Five years, millions of visitors and one big recession later, we’re still here.

That’s right – vanrental.co.uk is five today. What started out as a directory of local van hire branches called MyLocalVanHire.co.uk in 2007 is now the UK’s largest dedicated van hire price comparison website, with more than 1,000 branches in over 400 locations around the UK.

We’ve even changed our name – from MyLocalVanHire.co.uk to vanrental.co.uk – but our core goal of providing helpful, genuine information for people who need to hire a van hasn’t changed one bit.

Our pricing policy hasn’t changed either – we don’t add a penny onto the quotes we get and the prices you pay are the same as the ones you get direct from the hire company

What’s Changed?

Some things have changed, however.

Back when we started, diesel was 96.8p/litre and I could fill up my Transit for £77. Today, it costs me £115 – but funnily enough, the rising price of diesel was a popular complaint back in 2007, just as it is today. Some things obviously don’t change!

Fuel consumption has improved, though. The average fuel consumption of a new car in 2007 was just over 44mpg; today it’s 52.5mpg.

Manufacturers are getting to grips with CO2 emissions, too: in 2007, the average new car emitted 164.9g/km of CO2, but today it’s just 138.1g/km. Back then, no one even bothered measuring the CO2 emissions of vans, but  they are now under control too and falling fast. Today’s new vans emit an average of 199.2g/km, down from an estimated average of more than 210g/km in 2007.

Finally, back in 2007 the credit crunch and the end of the housing boom were just a twinkle in overpaid bankers’ eyes. How things have changed… Today, the average house price has fallen from £177,863 in 2007 to £160,372 today, according to the Land Registry.

Here’s To The Next Five Years!

It’s been an exciting five years for us and we feel privileged still to be here, running this website. This year has already seen the launch of our price comparison system and we are not going to rest on our laurels now. We are  planning several big improvements for the rest of 2012, including a brand new mobile site.

In the meantime, I would like to thank everyone who has visited, used or commented on MyLocalVanHire.co.uk or vanrental.co.uk over the last five years – it would be nothing without your usage and support.