There are four ways to get a fridge van on the road: hire one for a short time, lease one, buy one on hire purchase, or buy one outright. Which is right depends on how long you need it and how often you’ll use it.
To be clear from the start: we don’t hire vans. We sell new and used fridge and freezer vans, and we arrange finance for business customers. This is an honest comparison all the same, including when hire is the better answer.
The short answer
- A few weeks or a season: hire.
- Every day, and you want low upfront costs: a finance lease.
- Every day, and you want to own it: hire purchase.
- Every day, and you have the cash: buy outright.
Short-term hire
Hire makes sense when the need is temporary:
- seasonal peaks, such as Christmas, summer events or ice cream season;
- covering for your own van while it’s off the road;
- a one-off contract with an end date;
- trying a new round or a new trade before you commit.
The catch is cost over time. You’re paying the hire company’s margin on every day, and you never own anything at the end. You also take the van they have, not one built around how you work. If you find yourself hiring for most of the year, it’s usually time to look at your own van.
Hire rates vary a lot by company, size, season and whether it’s a chiller or a freezer, so get quotes from a few hire firms and compare them against a monthly finance figure.
Finance lease
With a finance lease you pay regular rentals to use the van. You don’t own it.
- Less of your money is tied up in the van.
- VAT is paid on each rental as it falls due.
- Rentals are normally an allowable business expense. Your accountant can confirm this for your business.
- You look after maintenance, repairs, servicing and insurance.
- At the end you can keep using the van for small secondary rentals, or sell it as the lessor’s agent and receive up to 95% of the sale price.
A lease suits a business that wants a van that’s right for the job without paying for it up front. More on our refrigerated van leasing page.
Hire purchase
With hire purchase you pay for the van in fixed monthly payments, and it becomes yours at the end of the agreement.
- You pay the VAT up front and claim it back in the normal way. There’s no VAT on the monthly payments.
- Payments are fixed when the agreement starts, so you know what you’ll pay and when.
- You claim the capital allowances on the van yourself.
- When it’s paid off, it’s yours, and you keep everything if you sell it later.
Hire purchase suits a business that runs a fridge van every day and plans to keep it for years. A well-looked-after fridge van has a long working life, so owning it at the end is worth something. Read how long does a refrigerated van last?
Buying outright
Paying cash means no finance agreement, no interest and no monthly payments. The van is yours from day one.
The downside is that a large sum leaves the business at once. For many small firms that cash is better spent on stock, staff or growth, with the van spread over a few years instead. Speak to your accountant about which works better for your tax position. Our guide to tax relief on refrigerated vans explains the basics.
Side by side
| Hire | Finance lease | Hire purchase | Buy outright | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Weeks or a season | Daily use, low outlay | Daily use, own it in the end | Daily use, cash available |
| Who owns it? | The hire company | The lessor | You, at the end | You |
| Your choice of spec | What they have | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Upfront cost | Low | Low | Deposit and VAT | The full price |
Finance with us
We arrange hire purchase and finance leases on new and used vans, chiller or freezer, from a £500 +VAT deposit. Finance is for business customers only and is subject to status. We’re a credit broker, not a lender. A part exchange can go towards your deposit, and delivery is free anywhere in the UK, Northern Ireland included.
A new limited company with no trading history can still finance a van. Read leasing a van through a new limited company.
See real monthly figures on our finance page, or call us on 01444 245555 and tell us how you’ll use the van. We’ll tell you honestly which way to pay makes sense.
