Category Archives: Site News

VanRental.co.uk Is 5 Today!

4 Replies

Happy Birthday vanrental.co.uk!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.

Leyland Van Hire Supports Asthma UK Fundraising Ride

Leave a reply

vanrental.co.uk advertiser Leyland Van Hire is supporting a charity fundraising bike ride to raise funds for Asthma UK, in memory of ten-year old Harry Cuming, an asthma sufferer who died last year following an asthma attack.

Leyland Van Hire is providing a van to support firemen Paul Andrew Bibby and James Smith, together with their friend Nathan Robertson, as they attempt to cycle to every fire station in Lancashire in two days.

The 235-mile journey will start on the 26th May and will take them to 39 fire stations, before finishing back in Chorley on the 27th May.

Harry’s mother Vicky Cuming hopes to use the money to raise the profile of childhood asthma by funding nurse visits to local schools and talking to the parents of young children. She told the Chorley Guardian:

“I want to raise as much money as I possibly can, to put in to Harry’s tribute page on the Asthma UK website, you know so his name has a really good influence. Harry’s got a three-year-old brother who misses him every day”

You can donate to Harry’s Asthma UK fund by visiting www.asthmauk.tributefunds.com and typing in ‘Harry Cuming’.

To find out more about Asthma UK, visit www.asthma.org.uk.

Econorent Opens Colchester Van Hire Branch

1 Reply

EconorentI’m very pleased to welcome our newest advertiser, Econorent, to vanrental.co.uk.

Founded in 1972, Econorent is a car and van hire company based with five branches across Suffolk and Essex:

Econorent recently celebrated 40 years in business and has recently opened its fifth branch, in Colchester. The new van hire Colchester branch is situated on the Marks Tey Business Park in Marks Tey (CO6 1HD / just off the A12) and provides the same wide range of vehicles as Econorent’s other branches:

  • Short wheelbase vans
  • Long wheelbase vans
  • Luton box vans with tail lifts
  • 4×4 pickups
  • 7-seater MPVs
  • A range of cars

Econorent is a family-owned business with a long history and prides itself on providing a good quality service at competitive prices.

To find out more, get a quote or arrange a booking, contact Econorent directly:

If you’d like to advertise your van or minibus hire business on vanrental.co.uk, visit our advertising page.

Shipley Van Hire: Northway Vehicle Sales

Leave a reply

I’m very pleased to welcome our newest advertiser, Northway Vehicle Sales of Shipley, to vanrental.co.uk.

Northway offers both van hire and used van sales from its base on Otley Road, Baildon, on the north side of Shipley.

Northway’s van hire fleet includes:

  • Short wheelbase panel vans
  • Medium wheelbase panel vans
  • Long wheelbase panel vans
  • Luton box vans with tail lifts
  • 4×4 double cab pickups

All hire prices include fully comprehensive insurance and unlimited mileage and Northway’s rental department is open seven days a week.

To find out more, contact Northway Vehicle Sales direct:

If you’d like to list your van or minibus company on vanrental.co.uk, visit our advertising page for full details.

Bath & Bristol Van Hire: VansGB

Leave a reply

VansGB Bath and Bristol Van HireI’m very happy to welcome our newest advertiser, VansGB of Bath, to vanrental.co.uk.

VansGB is based in Marksbury on the A39, approximately mid-way between Bristol and Bath and very conveniently located for the A4 and A37.

VansGB is a family-owned business that’s part of the Roberts Group, which has been established for over 30 years. The company offers a wide range of vans for hire, including:

  • Small vans
  • Medium / Panel Vans
  • Luton box bans
  • 3.5t tippers

All VansGB vans include 24 hour breakdown assistance and a replacement vehicle if yours can’t be fixed. Collection and return services are available as are accounts for business customers. Full comprehensive insurance is available and vans can be collected from Monday to Saturday.

VansGB also offers van leasing and used van sales from its Marksbury location.

To find out more or make a booking, contact VansGB direct:

If you’d like to see you van or minibus hire company listed on vanrental.co.uk, visit our advertising page.

Average Van Rental Booking Just 1.8 Days

Leave a reply

Here at vanrental.co.uk, we get thousands of bookings requests every week – meaning that we get a pretty good idea of what people need from van hire services.

Here are a few tasters of what we’ve learned since we launched our van hire price comparison service at the beginning of this year:

  • Average van hire duration is just 1.8 days
  • 90% of van hire bookings are for less than five days
  • On average, customers book van hire 12.4 days before they need the van
  • But… 33% of bookings are made less than 4 days in advance
  • London gets twice as many bookings as the second-most popular location, Birmingham

To get this data (and much more…), we’ve crunched the numbers on 31,000 comparison requests made on vanrental.co.uk since we launched our price comparison service.

These figures did include a  few surprises, but the short-term nature of the daily van hire business is not one of them.

Unlike car hire, people don’t hire a van for fun – when they need one, there is no alternative, and they need it now.

Interested in learning more? You can see the full story in our latest press release – click here.

Band Van Hire: Vans For Bands, Oxford

2 Replies

Vans For Bands logoI’m very pleased to welcome our newest advertiser to vanrental.co.uk, Vans For Bands Ltd, which is now listed on our Band Van Hire page.

Vans For Bands is one of the UK’s leading band van hire companies and offers a full range of 6-11 seater splitter vans and MPVs from its base near Oxford or via its nationwide collection and delivery service. Tour vans are available in a wide range of specifications and onboard facilities such as sat navs, PS2s, DVD players and reclining chairs are available.

Most vehicles can be driven on a standard car driving licence and trailer hire is also available. This is useful, as most regular car and van hire companies prohibit the use of a trailer with their vans.

Vans For Bands is based in Begbroke, just north of Oxford. To find out more, contact them directly:

Vans For Bands also provides backline hire and can arrange to provide tour personnel for UK and European tours.

Jolly Good Van Hire Opens Ely Branch

Leave a reply

Jolly Good Van hire logoLong-time vanrental.co.uk advertiser Jolly Good Van Hire has opened a new branch in Ely.

The Ely branch means that the company, which specialises in European van hire, now has three branches:

  • Shrewsbury
  • Wrexham
  • Ely

Jolly Good’s Ely branch offers all the services that customers of the company have come to expect, including UK daily rental, monthly rental and European van hire. Vehicle tracking is available for business customers and a nationwide collection and delivery service is also available.

Jolly Good’s van fleet is all under twelve months old and includes the following types of van:

  • Small vans (e.g. Volkswagen Caddy)
  • Medium vans (e.g. Ford Transit SWB)
  • Long wheelbase vans (e.g. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter LWB)
  • Luton vans with tail lifts

Jolly Good Van Hire also offers a range of cars and nine-seater minibuses.

To find out more or arrange a quote or booking, contact Jolly Good Van Hire directly:

Win A One Dry Wash Car Valeting Kit – Competition

Leave a reply
One Dry Wash Car Valeting Kit

The One Dry Wash Valeting Kit includes a bottle of One Dry Wash, Tyre Shine, Interior Wipes, Microfibre cloths and a detailing brush

Waterless car wash products are becoming increasingly popular in the UK as people realise how, quick, easy to use and convenient they are – often far more so than washing with soap and water before polishing.

One Dry Wash is the best waterless wash product we’ve tried and we are very pleased to have five One Dry Wash Complete Valeting Kits to give away in our latest competition.

One Dry Wash provides a just polished shine for paintwork, glass, chrome and painted plastic and is completely safe on all exterior surfaces.

One 500ml bottle will clean a car or small van several times and you only need two microfibre cloths (supplied in this kit) to wipe the dirt off and then buff to a shine.

I freely admit that it sounds too good to be true – but it really does work and achieves excellent results. It is also an ideal accessory to have when you are on the road and want to keep your windows and bonnet free of flies, dust and dirt.

Click here to enter our competition to win a One Dry Wash Car Valeting Kit

(Entries close 10th February 2012 at 2pm UK time.)

Norwich Van Hire: Aspland Van Centre

Leave a reply

I’m very pleased to welcome Aspland Van Centre of Norwich to vanrental.co.uk.

Aspland Van Centre is run by Roger Aspland, a commercial vehicle specialist with more than 35 years experience.

Self-drive vans and minibuses are available from Aspland’s Aylsham Road site in Norwich – the following vehicles are available:

  • Luton vans with tail lifts
  • Panel vans
  • 3.5t tippers
  • Minibuses

To find out more, get a quote or making a booking, contact Aspland Van Centre direct:

If you would like to advertise your van or minibus hire company on vanrental.co.uk, click here for our advertising options or contact us directly.