It was a pleasure for the CarLease team to personally deliver our new personal leasing customer’s new car, the Volvo XC60 SUV.
So would the Volvo be your select leasing option? Or would the Merc GLC, BMW X3 or Audi Q5 be your preference?
A first-time customer to contract hire, our local customer from Leigh (Greater Manchester), visited the team to speak to us about the processes involved. They were also curious about their eligibility for leasing on the basis of their age; our customers were in excess of 70 (no more will be said!). While the customer felt these were daft questions, these are actually very common queries and we always ensure our customer confirms they are happy before proceeding. It is about ensuring we meet our customers needs and requirements.
Is there a maximum age for leasing a car?
Contract hire is a credit based agreement. This is the fundamental component to note. With credit, you must be aged 18 or over to procure a product or service. Therefore the finance companies who offer it will carry certain checks on you. As such, all of our customers must complete a “proposal form” being a document which asks for a number of key information about you:
Age
Date of birth
Contact email and phone number
5-year address history
3-year employment history (tell us if you are retired)
Income and expenditure
Banking information
We don’t offer non-status and non-credit check deals.
We only work with prime finance companies who will need all of the above as part of their KYC and quality processes.
For an older person, there may be some nervousness about their credit history; many older-customers will not have a mortgage nor will they use credit to procure a good or service. However there are agencies, like Experian, who you can quickly sign up to in order to get the necessary information on your credit status.
This will help you to understand what finance companies see when they are considering your application.
It is crucial that you can be located at you home address (ensure you are on the electrical roll) and that some elements of paying bills is noted i.e. gas, water and electricity. The information being stored on you is about showing your willingness to pay. Under a tighter regime, the FCA are making it clear that customers need to be aware of two very distinctive concepts – 1) willingness to pay (credit history); and 2) ability to pay (income and expenditure).
The latter element can also cause some queries with our older customers, as many are of course retired. You do not need to be in full-time employment to qualify; we can look at part-time, self-employed and retired persons. However, we still do need an income and expenditure exercise to be carried out. If you are in receipt of a pension, private or state, we need to add this to our forms which we present to the finance company on your behalf. The income you receive will be offset against the expenditure you incur (food, travel, rent or mortgage …). This is about us ensuring that after you have paid your normal monthly bills you have sufficient income to cover the cost of a car lease agreement. Do bear in mind that leasing is a fixed term contact for 2, 3 or 4 years and is not something you can simply stop paying/return if your circumstances change.
This is sometime we make clear to a customer.
Having discussed the above with our staff, the customer made the decision to go with a Volvo XC60 deal which we have been running for the last couple of months. The Volvo brand has really exploded during 2019, as the re-vamps on the XC product, along with a clear commitment to PHEV and pure electric technology, has seen a number of very positive changes for the manufacturer.
Their vehicles are very much in demand and their reputation for quality and safety is now being supplemented with style and aesthetics.
In terms of the car shown, the Volvo XC60 Estate 2.0 T5 [250] Momentum 5dr Geartronic (Petrol Automatic), this is based on the following configuration:
· Denim Blue Metallic Paint
· Leather – Blond
· Iron ore inlays
· 18″ 5 Y spoke alloy wheels
In terms of the standard specification the car includes 18” alloys, keyless start, navigation, 10 speaker sound system, cruise control, rear park assist, climate control, front park assist, rain sensor with automatic windscreen wiper activation, tinted windscreen, DSTC, hill descent control, hill start assist, floor mats, Bluetooth, front collision warning, lane keep assist with driver alert, oncoming lane mitigation, road edge detection, power tailgate, 12.3” active drive instrument display, auto dimming interior and exterior mirrors, electric adjustable/folding/heated door mirrors, DAB, body coloured externals, twin exhaust pipes, headlamp levelling, LED headlights and daytime lights, leather upholstery, footwell illumination, city safety, first aid kit, run off road protection, road sign information display, heated front seats, warning triangle, WHIPS, key integrated remote control, 60/40 split folding seats and anti-theft alarm (including immobiliser).
In terms of additional specification, consider adding xenium pack, convenience pack or the family pack.
On the technical-side company car and business drivers can note the P11d at £39,125.00 and CO2 at 165g/km. The 1969CC 8 speed auto petrol engine delivers 30.1 combined (WLTP), 250ps and 0-62 times of 6.9 seconds. Service intervals on a petrol XC60 are set at every 12 months or 18,000 miles whichever lands sooner.
Best Volvo XC60 deals @CarLease UK – or – check out more SUV related vehicles below…
