Thank you to our personal leasing customer, from Bradford (West Yorkshire), for sending through pictures of their new car – the trusty Honda Jazz.
The customer in this transaction did raise a number of queries regarding maintenance of the vehicle (which is something which arises fairly commonly). Contrary to popular belief, contract hire does not automatically include all of your servicing and maintenance. Essentially, you have two main choices when you take a vehicle – 1) driver-maintained; or 2) funder-maintained.
If you choose option 1 (driver maintained,) you are essentially agreeing to take care of all the servicing and maintenance of the vehicle. In this case, you must ensure that the vehicle is serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. This is your responsibility to organise. When you are looking at a vehicle, it would be practical to research the service intervals (which will be every x months/years or every x thousand miles).
Service intervals are not the same with every car, so each manufacturer and fuel type will present a completely different set of facts.
For example, if you are a low-mileage leasing customer, covering 8,000 miles or less, then it is likely you will be in a petrol vehicle and many cars will be serviced on 12 month/10,000 mile intervals. For higher mileage leasing customers, covering 20,000 miles and beyond, it is likely they will be using a diesel vehicle. In this case it is likely the service intervals will be set at every 20,000 miles or 18-24 months.
If you, or the business, are maintaining the vehicle you have to consider as to whether you will service it at a main franchised dealer (which is compulsory with some finance companies) or whether you will service it at a VAT registered garage using genuine parts (to save costs).
The key thing is to ensure you use genuine parts, adhere to the service intervals and also ensure the service/warranty book is stamped (unless it is done electronically). All of this is about preserving the manufacturer warranty and ensuring you are not going to be charged when you return the lease vehicle.
On the point of tyres, it is your responsibility to replace any worn or damaged tyres with the same factory specification as originally supplied with the vehicle. Please ensure you replace all tyres with the correct size and speed ratings for the vehicle and keep tyre pressures in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations. With tyres, do not use part-worn or budget tyres as this will contravene the finance company contract and will lead to charges at the end of the contact.
If you choose option 2 (funder maintained,) you are essentially paying a fixed sum to incorporate the cost of all servicing and maintenance (excluding vandalism / windscreen breaks) and also the cost of all tyre replacements (excluding vandalism and/or neglect/driver abuse). For both personal and business customers, this does provide certainty of cost, in that you need only pay for fuel and insurance. It also provides comfort if you have a vehicle outside of the warranty period (which is often 3 years).
NB/ For a business you can claim all of the Vat on the maintenance.
With maintenance, there is no right or wrong answer; it is about putting together a solution which meets your specific requirements…
In terms of the car shown here, the Honda Jazz Hatchback 1.3 Petrol i-VTEC EX Navi 5 door CVT, this is based on the following configuration:
· Skyride Blue Metallic Paint
· Cloth – Black/brown
· 16″ alloy wheels
As standard the car includes rear privacy glass, Active city braking, Brake assist, Hill start assist, Bluetooth hands free telephone connection, Cruise control, Front and rear parking sensors, Intelligent speed assist, Lane departure warning system, Forward collision warning, Traffic sign recognition, Connect Navigation with 7″ touchscreen, Digital Radio, Radio/CD/Mp3, Aha app integration, internet browsing, Elec heated + adjust door mirrors, 2x USB and HDMI, Automatic coming/leaving home lighting function, LED Headlights, LED daytime running lights, Leather steering wheel, Smart entry + Smart start, Immobiliser, Alarm and 16” alloy wheels. In terms of additional factor options, consider of the “packs” which includes the Sport pack, Premium Pack, Illumination pack or design pack…
On the technical-side, company car and business users can note the P11d at £19,230.00 and CO2 at 114g/km. The 1318CC 1 speed auto engine delivers 56.5MPG combined, 102ps and 0-62 times of 12.3 seconds.
So does the Honda Jazz do enough to be selected as your leasing option? With other great lease cars at similar price including the Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta and Hyundai i20 or perhaps a Kia Ceed is your thing? There are plenty of options to consider in this class…
Tap Here to find the very best leasing deals for personal or business use on the awesome Honda Jazz available now @CarLease UK