Car Leasing Based on Self-Image

When we have clients who want to lease a car but are uncertain as to the type of car they would like, we try to provide advice; if they are looking for a car that fits within its price range, we will often recommend that they contract hire a Ford Mondeo. This is because we believe it is a very impressive car that represents excellent value for money.

Why is it that frequently the reaction we get to that suggestion, is a very firm "No"? In spite of the fact that the client will often agree that it is a smart, well designed, well built car that fits perfectly within their car leasing budget and is very far removed from the previous Mondeo model.

The answer would appear to be image; people simply don't want to say that their car is a Ford Mondeo. It seems that many motorists would prefer to buy or lease a car that is perhaps not as well build, maybe not as safe but with a better image.

With regard to safety; we recommend that our contract hire clients check the various safety aspects of the car they are considering, with Euro NCAP. It could one day perhaps save their life, or indeed the life of one of their children.

The fact that many clients don't want to lease a car, simply because it is called a Mondeo, raises an interesting question. Why did Ford choose to retain this name, when they could have called it something else and disassociated it from the previous model?

The previous model sold extremely well; car leasing companies were major buyers and many companies bought the car for their representatives and salesman to drive, it became know as "a rep's car" and it is this association that the buyers of today don't like. In fact a derogatorily term for a car was when someone referred to it as "a Johnny rep's car" and the older model fell very much into that category. So what could have been the thinking behind Ford's decision to retain the same name? It's a question we have been asked on many occasions.

There would have presumably been some considerable discussion within Ford, before a decision was finally made. One would imagine that there would have been two camps one firmly in favor of keeping the name and one for breaking away; choosing a name that reflected what is after all a very new, different and impressive car.

So the camp in favor of keeping the same name won, what would have been their argument as to the advantages of doing so? We talk to car leasing clients on a daily basis who decline a Mondeo because of its past image, so It is difficult to see where the sales will be made by having kept the name.

Tony Blair famously coined the phrase "Mondeo Man" this was meant to describe Mr Average, the man in the street, but then who wants to be seen as Mr Average.

If you are trying to move a car up market, an excellent strategy is to have James Bond driving the vehicle in a film. This is what Ford did in the film Casino Royale; Daniel Craig who played the main character was seen driving the Ford Mondeo.

This covert advertising would have cost them a considerable amount of money, which makes retaining the name even more of a mystery; it's rather like trying to introduce a new and exclusive range of expensive designer clothing under the Woolworths' label.

In any event we will continue to recommend the Ford Mondeo to our contract hire clients because in spite of its name we believe it to be an excellent car.

For more information about lease purchase in the UK please contact Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536.