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12 and 18 month car lease

Our two longest short term leases, on one page. Twelve months if you like a fresh car each year. Eighteen if you’d rather settle in and keep the monthly as low as it goes. Eighteen months runs on selected vehicles rather than the whole fleet. Twelve is available right across the range — ask us what’s on for eighteen and we’ll tell you straight. Both give you a proper car on a fixed monthly price, delivered to your door, with no three or four year contract behind it and no drop in value to swallow at the end. Choose your car, we deliver it, and at the end you renew, switch or walk away. The mechanics are identical across both terms — same deposit, same documentation fee, same mileage, same everything-handled monthly price. The only real difference is how long you keep the car, and what that does to the monthly figure. Prices exclude VAT. Both terms are more often a business decision than a personal one, and VAT-registered customers reclaim it.

SEAT IBIZA HATCHBACK

1.0 TSI 115 FR Sport 5dr

12 Month Contract

£229.09 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer

GEELY STARRAY ESTATE

1.5 EM-i Max 5dr Auto

12 Month Contract

£295.62 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer

CHERY TIGGO 8 ESTATE

1.5T PHEV Aspire 5dr DHT

12 Month Contract

£303.01 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer

MG MOTOR UK MGS6 ELECTRIC ESTATE

180kW Trophy EV Long Range 77kWh 5dr Auto

12 Month Contract

£369.53 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer

VOLVO XC60 ESTATE

2.0 B5P Plus Black Edition 5dr AWD Geartronic

12 Month Contract

£369.53 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer

FORD RANGER PETROL

Pick Up D/Cab Wildtrak 2.3 EcoBoost PHEV 281 Auto

12 Month Contract

£369.53 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer

VOLVO XC60 ESTATE

2.0 B5P Plus Black Edition 5dr AWD Geartronic

12 Month Contract

£391.70 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer

VOLVO XC90 ESTATE

2.0 T8 PHEV Plus Dark 5dr AWD Geartronic

12 Month Contract

£554.31 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer

VOLVO XC90 ESTATE

2.0 B5P Plus Dark 5dr AWD Geartronic

12 Month Contract

£569.09 Per Month exc VAT

View Offer
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What a 12 or 18 month car lease actually is

It’s a short term lease, written over twelve or eighteen months: a set monthly price for a car that stays ours, not yours, handed back at the end.

Twelve months is the shortest of the “proper” leases — long enough that it feels like your own car, short enough that you’re never tied in for years. Eighteen is the value end of the same deal: a longer, calmer run at our lowest monthly rate. Neither leaves you carrying what the car’s worth when you’re done with it.

Why not just take a cheaper long lease?

Fair question. A three or four year lease often looks cheaper per month. Here’s what twelve or eighteen months actually buys you:

  • The freedom to hand the car back after a year or so, not a third of a decade
  • A newer car sooner — current plate, current tech
  • None of the resale or depreciation risk that comes with owning
  • No early-exit charges hanging over a multi-year agreement
  • A way forward when a long lease isn’t on the table yet — a business that’s only a year old, or a UK credit history that’s still short

For a lot of people, these two terms are the sweet spot between price and freedom.

Who takes a 12 month lease

Twelve months suits people and businesses who want a car sorted for the year without the long-haul commitment:

  • New businesses and start-ups that can’t yet get a long lease signed off
  • Anyone who likes a fresh car each year and would rather not own one
  • People new to the UK, still building their history here
  • Contractors and teams on year-long projects

Most of our twelve month leases are for businesses — it’s where this term makes the most sense.

Who takes a 18 month lease

Eighteen months suits people and businesses looking a little further ahead:

  • Anyone who wants the settled feel of a longer lease without signing up for years
  • Drivers after the lowest monthly a short term lease can offer
  • Households timing a car around a known change — the end of a course, a move, kids starting school — a year or so out
  • Businesses resourcing an eighteen-month project or contract
  • Companies wanting a low, fixed monthly without a multi-year lease on the books

Eighteen months is the longest term we write, on the vehicles where we can offer it.

What’s included — and what isn’t

Everything but insurance and fuel is built into one monthly figure, held steady for the full term: servicing and maintenance, road tax, breakdown cover, the manufacturer’s warranty, and free delivery and collection at both ends. Fancy a change part-way through? You can swap.

You cover the insurance, and it works out better for you that way. A single policy stretched across every driver would push everyone’s price up, so instead you arrange your own for the term and cancel it when the car heads back. You pay for cover that fits you and nothing more, and we’ll tell you exactly what’s needed before delivery day.

One job stays with you beyond insurance and fuel: telling us when a service is due.

Twelve months will almost always reach one service; eighteen usually one, sometimes two. Ring us when the dashboard starts counting down and we’ll book it at an approved service centre and pay for it. Leave it more than 500 miles past due and the warranty falls away, and there’s a £500 plus VAT fee attached to that.

It’s one phone call, and we’d rather you knew now than read it later.

Getting your car

Delivery to your door is free across mainland Britain, excluding the Highlands, and we collect the car for free at the end of the term too.

Reckon on roughly 10 to 14 days between placing your order and the car turning up. It isn’t instant, and that’s on purpose — that window is how we make sure the car that arrives is cleaned, checked and ready to just get in and drive.

The price you see is the price you pay

The figure on each car is the monthly price excluding VAT, which is what a VAT-registered business actually budgets against.

Three things are due when you order, and we keep all of them in plain sight: your first month’s rental up front, a one-off £95 documentation fee plus VAT, and a £750 refundable deposit that comes back to you at the end once the car’s returned in good order. After that, you’re simply on the monthly price for the rest of the term.

Eighteen months is our longest term, so it’s usually the lowest monthly on any given car. Twelve sits just above it, and both come in under our shorter terms.

Mileage, in plain numbers

Both terms come with 10,000 miles a year as standard — around 833 a month — with higher allowances available. Over twelve months that’s 10,000 miles in total; over eighteen, 15,000.

Anything beyond your contracted mileage is 40p a mile plus VAT, and we only ever bill for the miles over your allowance — with the rate shown up front, never after. Cover a lot of ground? Tell us before you order and we’ll build a higher allowance into the price. It’s cheaper than paying excess later.

Leasing for business

Both terms give a business a low, predictable monthly for a good stretch, with no capital tied up and no multi-year lease sitting on the books. Twelve months suits an annual budget cycle or a new company that can’t yet land a long lease; eighteen suits a fixed-term project or hire with a date on it.

The VAT and tax treatment on a car differs from a van, so your accountant can tell you what you can claim.

Cars and vans, same simple terms

Take a car or a van on the same twelve or eighteen month terms — city runabouts, saloons, SUVs, electric models, or a work van earning its keep.

For a business it’s the company-car alternative without the multi-year commitment: one predictable line in the budget, an easy refresh, and no capital tied up in a depreciating asset. For a driver, it’s a long run in a car you’d happily call your own.

FAQS: Common questions

What’s the difference between a 12 and an 18 month car lease?

Cost and calm. Eighteen months is usually our lowest monthly rate on a given car and gives you a longer, settled run. Twelve keeps you nimble and gets you into a newer car sooner. Everything else — deposit, fee, mileage, what’s included — is identical.

Can I extend a 12 month car lease at the end of the year?

Yes. Tell us before the twelve months are up and you can roll into a fresh year — the same car, or step into a newer one. Nothing starts over from scratch.

Can I extend or swap car at the end of an 18 month car lease?

Yes. As the eighteen months come to a close, tell us and you can extend, move to a different car, or return it. Let a customer advisor know before the term’s up and we’ll arrange collection.

What happens at the end of a 12 or 18 month car lease?

Three roads: renew into another term, switch to a different car, or return it and walk away. Let us know before the term ends and we’ll arrange collection from your home or workplace.

What if I need to end a car lease early?

Talk to us. A fixed term is a commitment, but life moves — if you need to hand the car back early we’ll walk you through the options and any costs honestly, rather than leaving you stuck.

Is insurance covered in a 12 or 18 month car lease?

No, and deliberately so. Cover priced for everyone would cost you more than cover built around you. Arrange your own for the term, stop it when the car’s back, and you only pay for what fits. We’ll set out what’s needed ahead of delivery.

Can I swap the car during the term?

Yes. A year or more is long enough for plans to change — a bigger boot, an EV, a van instead of a car. Switch when your term ends, or if it can’t wait, talk to us mid-term and we’ll do what we can.

What’s the mileage allowance on a 12 or 18 month car lease?

10,000 miles a year as standard on both — around 833 a month — with higher allowances available. That is 10,000 miles over a twelve month term and 15,000 over eighteen. Go over your contracted mileage and it’s 40p a mile plus VAT, billed only on the excess. If your year runs long on the motorway, flag it before you order and we’ll

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Whether you require a car or van for one or twelve months, Drive Subscribe provide an alternative to traditional car ownership, offering you the convenience to access a vehicle without the long-term commitment.