leasing your van

[Iron Giant]

Leasing has evolved since the regulation was introduced and become much more complex over time - balloon payments for example. The motor trade have simply used it to promote sales. Unfortunately there are unscrupulous sales people in the industry who will say anything to get a sale.

Quite a few simply don't lay all the facts out in front of you at the point of sale, once the contract is signed only then do you really find out what the contract is.

My wife has a car on pcp she is way over the agreed mileage and it will end next year, she loves her little car so we will just pay the balloon payment at the end and end the cycle of the never never, either way she would have paid the total purchase price of the car which ever finance option she took out, I think people need to be very clear on what it is they will really want and need to do at the end of vehicle financing. 

 

[spruce]

Quite a few simply don't lay all the facts out in front of you at the point of sale, once the contract is signed only then do you really find out what the contract is.

My wife has a car on pcp she is way over the agreed mileage and it will end next year, she loves her little car so we will just pay the balloon payment at the end and end the cycle of the never never, either way she would have paid the total purchase price of the car which ever finance option she took out, I think people need to be very clear on what it is they will really want and need to do at the end of vehicle financing. 

Often all sales people want is the sale, especially if they are behind on their target. Some will say anything to get the sale.

I lost a sale once on a Berlingo van. The customer worked for a fire extinguisher company as a salesman. I identified he needed a Berlingo 800LX and quoted him on one. I phoned him up a couple of days later only to find he purchased one cheaper from our sister branch in Leeds. He insinuated I had tried to rip him off price wise. 3 weeks later he was back in York demanding I replace his van with an 800LX and he pay me the difference. Leeds had supplied him a 600LX and he had only spotted it when he received the registration papers. "Sorry sir, I can't help you. You need to go back to where you purchased it from and talk to them." 

He approached the parts dept and workshop for a price to upgrade the van from a payload of 600kgs to 800kgs. £2500 which included recertification. The price difference between a 600LX and 800LX was around £500. I have never seen someone just about ready to explode. I lost a sale but the drama was worth the lost commission.

At one time when I was in the trade, an HP on a van meant a 10% plus the full VAT deposit on a commercial vehicle. (In today's market that would be £3750 on a £15000 van. £12500 + VAT = £15000.) 

Then lease options might suggest 3 monthly payments up front and 47 monthly payments all plus VAT. (The sales hook is a low deposit - does, "you can drive this car away for only a deposit of £99" ring any bells?) To counter balance that they add a balloon payment at the end. Lets say the figures were £200 a month + VAT over 48 months with 3 payments as a first months initial rental for the van you want.

This would equate to an initial rental of £720 (£600 + VAT) and 47 monthly payments of £200 + VAT. The residual would be what the shortfall was at the end of the contract - say £2500 taking VAT out of £15000.

This is why lease took off - it was the low initial deposit and worry about the balloon payment later. If you can't afford the balloon payment don't worry you can just hand the van back. No problem. Most people seemed happy with hearing that.

But it up to you to clarify how the 'no problem' impacts you with regard to future transport after you have handed the vehicle back.

 

[johnny bravo]

has anyone gone down this route,     just for the peace pf mind,     you can pay £5000+ for a van for it to conk out any time after . even a low  mileage van.        no one wants this headache.      Any feedback if you have gone this way to get secured in a deal  with the van of your choice .      for 3 years, no worries .  thinking about the good or bad issues 

 

[Andy1979]

I was looking at this myself earlier as I like a bigger van but don’t know how it all works really. Can’t remember what site I was looking on but it said you couldn’t bolt anything to the floor or you would be charged for the holes so thought it seemed like it would be a headache when it comes time to give it ?

 

[johnny bravo]

brand new dispatch 2.0 ltr,   53mpg.    3 years   £219  month .nothing else to worry about   £55 weekly.      its a night out .   well was a  night out   monthly lease made in a day. .  worth a think about .

must have bad points, accidents, dents etc.

 

[Part Timer]

has anyone gone down this route,     just for the peace pf mind,     you can pay £5000+ for a van for it to conk out any time after . even a low  mileage van.        no one wants this headache.      Any feedback if you have gone this way to get secured in a deal  with the van of your choice .      for 3 years, no worries .  thinking about the good or bad issues 

@P4dstar @Iron Giantboth leased vans. Both have bought their next one. They'll know the positives and negatives.

 

[ched999uk]

Instead of lease look at hire purchase as then you own the van at the end. There are tax advantages of lease though!

I think Renault vans have 4 years warranty but check that!!!

 

[johnny bravo]

lease from 2/5 years.    

 

[Iron Giant]

lease from 2/5 years.    

Read all this post, it outlines some very important facts. 

 

[johnny bravo]

taken on board

 

[Iron Giant]

taken on board

I seriously wouldn't ever consider a lease van again. 

Van's from van monster are former hire or leased motors from the other side of their business no doubt they have been ragged around a bit, but most second hand vans have being, but you get a very good warranty from them and can extend it after the 6 months

I had one issue under warranty snapped handbrake cable but it was easier for me just to have the job done at a local garage as it was a far quicker turnaround time but owt major and they have to fix it and give you a courtesy van and there is one of there depots and repair places over your neck of the woods either boro or stockton. 

 

[P4dstar]

@P4dstar @Iron Giantboth leased vans. Both have bought their next one. They'll know the positives and negatives.

If you can afford to buy then just buy a nice van. When I took my lease van I had a 2009 Vivaro with 110k. It had to have 2 gearboxes in 6 months and had some other little issues (Going into limp mode). I knew I couldn't afford to be off the road so I sold that van. Obviously there was a crossover where I had 2 vehicles knocking around. In the meantime I used my savings and credit card to pay the deposit on the lease and buy the kit for the new vehicle (Bedliner, roof rack etc). At the time it was a big risk as I was signing up for nearly £300 per month for the next 4 years. The sale of the old van paid back the deposit and cost of kit for the lease and I just had to find the monthly instalments. When the lease is up I will either buy it or send it back but if I had the money at the time I would have spent 10-12k on a reliable van.

I don't imagine I will ever lease again. If you put your back out and can't work the lease company still want their money. The emails they sent at the beginning of the pandemic pretty much said this. Thankfully I haven't been affected but I imagine a lot of their customers have.

Also worth noting your insurance is more as you are not the owner of the vehicle.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

If you can afford to buy then just buy a nice van. When I took my lease van I had a 2009 Vivaro with 110k. It had to have 2 gearboxes in 6 months and had some other little issues (Going into limp mode). I knew I couldn't afford to be off the road so I sold that van. Obviously there was a crossover where I had 2 vehicles knocking around. In the meantime I used my savings and credit card to pay the deposit on the lease and buy the kit for the new vehicle (Bedliner, roof rack etc). At the time it was a big risk as I was signing up for nearly £300 per month for the next 4 years. The sale of the old van paid back the deposit and cost of kit for the lease and I just had to find the monthly instalments. When the lease is up I will either buy it or send it back but if I had the money at the time I would have spent 10-12k on a reliable van.

I don't imagine I will ever lease again. If you put your back out and can't work the lease company still want their money. The emails they sent at the beginning of the pandemic pretty much said this. Thankfully I haven't been affected but I imagine a lot of their customers have.

Also worth noting your insurance is more as you are not the owner of the vehicle.

In the end we don't have a business without a van. We don't just need a van but a reliable van and a reliable system. Starting to understand why folk find it really hard to maintain momentum when starting a round. It takes quite a lot of money to set up and maintain it with little money coming in. Eventually the see-saw starts to move in our direction but that can take a few years so folk with bills and mortgages can haemorrhage money. Beginning to realise I have been pretty lucky and no other job would give me the freedom I have. Off about 3 days last week but out the weekend and made a bit and took a chunk out of my monthly cleaning. The strange thing is, we can buy a new van and have problems with it from the start like my hot water system. Hopefully my van passes its mot this month and i get another free hassle year with new timing belt, water pump, fan belt and service. ?

 

[windowsurfer]

I want a medium size van, but they are so much more expensive compared to my lwb doblo.  Cost me £5.5k +vatwith 33k on clock from garage. Now has about 78k miles after just under 3years. 

I would devalue a new van considerably with mileage. Cost to run it and pay for it would be painful for me to pay for it. One day perhaps.

Regarding comment earlier about bending the rules, don't put me in that category, thats the thing I hate about being a window cleaner people think that you have the potential of being a dodgy geezer, I ain't one,grrrrrr. 50p tip gets put through the books.