Should I buy or lease a van? full personal details inside

[jimster_s]

Hello

I dont know if i should buy or lease or lease purchase a van.

I own a LTD company.
Its a Building company.
Not VAT registered.

Currently have a van which is owned by the LTD company which I will sell when i get another one.

I have the money available to buy I dont need a loan.

I need a Jumbo or Long wheel base, High top van with a roof rack.
I was thinking of a ford transit jumbo high top, but maybe a sprinter, iveco or similar.
Either white or black.
If i buy one it will be 3 or 4 years old, probably with around 80,000 miles on it if i can.
Ill probably buy private so there is no VAT and hopefully get a better deal.
I will be doing under 10,000 miles per year.


On a 2nd hand van:
I will need to pay for AA breakdown cover if i buy a van which is £50 just for breakdown, or £180 to cover parts / labour thing that they offer.
I will have to pay for a yearly MOT which is £40.
I will have to service is which is roughly £80.
I will need to pay for repairs if there is any.
All other costs like insurance, tyres, insurance etc would be the same on a 2nd hand or leased van.
Road tax and service - im not sure if these are included in leasing a new van or not?


i like the idea of buying a good priced van, running it for a few years at minimal costs, and then selling it on. id think that this cost over the few years including maintenance is probably considderably less than the cost you loose by leasing but i could be wrong.

i also assume both the costs of leasing and the costs of buying and maintenance all get offset against tax just the same as each other and so that part doesnt make any difference but again i could be wrong.

the last point is that I am a builder and so its inevitable that the van is going to have the odd dint/scrape etc on it. if its being leased then i would have to factor this into the cost at the end and have it 'touched up' to give it back in good condition i think....?


can anybody offer any advice?

 

[Karimbo]

it's rare to find vans that are this new (3-4 years old) that are not vatted. Because most of them are purchase new by VAT registered business who will pass the VAT onto you.

Self employed Tradesmen/builders (who aren;t vat registered) generally don't use brand new vans and would buy somethig that's 6,7 years old.

I don't have experience with van leasing, but have some experience on personal vehicles. The lease cost generally is greater than the deprecation cost of owning the car and selling it onto someone else. The only benefit is if you are a driver who likes to drive cars and sell them on frequently (leasing makes things very easy to switch). You pay for the convenience. Having said that the convenience might be worth it. If the van breaks down you can just call the lease company and get a replacement and not deal with garages.

If you were a courier I'd say go lease because you will need the fast replacement ASAP to a working motor. If you're a builder who deals with domestic customers you probably wont be affected so badly if there is a breakdown.

 

[k100danny]

You should also know that any damage to the leased vehicle will be charged to you, being in the building trade vans getting knocked about is the norm and it may end up quite costly.