How Hiring Luxury Cars can be Cost-Effective
Luxury car hire offers you the freedom to try out the latest releases or swap your normal car for one that provides more exclusivity, impressive looks, or practicality when needed. Reliable, flexible, and convenient, this can be a great way to enjoy the benefits of prestige car hire without the long-term cost implications. But just how much can you save by hiring a luxury car instead of buying one? In this guide we look at some of the most common costs associated with owning a luxury car and how these can make hiring luxury cars more cost-effective.
Depreciation
Depreciation is simply the difference between the amount a car is worth when you buy it compared to when you sell it. Amounts can vary widely between different car marques and models, but as a general rule, cars stand to lose between 15-35% of their value in the first year and up to 50% more over three years. This can be due to various factors including warranty expiration, mileage and number of owners and luxury cars can often fare worse as models lose their desirability, replaced with the latest updates by their designers.
According to industry experts What Car?, the Jaguar XF, Audi A8, and Maserati Quattroporte were listed in the top ten cars for worst depreciation levels of 2021. But that doesn’t make them any less popular or exciting to drive, just not cost-effective to buy new and own. This is where luxury car hire can sometimes make more financial sense for you. Available for one-off events, trips away or more long-term everyday driving, you get all the benefits of driving one of these luxury hire cars without needing to worry about its resale value when you’re done.
Maintenance and Repairs
Routine maintenance, servicing, and repairs can cost the average car owner hundreds of pounds each year, but this can dramatically increase if you own a luxury car. With a much higher RRP, the cost of replacing parts can cost thousands as these are exclusive and specialist and can often need to be fitted by expert engineers. Your local repair shop often won’t have the knowledge and expertise to maintain or repair a luxury car, meaning that it needs to go back to the original manufacturer, increasing the costs further. And if you do take your chances with repairs, misfitting can lead to even more damage and an ever-growing cost.
Each of our prestige hire cars is regularly serviced and maintained by qualified professionals, ensuring you experience the feeling of driving a brand-new car every time you book with us. Whether you are looking to hire a luxury car for a special event or everyday driving over a longer period, we cover this cost to make your hire options more cost-effective. For corporate clients in particular, this can be a great way to save, providing business travel when needed without the need to own and maintain your own fleet of cars. Of course, as an added bonus, you have the freedom to select between the latest models and all-time favourites for a luxury hire car to suit any occasion.
Running Costs
Aside from the costs associated with making sure your car looks and performs at its best, of course it will come with its own legal requirements to consider such as an annual MOT and paying the correct amount of road tax. Whilst our luxury electric hire cars are exempt from vehicle excise duty as they produce zero emissions, for other new models this can be as much as £2,000 in the first year depending on their environmentally friendly credentials. This drops after the first year of ownership but is an added cost to consider when buying a new luxury car as opposed to hiring one.
And that brings us on to the fuel needed to power some of the fastest and most luxurious cars in the world. Many of the most recognisable supercars such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Bugatti fare worse in fuel efficiency and the reason for that is clear. These cars boast such terrific top speeds and power, they simply need more fuel. And whilst these are incredibly exciting sportscars to drive, treating yourself by hiring a supercar for occasions can allow you save money on fuel for the rest of the year whilst driving your normal vehicle.
Insurance
Following the initial spend on the car, insurance can be the second biggest cost when owning a luxury vehicle. Among the most expensive cars to insure sit Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Aston Martin and insurance can be a huge factor when choosing whether to buy or hire a luxury car. When you hire an executive car with us, the cost of self-drive insurance is included in your overall fee, allowing you to drive without any worry.
Hiring a luxury car allows you to only pay for insurance when needed instead of having it as a static running cost all year round. For avid car fans, this can allow you to like to try out the latest releases without making any vehicle an addition to your fleet, saving on insurance costs as for the most part you remain insured on fewer cars. Or for car collectors who do wish to purchase a new luxury car, our hire service allows you to try before you buy, getting an idea of how the vehicle will fit into your life before you part with your money.
For many of clients, luxury car hire can work out to be a cost-effective way to drive luxury cars. By reducing your regular spend and only hiring a prestige car when desired, the overall running costs can be kept down, allowing you to enjoy the vehicle without any financial concern. Of course, hiring a luxury car isn’t just cost-effective, it gives you the freedom to select from some of the most popular models to suit your occasion, be that a sportscar for a red-carpet event or a luxury SUV for a family trip. To find out more or book any of our vehicles, please request a quote online or speak to our team for further detail.