THERE are both short term and long term considerations to take into account when deciding whether to lease or buy your fleet vehicles. It generally depends on what you are planning to do with your vehicles and the decision can often be led entirely by the amount of funds available. Leasing vehicles gives you complete transparency on the total life cost of your fleet, whilst purchasing your fleet means that you can take full ownership of your fleet management.

Company image

In many cases it will depend on the vehicle make and model and will be important to investigate the overall lifetime costs for leasing vs buying. Some models will be more beneficial to buy and some more beneficial to lease. It may be that you wish to utilise your vehicles as marketing tools, in which case you will have much more flexibility by owning your commercial vehicles which you can then brand as you wish and introduce a united image for your business.

By leasing your fleet vehicles however, you will have access to the latest vehicles and up-to-date technological advances, whilst also keeping your costs down and focusing on the running of your business rather than your vehicles. Many larger leasing firms can provide better deals to businesses as a consequence of their market presence and buying power. In addition to this, in many cases leasing does not just refer to the finance of the vehicle, as the maintenance, servicing, fleet admin, breakdown cover, and fleet insurance of the vehicle is also often managed by the leasing firm, ensuring the best use of the vehicle and reduced downtime.

By leasing vehicles you are able to keep the image of the company maintained at a high standard, whereas by purchasing vehicles you can run the risk of vehicles becoming outdated and shabby. Leased vehicles are also regularly updated so your employees can benefit from the latest technologies including navigation, safety, and communication advances.

Are you looking for valuable assets to your business?

Leasing your fleet vehicles will mean that you won’t have to tie up a penny more that you need in the purchasing of vehicles. You basically pay for the time that you use the vehicle, whereas purchasing means that you pay for the entire cost of the vehicle. Whilst purchasing your fleet vehicles means taking ownership and recognising your vehicles as valuable assets to the business, you will also recognise significant depreciation of these assets very quickly. On the other hand, as a valuable asset to the business, purchasing your vehicles will allow your business more flexibility in terms of managing capital or requesting future lines of secured credit.