If you lease a car privately, you choose a term and mileage bundle. Most private leasing companies offer a standard mileage of 5,000 kilometers per year, but what can you really do with that?
The mileage bundle is an important part of private lease. The more kilometers you expect to drive, the higher your monthly amount will be. This makes sense, since more kilometers also mean more wear and tear and therefore more intensive maintenance is required. A higher mileage at the end of the lease period results in a lower residual value of the lease car. These costs are passed on to you, the private leaser.
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10,000 kilometers became 5,000 kilometers
A few years ago, most private lease providers offered contracts with a minimum of 10,000 kilometers per year, but between then and now this has been reduced to 5,000 kilometers. The providers did this to keep the advertising price low and to save you extra money later in the ordering process.
Is 5,000 kilometers per year really that little? Yes, a quick calculation proves that. With such a bundle you can only drive 416 kilometers per month or 96 kilometers per week. This means that someone who drives 20 kilometers to work 5 days a week already exceeds the maximum of this bundle. The children are forced to walk to the football club on Saturdays.
How many kilometers do people drive on average?
The fact that 5,000 kilometers per year is very little is also confirmed by the official figures. It CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics) calculated that in 2022, Dutch motorists would drive an average of 12,000 kilometers. This is almost 2.5 times as much as the standard kilometer bundle with private lease.
Calculate annual mileage
It is therefore important to accurately calculate the number of kilometers you travel annually calculate. For example, per week and then multiply that by 52. Start with the kilometers you drive to work. Then add the number of kilometers you travel in your spare time. This includes shopping, visiting family and friends and activities. Finally, don’t forget to add the kilometers you travel when you go on holiday by car.
Keep in mind that the actual number of kilometers driven is generally higher than you expect. We therefore advise you to opt for slightly more kilometers than calculated, so that you have a buffer.
What happens if you drive more kilometers than your bundle?
It can be expensive if you drive more kilometers than your agreed mileage bundle. The cost of these extra kilometers varies greatly per provider. You usually pay per additional kilometer driven. For the Stellantis brands (such as Citroën, Peugeot and DS) from our private lease comparatoryou must take into account 6 cents per additional kilometer driven.
This amount can quickly add up. For example, have you driven 15,000 kilometers while you have a mileage bundle of 10,000? Then you have to pay an extra 300 euros annually. And 6 cents is a good deal, suppose there is 12 cents in your private lease contract, then you are talking about a 600 euro ‘fine’.
Choose a larger bundle
So it pays to choose a larger mileage bundle if you drive more kilometers. On average, depending on the step in kilometers, it costs between 10 and 40 euros to go for a larger bundle. In addition, with some providers you get money back if you have driven fewer kilometers than your bundle. Look carefully at the conditions per provider for the differences and choose the leasing company that best suits your needs.
Through our new private lease comparator you can easily compare private lease deals.