Logically the term contract hire is what you would expect people to most commonly enter into Google when looking for a car but in practice records show that the range of key phrases used vary considerably. For example some will look under auto leasing or auto lease. These are really American terms and if you enter these key words you will inevitably get some US car sites coming up, however as it is a highly competitive industry; companies will optimise under every possible key phrase to try and get a competitive edge, so you will still find UK companies advertising.
A search using the phrase contract hire will produce websites advertising a whole range of vehicles including commercial vehicles and also some broker directories. If you have a particular vehicle in mind, in many ways it can simpler to just enter the key words relating to that vehicle, for example Audi or BMW leasing, this will produce websites specifically advertising and sometimes specialising in a particular manufacturer. If you are looking for another form of car finance such as hire purchase it is important to use that term in your search.
You could narrow you search down further by putting Audi A3 or BMW 3 series; this will save time and take you directly to those advertising the vehicle you want. That is of course assuming you know what you want, many do not.
Apart from those who are perhaps not sure what type of vehicle they would like, or indeed what they can afford, there are others who are flexible in their choice and want to see what is on special offer. In this case it can be better to use a more general search term. There are at times some very attractive offers on the internet, although one should bear in mind that not all offers advertised on the internet are genuine and not all the companies advertising are reputable. Some people look for the cheapest offer they can find, however one should always proceed with caution, because this is an unregulated industry.
With regard to directories, there are reputable companies advertising on these sites and some not so reputable. With directories that advertise various broker services, the ethics and quality of service of those who advertise is not generally policed. Many are not Ltd companies so it is more difficult to check their trading history and for County Court judgements. There have been cases of prospective hirers loosing their deposits.
However this is considerably less likely to happen if the company you locate is under Google's natural listings (The natural listings are the first ten entries you see listed on each page of Google, ignoring those that are at the top of the page in a highlighted section and those on the right hand side of the page), in other words those that are not paying to be at the top of the listings.
The reason is that it can take years for a company to get to the top of the natural listings on Google, having worked tirelessly to get their site fully optimised. A search for contract hire states that the first page shows results 1 to 10 of 3,060,000 entries. It is extremely difficult to get a high ranking for such a competitive term and this is exactly what Google wants, because it prevents fly by night companies from ever getting high on the natural listings. Making the companies that are highly placed on Google, generally much more dependable and therefore probably the safest place to look for your vehicle.
Should you have any queries or questions with regard to Fleet Management, Licence checking, Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Lease Purchase or vehicle Hire Purchase, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536. www.bowaterprice.com.
