mats, active guard, 20GB hard drive, digital cockpit, navigation (professional), iDrive 10.2” colour display monitor, auto dimming rear view mirror, electric and heated aspheric mirrors, DAB, body coloured externals, door sill inlays, illuminated door handles, M aerodynamics body kit, LED daytime running lights, 3 spoke M sport steering wheel, alarm system with immobiliser, warning triangle and first aid kit, ambient interior lighting and gearshift paddles. In terms of additional specification on the 5 series consider – the M Sport Plus Pack (20” alloys, sun protection glass, Harmon/Kardon and M sport braking system) and the BMW display key.
On the technical-side company car and business users can note the P11d at £49,895 and CO2 at 138g/km. The 2993CC 8 speed auto diesel engine delivers 54.3 combined MPG (NEDC), 43.5 (WLTP), 265ps and 0-62 times of 5.7 seconds. Service intervals are set at every 24 months or 15,500 miles whichever lands sooner.
So would the BMW 5 series be your select car leasing option? Or would one of the other great cars nationwide be your choice?
Find the best BMW 5 Series lease deals @CarLease UK – or – read more saloon lease deals below.
