A year on the road, no long lock-in
12-month car hire
Yes — you can hire a car for 12 months on a single flexible agreement. Twelve months is the sweet spot for a lot of drivers: long enough to earn a lower monthly than a stop-gap rental, short enough that you are not signed into a two-to-four-year finance deal. Getting a quote involves no credit check.
Check 12-month options →Updated August 2026
A 12-month term is the one most people land on once they have thought it through. A few weeks feels too short to bother with; a four-year PCP feels like a marriage. Twelve months sits in between — a proper settled year with the car, but with a clean, known end date and none of the residual-value or balloon-payment baggage that comes with buying on finance. It is also long enough that suppliers can offer a keener monthly than they would on a rolling short-term hire.
Why 12 months instead of finance?
Car finance underwrites the whole value of the vehicle across the full term, which is why it leans so hard on your credit history and ties you in for years. A 12-month hire only ever commits the supplier to a year, so the assessment is lighter and the exit is simple — you hand the car back at the end, with no balloon payment to find and no resale to arrange. If finance has said no, hire is often still a yes: see bad-credit car hire for how that works.
What a 12-month term is good for
It suits a settled situation that still might change — a new job in a new area, a year before you decide whether to buy, a contract that runs roughly a year, or simply wanting a dependable car without a long commitment hanging over you. If you need less time, a 6-month hire covers shorter gaps; if you want longer, long-term hire runs up to around 36 months.
What it costs, and how to keep it low
Pricing is shown per month so it drops straight into a budget, and a larger upfront payment brings the monthly down if that suits your cash flow. Insurance is arranged separately, so factor that in alongside the monthly figure. When you start your quote, give us a monthly you can comfortably sustain and we will match you to a supplier who fits it — the more realistic the number, the better the match.
Facts & figures
The bigger picture
Source: BVRLA Leasing Outlook, 2025
Source: FCA Financial Lives 2024, 2024
Source: DVLA / GOV.UK, 2025
Check your options in 60 seconds
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- ✓ No credit check to quote
- ✓ Free & no obligation
- ✓ Flexible 6–36 months
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Common questions
Can I hire a car for exactly 12 months?
Yes — 12 months is one of the most common terms. Exact availability depends on the supplier and vehicle, which they confirm before anything is agreed.
Is a 12-month hire cheaper per month than a short rental?
Usually, yes. A longer, certain term lets the supplier offer a lower monthly than a rolling few-months hire. The vehicle pages let you compare.
What happens at the end of the 12 months?
You simply hand the car back — there is no balloon payment and no resale to sort. If you want to carry on, we can line up the next vehicle.
Does checking affect my credit score?
No. Getting a quote involves no credit search. Any check happens later, with the supplier, and only with your permission.