You’re used to buying things. And buying a vehicle might feel easy. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best way for you to get your fleet up and running. Vehicle leasing can be cheaper, more convenient, lower risk and more flexible.
If you’re running a small business, you need to make big decisions, fast. And if you need new vehicles (cars, vans, trucks or anything in between) then you’ve a choice to make: should you buy, or should you lease?
Owning your vehicles might feel like the easiest and best option. But put that feeling to the test and you might find it’s based on common preconceptions that can, if you’re not careful, cost you money, time and stress.
Buying a company vehicle is often harder than you think. You have to choose it, choose car finance and pick a dealer. And once you’re up and driving, you need to factor in a raft of tasks: reporting, administration, appointments for repair & maintenance. All these factors will distract you from your core business efforts.
Leasing a company vehicles is often easier than you think. You are supported by finance and business experts who can help you run car lease comparison, free you up from admin and take over management tasks. That leaves you free to run the business.
Buy a company vehicle and you can choose any option you like. It’s absolute freedom to buy, sell or do anything in-between. It doesn’t get any more flexible.
Choose a leasing option you will commit to a contract term. But the commitment is flexible (ranging from one month to 72 months) and can be returned without any cost at any time. It’s all the benefits of leasing with almost all the flexibility of ownership.
if you’re desperate to own your vehicle, want to decide how long you want to drive it, or have a financial requirement for asset display on your balance sheet, then buying is the way to go.
If, on the other hand, you’d prefer to spread and predict costs, want to reduce time spent on vehicle management, then vehicle leasing is the best option.
Lease facts
Buy a vehicle and it’s yours to do with what you want. Keep it as long as you want, use it for any purpose and sell it when you want.
Lease a vehicle and you don’t own it (at least not at first). But you can choose to buy your lease car at the end of the lease period. And, remember, many customers, thanks to the cost and spread payments can drive a bigger, better model than if they buy outright.
Damage repair, maintenance, tyres or administration time is hard to predict even for new vehicles. And, as a rule, these costs usually turn out to be more than expected.
With leasing you will have exact costs for as long as you drive the vehicle. You pay a fixed monthly price with all the services included, use a car lease calculator to spread your costs and predict your annual expenses.
Buy a company vehicle and own all the risks: think non-warranty repairs, dropping residual values and changing interest rates. It’s all your responsibility.
Car leasing transfers all the risks. The leasing company will estimate the residual value of the vehicle and bear the risk of damage repairs and maintenance. It’s no longer your responsibility. Read more about the risks involved.
Still unsure of the best way forward? Don't worry, there’s more information out there to help you make a decision, and a good one at that. Find out how other growing businesses have proceeded at the Leasing School platform.
The Leasing School helps you understand when you should consider leasing over buying, and when it best fits your business needs.So let’s find out if you’re stuck in a preconception trap…
When you buy, you will probably calculate your monthly costs based on interest, residual value, insurance and taxes. You will probably forget (most people do) to consider costs like damage repair, maintenance and tyres that are excluded from the sales price.
When you lease, you know monthly costs include interest, residual value, insurances and taxes as well as damage repairs, maintenance, tyres and garage time.