We currently have the best deals on the market for all Mercedes cars – I don’t normally write such a brave statement but on this occasion I thought that I would!

There are brilliant deals on all models – and the Mercedes range are so fresh and new they are really exciting cars to be looking at! And their prices on Leasing, because of their strong residual values, can often be BETTER than what might be perceived to be cheaper rivals.

For instance recently we were recently asked to quote for a Volkswagen Passat Estate – we did the quote at a great rate for the but we also attached a quote for a Mercedes C Class Estate which was about £30+vat less per month, and we suggested it may be worth considering as well. Lo and behold the customer was over the moon that we had offered this as he had no clue he could get a Mercedes for less than a Passat!

I shan’t list them all on here as it would take up too much of your time – but we have SLK from £259+vat per month, E Class Estate from £319.99+vat and many others! Please drop me a line and I can talk you through these and many more ideas to help you save money on your motoring!!

We are just back from our Easter break and hope you all enjoyed yours as much as we did. This is the start of a new Quarter for the motor manufacturers and finance companies, so there are plenty of new deals on the go. We have a new supplier on our website for Land Rover which is great and we can now offer some class leading deals for all models in their range – have a look at our Land Rover page for some examples.

We also have this new deal on Business Contract which is very competitive:

As always, if you have any questions then please do not hesitate to get in touch – we are always very happy to help!

The Queensferry Ambition March Newsletter has just been published and we are delighted that an article about ourselves has been included!

Queensferry Ambition are the steering group towards Queensferry becoming a Business Development District – which will hugely help all of the local businesses in the area – and we are very pleased to be a part of this!

Have a look at the Newsletter here – March Newsletter

I just came across this great article and thought I would share it with you via a link as opposed to copying it out:

http://www.moneyweek.com/personal-finance/money-saving-tips/how-to-choose-between-petrol-and-diesel-car-21100?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Money%2BMorning

It is definitely worth reading.

We had a client this week looking for a small car for his wife to use primarily around Edinburgh – doing only 8-10,000 miles per year – and he specifically said that it must be a Diesel because of the fuel economy. I spoke at length with him and pointed out that

a) The Diesel cars are normally more expensive to buy

b) Diesel is more expensive than Petrol to buy

c) Around town the Diesel engine does not warm up enough to give you optimum fuel economy anyway

d) Modern small engined Petrol engines get brilliant fuel economy these days

We are now just finalising an order for a very nice Hyundai i10 1.2 – Petrol – for her and I am sure she will be delighted with her choice!

If you have any questions at all about the choice between the fuels then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

This is one of the most asked questions we get I would think. Leasing was introduced from the States some years ago and has really taken off in the UK now – especially for businesses but more and more for private individuals as well. Without going into too much detail here are a few of the pros and cons of Leasing so that you can see for yourself – some people can never get their heads around the aspect of never owning something at the end of the agreement and some people can. It is down to individual choice at the end of the day.

Personal Leasing Clients

1.  Gives you completely fixed cost motoring for the duration of the agreement
2. Small deposit compared to actually buying a car or financing in a traditional Hire Purchase
3. The car is always under warranty and can have a fixed cost servicing and tyre package bolted on
4. The monthly payments are very much lower than if you Hire Purchase the car – ie you can normally afford a nicer car than if you actually bought it outright
5. There is no haggling or numerous visits to Dealerships to secure the best deal – it is all very straight forward to arrange
6. You do not have a Part Exchange to deal with and sell at the end of the agreement
7. You can change your car every 3 years or so very cost effectively
8. If you do wish to keep the car at the end of the agreement you can apply to the finance company to do this – subject to their own specific terms
9. Great for company car drivers who have opted out – you know exactly how much the new car is and can budget it against your monthly car allowance from your employer

Some people say ‘but I don’t have anything to show for the payments I have made’ – consider that you actually bought the car, instead of leasing, you will have been paying a monthly amount for it via Hire Purchase. You still don’t actually benefit from ‘ownership’ of the car unless you keep it beyond the end of the period of Hire Purchase – by which time it is out of warranty and needs more maintenance bills!

Business Leasing Clients

All of the above points apply and in addition you have the great benefit of being able to claim back half of the VAT on the rentals (which you cannot with Hire Purchase) and the monthly payments are claimable against your profits for tax purposes – so a very efficient system of finance.

Avatar Vehicles would be happy to advise new clients as to the best way for them to purchase or finance a new vehicle – whether a car, van or truck and we can offer comparative figures to both buy or lease for you to compare. We are completely unbiased with regard to which make or model – or indeed which form of finance you prefer. Drop us a line and see if we can help you.

About the Author

Steve Roberts is the Owner of Avatar Vehicles which was established in 2007. Many years of experience make him an expert in the field of vehicle leasing and all aspects of motoring. He is passionate about helping others to obtain cost effective, no nonsense deals on their cars – saving them both time and money with any vehicle purchase.

The Cabriolet deals are like buses – you don’t see one for ages and then 3 come at once…..

Here is the last one of the week for you – it’s a lovely Mercedes!!

Mercedes Benz SLK 250CDI Auto

Mercedes Benz SLK 250CDI Auto

Specification:

17” Alloy Wheels

Eco Stop Start

7 Speed Auto Transmission with cruise control

Door Mirrors Electrically adjustable and heated

Electro-Hydraulic Roof

Exhaust System with Chrome tailpipes

LED daytime lights

Remote boot release

Air Conditioning

Electric Seat Adjuster

Sports Seats

Sports Steering Wheel

Non Metallic Paint

Cloth Upholstery

Aluminium Brushed Trim

Headlamp Assist – automatic headlamp activation

Rollover protection

Audio 20 Radio – 5.8 inch colour display, 6 disc integrated CD Changer(MP3 compatibility)

Bluetooth Interface

DAB Digital Radio

Performance Figures:

 Acceleration 0-62 mph : 6.6 secs

Top Speed mph : 151 mph

Combined Fuel Consumption : 42.8 mpg

Financial Information:

23 Monthly Payments of £ 215.50 plus VAT

Deposit £1293.00 plus VAT

Excess Mileage Charge: 13.00

Contract Mileage: 20,000

Subject to terms and conditions: figures are exclusive of VAT and the contract is without maintenance.  Contract Type is ‘Operating Lease’ available for both Business and Personal Contract Hire.

Guarantees and Indemnities may be required and the above package is subject to availability.

Images are for illustration purposes only.  Performance figures are indicative. Car quoted is Solid Paint colour and standard cloth interior.

Let me know if you need any more information! Have a great weekend everyone!

You can tell Spring is in the air…. the brilliant new special offers on Cabriolet start to appear! Get ready to put the hood down and get some breeze in your hair with these stunning Audi Leasing offers we have just received with low deposit and low monthly payments. These deals are specifically for Business users only, so let us know if you would like something similar but on a Personal agreement instead.

Get in touch if you would like more details please!

I was asked to write a short piece about Avatar Vehicles to go into the next Newsletter of Queensferry Ambition which I have now done. They are working hard to promote the new BID (Business Improvement District) which is a Government initiative to improve the all round business community within the BID area. For us, this is a great organisation to help us to get introduced to the other local South Queensferry businesses – especially since we are fairly new to the area, having moved up from the Borders only last summer.

It got me to thinking about how difficult it can be sometimes to blow your own trumpet! Well, some people find it more difficult than others I know – we all know some of them I’m sure! Anyway, I wrote the article and tried to be as informative as possible about what we do without being a) Boring! b) too ‘salesy’ – it was an article and not a sales pitch.

Anyway, it has been submitted now and, Diane who is project manager for QA, seems very happy with it! I shall post it on here once it is all done and dusted – don’t want to steal my own thunder now do I!

I emphasised in the article how important it was for local businesses to work together and share one another’s services. Once I have found a good service provider I do tend to stick with them – whether it be a builder, a computer repair company – or in our line of work a great finance company, leasing company or Car Dealership. From a service provider’s perspective we, at Avatar, strive to offer a friendly and professional service to our clients – we enjoy meeting new clients all of the time and then make it our business to ensure they become long lasting relationships. If our name is the first, or only one, that pops into people’s heads when they are thinking about anything to do with cars, vans or leasing, then we have done our job well.

About the Author

Steve Roberts is the Owner of Avatar Vehicles which was established in 2007. Many years of experience make him an expert in the field of vehicle leasing and all aspects of motoring. He is passionate about helping others to obtain cost effective, no nonsense deals on their cars – saving them both time and money with any vehicle purchase.

We have just had released to us today a new Special Offer for the Volkswagen Touran 1.6TDI 105 SE in Metallic Paint – from only £229.99 + vat per month!

Visit the deal on our website for more details or to enquire: Volkswagen Touran Offer

A great deal on both Business Leasing or on Personal Leasing for this great MPV!

Please get in touch if you would like more details!

I was asked the other day how often you should get your car serviced by someone and when I asked when they had last had theirs done they said ‘Never!’ I was horrified! The poor car is 6 years old or so, they bought it 2nd hand some 4 years ago and have never done anything to it except to MOT it. The engine oil and filters must be so dirty and hardly lubricating the engine at all – it’s like holding a dirty cloth over your nose and breathing through it and then putting bits of grit into your eye and blinking!! Not pleasant at all for the engine that is trying so hard to keep going!

I would always recommend getting your car properly serviced every year as a minimum. If it is a fairly new car I would recommend using a franchised Dealer for the make of car that you have – this ensures that any manufacturer’s warranty is kept valid and also keeps the value of the car slightly higher when you come to sell it. As the car becomes older this becomes less relevant and you can use a non franchised garage – but try to get a recommendation from someone as to where to go, as opposed to finding one from Yellow Pages or similar.

We have many contacts when it comes to buying Tyres, Servicing, Paintwork Repairs and Insurance – so please do not hesitate to ask, we are always happy to advise on any aspect of Motoring and not just Car Leasing. Drop me a line on steve@avatarvehicles.co.uk if you like.