Van leasing experiences

Hi guys, needing a new van and noticing some cracking lease deals at the moment. Looking for some feedback from guys who currently lease. Pros/cons.

Interested in details on drilling holes in floor for the tank cage aswell as waterproofing the floor. How does this fit in with terms of the lease?

Any help appreciated .

I would suggest you ask the lease company theses questions as it’s them that will be charging you if you do stuff that’s not approved , not all lease companies have the same criteria . 

@P4dstar is your man, as he has fitted out his lease van

This should give you an idea. It’s the documents from my lease company stating what they accept and don’t...

https://issuu.com/bfwsn67/docs/leaseplan_lcv_2019?e=2001091/70727564

Black and white is they won’t accept holes in the floor. I’ve added a layer of Protectakote to the floor which is a protective coating in the load area, there can be no arguments about that. Holes in the floor are a little different, I anticipate I’ll probably buy my van at the end so it probably won’t bother me but to make 100% sure I’ve kept them to a minimum. If I decide to return it and they charge me then so be it, it wouldn’t be thousands. If I were to return it I would probably plug the holes with a few grommets for good measure. Similarly I’ve only drilled holes for the tank, the rest is mounted to blocks of wood held down with gorilla glue directly to the van floor. The good thing with a van lease is they don’t expect it back in pristine condition. At the end of the day if they billed me £1k the van will have made me a lot more than that in those 4 years... ideally I want no bill of course.

I think the line in that document we’re interested in is “there must be no distortions any metal panel or deformation to the original shape of the component”

Luda said:

Hi guys, needing a new van and noticing some cracking lease deals at the moment. Looking for some feedback from guys who currently lease. Pros/cons.

Interested in details on drilling holes in floor for the tank cage aswell as waterproofing the floor. How does this fit in with terms of the lease?

Any help appreciated .

Click to expand...

I notice Grippa and another supplier/fitment center use Kennet Leasing for wfp leasing vans. So I would believe that these companies have primed Kennet on the safety and sale ability of the leased product at disposal time.

Having been in that trade, I would expect that Kennet will only lease a van with a professionally fitted system, definitely not DIY. I believe that the system would be sold with the van at disposal time.

@dazmond has a lease van which enables him to buy the van himself at the end of the contract.

When I worked for Citroen Commercials we offered 2 types of lease, Contract Hire and Finance Lease. Contact Hire isn't what you would sign up for IMPO. Drilling holes in the back of the van isn't fair wear and tear and they will 'take your eyes out' with rectification charges. You can't buy the van at the end of the contract. They have calculated the vehicles resale value at the end of the contract to stack up a month lease deal. If they estimate on return that the vehicle is worth less then they are going to do the hardest to reclaim the shortfall.

One of the most lucrative ways was excess mileage and 'damage'. If your contract was 10k per annum and you did 15k per annum you will be heavily penalised with excess mileage.

With the Finance Lease option you are responsible for the value of the vehicle at the end. If they calculated a balloon payment at the end of the contract and your van was worth less then that's for your account. In most cases Finance Lease deals to certain industries (builders and taxi owners were some) didn't have a final balloon payment, so the monthly lease was more but the van would be 'paid for' at the end of the contract. Whatever price you get for it on trade-in is for your pocket.

Do make sure (get it in writing) that you can buy the vehicle at the end of the contract if you want that option. You may change your mind during the lease period so its always good to have options.

If you do hand a vehicle back take very detailed photos of the vehicle which also shows a place where the photos were taken and that have a date stamp on the photo. You will also get a copy of a check sheet listing any defects they have found. If the vehicle is being collected by a driver ensure he is in some of the photos as well and that he is fully aware of the photos you are taking. Also make sure that he is legit.

Lease amounts are always + VAT of 20%.