Frequently Asked Questions

Car leasing and finance options are financial agreements. This requires you to be 18-years-old when you sign up to an agreement. This covers across the board whether it be a PCP, HP, CH or LP agreement.

Some lenders will offer you deals if you have a provisional licence. This allows you to lease a car to learn in before you pass your test. Most lenders do require you to have a full licence, but it’s not a requirement for all.

Yes, but only through hire purchase agreements. This is because you’ll be the legal owner of the car at the end of your term.

You don’t need to be employed to lease a car. However, you must be receiving a regular form of income or benefit. You must be able to prove you can afford the monthly payments to be accepted.

For a leasing agreement, the ID required depends on your credit score. You’ll be required to provide proof of residency, income or benefits and identity, such as a passport or driving licence.

If you’re interested in personal car leasing, tell us the car you want and your monthly budget. One of our expert account managers will get in touch to find out if you wish to pay a deposit, how long you wish to lease the car for and how many miles you’re expecting to drive annually. These are all factors in working out your monthly payment. Once you’re happy, your account manager will conduct a credit check to find you a lender. And once the agreement has been signed, your car will be delivered directly to your door.

Our business car leasing is available to any business. All we need to know is the type of car you’re looking for and your monthly budget. One of our expert account managers will find out if you want to pay a deposit and how long you’d like to lease for. In addition, you’ll decide what your annual mileage allowance must be for each car you lease for your business. Your account manager will then conduct a credit check on the business, finding you the best lender for your requirements. You’ll then be offered a monthly payment quote, and if you proceed, your car or fleet will be delivered to your business.

Yes, we do supply cars for business fleets. Whether you’re looking for an individual vehicle or a collection of different cars, we can help. While the cars may be part of a fleet, they are treated as individual vehicles throughout the process. This means you have to choose a deposit, how long you wish to lease them for and what the annual mileage allowance for each individual car.

Depending on the length of your agreement, when you reach a certain point you have the option of paying off the remaining balance and changing your car or waiting until the agreement runs out naturally.

There are a variety of leasing lengths available. The minimum we offer is 12 months and our longest is 60 months. The most commonly taken lease agreements last between 36-48 months. We aim to find you the best lease length to suit your needs and your budget.

Yes, we carry out a credit check on everyone who enquires with us. All leasing and finance agreements require credit checks for our account managers to find the right lender for you. If you’re worried about not being accepted, we have a range of bad credit car leasing offers available.

The amount you can borrow depends on how good your credit score is, how much deposit you wish to put down and how affordable the car is. Get in touch and one of our account managers will walk you through the process to see how much you can afford to borrow.

You should receive a decision on your application within 24 hours of your enquiry. However, you’ll usually receive the news much sooner than that.

If the car is not up to your satisfaction upon arrival, you can reject it there and then. Otherwise, you have 14 days cooling off period and if you change your mind within that time, you can cancel it. Cancellation charges may apply.

No. You can buy your car over the phone and we’ll deliver it directly to your door at a time that suits you.

Yes. All our cars have a no deposit option.

We offer used car leases as it’s a great way for you to get exceptional value for money. Not only can you usually get behind the wheel of your new car faster than if it was a brand-new model, you often get more for your money. Every single used car we offer must pass our in-depth 124-point inspection. If they don’t, we don’t sell them, highlighting our commitment to providing you with high-quality vehicles at great prices.

All of our vehicles are fully HPI checked. This ensures you’ll have no nasty surprises when it comes to outstanding finance or your vehicle’s history.

Cars don’t require an MOT for the first three years of their life. If your vehicle is beyond three years old when we deliver it, it’ll come with at least six months’ MOT remaining.

We have more than 1,000 used cars in stock. However, if you can’t find what you’re looking for either online or at our state-of-the-art showroom in Blackburn, we’ll happily source the vehicle for you - new or used.

Sourcing a new car and delivering it to you depends on the manufacturer. Usually, it takes between three to six months for a brand-new car to be delivered as it needs to be put into production. However, if the car has been pre-registered, or an order has been made and cancelled, it could be a matter of days.

We’ll supply you with images of the vehicle you’re interested in and give you as much information as possible if you can’t make it to our showroom.

If you can’t see the car you want on our website, get in touch and one of our expert account managers will be able to source the vehicle for you. In the unlikely event we can’t find exactly what you’re looking, we can advise you on similar models that fulfil your requirements.

If you have lost your V5 documentation, then you will need to apply for a new one through the DVLA.

Unfortunately, you would need to carry out your own cherish transfer for any private registration plates. We can provide guidance on how to do this and help for when you swap your car again in the future.

Yes. We conduct a credit check, and if you wouldn’t be accepted for a normal leasing agreement, we can offer you a bad credit leasing agreement. We have a range of cars available with poor credit plans. Get in touch and one of our expert account managers will work hard to find the right car and lender for you. There’s no guarantee of acceptance, but we do guarantee consideration.

As lenders consider those with a low credit score a greater risk, there are subtle differences between bad credit leasing and standard leasing. Bad credit leasing agreements commonly run from 48-60 months, which is longer than most leases. The interest rates are usually higher to cover the risk of you not being able to pay in the long-term. The cars available on bad credit leasing are also restricted compared with standard leasing.

Having bad credit can lower the affordability of some cars. However, if you can prove you have the means to cover the monthly payments, you can get behind the wheel of one of our many used cars. If you have bad credit, brand new cars are unavailable to you, unfortunately.

You can’t directly part-exchange your current vehicle against a lease, but we can buy it from you. If you’d like to know more about how this works, speak to one of our dedicated account managers who’ll be able to explain the process to you. You can give us a call and speak to our buying team, or head over to Hippo Car Sell to get an online valuation.

No. We don’t offer insurance as we would be required to offer a single universal price for insurance that would end up being more expensive for the majority of our customers.

Our used lease vehicles do not come with tax. This is because of changes to tax laws made by the Government in October 2015. Brand new cars do come with tax for the period of your agreement.

Hire purchase allows you to purchase a car over a period of time by making fixed monthly payments. You agree on the duration of your agreement and the amount you wish to pay as a deposit, if any, and your regular monthly payment is calculated. Once your agreement is complete, you’ll be the legal owner of the vehicle.

A hire Purchase agreement allows you to pay for the value of your car over time instead of in one lump sum. The benefits, including fixed monthly payments, mean you can budget effectively without experiencing any nasty surprises. At the end of the agreement, you own the car without any additional balloon payment.

At the end of your hire purchase agreement, you’ll be the legal owner of the vehicle. From this point, it’s down to you to decide what happens next. You can keep the car for as long as you want. Or you can use it as part exchange for a new vehicle.

Personal contract purchase agreements give you flexibility. Similarly to hire purchase, you agree fixed monthly payments for a set period. However, when your agreement ends, you don’t automatically own the car outright. Instead, you have three options. Part exchange your vehicle and upgrade Pay the final balloon payment Hand the car back and walk away If you choose to pay the balloon payment, you’ll own the car outright.

The main benefits of a personal contract purchase (PCP) include its flexibility and low monthly cost. In addition to PCP agreements often coming with lower monthly payments than hire purchase, at the end of your agreement, you have three options. Part exchange your vehicle and upgrade Pay the final balloon payment and own the vehicle outright Hand the car back and walk away

At the end of your personal contract purchase agreement, you have three options to choose from. Part exchange your vehicle and upgrade Pay the final balloon payment and own the vehicle outright Hand the car back and walk away If you decide to hand the car back, you’ll be charged if you’ve exceeded your pre-agreed mileage or the vehicle has damage that’s deemed greater than wear and tear.

Contract hire is the purest form of car leasing. You lease a car for a period of time and hand it back to the lender once your agreement ends. It works by you placing a deposit down on a car of your choice and paying a series of monthly payments for the remainder of the lease. Most contract hire agreements last from between 24-48 months.

When your contract hire agreement ends, you simply hand the car back to the lender. You don’t need to worry about depreciation or trying to sell the car. Also because the monthly payments cover the cost of the depreciation, they will be lower than other finance options that cover the whole value of the car, such as hire purchase.

You have only one option at the end of the contract hire agreement - return the car to your lender.

Responsibility for the servicing and MOT resides with you. An MOT must be conducted annually on any car older than three years. For servicing, please check the manufacturer's guidelines so you’re aware when the car needs to be taken in for a service. If you’re able to, we’d love to welcome you to our state-of-the-art preparation centre and body shop based in Blackburn.

Yes, maintenance packages are available on used cars if you’re able to visit our preparation centre. Exactly what is included in the maintenance package depends on the individual car. One of our expert account managers will be able to give you exact prices.

Our nearly-new lease car maintenance packages differ from car to cat and are only available if you’re able to visit our preparation centre in Blackburn. Our new car lease packages have nationwide coverage, however. Our packages are unique to each vehicle’s needs, and if you’re interested in finding out more, contact one of our expert account managers.

Yes. You can use your own garage for repairs, services and MOTs if you can’t get to our state-of-the-are preparation centre in Blackburn. Note, however, the garage must be VAT registered.

If your car is covered by warranty, you can take it to any VAT registered garage for repair. If your car is no longer under warranty, you’ll have to cover the cost of the repairs yourself either with us at our preparation centre and body shop or at your own garage of choice.

No. Your Hippo warranty doesn’t cover diagnostic charges.

Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) is designed to cover the difference between what your insurer will pay out and the amount you originally paid for your vehicle. This is done in the case of your car being stolen or written off for some reason. There are different forms of GAP insurance including return to value, return to invoice, vehicle replacement and finance cover.

It can take up to six weeks for your documents to be returned, though this is usually much sooner. Unfortunately, the DVLA control this, and so it is out of our hands.

Each one of our vehicles is prepared to extremely high standards and must pass a 142-point inspection before going on sale. However, if you believe the damage is outside of expected standards, please get in touch.

If you’re experiencing any problems and have a warranty claim, you must contact Driver Car Warranty. Alternatively, providing the vehicle is still under the manufacturer’s warranty, you can visit your main dealer.

You can find out when your vehicle’s MOT is due by visiting the following website: https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

If your vehicle requires a service in under six months or 6,000 miles, it will be carried out prior to collection/delivery to you. Should it be greater than that, a health check will be carried out instead. If you’d like to know more about your vehicle’s service history, consult its service booklet.

If your vehicle has locking wheel nuts, the key for these is normally located in the glove box or the allocated space in the boot, though this does vary from model to model. If you require more help, please refer to your owner’s handbook.

If you face a problem paying your next payment, then you should contact your finance company immediately. Their contact details are usually online or included in any communications you’ve received from them.

The short answer is yes, you can settle your finance early. However, there are different provisions within each financial agreement. For example, if you’re two-thirds of the way through your hire purchase agreement, there’s an option of paying it off early through a settlement fee. A settlement fee covers the cost of any remaining unpaid instalments and interest payments remaining on the agreement. Once the settlement fee is paid, you take full ownership of the car. Under personal contract purchase, you can also pay a settlement fee to bring the agreement to an end early. After that, you can choose to hand the car back or take full ownership of the vehicle by paying off the final, larger balloon payment.

This depends on the type of vehicle agreement that you have in place. If you’re on contract hire or you plan to hand your personal contract purchase (PCP) vehicle back to the finance company, you’ll be charged per mile. However, if you’re planning to part exchange your PCP vehicle or buy it outright, you won’t. It’s worth noting, though, that if you exceed your mileage it can have a considerable impact on your vehicle’s worth - lowering its part-exchange value.

Yes. We can deliver your vehicle to a location of your choosing. Just get in touch with our logistics department and they’ll be happy to arrange delivery at a time and place that suits you.

After you’ve completed all the paperwork, we aim to deliver your used vehicle within 72 hours. If you’ve ordered a brand-new car, it can take longer and is dependent on the manufacturer.

Yes, we do deliver to Northern Ireland.

Yes, we are able to deliver your car to the Isle of Man.

If you are getting a new car, delivery is free. However, the cost of delivery for a used car will depend on where you live in the UK. The further away from us you are, the more it will cost to have your car delivered.

If you purchase a brand-new car with us, the manufacturer will deliver the vehicle to you.

Upon collection or delivery of your newly purchased vehicle, you’ll need to provide proof of identification, such as a driving licence or passport. We’ll only deliver the vehicle to the agreement holder.

We do charge an admin fee of £69.99 to produce the relevant vehicle documentation and reserve the vehicle in your name.

Yes, we must carry out a credit search for all finance and leasing agreements. Once this has been completed, our internal underwriters will decide which funder is best for you. This helps reduce the chances of a decline and negative print on your credit file.

The amount you can borrow depends entirely on satisfying our normal credit criteria, along with taking into consideration the affordability of the loan. In certain circumstances, we may require you to contribute a deposit.

Unfortunately, if your application is declined there’s nothing that we can do. However credit files can change quickly, so we’ll keep in touch and if something changes, we can try again in the future. We’ve tried our best to answer all your questions. However, if you still have any unanswered queries, feel free to get in touch.

We can authorise payments of up to £50,000 on a debit card, if the transaction is made face to face on our premises using the chip and pin facility. We can only do this if the person making payment is the customer, their name is on the invoice, and they provide proof of original ID such as Driving License or Passport to verify this.

If you prefer to make a payment over the phone, we are able to carry out payments of up to £2,000 this way.

We do accept credit card payments of up to £2,000 in person or over the phone. Please note that we do not accept American Express cards.

You are able to make a payment of up to £2,000 in cash per vehicle purchased.

We do accept payments of any amount via electronic bank transfer, but these must be made from the same account. Please note that the balance must be fully clear in our account before we release the vehicle.