I want a new lease car – how long does the process take?
A common query from our customers, personal and business, who upon making a decision to procure a brand-new car want to know how long it will take. As everything we do is transacted online, we appreciate the buying/leasing experience is somewhat different than you would expect from a car dealership face-to-face transaction. We do not hold stock on site and so you cannot view anything at our premises; you need to review pictures and videos online (which we supply via the CarLease UK blog) or visit a franchised dealer to look at the vehicle “in the flesh”. When you know the car meets your needs and requirements…
The first stage is to confirm your quotation – this involves qualifying the product is suitable for you or the business, the term is correct, the mileage is accurate and you understand the significance of a driver vs funder-maintained arrangement. We have to insist that customers understand this as we do not want the price to be the only consideration in their decision because this is a long-term financial commitment. Unlike other industries where spending large sums of money can be done without any real regulation or consideration, ours is one which promote good financial practices and behaviours. The quote supplied will enable you to go to the next stage of the process.
As a financial product you MUST have a credit search. This involves you submitting a series of personal information about you including your home address, employment details, income and expenditures and other contact info. You must complete this truthfully and honestly as this will determine whether or not you can proceed further and on what basis. The form should take no longer than 10-20 minutes to complete and when our team submits this to the relevant finance company, we should receive a response in anywhere between 1 minute and 24 hours. The credit stage of the process is quick and efficient, so long as you provide us with accurate information. Once accepted for credit we can – a) order the vehicle with the selected dealer; and b) organise contracts with the finance company. The latter is now done via “e-docs” and so this can be done fairly quickly and will enable you to receive the car as soon as you have executed them.
The time it takes for you to receive an actual car depends on its status. There are three clear options:
1) Stock – a vehicle is available from the dealership, a UK compound or a port of exit/entry. Depending on which this would be, it will take between 7-21 days for the car to arrive with the customer. If you need a lease ASAP you must ask your credit broker for a stock vehicle;
2) Allocation – this is common on “bulk” offers, whereby a finance company will commit to a certain amount of cars which are either going to be built or are in build. The main advantage is that these are often cheaper than the ordering a one-off car but the disadvantage is that they can take between 4-12 weeks to arrive with you and you cannot dictate the specification or colour; or
3) Factory order – this is where a car is built to your exact requirements. For customers who need a specific colour, exact specification or need adjustments making to the vehicle, this is the correct route. Please note this will take between 8-30 weeks for a car to arrive, so you do need to forward plan this.
For a customer exiting a contract hire agreement and who wants to organise a replacement vehicle, make sure you leave a buffer of at least 2 – 3 months. It is not always possible to turnaround a vehicle in under 14 days and rushing a decision could lead you taking the wrong car for your needs and requirements.