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I am currently driving a Fiat Scudo 2000 model and it done 185,000 miles. It was a good workhorse but sadly it started to be unreliable despite having it well serviced. I own this van outright when I started out this business.
Now I think the business is stable and it is paying off well. I might be in the position to be able to look into contract van hire.
I am after a medium sized van such as old style Transit (the new one is too small – I don’t know why they made it narrow), Vivaro. I quite like the idea of shiny new van turning up outside customer’s house as it would raise my profile.
Anyway, which company is the best to use for contract hire? And what are your experiences?
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
If you are paying a reasonable amount of tax it is cheaper to buy if you can buy one outright without a loan.
Over three years you can recover the full cost against your tax.
If you need to take a loan to buy a van then I would lease.
Bob
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
I always do a 3 year lease. You get the option to buy at the end but I normally start again
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
Forgot to add I use citreon. Never had a bad experience and have been with them since 95
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
Andy jones wrote:I always do a 3 year lease. You get the option to buy at the end but I normally start again
Do you include the maintenance?
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
Not on the one I do, but there is one that includes servicing but not sure on the price. I’ve got a mate that does the servicing at trade price at a different dealer
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
Andy jones wrote:Not on the one I do, but there is one that includes servicing but not sure on the price. I’ve got a mate that does the servicing at trade price at a different dealer
I found a website that offers servicing as part of the package but it adds £20 a month. I can’t say if it is good value.
The one I have narrowed it down to either Vauxhall Vivaro or Citroen Dispatch. The Dispatch got rather small engine and does it have enough grunt to pull me and two washing machines plus few spares and a heavy tool box?
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
Go for the vivaro, I got one 18 months ago. Much more comfy and roomy than the expert & dispatch I had previous. More leg room for passengers as well. (Ideal for my two growing children)
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
If you buy outright, the entire cost of plant & machinery (including vans, but not cars) is eligible for tax relief in the year purchased (assuming your total capital purchases are less than the current Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) of £500,000. After December 2015, the AIA returns to £25,000.
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
stratfordgirl wrote:If you buy outright, the entire cost of plant & machinery (including vans, but not cars) is eligible for tax relief in the year purchased (assuming your total capital purchases are less than the current Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) of £500,000. After December 2015, the AIA returns to £25,000.
Thanks, if i have a spare £22,000 to buy a van outright then yes but there’s the depreciation issues to deal with as you can lose a lot of money quickly. It would be difficult to get that back.
This was why I was leaning toward contract hire to get better control of costs and leaves me more capital to invest on something else. I think it is better than getting a loan to purchase a van as there’s the interest to pay and you don’t have much control over the rates as it can either go up or down (usually up). The repayment of the loan tends to be higher than the monthly payment of the contract hire.
The maximum length of business loan you can get is 6 years, therefore it would be £444 to repay monthly against £270 a month for contract hire inc maintenance (Vivaro) with £811 deposit.
I am looking for safer option, such as if I get into financial difficulty in 3 years time, I can negotiate the terms or even return the van back to the garage.
Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
the main issue with contract hire is annual mileage. You have to predict your annual mileage and the payments are based on that. Over 3 terms (ie 9years!) I have never been able to accurately predict this and have gone either over mileage (and billed for it at the end of term) or have had a final few months being very choosy how far I go. Each time I have upped the annual mileage by the amount I got it wrong previously but have still got caught out. This current contract I reckon will be about right.
Its difficult to predict.
As for servicing, look first at the service intervals of the van you are buying. These are now far longer so in a 3 year contract term that may only be one major service and your warranty will cover breakdowns so it generally does not make sense to take it.Re: Contract Van hire – any thoughts?
http://www.mwvc.co.uk/vauxhall-vivaro-2 … -9019.html
This is what I found, it seems that milage is not an issue by the looks of it. I don’t do a great deal of milage as I tend to do around 10k a year.
I think this van will serves me well. I might go for the next one up with little more power and with air con. Just having a look at the moment.
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