Anyone just using van hire?

[Paul The Party Dj]

Had a thought and wondered if anyone was already doing this.

Do any of you just hire a van for the bulk of their gigs? That is to say, if you are booked for Friday and Saturday that you pick up a van on Friday and return it on Sunday. For me this would mean I could run a far more economical vehicle during the week than my petrol Galaxy.

It would also mean I could hire a big van when I had my full show out (sometimes we have to use more than one vehicle or make multiple trips), and a smaller one for bookings with my standard rig.

So, anyone?

Cheers, Paul ;o)

[Cowlinn]

Very interesting.

How old do you have to be to hire a car in the UK? I think it's 21 :(

[Rowleys]

I hire a van a when my van was dead and felt like it cost me a bomb. Felt like i was not making much money when i got paid from my work.

I used to own a car and a van but the mot's & tax for both car was getting to much + insurance.

so now i just own a voyager i get everything in the back as i did with the van..

But hiring was to much unless you no someone in the game to do you discounts

[Danno13]

I'm not convinced it would save you much unless you only work a couple of weekends each month. I mean it would cost say £100 a weekend, which is £5000 a year allowing for a couple of weekends off - you could lease and insure a van for a hell of a lot less than that and still save the hassle of servicing etc.

[Rowleys]

i have never though of leasing a van. How do you go about that

[Tom Lovick]

i have never though of leasing a van. How do you go about that

Contact a Leasing company?? :D :D

A quick Google search shows the answers (http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=leasing+company#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=Van+leasing+company&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=1d4d7105a2c6f557)....

EDIT: These (http://www.lowcostvans.co.uk)people seem to be quite cheap. £35 a week

[MBK]

You may have to tell a little white lie for the hire companies insurance, as most of them won't hire to entertainers.
I know this for a fact as I used to work in van rental for Ryder many moons ago.
Age for most hire companies is 21 with no major convictions within a 5 year period.

Ryder offer leaseing but you would be commited to a term of between 3 - 5 years.

[Cowlinn]

You may have to tell a little white lie for the hire companies insurance, as most of them won't hire to entertainers.
I know this for a fact as I used to work in van rental for Ryder many moons ago.

Then you crash, and you won't be insured. They're not stupid. Rules are there for a reason, stick to them.

Telling insurance companies/hire companies "white lies" isn't wise.



(That rhymes ;))

[Corabar Entertainment]

You may have to tell a little white lie for the hire companies insurance, as most of them won't hire to entertainers.
I know this for a fact as I used to work in van rental for Ryder many moons ago.

...and if you do lie, then surely that will invalidate the insurance

[Cowlinn]

...and if you do lie, then surely that will invalidate the insurance

Is there an echo in here? :D

[MBK]

you could still hire a van and insure it yourself then there would be no problems.

I totally agree always be truthful with insurance etc... I wasn't saying that you should just trying to point out some facts.

The same as hiring a 7.5 tonne van businesses can only hire them if they hold an operators licence but a personal hire would be exempt as would a personal hirer be exempt from tachograph rules.

Leasing can be a cheaper alternative down side is that you are commited to a long term lease normally between 3 - 5 years.
If you damage the van it would be chargeable to you on the return of the vehicle. (wear and tear taken into account) Most major utility companies lease there vans as it frees up their capital expenditure.
You would have a fixed cost of how much your vehicle is going to cost you each month but remember that you may need to pay a deposit of 12 months hire up front.

[soundtracker]

I hire a van on occasion and my hire company know what I do, but it has never caused any problem.

[yourdj]

why not buy an economical diesel van/people carrier paul?

Or get a smaller car and a cheap van (mine was £450) and run it on veg oil (done properly). Sorted.
You could get both for your galaxy and still have some cash left.

Cheap car for your son when he passes his test also. like steve has.

[Paul The Party Dj]

It's all just speculation on my part, I intend on having a conversation with my local VW commercial main agents as they have a hire department.

Being able to have a clean, modern, vehicle of the right size at the right time is very attractive to me - IF I can do it at the right price. I don't want a beat-up heap on the drive (well not a big one anyway), the Galaxy is great most of the time and if I was working 5 nights a week it wouldn't worry me.

I want flexibility. I've hired vans before and getting clean ones isn't always easy. Driving around in an MPV that will seat 7 on my own is OK but I'd rather have a small car for parking and economy. With my wife's car, my daughter's car, and my son learning, I'll have plenty of options!

So I ask the question again, does anyone just use a hire van for their business? I'm guessing not.