Firstly, a big-thank you to our local business customer, Sprayed Glass Splashback Solutions, for coming to our premises to collect their van – the Ford Transit.
While we endeavour to ensure that every transaction is perfect for our customer, unfortunately this proved to be less than a 5 star process due to logistic delays. The customer needed a van for December as their existing vehicle has effectively ceased to work.
In the short-term, we introduced the company to Enterprise at Leigh (near Manchester) so they had a vehicle to use in the short-term. While van hire is a flexible solution, this is far less cost-efficient and the customer wanted to minimise any delays or costs in the process. While the van, which was at the European port, looked ready to be delivered pre-Christmas, logistic issues due to demand and weather meant that we were not able to fulfil our expected delivery date.
The customer has been fantastic and showed little frustration but we do feel it is important to note where we don’t always quite achieve what we expect. The issue with the process is that so many different parties are involved to fulfil a customer order, so if one element does fall down, this can have major impacts down the line.
Running a van, or commercial vehicle, does raise a sensible question – should I lease or buy? There is no clear cut answer to this question, it is very much based on the individual’s, or business’s, circumstances as to which will be the correct route. Contract hire is the foremost method to “lease” a van. This is a fixed term contract for 2/3/4 years and which is based on an agreed annual mileage (ranging from 8 – 50,000 miles per annum) with the ability to have a driver-maintained or funder-maintained arrangement. In the latter case, you can include the cost of all servicing, maintenance, tyres and, in some cases, breakdown recovery, for the term. The vehicle will never be owned; it will be collected at the end of the contract. This is a great method for those who wish to use a vehicle for a certain amount of time with no ownership attached or who want to try to achieve a certainty of cost.
In contrast, there are a number of purchase-style forms of finance which can be considered including finance lease, contract purchase and hire purchase. Purchasing a vehicle is ideal for those individuals, or companies, who want to own a vehicle or who run a vehicle for over 4 years. It is also great for those customers involved in “heavy use” industries which effectively cause such deterioration on the vehicle, that they would not want to return it at the end of the contract.
With contract hire, you will be charged for any damage beyond the fair wear and tear allowance, so this might not always be suitable for you. Both leasing and purchasing have different tax treatments, so do speak to you accountant before making a decision.
· Frozen white Solid Paint
· Cloth Upholstery
· 16 inch Steel Wheels
· Internal Ply-Lining
As standard the van includes 8-way adjustable driver’s seat, ICE pack 2, full steel bulkhead, electric windows, start assist, 2 x 12V power outlets, remote central locking and deadlocks. There are a number of good options you can add to the vehicle to suit your driving style such as front/rear parking sensors, electrically heated and folding door mirrors, air condition and the Ice Pack 9. Alternatively, you can go up in specification range to the “Trend” for a number of great standard features.
On the technical-side, businesses can note the £29,570.00 and CO2 at 188 g/km of CO2. The 1996CC 6 speed manual engine delivers 105ps, 38.7 combined MPG. Service intervals on the diesel Transit are every 24 months or 26,000 miles, whichever lands sooner.
So would the Ford Transit be your preferred leasing option? Or would you be heading to the VW Crafter, Mercedes Sprinter or Citroen Relay.
Let us know your thoughts on which van you would like to drive!!
Click Here to find the best deal on all new lease vans from our sister company VanLease UK…
