Most people would agree that having regular access to a vehicle is absolutely essential. Unless you live in the centre of town and can walk to work or walk your children to school, a car is almost certainly a necessary part of everyday life, and even then you’d probably want a car occasionally to go further afield.

There may be certain times in your life when a car is more necessary than others. For example, you might live in a big city for a few years where a car is not needed because public transport is so frequent and reliable, but then you might relocate to the countryside where you couldn’t do without a car to get around.

This is where contract hire can be so useful. Under contract hire, vehicles continue to be owned by the leasing company, yet are hired to you for a set period of time and at a fixed monthly rate. The joy of contract hire means that you don’t have to own a car which you are not necessarily going to use; you can just hire one when you need one. Contracts are usually available for periods of 2 to 5 years, so at busy times in your life you can hire a car, instead of feeling you have to buy one.

The monthly rental is determined by the cost of the vehicle, the period and mileage covered as well as the resultant depreciation. The mileage limit you agree in your contract will be based on how much you will realistically use the car over the specified time period. Typically, a contract hire car deal is three years and 30,000 miles, although this can be varied according to your annual mileage and your budget.

With contract hire you can usually include a service and maintenance package. If you go for that option you will be covered for all routine servicing and most maintenance costs within the fixed monthly payments, so you needn’t worry about having to pay up when something goes wrong. You can sometimes swap cars during your hire period, too. This can be the perfect solution if your needs change and you suddenly find that you need a bigger or smaller car. You should bear in mind, however, that some leasing companies will charge you for this.

The flexible nature of contract vehicle hire is not only ideal for the private individual, it also provides the perfect solution to vehicle funding for businesses, which need the supply of cars or vans in bulk, but don’t particularly want to own them.

UKVF is a privately owned vehicle finance and vehicle sourcing company and we have over 15 years’ experience in the industry. To find out how contract hire can help you, call us today on 01257 267 036.