Anyone in Fleet Solutions?
Discussion
As the taxi business grows, I'm looking for ways to simplify things and cut down management time.
We've currently got 14 vehicles on HP, and I'm just wondering if there is a more intelligent way of structuring our fleet. Obviously, I have the remainder of the HP agreements that I am committed to, so this could be a very soft roll out if I change the structure.
The way business is going, I can see the need to grow our fleet by at least another 4 or 5 vehicles by the end of the summer.
In my mind, it has always been most appropriate to buy a new car, finance it over 5 years (the maximum age allowed by our licencing authority) and then dispose and replace. We claim all of the VAT back at point of purchase, and so it is beneficial to our cashflow in the quarter of purchase - taxis are allowed 100%. Ie: we HP the whole purchase price, including VAT, then claim the VAT back improving our cash position. The finance runs until the cars are defunct and have no residual value anyway, so it makes little difference that we are effectively paying additional interest.
Business is quite literally booming. There are a number of things we are doing right - which I won't divulge on a public forum
Needless to say, we want to grow our fleet and keep standards high.
Would any leasing companies or manufacturers provide vehicles on something like a 2 year contract, to include servicing and maintenance (something like skodas and VW's will still be under manufacturers warranty anyway).
We're not a typical minicab operator, our cars are immaculate and we only employ good drivers, so it's just mileages which could pose a problem. Then again, anything is available if you pay for it, surely?
Can anyone offer any thoughts on this? Thanks
We've currently got 14 vehicles on HP, and I'm just wondering if there is a more intelligent way of structuring our fleet. Obviously, I have the remainder of the HP agreements that I am committed to, so this could be a very soft roll out if I change the structure.
The way business is going, I can see the need to grow our fleet by at least another 4 or 5 vehicles by the end of the summer.
In my mind, it has always been most appropriate to buy a new car, finance it over 5 years (the maximum age allowed by our licencing authority) and then dispose and replace. We claim all of the VAT back at point of purchase, and so it is beneficial to our cashflow in the quarter of purchase - taxis are allowed 100%. Ie: we HP the whole purchase price, including VAT, then claim the VAT back improving our cash position. The finance runs until the cars are defunct and have no residual value anyway, so it makes little difference that we are effectively paying additional interest.
Business is quite literally booming. There are a number of things we are doing right - which I won't divulge on a public forum
Needless to say, we want to grow our fleet and keep standards high.Would any leasing companies or manufacturers provide vehicles on something like a 2 year contract, to include servicing and maintenance (something like skodas and VW's will still be under manufacturers warranty anyway).
We're not a typical minicab operator, our cars are immaculate and we only employ good drivers, so it's just mileages which could pose a problem. Then again, anything is available if you pay for it, surely?
Can anyone offer any thoughts on this? Thanks
KR, i've been out of the leasing business for a number of years now but one thing I do recall was that most leasing/contract hire agreements didn't allow the car to be used for private hire etc.
There may be specialist forms of finance available but your bog standard dealer contract hire agreements always had that clause.
There may be specialist forms of finance available but your bog standard dealer contract hire agreements always had that clause.
Yeah I know they do, I'm just wondering if there is a possibility of striking a deal where a fixed monthly payment would cover everything bar consumables.
Understand the residuals are going to be pants, as after 2 years the vehicle will have done at least 120k miles, but surely there must be an option for flipping them more frequently perhaps?
There is a market for a 6 month old car with 30k but maybe not for a 2 year old with 120k...
Understand the residuals are going to be pants, as after 2 years the vehicle will have done at least 120k miles, but surely there must be an option for flipping them more frequently perhaps?
There is a market for a 6 month old car with 30k but maybe not for a 2 year old with 120k...
This crops up periodically, none of the leasing companies I deal with will look at private hire business. On the strength of a conversation I had some twelve months ago I've just phoned a contact to clarify the situation and I know I would be able to fund a contract chauffeur business but NOT a taxi. My contact then mentioned a name and a company, I can't vouch for this company at all because I'd never heard of them but if you want to know drop me a PM and I'll let you know the details. Good luck with it and be interested to hear how it pans out.
mattviatura said:
This crops up periodically, none of the leasing companies I deal with will look at private hire business. On the strength of a conversation I had some twelve months ago I've just phoned a contact to clarify the situation and I know I would be able to fund a contract chauffeur business but NOT a taxi. My contact then mentioned a name and a company, I can't vouch for this company at all because I'd never heard of them but if you want to know drop me a PM and I'll let you know the details. Good luck with it and be interested to hear how it pans out.
That would be great...It isn't chauffeur work - it falls under the same private hire categorisation but the work is decidedly that of a taxi, it just happens to be pre-booked
Not looking to stitch up a leasing company, just interested if anyone can put together a proposal for us.
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