Choosing a lease? Tell us the vehicle, term and annual mileage to compare maintenance options. Already have a lease? Use your funder’s contact route before booking work.
A maintenance package can cover specified servicing, repairs and tyres for a leased car or van, depending on the agreement. Intelligent Vehicle Finance helps you compare a lease with and without maintenance. For an existing agreement, contact the named maintenance provider first to confirm cover and authorise work.
Intelligent Vehicle Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and receives a commission from the lender or funder when an agreement completes. A trading style of XLCR Vehicle Management Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 315268). Subject to status and availability.
Lease maintenance, explained
A maintenance package can cover specified servicing, repairs and tyres during a contract hire agreement. Exact cover depends on your funder and agreement. Intelligent Vehicle Finance helps you compare the lease with and without maintenance; the named maintenance provider authorises work and arranges the services covered by your package.
Intelligent Vehicle Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and receives a commission from the lender or funder when an agreement completes. A trading style of XLCR Vehicle Management Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 315268). Subject to status, individual funder criteria and availability.
Agreement-specific cover
Authorisation before work
Car and van support
Maintained or non-maintained: what changes?
Contract hire gives you use of the vehicle for an agreed term and mileage. Maintenance is a separate choice to check in your quotation. Neither option removes your responsibility to look after the vehicle and meet its service schedule.
Maintained agreement
You pay for a package of specified work alongside the vehicle lease. Use the provider’s booking route and approved suppliers.
Covered work is handled under the package terms.
You still pay for excluded work and damage where the agreement makes you responsible.
Check the additional maintenance charge across the full term.
Non-maintained agreement
There is no maintenance package in the agreement. You arrange and pay for the servicing and upkeep required by the lease.
Budget for services, tyres, repairs and MOTs as they fall due.
Follow the funder’s rules for acceptable workshops and records.
Check warranty and breakdown cover separately.
What does a maintenance package usually cover?
Use these lists to read the actual terms. They describe common package features and exclusions, not a promise that every funder provides the same cover.
Usually included, within the terms
Exact cover depends on your funder and agreement.
Routine servicing to the manufacturer’s schedule.
Mechanical and electrical repairs arising from fair wear and tear.
Tyres within the package terms: check wear, punctures and damage separately.
MOT tests falling due during the agreement, where included.
Breakdown assistance where included: confirm recovery and onward-travel limits.
Usually not included
Exact cover depends on your funder and agreement.
Accident repairs and driver-caused damage or misuse.
Misfuelling and related repairs.
Fluid and lubricant top-ups between services.
Stolen or vandalised wheels, tyres and other parts.
A guaranteed replacement vehicle: ask what is offered and on what terms.
Maintenance, the manufacturer’s warranty and motor insurance perform different jobs. A service-only plan can also be narrower than a full maintenance package. Keep the documents separate and check who deals with each type of problem.
Before any work: call the maintenance provider first
Do not book work independently and assume the funder will reimburse it. Follow this sequence so the provider can confirm both the work and the supplier.
1
Call first
Use the maintenance provider named in your agreement. Have your registration, mileage, service reminder or fault details ready.
2
Get authorisation
Confirm the work is covered, which supplier to use and any charge you must pay. Do this before work starts.
3
Book the visit
Arrange the appointment through the agreed route. Ask about collection and return or mobile work where offered; neither is automatic.
4
Keep the record
Retain the service record and any invoices. Ask the provider to approve additional work before it is carried out.
For a breakdown, use your agreement’s assistance route rather than waiting for a routine service booking. If the vehicle is unsafe, stop using it and follow the appropriate breakdown or emergency route.
Should I add maintenance?
Start with the same vehicle, term and annual mileage
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Mileage
How much will you drive?
Check the servicing likely to fall within the term and ask how mileage changes affect the maintenance charge.
Vehicle type
What will the vehicle do?
Use the exact car or van, its service schedule, tyre specification and working use to compare the package.
Business admin
Who will organise the work?
Consider the time needed to approve bookings, pay suppliers and maintain service records for each driver.
Budgeting
How do you prefer to pay?
Decide whether you prefer a regular charge for covered work or to budget for individual bills when they arise.
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Compare both written quotations
Weigh the total additional maintenance charge against the covered work, exclusions and administration involved. Choose using the actual terms; a maintenance package does not guarantee a saving.
Decision sequence: assess mileage, vehicle, administration and budgeting, then compare the same lease with and without maintenance.
Find your funder’s maintenance contact
Always use the number on your agreement, welcome pack or driver card first. The public contacts below are fallbacks, checked against the supplied funder directory dated 29 September 2026. Opening hours apply to the purpose shown; a 24/7 breakdown line does not mean round-the-clock service booking.
ALD Automotive
For agreements with ALD Automotive, part of the Ayvens Group.
No public phone line for servicing and repairs is listed. Use your local franchised dealer or the Lex Driver Portal, following the process in your agreement.
For 24-hour breakdown assistance, use the number in your welcome pack. No public lease breakdown number is listed here; Drivalia rental contact numbers are not the lease support route.
Check your agreement first. Use its dedicated number if different.
Tyres, MOT and breakdown: three checks worth making
Tyres: wear or damage?
Normal wear, a repairable puncture and impact damage may be treated differently. Ask which tyres, suppliers and authorisations your agreement permits before arranging replacement.
MOT: test or repair?
An included MOT test does not mean every repair needed to pass is covered. Check the vehicle’s due date and get approval for any additional work.
Breakdown: what happens next?
Check the assistance territory, recovery destination, onward travel and replacement-vehicle conditions. Do not assume that maintenance or a warranty includes all of these.
In Great Britain, most vehicles need their first MOT by the third anniversary of registration, then annually. Some classes need an earlier test; Northern Ireland has separate arrangements. Check the actual registration date, not just your lease start date. Read the GOV.UK MOT guidance.
VAT on the maintenance element
For VAT-registered businesses, the car lease VAT restriction does not automatically apply to maintenance. Optional services must be supplied and identified separately from the leasing supply on the tax invoice to fall outside that restriction. HMRC allows VAT recovery on business-paid repairs and maintenance where the vehicle is used for business, even if it also has private use. Recovery still depends on the normal VAT rules and your circumstances.
Ask your accountant to check how the maintenance is supplied and invoiced, your VAT accounting scheme and any partial exemption. Do not assume that every maintenance charge is fully recoverable. This is general information, not tax advice. HMRC VAT Notice 700/64, sections 4.5, 4.6 and 5.1; checked 29 September 2026.
Keep the other lease costs in view
Adding maintenance does not remove your other agreement costs. Check the initial and regular rentals, mileage allowance, excess-mileage terms, administration fees and return-condition obligations in the written quotation.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), any applicable Expensive Car Supplement and company car Benefit in Kind are separate from servicing cover. Confirm the tax position for the exact vehicle and each tax year of the lease. The government has announced eVED from April 2028 for electric and plug-in hybrid cars; vans are outside its launch scope. Check how your agreement handles this if the lease runs into that period. A maintenance package is not evidence that a tax or return charge is included.
Van maintenance works through the funder in the same way: check the package, get work authorised and keep the service records. Start with van leasing for a working vehicle, or read about business contract hire and personal contract hire for the underlying agreement.
Questions about lease maintenance
Is maintenance included automatically in a lease?
Do not assume so. Check whether the written quotation includes a package or offers it separately. The funder and agreement determine the charge, covered work and exclusions.
Is a maintenance package the same as a warranty?
No. Maintenance concerns the scheduled work and other items named in the package. A warranty deals with faults within its own terms. Check both documents rather than assuming one replaces the other.
Does a package cover every puncture or damaged tyre?
Not necessarily. Ask separately about puncture repair, accidental damage, normal wear, misuse and stolen tyres. The approved supplier, tyre specification and authorisation requirements also depend on the package.
Can I book servicing with any garage?
Follow the maintenance provider’s current booking and authorisation process. Confirm the workshop is acceptable and the work is approved before it starts; otherwise reimbursement may not be available.
Does an included MOT cover repairs needed to pass?
Not automatically. A test and the repairs it identifies are different items. Check whether the particular repair is covered and obtain any required authorisation.
Is breakdown assistance always part of maintenance?
No universal inclusion should be assumed. It may sit within the package, warranty or a separate arrangement. Check the contact route, territory, recovery and onward-travel terms.
Will I receive a replacement car or van during repairs?
Check the actual terms. Replacement transport may be separately arranged or subject to availability and conditions. Do not rely on a guaranteed replacement vehicle unless your agreement provides it.
Can my business recover VAT on maintenance?
For a VAT-registered business, maintenance supplied and identified separately on the tax invoice can fall outside the car lease VAT restriction. Recovery for business-paid work depends on the normal VAT rules and your circumstances. Ask your accountant to check the invoice and VAT scheme.
Will adding maintenance reduce my overall costs?
It may make the covered costs easier to budget for, but a saving is not assured. Compare the total extra charge with the vehicle’s schedule, expected use, covered work and exclusions over the same lease term.
Which funder number should I call?
Use the number on your agreement, welcome pack or driver card first. Match the funder name and the purpose of the call to the directory above. Servicing, customer services and emergency breakdown support can use different routes and opening hours.
Intelligent Vehicle Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and receives a commission from the lender or funder when an agreement completes. A trading style of XLCR Vehicle Management Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 315268). Subject to status, individual funder criteria and availability.
Last updated: September 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Stacey Smith, Brand Director, Intelligent Vehicle Finance. Reviewed and approved September 2026.
