Thank you to our Leeds-based personal leasing customer for sending this very “arty” picture of their brand-new car – the ever popular Renault Clio.
A great small (and cheaper) lease option, the Clio is a great alternative to those looking at the Ford Fiesta (the UK’s best-selling vehicle), the Seat Ibiza and the Peugeot 208. Within this category there are a plethora of great choices; it is actually almost impossible to buy/lease a bad car!
Much of the customer’s decision will come down to preferences, as cars are subjective after all, and cost. Much of what the leasing market offers is based around stock deals and it will often vary which small cars will be available on offer. In most cases, it is simply luck that your preferred option was on a deal at that time.
As part of the discussion process, our customer asked a very common question – how old do you need to be in order to lease a car? With children approaching driving age, the customer wanted to ascertain whether contract hire was something that younger drivers could pursue. Put simply, any form of finance will necessitate that an applicant is aged 18 or older. It is not possible to obtain a credit agreement until you are an adult. Therefor every car finance option will dictate that the applicant is at least 18 – Hire purchase, Personal Contract Purchase and Contract Hire.
Age is just the starting factor and this will not entitle you lease a vehicle. Fundamentally, contract hire and leasing is a credit based product. Does this mean everyone can lease a car? Absolutely not. One of the biggest misunderstandings when people lease a car for a first time, is that you will be automatically approved.
Before we can order a car for you, you must pass a credit check.
This involves you supplying key information to us, so that we can pass this to our finance company:
· Full Name
· Date of Birth
· Telephone Number (home and mobile)
· Email Address
· 5 year address history
· 3 year employment history
· Income and expenditure
· Bank details
The main issue for younger people is that they have very little credit history and so the finance company has very little to review. This leaves to many younger people being unable to lease a car.
Before starting their search, we suggest using credit agencies like Experian or Equifax to help understand what the situation is. It is pointless reviewing cars/insurance/delivery times until you are confident you can actually proceed.
In terms of the car shown here, the Renault CLIO HATCHBACK 0.9 TCE 90 Dynamique Nav 5door (Petrol Manual), this is based on the following configuration:
· Flame red Special Renault ID Paint
· Design cloth – dark carbon with grey piping
· 16″ Chrome alloy wheels
As standard the car includes hill start assist, 16” alloy wheels, air conditioning, body coloured externals, cruise control, smartphone cradle, push button starter, medianav with 7” touch screen, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, gloss black internals features, DAB radio, automatic headlights, LED daytime running lights, Thatcham Cat 2 immobiliser, hands-free Renault card and 60/40 split folding seats. In terms of additional factory specification consider adding – rear parking sensors or the space saver spare wheel for a perfect car. Alternatively, go for the higher-specification GT Line.
On the technical-side company car and business users can note the P11d at £15,880.00 and CO2 at 105g/km. The 898CC 5 speed petrol engine delivers 60.1 combined MPG, 90ps and 0-62 times of 12.2 seconds.
So is the Clio the select choice for younger drivers looking to lease? Or are the other options more attractive – the Fiesta, Peugeot 208 or Seat Ibiza or Nissan Micra?
Find the webs best lease deals for the Renault Clio @CarLease UK – or – read more young driver lease car options below.
