Can I lease from OSV if I live in the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Northern Ireland?
Can anyone in the UK lease a car from OSV? What are the eligibility requirements for leasing a car?
If you live outside of the UK mainland you may be wondering if you can lease a car from OSV. In this article, we’ll cover all of the areas we work within and any limitations to coverage and service in the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and Northern Ireland.
Can I lease a car from OSV if I live in the Isle of Man?
If you are resident in the Isle of Man you wouldn’t be able to have an OSV lease car. The registration number would need to be changed in order for the car to be road legal. You’re unable to change the reg number because you are not the registered owner and keeper of the vehicle. The finance company are the owners of the vehicle and they are not Isle of Man based so cannot own a car registered in the Isle of Man. Another reason we cannot provide lease cars to the Isle of Man is that it is not part of the UK. The UK and Isle of Man are part of the British Isles, but the Isle of Man has its own tax system which does not match that of the UK. The Isle of Man has their own version of the DVLA.
Can I lease a car from OSV if I live in Northern Ireland?
Unfortunately, if you are located in Northern Ireland we will be unable to help you source a new vehicle.
Can I lease a car from OSV if I live in Jersey?
Jersey is not part of the UK. It is part of the British Isles and so they have a different tax system to the UK. Therefore we are unable to offer lease cars in Jersey. Also, Jersey has their own version of the DVLA and the registration would need to be changed and allocated to the Jersey DVLA. This can’t be done as the company who own the vehicle are not registered in Jersey.
Can I lease a car from OSV if I live in Guernsey?
The same applies for Guernsey. Guernsey are part of the British Isles, have their own DVLA and the same issue surrounding registration.
Regrettably, we are unable to lease cars in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. That’s not to say you can’t drive your lease vehicle in these areas. But be cautious to check on their rules surrounding road use and whether you need to place a temporary registration plate on your car to use it abroad.
There’s more information on the .gov website surrounding driving abroad.
Where can I live if I want to lease from OSV?
If you want to lease a car from OSV you’ll need to reside in the UK mainland. This includes England, Scotland, Wales and the islands off of the mainland such as Hayling Island and the Isle of Wight.
Who is eligible to lease a car?
There are some other eligibility requirements to leasing a car too. Typically anyone aged 18 or over with the full UK driving licence living in England with a good or above credit history can apply for a lease from OSV.
Do I need to have a good credit score?
First things first, in order to obtain a lease car you need to have quite a healthy credit score. A credit score describes information that’s stored about you as a consumer of finance. Based on your previous finance arrangements you will be given a score. If you’ve borrowed money before in the form of loans, credit cards and not missed your payments then your score will be higher. Other factors affect your credit score such as the length of time you’ve been at your current address and if you are on the electoral roll. A good credit score is considered to be above 700.
Find out what your credit score is with these companies.
It’s best practice to check your score before contacting a leasing company. This will save you a lot of time and not only that, the more applications you make for credit the more searches are done. If there are several searches appearing on your file this can damage your score. If your credit score isn’t as good as it could be, don’t panic, just let your lease provider know. It’s better to give them this information up front so they can recommend products which are more likely to suit your needs.
Can I lease a car if I have bad credit?
It is a possibility. It won’t be an easy journey though as you are limited to finance houses who accept applicants with a bad credit score. The monthly payments will almost certainly be higher if the finance house considers you an increased risk. Using a lease broker is your only viable option to obtain credit on a lease car.
If you have a low credit score for any reason you may still be able to lease a car. This article goes into more detail on how you can lease a car with poor credit.
What are the age restrictions on leasing a car?
Although you can legally drive in the UK from the age of 17 you must be 18 years or over to lease a car. If you’ve recently turned 18 and want to apply for a lease car then you must speak with a broker. At age 18 you won’t have much of a credit score so the finance house can’t predict whether you will be likely to pay your lease on time. This could result in you being rejected for a lease. But don’t loose hope! A guarantor could be your knight in shining armour.
What is a guarantor?
A guarantor is a person who signs to say that should the leasee miss their payment that they will chip in and pay the outstanding payment on the leasees behalf. They are a godsend and hard to come by. Who do you know who would gladly risk having to pay for your car bills? If you are able to find a guarantor you may be able to secure cheaper monthly repayments on your car lease. A guarantor isn’t just useful for young people, they can help someone with bad credit obtain a lease car too.
This article goes into more detail about leasing a car with a guarantor.
Can I lease a car from OSV if I want to use it as a taxi?
In some cases, you can use your lease car as a commercial vehicle. However, you’ll need to have a lease which allows for this. Therefore it’s important when you take out your lease that you specify whether the car will be used for commercial business.
While OSV can deliver cars anywhere in the UK. As you can see from this article there are some limitations. These dictate who can and can’t lease a car from us. If you live in Northern Island, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man then it would be worth researching local brokers.
