Leasing Mileage Allowance
A guide to leasing mileage
A guide to leasing mileage allowances
Whether you’re looking to lease or buy a vehicle, an important factor to consider when making decisions is how many miles you expect to be driving as this can affect the performance of the vehicle, how often you need to fill up the fuel and ultimately the money you’re spending.
Leasing mileage
When you decide to lease a vehicle you'll agree to a number of conditions including the vehicle model, the contract length, who will be responsible for the maintenance and the annual mileage allowance, plus the overmiles cost should you go over this allowance.
If you decide a lease is the right choice for your next vehicle then you'll need to agree on what your annual mileage allowance will be. Here at Xcite Car Leasing, our Leasing Consultants will work with you to figure out what mileage will be best for you, taking into account:
- Your current mileage usage
- Any lifestyle changes you expect to occur that will impact your mileage during the lease
- The financial implications of increasing or decreasing mileage on the lease payments and the affordability of this
If you're interested in leasing but are unsure of your mileage needs then give us a call on 0330 221 0000 and speak to one of our Leasing Consultants or request a call back via the phone in the bottom left of your screen so we can help you figure it out.
Amending your lease mileage
Even though you agree to a mileage allowance when signing the finance documents this doesn't mean you can’t amend it.
Lease agreements can last between 1 and 5 years and, like us, our funders understand that a lot can change in your circumstances during this time that might impact your mileage needs.
Most of our funders will look at amending the mileage on your agreement provided you're not in the first 12 months of your agreement. This is because they like to have an accurate estimate of your annual mileage to avoid having to make multiple amendments. The majority also won't allow amendments to your mileage allowance in the last 6 months of the contract either.
Please note that amending your mileage allowance could impact your monthly rental costs, though it's not guaranteed that lowering your mileage will reduce your monthly rentals. Before any mileage change is put in place, your funder will provide you with a quote that you'll then need to sign to agree to the contract amendment.
Minimum and maximum mileage allowances
To help you decide whether leasing is suitable for your mileage needs we’ve spoken to each of our funders in order to see their minimum and maximum allowances so that you can see whether your expected use will fit within their ranges.
The minimum annual mileage that ALD will allow is 5,000 miles.
ALD offer maximum mileage for the duration of the lease rather than a maximum annual mileage, and so it will depend on the contract length how high your annual mileage can be. For a petrol, petrol hybrid or electric vehicle, ALD offers a maximum total mileage of 120,000 and for a diesel or diesel hybrid car it’s 160,000 miles. Diesel vans have a slightly higher maximum mileage at 180,000.
For Alphabet, the minimum annual mileage you can have is 6,000 miles.
Alphabet similarly offers a maximum total mileage, though this doesn't vary depending on your engine type and is 150,000 miles for any lease they offer.
Arval allow you to have a minimum of 5,000 miles per annum.
For Arval, the maximum total mileage you can have for the duration of any lease agreement is 160,000 miles if you're leasing a car and 180,000 for vans.
Leasys have advised us that there is no annual minimum mileage but that there must be a total of at least 10,000 miles over the duration of the lease. If you opt for a 2 year lease then the minimum you'll be able to have annually is 5,000 but if you have a longer lease length then you can have a lower annual mileage.
Leasys offer a maximum total mileage allowance of 120,000 miles for a car. But for a light commercial vehicle, like a van, they can offer up to 150,000 miles for the duration of the contract.
LeasePlan allows you to have a minimum annual mileage of 6,000 miles.
LeasePlan offers a maximum of 50,000 miles annually. However this is only up to a total of 150,000 miles for the duration of the contract so won't be possible if your lease is for longer than 3 years.
Lex allows you to have a minimum of 5,000 miles annually.
For Lex the maximum number of miles you can travel varies dependent on the type of vehicle and the fuel it uses. Petrol or electric cars have a maximum of 120,000 miles over the full duration of the lease, while for a diesel car it's 150,000. Vans have a maximum of 150,000 miles if they're electric or petrol and 180,000 miles if they're diesel.
Mobilize Financial Services has advised that the minimum annual mileage they can offer is 5,000 miles.
The maximum mileage allowance for the duration of the contract is 120,000 miles. This means the maximum annual mileage will vary depending on the contract length.
With Novuna you're allowed a minimum of 6,000 miles annually.
Novuna differentiates between petrol and diesel engines in the maximum mileage they allow you to have. For petrol vehicles it’s a total contractual mileage of 120,000 miles and for diesel it’s 150,000 miles.
Santander has advised that the minimum annual mileage is 5,000 miles.
They also look at the total mileage over the duration of the contract rather than a maximum annual allowance. The maximum total mileage is 150,000 over the life of the contract.
Wessex Fleet provide you with a minimum mileage of 8,000 per annum.
The company will advise depending on the model of vehicle you're looking to lease what the maximum mileage allowance is as they take into account the vehicle and fuel type.
As you can see the lowest mileage that most of our funders offer is a minimum annual mileage of between 5,000 and 8,000 miles. If you drive less than this, you can still lease but you'll receive no additional benefit for remaining below the contracted mileage.
What happens if you go over the mileage allowance on a lease agreement?
As mentioned above, when you sign your lease agreement it will outline the overmiles charge.
This is the cost if you exceed the agreed upon mileage allowance. This charge is only applied at the end of the lease once the vehicle has been collected and is calculated based on how many miles, if any, you have gone over the mileage allowance for the entire agreement rather than annual readings.
If you do go over the mileage allowance on your lease vehicle, you'll usually be charged in pence per mile and invoiced this once the collection report has been reviewed by your funder.
It’s important to note that if you opt for a maintenance package on your lease, you'll have 2 separate overmiles charges; one for the finance agreement and one for the maintenance agreement.
If you want to discuss your mileage needs or talk to us about leasing in general then give us a call on 0330 221 0000 or head back to our guides homepage to see more helpful articles.