Company lease car - struggling

Charles2703 · 03/02/14 - 03:43

Hi,
I have severe back problems and I am determined to keep working.

Anyway it came time to change company cars and I had to go for a different model than I was used to - I had a basic Peugeot 207 but they are no longer made, so I ordered the new 2008 crossover. This was a new model and I ordered it 5 months ago and I could not test drive as there was a huge shortage of them. I know in hindsight this was stupid but I figured it would be safer to opt for the Peugeot again, only a slightly bigger car.

I took delivery of it on Monday and after driving it for a week I am in agony. I have to drive with my seat at the highest position and at 6ft 2, head room can be an issue. I really thought I was playing safe by ordering this car as I tried the 208 and it was too small. I know I have been foolish but what could I do when I could not get a test drive - I thought with the car being higher it would have more headroom - it's not the case at all, the headroom is low therefore I cannot sit the way I need to.

The lease is 3 years, any idea what the cost would be to return it after only 1 week? I am really worried, or more embarrassed to speak to my employer as they have been great with me over the past year or so since my disability has been much worse.

Any ideas on what I can do, do lease companies ever do swaps etc? Or even any idea what sort of fee they normally charge for return?

Any advice welcome.

Keefy-boy · 03/02/14 - 04:04

Speak to your employers. Lease cars are always returnable before the end if a lease with a penalty, but goodwill may play a part, can't really see how anyone here can help.

TUTV Viewer · 03/02/14 - 04:11

Your work equipment, even a car, should be fit for purpose without causing you any harm.

Charles2703 · 03/02/14 - 05:16

TUTV Viewer wrote: »

Your work equipment, even a car, should be fit for purpose without causing you any harm.

Thanks, even if I chose it myself?? I certainly do not want to fall out with them.

Charles2703 · 03/02/14 - 05:17

Keefy-boy wrote: »

Speak to your employers. Lease cars are always returnable before the end if a lease with a penalty, but goodwill may play a part, can't really see how anyone here can help.

Was just wondering if anyone has had to end a car lease,early and what were,the penalties

Eagle9a · 03/02/14 - 14:04

I guess it will depend on the type of leasing arrangement..if your company is paying the leasing cost then it shouldnt be too much of a problem getting you a replacement assuming your car can be used by someone else. If you think about it, there are many occasions when a car becomes redundant before the lease expires..eg someone leaving or dying. I suspect in these circumstances your employer would keep the car as a pool car in which case there might be a vehicle already available, for you to use.

Talk to your employer, I'm sure they would want to help you as much as possible.

Keefy-boy · 03/02/14 - 14:23

Charles2703 wrote: »

Was just wondering if anyone has had to end a car lease,early and what were,the penalties

Generally, the longer remaking time on the lease, the higher the termination charge. Even though it's a week old, it's no longer new and it's value will have dropped considerably.
However, if for example, your employer has a large fleet with this leasing company they may be able to negotiate on the terms. Or, perhaps someone else in your company may be able to take over your car.

flagpole · 03/02/14 - 14:33

myself i would try and palm it off on a colleague.

Charles2703 · 03/02/14 - 14:54

Thanks for the advice. I work for a small company and we only have about 25 lease cars. To add to my doom, we no longer use the leasing company now (my order was the last before we moved to a new company). I think the only thing I can do is call the lease company and ask how much the termination charge is. This back disability is torture for everything I do in life! So frustrating.

Keefy-boy · 03/02/14 - 16:40

Charles2703 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I work for a small company and we only have about 25 lease cars. To add to my doom, we no longer use the leasing company now (my order was the last before we moved to a new company). I think the only thing I can do is call the lease company and ask how much the termination charge is. This back disability is torture for everything I do in life! So frustrating.

A fleet of 25 cars is not tiny, it must mean there are around 8 cars coming up for renewal every year, your best bet is surely with your employer re-deploying your vehicle.

The lease termination charge after a week is likely to be several thousand pounds, you would have to cover the cost of the massive initial depreciation from new to second-hand and compensation for the anticipated profit over the normal lifetime of the lease.

chattamanuk · 03/02/14 - 16:53

Could you not speak to any colleagues about doing a swap?

Yosemite · 03/02/14 - 16:56

chattamanuk wrote: »

Could you not speak to any colleagues about doing a swap?

Could you not read previous replies?

grumpyscot · 03/02/14 - 16:58

I retired leaving a year still on the lease of my car - the company simply assigned it as a pool car

flagpole · 03/02/14 - 17:14

Yosemite wrote: »

Could you not read previous replies?

pleasant.

chattamanuk · 03/02/14 - 23:24

flagpole wrote: »

pleasant.

Very! I have seen some of this posters previous comments, so not a surprise. I did see your post about palming the car off to a colleague, however the OP didn't acknowledge that in the post immediately after yours, saying they would still be calling the lease company - seeming the most sensible option to at least have a chat about it to a colleague - having an almost new car seems like a decent bargaining tool if there vehicle may be coming up for renewal is at least worth a go. Oh well. Hey ho!

stripe · 04/02/14 - 00:13

many years ago when my back went big time the only car i could drive was a granada automatic, couldn't even press the clutch in anything else. years of lifting caught up with me, im all good now though,,,sorry nothing to do with post just rabbeting on....

Charles2703 · 04/02/14 - 00:17

Thanks folks. I did try and call the lease company today to find out what the penalty would be, but they will only give it to my employer. I was only trying to find out roughly how much to save any embarrassment when speaking to my employer if I could not even afford the penalty.

I could try offering out to colleagues, but many may be put off by the fact that I had decided to go automatic(supposedly to help me back) - here may be part of the problem too, the car jolts you (maybe not noticeable to someone with a normal back), but even driving smoothly - it still jolts. All my research to get the "perfect" car for my back has just been a failure.

Anyway I read the terms of the lease and it says the early return of a vehicle is 6 months lease fee in months 1-3 - the lease is about 450 a month (£80 of that being the charge for servicing, tax etc) - but there are probably a load of additional charges to pay

Hey there!

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