Contract Hire advice - is this a good deal?

[pmcgsmurf]

Recently been looking at Electric cars too, I sound in a similar position to @markjay
Looking at the BIK these can be bought through the business with no personal cost.

When looking at our little 4 year old Skoda with around 55k miles on it almost all local these electric things look like a great beneft.
Have probably spent what, around £5k in fuel over 4 years, maybe £1,300 a year.

Had looked at the iD3, not sure if the IONIQ is too big for us, need to see one in the flesh but I do see they seem to be available form stock.

@markjay What version did you look at?

 

[markjay]

Recently been looking at Electric cars too, I sound in a similar position to @markjay
Looking at the BIK these can be bought through the business with no personal cost.

When looking at our little 4 year old Skoda with around 55k miles on it almost all local these electric things look like a great beneft.
Have probably spent what, around £5k in fuel over 4 years, maybe £1,300 a year.

Had looked at the iD3, not sure if the IONIQ is too big for us, need to see one in the flesh but I do see they seem to be available form stock.

@markjay What version did you look at?

I'll be test-driving one today, not sure which model it will be, but the model I will be looking to lease is the Ultimate.

Yes, the ID.4 is a big car, and the IONIQ 5 is even slightly bigger. But just as the ID.3 was the first model in a range, so is the IONIQ 5, with more IONIQ EVs to be released soon, so you may find the right one for you in future.

As you know, the BIK starts creeping up, now is the time to buy an EV if considering the tax benefits... I doubt that the BIK on EVs will continue to be low once new ICE cars can no longer be sold in the UK, though this day may be delayed, it seems a bit up-in-the air at the moment.

 

[markjay]

New IONIQ 5 ordered...

They had just one in stock in the UK with the spec I wanted, so I 'gabbed' it, delivery next week.

With all the horror stories from the motor industry about reduced production levels, delayed orders, and chip shortages, I thought I didn't want to chance it with a factory order and the quoted '20 weeks' delivery.

That said, if the ID.4 and IONIQ 5 were both available, it would have been a though choice between the two. Having test-driven both, I'll post the pros and cons when I get a chance.

But with the car in exactly the spec I wanted available for immediate delivery, it was a no-brainer, and the IONIQ 5 won

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Nice, watched the review, looks good.

What did you end up going for?

 

[markjay]

Ultimate, 73kWh battery (280m nominal range), 160kW/217bhp RWD, with the Tech Pack and the Eco pack.

I was looking for the RWD model (and not for the more powerful AWD), because I don't care much about super-fast acceleration, and insurance cost for other named drivers will be more reasonable.

I also have the Suzuki which is AWD, but it's a high and light car so will do well in snow (with the right tyres), while the IONIC 5 weighs over 2t and has low ground clearance, no way I would try that in the snow even if it had AWD. And, at any rate, down here in London it only snows a couple of days a year anyway.....

 

[markjay]

In case anyone on this MB forum is interested in further information about the IONIQ 5...

Reading online reviews, I noticed several options that are not available in the UK.

The first is the solar panel roof, and while you might think it's actually only sensible to have it in sunny countries, Hyundai did bring to the UK a small number of limited edition IONIQ 5 cars called Project 45 (named after the 2020 Geneva show concept car called Hyundai 45), which had the solar panel roof, but no more.

Then, there's the fixed panoramic roof, not available in the UK for some reason.

But most interestingly is the Digital Side Mirror (DSM) option, which I suspect is not to UK regulations... is it possible that the regulations over here haven't caught-up with the tech yet and still require cars to have side 'mirrors'?

 

[markjay]

A couple of questions to those who've done it before....

The Hyundai is on a business lease to the company. I will be using the car as a company Director. Who should be named as the policy holder, the company, or myself as Director?

The reason for this question is that I have NCD on the Merc, which I am keeping for now, so if I understand correctly, then I have no NCD to apply to the Hyundai.

So cost-wise, I am assuming that there will not be much difference in price if the policy is in my name, or in the company's name. But obviously this might change when/if I sell the Merc.

Any advice as to how I should go about with the insurance?

 

[SpikyMikey]

In case anyone on this MB forum is interested in further information about the IONIQ 5...

Reading online reviews, I noticed several options that are not available in the UK.

The first is the solar panel roof, and while you might think it's actually only sensible to have it in sunny countries, Hyundai did bring to the UK a small number of limited edition IONIQ 5 cars called Project 45 (named after the 2020 Geneva show concept car called Hyundai 45), which had the solar panel roof, but no more.

Then, there's the fixed panoramic roof, not available in the UK for some reason.

But most interestingly is the Digital Side Mirror (DSM) option, which I suspect is not to UK regulations... is it possible that the regulations over here haven't caught-up with the tech yet and still require cars to have side 'mirrors'?

I think when the Audi e-tron SUV was announced, it also had 'virtual' mirrors, although I've no idea as to whether the production cars are actually fitted with them.

 

[Markw70]

The Honda e doesn’t have “wing” mirrors and only uses rear view cameras for the UK market, so I can’t see it being due to regulations.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

A couple of questions to those who've done it before....

The Hyundai is on a business lease to the company. I will be using the car as a company Director. Who should be named as the policy holder, the company, or myself as Director?

The reason for this question is that I have NCD on the Merc, which I am keeping for now, so if I understand correctly, then I have no NCD to apply to the Hyundai.

So cost-wise, I am assuming that there will not be much difference in price if the policy is in my name, or in the company's name. But obviously this might change when/if I sell the Merc.

Any advice as to how I should go about with the insurance?

Mirrored NCD?

 

[markjay]

Mirrored NCD?

Just Googled that.... thanks!

Also, any idea who the Policy Holder should be - me, or the company?

 

[markjay]

Thanks again.

Checking with the broker if mirrored NCD is an option for me, also taking into account that my own car and the company car will have different insurers.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Just Googled that.... thanks!

Also, any idea who the Policy Holder should be - me, or the company?

I think that’s best answered by your insurer. But I’d guess at the company.

 

[markjay]

I think that’s best answered by your insurer. But I’d guess at the company.

Thanks. Email sent to the broker.... will update.

 

[markjay]

...But most interestingly is the Digital Side Mirror (DSM) option, which I suspect is not to UK regulations... is it possible that the regulations over here haven't caught-up with the tech yet and still require cars to have side 'mirrors'?

Having Googled it, it seems that the DSM option is only available in Korea, but not in other markets due to local regulations still requiring physical mirrors - so apparently DSM can be legally used, but not just yet instead of actual mirrors.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Just Googled that.... thanks!

Also, any idea who the Policy Holder should be - me, or the company?

We've had this argument with Aviva recently, perhaps a couple of years ago.

All our vehicles were insured on a Fleet policy with us being named drivers and all vehicles insured for anyone.
Vehicles were registered to the company address both with Aviva and the DVLA for the V5 even though they were not kept at the company address overnight.

We realised we were paying way over the odds with the Fleet policy as we were the only ones driving.

Ditched this and went with individual policies but at this point Aviva started giving us the run around as they would not offer us no claims even though we had all been insured with them for years and not had any claims.
Finally got this sorted through the broker offering NCD letters then they started giving us the run around about the registered keeper/owner.

In the end we changed the V5 over to show the vehicles being in the registered name of the company but at each drivers home address and this seemed to make them happy!

Saved a good few thousand over the fleet policy.

 

[chic0821]

It does not take much to ramp up the monthly costs. I was looking to change my Range Rover Sport to a BMW X5 45E (petrol hybrid). Base monthly, 3 year lease 5k miles/yr £662, but with the spec I was looking at it is £1019 a month

 

[markjay]

Broker said that the underwriters insist that the policy holder is a 'person with financial interest in the business', and not the company. So they want the policy in my name as a Director, which is fine by me.

The way they worded their response, however, seems to suggest that the policy holder can also be the company, just not with the cover they are offering (I.e. possibly with other insurers).

Waiting for a quote....

EDIT: and no reply yet re 'mirrored NCD'.

 

[markjay]

Our usual broker said that the insurer they work with won't insure cars valued under £50,000.... serves me right for buying a cheapo EV!

Called Aviva - with whom I have a personal multi-car policy for the Merc and the Suzuki - they initially sounded unsure, but eventually insisted that because the lease is in the name of the business, the policy will have to be in the name of the business too. So no possibility of adding this car to my existing multi-car policy. Not a big issue in itself, but their quote came in at over £3k... no thank you.

So on I went to comparethemarket.com. The top entry in their list (and their recommended insurer) was Liverpool Victoria. Phoned them up, they were very relaxed about the lease contract and said it made no difference to them if it was a business lease or private lease, quoted well under £1k with the options I wanted. So they got the business. The IONIQ 5 is now fully insured...


BTW, neither Aviva not LV offer mirrored NCD, seems like this isn't a common option, but I needed the cover in place asap because the new car is ready tomorrow. I have the 14-days cooling-off period, so will see over the next week if there are better options around.


Thanks for all the advice