Fleets ‘waste’ thousands of pounds per vehicle by failing to compare company car and van lease rates
Fleets are potentially wasting thousands of pounds per vehicle over the lifecycle of leased cars and vans by failing to regularly compare prices and terms to find the right supplier for their needs.
Recent quotes obtained for clients by dedicated fleet vehicle comparison service CompareMyFleet.com across a wide selection of vehicles, contract lengths and mileages show up to a staggering 52% difference on monthly lease rates on the identical model (see table below).
CompareMyFleet.com director Neil Birkbeck said: “Our analysis shows that the monthly cost of a vehicle varied by an average 27% – so a company that doesn’t compare the market is likely to be overpaying by a significant amount of money. On a fleet of 50 typical vehicles this could mean overpaying by a sum of £48,600 per year – or more than £145,000 over a typical three-year contract.
“Clearly it’s not just about price – and we take care to make sure our clients are aware of the key terms so that they find the right supplier for their needs – but these price differences show why companies must compare the market.”
What’s more, the CompareMyFleet.com research also revealed that no single contract hire and leasing company was consistently either the cheapest or the most expensive across the sample of models and contract periods.
Across the basket of quotes, excluding maintenance, obtained from some of the UK’s largest contract hire and leasing companies there was at least a 9% difference between the highest and lowest monthly rental rate.
Neil Birkbeck said: “Our research highlights the value of using independent expertise to trawl the marketplace and uncover the best lease rates. We were surprised at the discrepancy in monthly rates even on mainstream company cars and vans.”
For example, CompareMyFleet.com uncovered a massive £108.61 (49%) a month rate difference on a Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi Edge 5dr manual on a two year/50,000-mile contract with even the average rate (£286.44) across the quotes obtained being 23% higher than the cheapest (£220.13).
Opting to lease the Focus from the contract hire company quoting the lowest rate would save a fleet £2,606.64 over the operating period compared with opting to lease from the company quoting the highest rate. On a fleet of just 10 cars that equates to a saving obtained by CompareMyFleet.com of more than £26,000.
Moving to premium-badge cars and the difference in monthly lease rates on a BMW 116d Sport five-door automatic was a whopping 35% (£281.50-£379.36) over three years/60,000 miles with even the average rate (£337.75) being 17% higher than the lowest. That equates to the customer saving more than £3,500 over the operating life of the car by selecting the lowest monthly rental.
And in the executive sector, CompareMyFleet.com uncovered a 16% difference between the lowest and highest lease rates (£364.27-£422.71) on a BMW 520d SE saloon over three years/60,000 miles and a 9% difference between the average rate (£399.92) and the cheapest.
However, the most extreme differences in terms of lowest and highest monthly lease rates (52%) was on a Ford Transit Custom 270 SWB – £286.98-£436.32 – with the average quote (£349.89) still 18% above the lowest. Selecting the cheapest quote saved CompareMyFleet.com’s customer almost £150 a month or more than £3,500 over the operating cycle of two years/60,000 miles.
Even where the difference between the highest and lowest rental rate was the lowest recorded – 9% on a Mercedes-Benz ML250 CDI BlueTec – the £57.22 monthly rate difference on a four-year/100,000 mile contract still delivered a potential saving to the customer of more than £2,700.
Neil said: “The vehicle leasing market is extremely complex in terms of selecting the right vehicle and the right services at the right price, while also taking into account discounts and rebates available.
“Within a couple of days, our clients receive from CompareMyFleet.com a report containing quotes from the top leasing companies on a per vehicle basis in a consistent and easy to compare format enabling them to make a fully informed choice that also contains key potential supplier terms.
“Our clients are consistently amazed at the wide range of lease rates being quoted by major leasing companies for what is the identical car or van.”
Nick Coleman, director of Marlow-based healthcare procurement specialist ProCure Health, which operates a small fleet, cut the rental on his new BMW 116 2.0D Sport by £54 a month on a three-year/60,000-mile contract – almost £2,000 over the car’s three-year operating lifecycle – using CompareMyFleet.com.
He said: “I thought I was getting a reasonable price from my leasing company until I used CompareMyFleet.com and was astonished at how much I could save. For example on the car I wanted, quotes ranged from £281 to £379 a month on 1×35 terms. Most prices were around £340 per month but CompareMyFleet.com found a vehicle from a top 10 leasing company for around 20% less than that. The company also made it easy to compare the key terms offered by each supplier so I could make an informed decision.
“Running a small business, I don’t have time to look at lots of quotes. We have a further six cars in our fleet and as they come up for renewal we will definitely be using CompareMyFleet.com again.”
Whether you’re taking on a fleet for the first time, or re-evaluating costs, experts at CompareMyFleet can help you save money and get the best leasing deal for your business needs. For more details or other ways to save money on fleets contact Neil
