Lease VS. Own: How Do You Choose?

Eurotruck can help you evaluate the differenceYour business is thriving, your fleet is growing, and you are once-again faced with the difficult decision: Should I lease or own my commercial truck fleet? It is an important choice, and sometimes the gap between leasers and owners can feel very difficult, but choosing to lease or own does not have to be an either-or decision.Many fleets mix both options to maximize their operations and better serve their customers. Factors such as operation type, truck configurations, organizational preferences, routes, seasonality and financial considerations can influence fleet operators in their decision to lease or buy trucks. There are pros and cons to both approaches.

Owning Your Fleet

Roughly two-thirds of fleet operators own their trucks. Owning equipment and other hard assets, such as warehouses or property, may be part of company culture or simply a financial preference. Additionally, some companies prefer to own because it gives physical assets and a sense of control over those assets.

There are, however, many hidden costs of ownership in addition to purchase cost such as:

• On-going maintenance and repairs
• Recruiting and managing maintenance staff
• Difficulty attracting and retaining drivers due to poor vehicles
• Tires, brakes and other consumables
• Substitute vehicles
• Tax and licensing

Leasing Your Fleet

Leasing allows many fleet operators to obtain equipment without the upfront costs and credit constraints of ownership. Leasing also reduces the need for a down payment and allows the fleet operator to expense the cost of the vehicle monthly rather than carry its liability on its balance sheet. That means more credit flexibility so the fleet operator can put capital elsewhere

Rapid changes in technology today mean vehicles become obsolete more quickly. With leasing, trade cycles are shorter, and fleet operators can upgrade to new technology sooner than if they owned their vehicles. This may appeal to fleets that prefer to spec a premium product to attract and retain drivers, or for fleet operators that want new safety-related technology.

Some businesses may prefer to outsource particular vehicle or technology types. In addition, preferential rental terms in lease contracts can allow fleet operators to increase capacity for seasonal work or short-term contracts, and reduce it when demand decreases.

Key Benefits of Leasing such as:

• Leasing removes any hidden cost
• Leasing helps you better focus on your business model
• Leasing keeps our fleet up-to-date
• Leasing vehicles don’t depreciate
• Leasing allows you to conserve heavy front cash outflow

Leasing From Eurotruck

By choosing a comprehensive lease from Eurotruck Leasing, companies can leverage the economies of scale and gain access to the latest vehicle and maintenance technology and extensive technician training that Eurotruck provides, at a lower overall cost.

Key Benefits of Comprehensive Lease from Eurotruck

• Simplified financial planning with a single predictable monthly payment.
• Track and monitor repair information, performance reporting, maintenance records and scheduling with one-click online access to your fleet.
• Preventive maintenance scheduled three times a year.
• Driver training with classes at set up with our Partner Manufacturers.
• Body maintenance and repairs available nationwide.
• Disposal of old vehicles without wasting time, money or energy.