[lee_dewing]

hi

I asked on this topic a while back, but missed a couple of points.

Basically if i did lease a van i would have to decide between, leaseing and contract hire as i understand it (or do i )

What i forgot to ask was this.

say i lease or contract hire a van from a company on the internet as these seem to offer best prices.

what happens if you have problems with van say it breaks down for some reason, where do you take the van to be fixed?

If the van is out of action for a few days do you get a courtesey van?

Say your van on lease is written off in an accident? what happens then?

I can probably guess the answer to most of these questions but wouldn't mind dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

My escort van that i own was knocked into, not too bad but is at menders at mo' currently in possesion of new citroen berlingo

hire van is really nice but it makes me laugh, hire company had trouble getting me a van with a roof rack.

luckily i'm wfp and even though i do need to carry a ladder it's not the end of the world, not doing anything due to weather anyway at mo and will have my own van back end of next week.

Been spoilt with berlingo

any advice on above on leaseing thanks lee

[Spruce]

Hi lee

hi

I asked on this topic a while back, but missed a couple of points.

Basically if i did lease a van i would have to decide between, leaseing and contract hire as i understand it (or do i )

What i forgot to ask was this.

say i lease or contract hire a van from a company on the internet as these seem to offer best prices.


Not always best to go for the lowest price. If you go Contract Hire some finance houses will be trying to recoup profits by billing you for repairs (body) when the contract is over. There are guide lines in the industry as to what is included as to 'fair wear and tear' but some will try to 'milk' it, especially if you are new to this sort of thing. Ask for the ‘fair wear and tear’ explanation booklet. If they have never heard of one, then I would see hazard lights flashing.  Repair pricing is usually with their 'approved' repairer who won't be cheap. Although you will be given the bill, the likely hood of the vehicle actually being repaired is slim as they are usually sent directly to auction and it's argued that any panel damage will be reflected in the auction price. With a lease deal you are responsible for selling your own van and so you take the resale value risk. If the trade-in figure is lower than the balloon payment for example, then that's for your account (different to contact hire where the finance house takes the risk).
When I was in the commercial sales business, a builder had more chance of falling pregnant by wind pollination than qualifying for a contract hire vehicle as they abuse them so much. They had more chance of being accepted for a lease but usually without a final balloon payment. In other words, at the end of the contract, the builder would have completed the finance agreement, so anything he made on trade-in would be for his pocket - usually put towards the 'deposit' of his next vehicle. (Remember that with all genuine contract hire/lease agreements the vehicle is never allowed to be owned by the leasor after the deal is complete.)
As window cleaners we generally don't abuse our vans like some builders do, but we will drill holes in the floor to secure our tanks etc, so we need to understand fully how this is viewed by the finance house before we sign to any deal. Will they be happy to have these holes 'sealed' this blank rubber grommets when the equipment is taken out or will they require body shop intervention? 

Another catch is the contract mileage. If your contract is 12000 miles per annum with a 3 year contract, then the vehicle must not have more than 36000 miles at the end of the contract. They will allow a little lee-way but anything over that will cost you per mile. If you see that you are going to be over mileage at the end of year 2, my advice is to renegotiate your contract then as this will be cheaper than taking a hit at the end of the contract.

what happens if you have problems with van say it breaks down for some reason, where do you take the van to be fixed?


You can specify whether you want a 'maintained' or 'non-maintained' contract. You can even take out a separate contract if you want to. These contracts are mileage related so the more mileage you do the more your monthly payment will be. Non- maintained means you pay for servicing and non guarantee fair wear and tear repairs. As 99% of lease/contract hire vehicle are brand new they will all be covered by the manufacturer’s 3 year/100,000 mile guarantees. The contract will specify that the vehicle is taken to the main agents ie a Citroen to a Citroen dealer. Even with the new regulations I am sure that your local Qwik Fit will not be an acceptable substitute for your required services during that agreement. You will also be required to replace tyres with the same make as the van was fitted with. Whilst a budget tyre is cheaper, it can become an expense at the end of the contract. But then some maintained contracts can also cover replacement of ‘fair wear and tear’ tyres as well.
Oh, if you fail to produce proof of service history, you will be invoiced for this as a van with no service history is worth less than one that has a full service history.

If the van is out of action for a few days do you get a courtesey van?

Can be part of the deal, but you pay extra for this as you would do on your insurance policy.

Say your van on lease is written off in an accident? what happens then?

You will be covered by your fully comprehensive insurance policy. What delays occur between the accident and a replacement van (new contract) are part of the working code of practise that that finance house will work to - hopefully.

I can probably guess the answer to most of these questions but wouldn't mind dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

My escort van that i own was knocked into, not too bad but is at menders at mo' currently in possesion of new citroen berlingo

hire van is really nice but it makes me laugh, hire company had trouble getting me a van with a roof rack.

Most new vans will not get into the standard up and over garage door, even without roof racks and if you are just able to in some instances, the radio aerial will be an issue each time. My son Cameron has a 800kg Peugeot Partner with a 500litre tank in it. He has a Wickes 3 rung 4 way multi-purpose ladder that folds up into the back of the van. He uses it mainly on an estate he has to climb over washrooms to access the back windows.
luckily i'm wfp and even though i do need to carry a ladder it's not the end of the world, not doing anything due to weather anyway at mo and will have my own van back end of next week.

Been spoilt with berlingo

It’s all about risk as is insurance. Your van could cost the finance house less for servicing on a ‘maintained’ contract than you paid to them – that’s your risk – but then it could cost them more if the van you get is a little troublesome. Some contract hire companies started to offer the driver of the vehicle (not the company) a cash reward for looking after his vehicle and keeping maintenance costs down below a specific level.

any advice on above on leaseing thanks lee

Spruce

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

,m8 of ,mine gary thomas an expert in this field 07802441251 GT LEASING give him a call for any advice

[kirky]

i got my van from a company called lease2u,look them up on google lease2u.co.uk..have a chat with pete he's a top bloke and very helpfull...i pay 199 a month and they tax it,i'm allowed to do 20,000 over the two year lease period then they swap it for a new one...i had to put 500 quid down at the start of the agreement

[Spruce]

Trouble with asking the inside blokes is that they very really tell you about the pitfalls of their particular offering. After all, they are there to sell you something.
Spruce

[AuRavelling79]

I leased my van - Fiat Doblo - from bank of scotland via vans direct.

It is a lease where I am responsible for servicing tyres repairs tax MOT etc.

It had 2 new tyres at 18 months which I had done at Tyres Direct.

But the van came with a 3 year warranty (2 year manufacturer plus 1 year dealer engine and gearbox) and in year two I had a replacement starter motor F-o-C and a couple of door bolts which had sheared replaced FoC.

In year three a door lock jammed (not covered by warranty) and I got the local garage to do it for £75.00. They also did the MOT at year three.

For the servicing I let the local main dealer do it so that I would have no warranty issues chucked back at me but now I'm in year 4 then my local garage will do it.

[lee_dewing]

thanks  very much spruce for your help

thanks kirky, lammy, gold.

Gold how do you find fiats, always a bit of mickey taking i've noticed on here about them.

I try and keep an open mind, surely most vans on a 3 yr deal must be o.k

lee

[Welivewelearn]

Just a thought Make sure any policy with the lease hire /contract hire company includes gap insurance . This covers the difference between what the vehicles worth if its written off and what the lease company want.Remember its just a loan when alls said and done . My Berlingo was written off in March ,non fault only 14 months old. Valued at £5500 citroen wanted £8700 guess who had to pay back the difference. So BEWARE

[Spruce]

Just a thought Make sure any policy with the lease hire /contract hire company includes gap insurance . This covers the difference between what the vehicles worth if its written off and what the lease company want.Remember its just a loan when alls said and done . My Berlingo was written off in March ,non fault only 14 months old. Valued at £5500 citroen wanted £8700 guess who had to pay back the difference. So BEWARE

Hi
Yes - forgot about that - good point.
Spruce