Are you still in the leasing trade? Or anyone else who knows the ins and outs. I'm after getting a van on business lease next year and could do with some advice to avoid any pitfalls.

What sort of van? What usage / mileage? the latter being the critical thing.

VW Transporter Kombi. Mileage will be up to 15,000 per year, but depending on how things pan out could be a fair bit more. I might also want to but it outright after the initial 3 or so years.

Why would you want to buy it?

It's difficult to know what the best method for you is without knowing the tax situation. Start off with your accountant and he'll tell you whether contract hire, lease, finance lease, hire purchase or whatever is best for you.

Once you have done that give me a shout and I'll point you in the right direction for the van.

Either way, VW Transporter is a good choice because they hold their value incredibly well.

I can put it through my business which is a limited company and also VAT registered. I think contract hire will be the best option.

Is there definitely no advantage in buying one outright?

Depends what you pay for it. You can offset some of the depreciation against tax along with maintenance costs but you're at the mercy of the second hand market as to what its actually worth.

You need to work out the whole life costs on the various options but even if its a touch more expensive, contract hire is a predictable expense and reclaimable.

You also need to look at the real cost of whats being charged on a contract. Often they quote a figure per month but to have to lay down 6 or 9 months in advance. Take all the payments and divide them by the contract length, this gives you a transparent figure. Also make sure you see whats included. If its not mentioned it won't be. Tyres, replacement vehicles etc.

Cheers, I'll do a bit more research and give you a shout. Looking at getting something lined up for April, how long does it usually take to sort out?

Quick enough, especially if you talk to them towards the last week of the month when they're trying to make volume targets