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A maintenance package or agreement is an additional option on a lease that covers the essential maintenance work, servicing and MOTs for the duration of your lease.
Not all leases automatically come with maintenance provisions and if you decide not to have a maintenance package as part of your lease then it will be your responsibility to ensure the vehicle is maintained and serviced in line with the manufacturer’s and the funder’s guidelines. You will also need to put the vehicle through its MOT and complete any necessary work this highlights if your lease is longer than three years.
What is and isn’t covered within a maintenance package varies between funder but we’ve given you a general idea below, some maintenance packages also include breakdown assistance or have this as an additional extra.
At Wessex Fleet we also provide our own maintenance services and you can find out more information on these and how our business can help you with fleet maintenance here or get an idea on the checks your drivers can complete to keep the car in top running condition.
A maintenance package might not always be the right choice for your business but there are a whole host of benefits that could help your business.
These include:
Each maintenance agreement takes into account the vehicle you are leasing, the mileage you will be doing and the expected wear and tear which is why there is no uniform cost as each maintenance agreement is priced on the individual vehicle and the terms of that agreement.
A maintenance agreement usually includes:
Some also include roadside assistance or breakdown support but this might be at an additional cost or only available on particular contracts. We will advise you if this is included or an option for you on any maintenance package you are considering.
As well as what’s covered most agreements will advise on circumstances when they will not cover the repair work. Again, this differs between funders on the specifics but in general most maintenance agreements will not cover:
When you take out a maintenance agreement then you will usually arrange any maintenance work, servicing, MOTs etc through their maintenance department who arrange for the work to be completed by an authorised garage local to you.
They will only use approved dealerships that use manufacturer-approved parts and complete authorised works that meet their high standards so you can be sure that any work that you have completed through your maintenance agreement is done to a high quality.
You will be able to provide your drivers with a one stop phone number for them to arrange any necessary work at a convenient time and location for them.
The cost of maintenance will vary depending on your fleet. Maintenace will be charged per vehicle and this is because the cost depends on a number of factors including the vehicle make and model, the manufacturer's service interval requirements, and the known areas of concern for that particular model so that the maintenance funder knowns the expected maintenance costs.
What we advise is that when you request a quote for a new fleet vehicle you request a maintained and non-maintained quote, this will be from either the lease funder directly or a third party such as Wessex Fleet, and then you can look at whether this is a worthwhile additional cost.
Generally, we would recommend that you opt to have maintenance on all your vehicles as it is a sensible way to budget car maintenance costs, as there are regular monthly payments and you will not be surprised by a large unexpected bill at a random point during the agreement.
Maintenance also provides you with a more streamline and managable service for fleet maintenance, saving you time and money from arranging all the work internally and gives your drivers an easy to manage one line contact for all their maintenance needs.
We really believe that a maintenance package is worth the cost, even if you don't necessarily make the most monetarily from every vehicle maintenance the amount it saves you in time and stress of organising everything within your business.
When You Can Add Maintenance
You can add a maintenance package to the lease agreement at any time before the vehicle is delivered, but this may require new contracts to be completed.
As mentioned Wessex Fleet offer our own maintenance packages, and so we can also help you if you decide you want to add maintenance after the vehicle is delivered.
EV Maintenance
You can also have a maintenance package on an EV.
Though EVs don’t tend to have as much need for maintenance work when they do they usually require specialists that cost more and so if you decide not to add maintenance you might have a higher bill than expected.
We can discuss in full the pros and cons of any maintenance package you are considering before adding it to the contract.
Excess Mileage and Maintenance
If you are leasing a vehicle you have an agreed upon contractual mileage and if you go over the total contract allowance before returning the vehicle then you will be charged in pence per mile for each extra mile the vehicle travels.
When you take out a maintenance package you will also have an excess mileage charge for this as well as the finance agreement, so there will be two excess mileage charges if you exceed the contractual mileage.
If you are an existing customer and want to discuss any aspect of your maintenance package then you can call our Maintenance Team on 01722 322 888. For any out of hours essential maintenance work you can reach the 24 hours emergency team on 08009177402.
For more of our helpful guides take a look at our guides homepage or find out more about our fleet management and maintenance to see how Wessex Fleet could help you.
