Should I take maintenance with my car lease?

Here is a question we are asked A LOT, actually its more than a lot, it's every day, sometimes multiple times a day and the answer is always the same “Do the maths”.  OK, we are not quite that blunt, but that is basically the message. Per our example below, the numbers are pretty simple when you break them down.  But first, we will take a look at the things under consideration.

What services will my lease car need?

• Not every car is the same, but as a general rule almost all cars will need a minimum of one routine service per year, irrelevant of mileage.
• Doing lots of mileage? Most cars will need a service every 10-12,000 miles, so if you are hitting 15k+, you need to be budgeting for 1 and a half services per year, or even more if you are into 20,000+ miles annually.
• Electric cars have the same service intervals as petrol or diesel cars. 
• Skipping a service on a lease car will likely result in a charge at the end of the contract

Summary: Service your lease car annually, or more often if you exceed 10,000 miles per year, always refer to your service book for the manufacturer specific service intervals and do not skip a service.

What consumables will my car need throughout its lease?

• Brake pads and discs
• Bulbs, wipers and fluids
• Engine / gearbox Oil
• AdBlue

Summary: Its pretty easy to put some rough figures down for each of these which are shown in our example at the bottom of the page.  None of these consumables can be avoided and you are almost certainly going to need all of them at some point unless you have a short contract with low mileage.

How often do tyres need changing on a lease car and are they included?

• The legal limit for tyres on UK Roads is 1.6mm
• Most service centres will recommend changing your tyres no lower than 2.0mm for safety and efficiency.
• Tyres are normally included with your lease if you take the maintenance package, if you don’t then they won’t be included.
• Damaged tyres are not normally covered, but puncture repairs are included.

Summary: Whilst there is no obligation to pay for branded tyres, you need to factor in that they will need changing at some point, normally at around 20,000 miles depending on your driving style and the type of car / tyre.

Will my lease car need an MOT?

• All cars on UK roads need an MOT on their 3rd birthday
• MOTs are included in a maintenance package
• An MOT on your lease car is compulsory, without it you risk being stopped by the police and fined, as well as risking points on your license and invalidating your insurance.

Summary:  Don’t skip your MOT under any circumstances and be sure to use a reputable, VAT registered garage to carry out the work.  The cost of an MOT (but not repairs) in the UK is capped at £54.85, meaning a garage cannot charge you more for the MOT, but can charge you for repairs to pass the MOT at the rate they determine.

Do I need to arrange Road Tax for my lease car?

• Road tax is included in every lease arranged by Ready2Lease, and the vast majority of other lease providers.  Its sensible to check, but any lease company not offering Road tax as part of the standard package should be a red flag.
• The cost can sometimes increase mid-term, and most lenders have a clause in your contract that states the extra cost will be passed on you, the customer, although the increase are generally very small and only paid one per year.
• Road tax is also known as RFL, which stands for Road Fund License.

Summary: Check with your provider that the road tax is included, but after that it should not be a concern, just bear in mind that the UK government set the rate for all cars, and increases are normally passed onto the end user.

Adding a maintenance package to your lease contract – the numbers

Here we are going to take an example of a current lease we have available on the Peugeot 208, comparing the cost of servicing directly from the lender against the likely cost from a Peugeot main dealer.

Summary: The cost of arranging your own service is far higher in this example than it would be to take the maintenance as part of your lease package.  Whilst this is not always the case, it is the best option the majority of the time.  The saving here is over £500 and doesn’t take into account the breakdown cover that is also included with a maintained contract which would save you another £100 over the 3-year term. 

Maintenance plan example costs

Contract: 36 months, 10,000 miles per annum.

Our current price for servicing, maintenance and tyres: £36.22 a month (£1303.92 Total)

Likely cost for SMT if done independently:

Annual Service £199 + £267 + £199 = £667

MOT x 1 £50

One set of four tyres £444 (based on four tyres at £111 each)

One set of four brake pads £100

One seat of four brake discs £190

Four hours of labour to fit the brake consumables £240

Miscellaneous costs of motoring £150 (£50 a year)

Total maintenance cost for three years and 30,000 miles of motoring £1841

Costs sourced from:

Services – Peugeot Fixed price service plan

Tyres – Kwik Fit.

Brake consumables – Halfords

Labour – UK Average

MOT – UK Average