THOSE small business owners who believe change is a good thing are shaping up for summer with a new car.

Customers who ‘lifestyle lease’ on short-term lease company cars in order to change them regularly are already placing orders for ‘summer’ models, reports Equalease, which specialises in three- to 12 month business car leases.

The company says the swap is as simple as going from a 4×4 to a sports model.

Managing director Paul Ashton commented: “For customers who prefer to lifestyle lease, usually people who own and run a successful SME, part of the attraction is deciding what vehicle to have next, so they are already talking to us about the choice of vehicles available for summer.”

Mr Ashton said that many small company owners had moved out of 4x4s – such as the Volkswagen Touareg – after the winter months and were getting ready to move into prestige saloons, estates, sports coupes and, of course, convertibles.

Mr Ashton added that while lifestyle leasing was used simply to swap vehicles regularly in order to satisfy customers who liked to try different models, that there were also serious applications.

He said: “Sometimes these decisions are practical and based on car need. For example, during a three month period when the customer is not planning to use their car a great deal, they might lease a small hatchback. Then, if they are going to spend a lot of time on the road, they would lease a prestige estate for the next few months. Depending on the industry they work in, these choices may be based on seasonal factors.”

Cars provided on short term leasing are taken by the customer for a minimum of three months and a maximum of a year. The option provides a third choice beyond daily rental and standard three or four-year contract hire leases.

Mr Ashton said that prices were not prohibitive either: “Our medium term lease rates are lower than daily rental costs and typically around only 20% more than a three year lease.”

Vehicles provided by Equalease on 3-12 month leases are taken from its fleet of cars, all of which are less than two years old. Leases include a standard annual mileage allowance of 15,000 miles a year or 1,250 miles a month and include all maintenance, breakdown recovery and road fund licence.

SME owners enjoy swap-shop short-term leasing