No surprises
What's genuinely covered, line by line
Probably the page worth bookmarking before you sign anything. Everything your monthly payment actually covers, everything it doesn't, and the bits that sit awkwardly in between.
With a subscription or flexible lease, your monthly payment stretches to cover the vehicle itself, servicing and routine maintenance, road tax, manufacturer warranty and breakdown cover. A fixed short-term lease handles maintenance differently — it's not automatic, just optional on most agreements. Whichever you choose, comprehensive insurance, fuel or electricity, and any congestion or parking costs stay with you. Returns get measured against our own published standards rather than BVRLA fair wear and tear, which only takes over past the 18-month mark.
Line by line
Subscriptions and flexible leases
Maintenance and servicing are included as standard on these agreements.
Included in your monthly payment
- Use of the vehicle for the full length of the agreement
- All servicing and scheduled maintenance
- Road tax, paid for the whole term
- The manufacturer's warranty
- 24-hour breakdown cover
- Delivery to you, and collection when you're done
You arrange separately
- A fully comprehensive insurance policy, taken out in your name
- Fuel or charging costs
- Congestion charge, ULEZ and any other clean air zone fees
- Any parking or speeding fines you pick up
- Damage that falls outside our return standards
- Miles driven beyond your agreed allowance
Line by line
Fixed short-term leases
The important difference: maintenance is not included as standard on a fixed short-term lease. It's optional on most agreements, and your quotation states which.
Included in your monthly payment
- Use of the vehicle for the full length of the agreement
- Road tax, paid for the whole term
- The manufacturer's warranty
- 24-hour breakdown cover
- Delivery to you, and collection when you're done
Not included as standard
- Servicing and maintenance — not automatic here, but most agreements let you add it
- A fully comprehensive insurance policy, taken out in your name
- Fuel or charging costs
- Congestion charge, ULEZ and any other clean air zone fees
- Damage that falls outside our return standards
- Miles driven beyond your agreed allowance
Detail
The grey areas, spelled out
- Maintenance
- Standard on subscriptions and flexible leases. Not standard on a fixed short-term lease, but optional on most — your quotation states which.
- Tyres
- Included on some agreements, optional on others. Where included, cover is for reasonable wear only — accidental damage is excluded and excessive wear is chargeable.
- Windscreen and glass
- Normally an insurance matter rather than a maintenance one. Check your policy's glass cover and excess.
- Wiper blades and bulbs
- Consumables. Generally the driver's responsibility, though often replaced at service.
- AdBlue and screenwash
- Yours, like fuel.
- Racking and shelving on vans
- You fit it, you remove it, and you make good any damage before return. Agree it with us first.
- Signwriting and wraps
- Vinyl is usually acceptable by prior agreement. Permanent paintwork is not. Ask before committing to a livery.
- Towbars and accessories
- Ask first. Some are acceptable if professionally fitted and removed; others are not.
- Home EV charge point
- Not included. Installing one is your arrangement, and worth doing before an electric vehicle arrives.
- Public charging
- Not included. Electricity is your cost, exactly as fuel would be.
- Congestion charge, ULEZ & clean air charges
- Not included. These are driver costs on every agreement, in London or anywhere else.
- Excess mileage
- Charged at the pence-per-mile rate quoted at the outset. There's no new rate at the end.
- Refundable deposit
- We may take one. Whether it's required is subject to status, and the amount is set by the underwriters.
- Return condition
- Short-term vehicles are assessed against our own return standards. BVRLA fair wear and tear applies only where a vehicle is kept beyond 18 months. We follow the BVRLA code of conduct at all times.
A deliberate choice
Why we don't include insurance
Some subscription providers bundle insurance and present it as a benefit. We deliberately don't, for three reasons.
- It's usually more expensive. Bundled cover is priced for a broad pool of drivers, so a good driver subsidises a poor one.
- You can't build no-claims. On a bundled policy you're typically a named driver, so years of clean driving earn you nothing you can take elsewhere.
- You lose control. Your excess, your cover level, your named drivers and your claims handling are all decided for you.
If arranging your own cover is difficult — because of a short agreement, a leased vehicle or a thin UK insurance history — our partner eInsure writes cover specifically for this. More on insurance.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Next step
Any questions before you commit?
Ask us anything about what's covered. We'd far rather answer it now than have you find out later.