With our rebrand to Xcite Car Leasing we also made some Xciting changes to the way we work so we wanted to let our customers and anyone interested in leasing know a little more about the process. In this article we’ll take you through the general flow that getting a new lease will follow. This is just a guideline and each individual order will be a little different depending on the car, the lease funder and you but our team will be there for you every step of the way and will let you know how your order will progress.
Starting Your Car Lease
The first part of your journey will be choosing your new car!
We know that this is a big decision and you’ll probably have a lot of questions about the car and the lease terms (more on that in a minute), which is why our team of Leasing Consultants are on hand to help.
Xcite Car Leasing Team
Our dedicated Leasing Team want to find your perfect new car at the best price possible, and if there’s anything they can do to make the process easier for you they will. So, if you have any questions, want to know more about leasing or just need to talk to someone about your options then get in touch. You can reach the team on 0330 221 0000 or hello@xcitecarleasing.co.uk
You can see all of the team above. We think it’s important that you can put a face to the name so that you know who you’re talking to. Our team is what really makes Xcite Car Leasing the company we are and from the feedback we get we know that our customers agree. When you first contact us, you’ll be assigned one of our Xcellent Leasing Consultants and they’ll be your main point of contact for the first part of your journey.
Choosing Your New Lease
We’ve got leasing deals on all makes and models for you to browse or if you’re looking for a particular car then you can find it through the manufacturer page or our handy search bar.
If you’re not looking for a particular model then you might want to have a look at our top leasing deals for some of our best prices at the minute, or if you’re after fast delivery then our in-stock lease offers will be what you want to look at.
Some customers like to choose their car and then decide on their lease terms, others prefer to know the lease terms and then find the best car that meets their model but generally there will be overlap in deciding as both have an impact on the cost of the lease. The lease terms that you’ll be able to tailor to your needs are:
- The lease length
- The mileage allowance
- The payment profile (how much your initial rental payment is)
- If a maintenance package is included
You’ll be able to change these details on any of our offer pages and the prices will update to reflect your preferred contract terms.
Getting Your Lease Funding in Place
After you’ve picked your car and decided on the right leasing terms for you then our team will work to get the finance approved for you. To do this the team will ask you to complete a proposal form. This will be sent over to you as a link to complete online and it’s important that this is accurate as the information will be used by the finance company to decide whether to approve your lease application or not.
Once this is completed your Leasing Consultant will process the information into the funder’s system. At this point they may contact you to confirm some of the details you have entered. This is just to avoid any delays with the funder processing your application in case of simple errors like putting a name as Dan instead of Daniel.
There are three outcomes once your application has been submitted to the funder; approved, referred or declined. If your application is approved then we will let you know and we can move onto the next steps outlined a little later. If it is referred then this simply means the funder needs to look at it a little more in depth than the initial automated process. They may ask us to get more information from you or to clarify some of the details, we will let you know if this is the case.
If your application is declined then the funder is not able to tell us why. If you think this is a mistake then we can appeal the decision or look at another finance company, however we cannot guarantee this will result in an approval as we don’t know the reason for not proceeding.
Your Leasing Consultant will let you know what the outcome is of the application and once you’re approved they’ll then send over the documents you need to sign to place the order with us. These are known as the ATO (authority to order) in our team, but others might call it something different. Signing this is confirmation that you are placing the order through us and will include a lot of terms and conditions you should read. Your Leasing Consultant will also give you a call to run through some of these details on the phone. This is part of our duty of care to you, making sure you are given all the information about your lease and understand it.
Xcite Support Team
Once your order is officially placed and your Leasing Consultant has finished all of the compliance bits it will be passed to the Support Team. You can still talk to your Leasing Consultant if you have any questions about the vehicle but it will be the Support Team that help with your finance documents, give you vehicle updates, arrange delivery and answer any questions you have about these parts of the journey.
There are currently five members of the team; Lauren, Adam, Lucy, Mel and Danielle.
If you ever have any questions about your order, finance documents, delivery or anything else then the team is here to help. You can reach them on support@xcitecarleasing.co.uk or 0330 221 0000 and option three.
Leasing Finance Documents Process
Each of the funders have a slightly different process for their finance documents. Our team will let you know what your funder needs and the process for your individual order once you reach the finance part of your journey.
There are generally two flows that finance documents will follow. The first is that you complete the finance documents as soon as the order is placed and these will then be in place for when your car is ready for delivery.
Some funders need the registration number to be on the contracts. In order for a car to be issued a registration it needs to be in the UK, and sometimes at the dealership, which means if your finance documents need the registration on then you won’t have any documents until much closer to delivery. We will let you know if this the case for your order early on in the process and send the documents to you when they’re ready.
No matter whether your sign the documents quickly or closer to delivery something you should know is that you might be asked to provide further proofs of ID or address to the funder. Most commonly this will be a copy of your driving licence, passport or a bill at your home address. This is not mandatory so we will let you know if you do need to provide anything further as part of the process.
Lease Car Updates
Our team will regularly get updates on your new car and we will always pass the update onto you. For drivers who have ordered a car with a longer lead time we know it can be a little annoying to get the same information repeatedly, but we want to make sure that you’re kept up to date and will make sure that you get an update once a fortnight or so.
Lease Car Delivery
When your car arrives at the dealership, and all your finance documents are in place we can then arrange delivery! Depending on the car you order this may be a few weeks after placing the order or can be a few months down the line, but we’ll let you know as soon as the car is ready for you.
Something you should be aware of, especially if your funder is one of those who want the registration on the documents is that there will be a 14 day cooling off period from when the documents are signed. Your new car cannot be delivered until this cooling off period is over. This is only for personal lease agreements business leases do not have the same cool period.
What will usually happen is that the dealer suppling your car will let us know it’s ready for delivery and the earliest possible day they can get the car to you and we’ll then contact you to get the details.
The details we will need are:
- Your preferred delivery date
- The delivery address
- Who will be taking delivery of the car
- A contact number for on the day
There are a few things to be aware of with these details. Firstly, delivery is usually on a weekday, and it will be an all day slot. Some dealers might give an am or pm advisory slot, but this is not guaranteed, and we recommend being available all day on the day to avoid any issues. At busier times, such as when the new registration comes in, there may be Saturday deliveries but this is rare and it’s better to expect a weekday delivery.
Some funders will only allow delivery to your home address, or business address for a company lease. We will let you know if this is the case with your funder so that you can make suitable arrangements. Similarly, some may require you to be the person who accepts delivery, while others will let you authorise a third party (i.e. your partner if you are not able to be home on the day). Again, the Support Team will let you know if that’s the case for you. These processes are in place to protect you from fraud and the vehicle being delivered to the wrong address / person.
If the dealership is particularly busy, it takes a little time to get these details back to them, your delivery address is far from where they’re based or in an area they don’t deliver a lot of vehicles then they may not be able to deliver on the day initially offered. We’ll work with you and the dealership to find the next best available date.
There are some dealerships who ask for the delivery address before they let you know the dates they can deliver, this is to avoid any disappointment if they only schedule deliveries to your area on particular days of the week or it takes longer to get the car to you because you’re further away.
When you provide us with your delivery details we will pass these onto the dealer to arrange delivery so that they can get this booked in for you. The dealer will let us know when everything is arranged or if there are any issues and we will then confirm this with you.
On the day of delivery you will be contacted to let you know a rough ETA. Some will call in the morning, but don’t worry if they don’t as some delivery drivers prefer to wait until they’re about an hour away so they can let you know a more accurate time.
Generally, the car will be driven to you by a delivery driver. When you sign for the vehicle you confirm the mileage at delivery and this is part of the paperwork given to the funder, so that they know what mileage your lease allowance begins on. There is the option to have the vehicle delivered via a transporter, but this will usually be at an additional cost to you.
Support After Delivery of Your New Lease Car
When your car is delivered, you’ll be asked to complete some paperwork which will be part of the documentation we need to provide to your lease funder for them to set your vehicle live. Until your vehicle is live on their system
Our team is still on hand to help with any questions that you have once the car is delivered. There may be some questions that you will need to go directly to your lease funder. This is because they will have the information to hand and they can only share some details with us, as we’re a third party. If you ever need their contact details or want us to ask a question on your behalf then our Support Team will be happy to help. They are there for you any time during your lease, and even after, (LINK DOWN) so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with them on 0330 221 0000.
Lease Car Payments Explained
Most funders will not take any payments until after your vehicle is delivered, however there are a few who require the initial rental payment to be made before delivery can be confirmed. We will let you know if you need to pay the initial rental before delivery.
Generally, the initial rental will be taken once the order is live on the funder’s system and it will be taken via the direct debit details you provide. We recommend having the money in your account for the delivery date but it can take up to two weeks for the funder to set your car live and the money to be taken.
Unless you specify in your contract the regular monthly payments will be taken on the anniversary of your delivery. This means that the time between your initial rental payment and the first monthly rental may not be a full month. We think it’s important to know this as it can help you budget for the car and arrange delivery at a convenient financial time.
The End of Your Car Lease
Once you reach the end of your lease you will need to arrange for the car to be returned to the finance company. It will be up to you to arrange this and you can do it directly with the lease company or we can arrange it for you.
Our Renewals Team will reach out to you as you near the end of your lease to discuss your options and if you arrange a new lease then we will coordinate delivery and collection for you.
If you want to find out more about leasing or are ready for a new car then get in touch with the team on 0330 221 0000.
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