Buy vs. Lease: How to Choose When Purchasing a Business Vehicle

Whether it’s a part of your mobile sales team or you run a delivery service, a reliable vehicle is essential for many different kinds of businesses. Finding something that suits your requirements is often the easy part, but figuring out how to successfully finance the vehicle is another story. Here’s what you need to know about sourcing your next car.

Buying it Outright

Buying a car outright will give you the most freedom. Not only will you be able to customise the vehicle to your exact needs, but you also won’t have to worry about any limitations that are typical in leasing contracts, like annual mileage limits. Perhaps the biggest advantage of buying a vehicle outright, though, is the ability to sell it on in the future to recoup some of your initial cost.

While your sell-on value will be based on the type of vehicle, as well as its condition, typically after three years on the road you can expect a car to have lost around between 50-60% of its initial value. This is one of the reasons that shopping on used outlets like Shelbourne Motors is so appealing to small business on a budget, as the vehicle will have already experienced the main brunt of depreciation. However, remember you may have to spend more money on servicing and maintenance compared to a new car.

Leasing the Vehicle

Leasing is another popular alternative for business use. As you’ll be paying for the vehicle monthly, you’ll be able to better manage your cash flow without worrying about going over budget. This allows many business owners the ability to bring in vehicles that would otherwise be out of their price range, including the very latest models that make use of new technologies that will save you money in the long-term.

It’s important to remember that in a regular leasing contract, you will simply be paying for the use of the vehicle. At the end of your contract, you’ll need to return the car to the supplier at which point you can renew your existing contract or take out a different vehicle. This can be both an advantage or a disadvantage depending on your situation. Many business owners prefer this method as they don’t have to deal with depreciation or finding a buyer when it’s time to sell.