Car lease expiring during lockdown

[PlumsInTheIcebox]

Has anyone had a car lease expire during the lockdown, and if so what has happened? Ours was up on 31 March and we are still in possession of the car - understandably the finance company can't send anyone to check and collect it, and our own insurance has expired. We have written confirmation from the finance company that the car is taxed and insured by them (and we have double-checked this). Is anyone else in the same position?

(Yes, it's a first world problem and yes, I know that this is fairly trivial in the grand scheme of things right now).

Do you want to keep the car and would you have signed up to a new one if you had been able to do so?

If so, can they extend the lease for 3/6 months and you keep paying, perhaps less as it's now a 3 YO car not a new one? Then at least you have access to a car if you need one, but I would have thought that you need your own insurance? We lease cars at my work and we've sometimes informally extended the lease period, eg if waiting for a new car to be ready.

If you no longer want the car, are they still expecting you to pay, or has the agreement ended? If you don't want it, eg don't need to drive it, you wouldn't expect to pay for it would you?

Have they said anything about the MOT. I know that all cars with an MOT due since lockdown started for the next year have been granted an extension of 6 months but I don't know if this applies to 3 YO cars that have never had an MOT or just older ones that have had at least one MOT.

I have a lease car that is due for changing in September, so was wondering about the MOT for my existing car, and also how I will go about choosing a new one as lead times can be as much as 4/5 months so I would normally start looking by now and obviously I haven't done anything. I think my plan at the moment is to extend the current lease for 3/6 months depending on the situation at the time, but if we're still in this sort of lockdown (surely not!), I don't even need a car as we also have DPs car.

At least it's helping me with the mileage as I'd have gone over both work and personal miles but am currently clawing a lot of this back.

Thanks Barbara. We don’t want to keep it and we want to return it as soon as safe and practicable. It is taxed to April 2021 and the MOT is valid until the autumn.

I am wondering if we could arrange temp insurance to drive it over to the dealership, which is local to us, and hand them the keys, having photographed it in detail.

Insurance will cost you money, even day insurance for a short journey will be a minimum of £25/30.

I'd just tell them it's on my drive and they can collect it at their convenience, maybe take photos now, so you have a record of the condition now, in case anything happens to it while you're storing it for them - unlikely but not impossible.

It's up to them to come and get it when they can/feel that it's 'essential'. It could be that they don't have anywhere to put it and won't be selling it any time soon, so don't want to put the work in. Possibly also they've furloughed their car collection people so aren't able to come and get it.

Hiya,

Am in the same boat. My lease ends next week 🙈

My lesse company have advised the following:

1. Insurance at my cost till end of agreement, after this point I'm to keep vehicle off the road & they will 3rd party insure. I cannot then drive it.

1. On the day the agreement ends I'm to send them photos of the mileage, vehicle, any damage, both keys & paperwork (think just to check with have them)

1. They are hoping to start collections w/c 11th may.

1. I'm to report any damage to may occur to the vehicle between end of agreement & them collecting.

Luckily our dealer was really great & got our new one rushed through before the lockdown, so have had that for 4 weeks now. So at least we can still use that. And we are fortunate enough to have a drive that'll fit both. But I was worried about incurring extra costs, so I'm happy with the above.

In terms of the insurance its probably cost me £90 to have the "old"lease car on the insurance until the end of the agreement. But it had a full tank of fuel & we are within the mileage so it made sense to use it to run down the fuel to do the shopping &go to work.