Frequently Asked Questions

Business Contract Hire, or Business Leasing, is a long-term rental agreement - generally for between two and five years. 

Business Contract Hire is a popular way for businesses to fund new vehicles. Advantages include: 

• Low capital expenditure
• Fixed monthly payments and fixed interest rates so you can manage cash flow
• Rental payments can be offset against profits
• Ongoing admin support and advice
• Road Fund Licence covered for the term
• Optional maintenance cover package, breakdown cover, replacement vehicle cover and GAP insurance

VAT registered businesses can claim 50% of the VAT back on the monthly payments for cars and up to 100% for commercial vehicles. For the maintenance element of contracts, VAT registered businesses can claim 100% of the VAT back. 

At the end of the contract, businesses do not have to worry about disposing of the vehicle as vehicles are returned to the finance company. 

Personal Contract Hire, or PCH, is a long-term contract where customers pay a fixed monthly payment for a vehicle. Contracts are usually between two and four years in length. 

There are many advantages to leasing, including. 

• Flexible up front payments (usually the value of three, six or nine monthly payments)
• Fixed-term contract, pre-agreed mileage and fixed monthly payments
• You hand the car back at the end of the contract, meaning you don't need to worry about disposing of it
• Optional maintenance contract

At the beginning of the contract you will agree the mileage that you expect to do over the life of the contract and your quote will be built on this information, along with the length of the term. 

Maintenance packages can also be added to your lease and these generally cover routine maintenance and services, tyres, exhausts and batteries. 

You must have fully comprehensive insurance for the vehicle. 

Let us walk you through the steps of leasing a new car or van from Amber Car Leasing. 

1: Choose the vehicle you're interested in leasing. 

Amber Car Leasing has great relationships with all new car and van manufacturers and dealer groups up and down the country. Sometimes we'll have stock vehicles available but you can also build your car to the exact specification you're looking for, whether you're looking for a personal or business leasing deal.

2: Let's get your finance sorted

To lease a new car or van you'll need to establish a line of credit with a finance company. To do this we'll need to do a credit check, either online, or over the phone if we need extra information from you. We need credit approval before we can take you to the next step...

3: Placing an order

Once we get credit approval we'll get your paperwork (leasing deal) drawn up for you to sign. The paperwork includes several bits and bobs, including an order form for the car or van which will have details of the exact car you're ordering, and later the Master Hire Leasing Agreement, which has all the details of the deal agreed. 

4: We order your car

Once we get your signed paperwork, we will place the order with the dealership or manufacturer. We'll give you regular updates from here so that you know exactly when you'll get your new vehicle. 

5: The Master Lease Agreement

This is your main bit of paperwork and will either be delivered online or in the post. At this point we might need a copy of your drivers licence and a recent bill to verify you. We can only arrange delivery once we've authorised you. 

6: Cooling off period

Personal lease customers, Sole Trader's & Partnerships with less than 4 partners all have a 14 day cooling off period once they have signed their Lease agreement during which their order can be withdrawn. 

If you take a business lease and are a limited company or a partnership with more than 4 partners then this doesn't apply as there is no cooling off period.  

7: Delivery day

As soon as your new vehicle lands at the dealership we will contact you to arrange a delivery date with you. We don't charge for delivery to pretty much anywhere in the country, however some of our Dealers do add on a surcharge for deliveries in the more remote parts of Scotland. 

When the vehicle is delivered, take a look around it and inspect it for damage before you sign the acceptance note. 

Yes, indeed. We offer free UK mainland delivery to home or workplaces however some of the more remote areas of Scotland do attract an additional surcharge from some of our supplying Dealers

All car and van manufacturers offer 12 months breakdown cover as part of their new vehicle warranty however some do now offer a 3 year cover at no additional cost. You'll find 24-hour emergency breakdown details in the hand book you receive with your new vehicle. 

At the end of the contract you will hand your car back to the finance company and are free to take on a new leasing deal. 

When working out your leasing deal we will agree an annual mileage with you, but you will also see any excess mileage charges in your agreement. 

Excess mileage is usually charged as (x)pence per mile, so if your excess is 7p per mile and you go over your mileage by 2,000 miles you will have to pay £140. 

In both personal contract hire deals and business contract hire deals, the finance company owns the vehicle at the end of the contract. 

We get asked this a lot, understandably, and what we advise is that your car should be returned in the condition that you would expect a car of (x) many years old, that has done (x) miles, at that stage. 

Many finance companies have their own slight variations of what fair wear and tear is and you can ask for clarification on this from the relevant funder before you agree your deal however as a rule of thumb all vehicle leasing companies do follow the 'BVRLA' (British Vehicle Rental Leasing Association's) fair wear & tear guidelines which you can view by clicking on the below link.   

Click here to view the BVRLA guide 

Servicing is not included in the price, however, using our custom quote form, you can customise your query if you wish to include maintenance as part of your lease agreement.

Insurance is not included within the price of your contract. By law, you are required to be fully comprehensive for any lease vehicle. This protects you from any accident, regardless of whose fault it was. 

Most new cars warranties last at least three years. If you choose a lease for less than or equal to three years, you should be covered by the manufactures warranty for your whole lease. These warranties typically only include non-consumable parts so it wouldn't include brakes or tyres. 

It's always worth checking the warranty offered by the manufacturer before signing your lease agreement.

The amount of time it takes from making an order to it being delivered

This is the total length of time you will be entered into your car lease contract. These typically span from two to five years. The longer the contract, the more spread out the payments will be meaning the price will be lower, however you'll be locked into a contract for longer.

This is amount of miles annually you agree with your lease. The more you drive the car, the more you'll have to pay. It's important to be as accurate as possible when selecting your annual mileage to avoid any excess charge on miles over your agreed mileage.

An Initial Payment is a payment made at the start of your agreement, normally calculated as either 1, 3, 6, 9 times your monthly amount. This amount affects how much your monthly payments will be over the course of your lease. The more you pay up front, the less your monthly payments will be. It is usually payable shortly after your car has been delivered.