Maintenance Explained
Adding maintenance to your lease
When you take out a personal contract hire or business contract hire agreement, you have the option to add on a maintenance package. Maintenance can be added to your car leasing agreement for a fixed additional monthly cost, to cover servicing, replacement tyres and other repair costs. This is referred to as a ‘finance provider maintained’ contract. If you choose not to take a maintenance package this is referred to as a ‘customer maintained’ contract.
The benefit of taking out a maintenance package is to give you complete peace of mind that any unexpected vehicle repair costs you may not have budgeted for, will be covered.
What does it cover?
Maintenance packs are an optional extra which can be added to any car leasing contract. In essence, maintenance covers anything which needs repaired or replaced during the course of your lease. This includes tyres, brakes, exhausts, wipers etc. However, maintenance packs do not cover any repairs or replacements which are a result of accidental damage. Our Fair Wear and Tear guide explains what is considered an acceptable level of deterioration at the end of your lease period.
You also get breakdown cover included as standard when taking a maintenance package. This means that you'll never be left stranded in the event of a breakdown, and will receive roadside repairs when possible.
In addition to breakdown and repairs, maintenance also includes servicing and MOTs. In order to keep your vehicle within the manufacturers’ warranty it needs to be serviced at regular intervals. This can be after a set period of time (every year for example), or after passing a certain threshold of miles. If you take out a lease for 36 months or more you’ll legally need to get the car put through an MOT test too.
What does maintenance cost?
There is no set figure for the cost of maintenance; it differs depending on the vehicle and the type of contract you request. Naturally it is more expensive over higher mileages, as this puts more wear and tear on the tyres and other components.
You can find out how much maintenance will add to any car on our website by using the easy tick boxes.
How does it work?
When you receive documentation from us at the start of your lease period you will also receive a ‘driver card’. This includes the contact number you can phone to book in any servicing, maintenance or repairs you need under your agreement. You are then allocated a slot at a manufacturer approved dealership, and you simply take the car in at the agreed time. You must use a provider that is approved by your finance provider so it is always best to phone them first.
Should I take maintenance?
The advisors at Intelligent Car Leasing always look to get you the best suited lease contract possible. You will never be sold into a product which isn’t right for your needs, and the choice is always yours.
Advisors can give you quotes with and without maintenance included to allow you to make a balanced decision. The final choice is completely up to you, some drivers like having complete peace of mind from day one, which maintenance provides.
If you chose not to take finance provider maintenance with your vehicle you must remember that you are in charge of maintaining the vehicle yourself. Some of our customers chose to put a little bit extra away every month to help towards the cost of repairs if an unexpected problem with your vehicle occurred.
