A big thank you to our Sheffield-based personal leasing customer for sending a picture of their new car – the Mercedes-Benz GLA Class Diesel Hatchback 200d Sport 5dr Auto.
The GLA is very much Merc’s micro SUV offering; think A-Class size and configuration but with a higher driving and seated position. This is the alternative to the Audi Q2 and Audi Q3 or the BMW X1 or BMW X3 in the luxury car segment.
With luxury cars, it is often very difficult to completely ascertain which car is better/worse; we find it is now very much influenced by which deals the manufacturer is prepared to offer on the vehicles. With Audi, Mercedes and BMW, there is rarely a bad product.
One of the questions which our customer did raise in this transaction is whether or not you should have a driver-maintained or funder-maintained contract hire arrangement. With this question, there is no right or wrong answer, it is very much a case of presenting the facts to the customer and then trying to make an informed decision.
A driver-maintained arrangement is one in which the driver is responsible for the servicing, maintenance, tyres and breakdown recovery. When you are looking at a new lease vehicle, you have to consider the whole life costs, not just the actual rental for using the vehicle. Within any budgetary considerations you need to take into account fuel, insurance and the running costs on the vehicle. When you have a driver-maintained arrangement, do ensure you work out when the service intervals are on the car – this will either be every 12/18 months or every x thousand miles.
For some finance companies, you will have to use a main dealer for the servicing of the vehicle whereas other finance companies will allow you use another service centre which uses genuine manufacturer parts and which is Vat registered. With your tyres, you do need to ensure you replace these with the same tyres which came with the vehicle i.e. you cannot replace premium brand tyres with budget ones. On breakdown recovery, some manufacturers will offer this for 1-3 years, so do research the vehicle before organising your own recovery with the AA, Greenflag or RAC.
A funder-maintained vehicle arrangement is one which includes the cost of all servicing, maintenance, tyres and, in some cases, breakdown recovery for the duration of the term. In some cases, a finance company will have a “no quibble” policy on tyres, which means that as well as wear/tear, they will also cover replacement tyres for punctures. By having a funder-maintained arrangement, you have more certainty of cost as you need only pay for the fuel and insurance on the vehicle. For those customers looking for a fixed-cost solution, this may be the ideal route moving forwards.
In terms of the car shown here, the Mercedes GLA 200d Sport 5dr Auto, this is based on the following configuration:
· Mountain Grey Metallic Paint
· Artico leather – Black
· 18″ 5 spoke alloy wheels in vanadium silver with high sheen finish
As standard the car includes rain sensing wipers, heated washer jets, cruise control, 18” alloys, privacy glass, adaptive brake system, hill start assist, attention assist, reversing camera, 8” colour screen, smartphone integration with apply carplay, electric and heated door mirrors, Bluetooth, aluminium roof rails, body coloured externals, fog lights, LED lights, artico leather upholstery, ambient lighting, first aid kit, alarm/immobiliser and keyless start. In terms of the additional factor options on the GLA consider – garmin sat nav and the electric panoramic roof for the perfect machine. Alternatively, upgrade to the “Premium” or “Premium Plus”.
On the technical-side, company car drivers can note the P11d at £31,060.00 and CO2 of 108 g/km for calculation of company car tax. The 2143CC 7 speed auto engine delivers 136ps, combined MPG of 67.3 and 0-62 times of 9.1 seconds. Service intervals are set at every 12 months or 15,500 miles whichever lands sooner.
So would the GLA be your smaller-SUV luxury leasing option? Or would you be heading to one of the competition small SUVs?
Let us know your thoughts!!??
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