How To Select Your Car Lease Mileage Allowance?

Mileage is an important part of a car lease contract, so you must choose the best car lease mileage for you. Otherwise, you could be wasting your money or developing a hefty excess mileage charge if you are not careful.

How Does Mileage Work With Car Leasing?

With leasing, the money you are paying is the depreciation value of the leased car. This is the difference between what the car costs new and what it's worth at the end of the contract (or the residual value). The number of miles on a car impacts the rate of depreciation so the more miles you have means the lower residual value at the end. When it comes to what you pay, if the car has a high depreciation value, then you will pay more across your contract.

A car lease mileage limit (or annual mileage amount) lets the finance company determine a more accurate residual value at the end of the contract. They have a guarantee of what the total mileage will be on the car when it is returned to them so they know what price they can offer the car out for at the beginning.  

How Do I Know What Mileage Is Best for Me?

Firstly, you need to calculate your weekly average mileage: how far are your work commute, any shopping trips, and school drop-offs/pick-ups. These are the trips you are going to make during your week. Once you have this value you can multiply it by 52 (for several weeks in the year) and get your guaranteed annual mileage amount.

This amount will put you into one of the mileage brackets we offer – 5000, 6000, 8000, 10000, 12000, 15000, 20000, 25000, and 30000. Now it is then up to you to decide whether you would require a buffer amount – this buffer is for those unplanned trips you may make throughout the year like holidays etc.

As an example, your guaranteed annual mileage amount could be 6380 miles which would then put you in the 8000 miles bracket. You wouldn’t need to add a buffer amount as you already have an extra 1620 miles a year to play with. 

On the other hand, if your guaranteed annual mileage amount is 5950 miles you would be in the 6000 miles bracket with only an extra 50 miles a year to use. If you tend to go on a lot of unplanned trips and holidays, you may want to go into the above bracket (8000 Miles) to act as a buffer to avoid any excess mileage charges. However, if you don’t tend to go on a lot of trips, you may want to stick in the lower bracket amount as you could end up spending more for your lease car than necessary.

What Are Excess Mileage Charges?

An excess mileage charge is the charge you receive when you go over your mileage limit at the end of your contract. It is best to find the right mileage amount for you so you can avoid developing any charges. Check out our excess mileage charge page to find out more.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about choosing the best mileage amount for you, you can get in contact with the team at 0345 350 3776, send us an email at enquiries@willowleasing.com or send us a live chat message.

If you wanted to get started with your leasing journey right away, you can check out our car lease deals and van lease deals today!