What is the perfect car for a young or first time driver? Can you get a new car as a new driver? In this case, our younger personal leasing customer from Dunstable certainly knew which car they wanted – the VW Polo!
The small car category is littered with some great options and, as time has progressed, younger drivers (or those on a budget) do not need to compromise on the vehicle they get.
As you will see from the pictures, this is an absolute stunning machine and the Polo beats is an incredibly popular option. We don’t get many underwhelmed customers!
There are some other great options you can lease for around that £150 – 180 per month mark; the Ford Fiesta, the Seat Ibiza and the Vauxhall Corsa. Which is the best small car to choose?
That really is subjective and you shouldn’t be easily swayed by awards and advertising. Each car will offer a fairly similar driving experience. It is very much a question of style, aesthetics, specification and value for the end user.
So can a new driver lease a car? Do you need to have been driving for a certain amount of time?
For the contact hire and leasing world the main qualification is to have a full UK driving licence. The majority of our finance companies cannot offer you their products if you have a provisional driving licence, so for the eager driver, you may need to organise an interim solution before you have passed your test. In addition, you must arrange full comprehensive motor insurance on the vehicle and, for many younger or first-time drivers, this can be a major obstacle.
The cost of your insurance can be as much per month or even more than the car itself. We always suggest that you go through an insurance exercise first before committing to a new vehicle.
The last thing you want to happen is for a vehicle to be delivered to you and then realise the insurance is too costly. Select a number of car leasing options first and then enquire as to rough insurance costs online or with a broker directly. It’s all about being practical and prepared.
Once you have a full UK driving licence and you are confident the insurance is acceptable, you can then consider a new car lease. All contract hire and leasing products are credit-based, so this means you must first go through a formal credit check. To help a customer understanding exactly what information a finance company needs and why they need it, we have produced a basic credit and affordability guide on our key contract information page which you can use before applying.
The main issue for many younger people is that they have very little to no credit history because of their age. Before making a formal application just run an Experian report and this will give you some illustration of what finance companies see when you make an application.
It’s very much about having the simple things organised i.e. on the electoral role at your registered address, you have some basis credit agreement for a phone or utility bills, you have no late payments or CCJs. Experian will give you a score out of 999; if you score below 750, you are unlikely to be accepted in our industry without good reason. Like the insurance situation, make sure you investigate credit first; there are NO new contract hire and lease products which offer a no credit check service. Any which do are either fraudulent or they are not based on contract hire.
So what if I can’t get accepted on my own – do you offer joint application or guarantees in leasing? Credit, and financial services as whole, have undergone significant changes since the FCA (the Financial Conduct Authority) has implemented new directives. Treating customers fairly and meeting their needs and requirements are paramount. What this means is that situations where people try to get credit out for someone else, like a mum or dad getting credit for a child, are going to cause issues. These are classed by some finance companies as accommodation deals and are strictly prohibited. If you are planning to make an application with someone else, do note the leasing industry is very strict on this subject matter. Very few will offer a solution and those that do expect it to be carried out in a specific way. For example, the main applicant must not be older than 21 and must reside at the same residential address as the joint-applicant or guarantor. In addition, there must be a designated relationship between the parties in that it must be a an application between parent and child or guardian and child.
You cannot ask your mate to get a vehicle for you.
For the best, and cheapest, leasing deals for first-time and young drivers get in touch with the CarLease team and let us help you to lease your new car.
In terms of the car shown here, the Volkswagen POLO HATCHBACK 1.0 EVO 80 Beats 5door (Petrol/Manual), this is based on the following configuration:
Deep black Pearlescent Paint
Tracks 2 cloth – Titan black/Red
Matt chrome interior trim
16″ Torsby black diamond turned alloy wheels with anti-theft wheel bolts
As standard the car includes heated rear windows, rear tinted glass, automatic post collision braking, HA, hill hold control, front and rear carpet mats, Bluetooth, driver alert system, stat/stop system, black mirrors, electric operated and heated door mirrors, velvet rear dashboard, composition media system, DAB radio, black grille, body coloured bumpers, stainless steel door sills, unique beats decals, automatic headlights, LED daytime running lights, 3 spoke steering wheel (multifunction), interior lights, 60/40 split folding seats, front sport seats, immobiliser and alarm with interior protection.
While this stock offer cannot add specification if you could add some options, consider – ACC (adaptive cruise control), discover navigation and the winter pack.
On the technical-side company car and business users can note the P11d at £17,160.00 and CO2 at 110g/km. The 999CC 5 speed manual petrol engine delivers 57.6 combined MPG (EC), 46.3 (WLTP), 80ps and 0-62 times 15.4 seconds. The service intervals on a petrol Polo are every 12 months or 10,000 miles whichever lands sooner.
So would you select the VW Polo as your next car leasing option? Or would you be choosing different stylish hatchback?