Be careful AC, the price they show isn't the price you pay... depends on servicing arrangement, VED included, click charge for miles over the contract mileage you sign up for + VAT on everything. Work out how many miles you will realistically do over the contract period, and base the contract charge on that, ie 8000, 10000, 12000 etc miles a year. Sometimes the rate doesn't increase much to go up a level but if you go over the total mileage agreed they charge you per mile +VAT on the excess. You have to get comprehensive insurance and I'd recommend GAP insurance too as this recovers the remaining cost of the rental payments you'd still owe as a settlement if the car is written off in an accident or stolen [only about £100 for the 3 years hire so worth it]
If it is a personal contract hire they usually charge a higher deposit up front.
If it is a business hire you can get half the VAT back on the contract hire charge- make sure when you get quotes that they give you the monthly total charge and the contract hire period, ie 3+33 [3 month's payments as deposit and then 33 monthly payments] or 3+35 for 3 years hire, or 3+21 or 3+23 for two years hire.
The car is always theirs so check the car before you take it away from them, and they do a very thorough inspection at the end so any chips or damage externally or internally will be charged to repair at exorbitant rates so get anything done before you hand it back and force them to do the inspection with you at time of collection.
For best deals go into the garage dealerships and haggle.... don't pick any specific models just ask for their best contract price on their special offers that month and see what they have... the more expensive models are sometimes the cheapest to hire as they do more contracts on them for business hires.... eg VW Golf R type was £80/month cheaper than SE model in April. VW Passats are often cheaper than Golfs etc. The only things to then check are insurance and running costs!
So, the two things that count are:
1. shop around each dealership and ask for their contract hire person NEVER the showroom sales people [ie go in during the week to sort out the financing not at weekends], and,
2. only ask for the total monthly payment [3+33 or 3+21] including VAT, never ask the value of the car or model, and then work out the total hire charge over the period [and for peace of mind compare the total costs against the costs for the purchase price on interest free with a deposit offset with the second hand value.
Having said all of that I've had 1 Citroen Xantia Estate, one Volvo Estate and 4 Passat Estates on Contract Hire [claiming half the VAT back] with maintenance on 3x33 periods reducing from 15000 a year down to 12000 a year on this one. The only people I wouldn't use again were Volvo Finance, as they were only interested in fleecing people!
