Category Archives: Van Hire News

News and special offers from other UK van hire and rental companies.

Europcar Launches New Branding On 250 Peugeot Vans

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Europcar's new branding on its UK van fleet

Europcar’s new branding is being debuted out on the company’s UK van fleet, incorporating the slogan ‘moving your way’.

London, February 2013 – Europcar the leader in car hire services in Europe, is unveiling its new branding as it goes onto 250 Peugeot Partner Vans.

Featuring the new brand positioning, ‘Moving your way’, the Peugeot vans available for hire across the UK will help build awareness of the message that Europcar is focused on enhancing the rental experience from start to finish.

Ken McCall, Managing Director, Europcar UK Group says:

“We’re excited to see our new brand positioning rolling out across our UK van fleet.Acting as a quality stamp, ‘Moving your way’ demonstrates Europcar’s commitment to providing vehicle solutions that fit in with the mobility requirements of our customers.”

You can find a full list of Europcar’s UK van hire branches here or book van hire by visiting Europcar’s website.

Van Hire Firm Northgate Trading At Lower End Of Expectations

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Van hire specialist Northgate plc, which operates the Northgate Vehicle Hire, Norflex and Van Monster businesses in the UK, issued a fairly cautious trading statement today, warning that “tough economic conditions” were continuing to impact its business and that it was currently trading at the lower end of expectations.

The statement was something of a contrast to its last update, which was comparatively optimistic. In today’s statement, Darlington-based Northgate said that the number of vehicles on hire had fallen from 45,000 at 31 October 2012 to 44,200 at 28 February 2013, a decrease of 800 units compared to a fall of 3,900 in the same period last year.

In response to this fall the firm has reduced down the fleet by 1,100 since 31 October 2012, which by my reckoning means it now has approximately 49,900 vehicles in its UK hire fleet.

Stable revenue and utilisation

Northgate has been trimming its fleet to maintain utilisation levels for some time now, and in fairness it appears to have been a successful policy that has allowed it to rebuild its operating margin (up from 7.5% in 2010 to 13.2%), reduce debt (from £615m in 2010 to £360m) and restart dividend payments.

According to today’s update, rental fleet utilisation has been stable at 88% for the last four months, down slightly from 89% for the previous six months (which did include the Olympics).

Northgate said that underlying hire revenue per vehicle had remained stable, suggesting that it is not being forced to cut its rates to secure business, and said that it had continued filling the regional gaps it had previously identified by opening new branches. A new branch opened in Luton on 18 February 2013 and further branches in Brent Cross and Huddersfield are scheduled to open by 30 April 2013.

Retail strength

One aspect of Nortgate’s business that may have helped its recovery is Van Monster, its chain of used van dealers. In its update today, Northgate said that “the used vehicle market continues to remain strong” and residual values were in line with those experienced in the year to 30 April 2012.

As I’ve reported several times, residual values for nearly-new vans are extremely strong at present, due to a shortage of supply. Van Monster enables Northgate to choose between selling de-fleeted vehicles at auction or through its retail branches, which it has previously said produce higher profit margins than other methods of disposal.

Outlook

The outlook is undeniably challenging, but Northgate’s recovery plans have been successful so far and the company has returned itself to a stable, profitable footing.

How To Slash The Cost of Van Hire Excess Insurance

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There’s no doubt that we all hate hidden costs — and much as the UK’s car and van hire companies will deny it, the cost of van hire excess insurance can seem to fall into that category.

Typically, you collect a vehicle that you’ve booked and the hire company representative will point out that your booking includes insurance, but that it carries an excess of perhaps £500 (I think my personal record is £750).

You will then be offered a chance to take out additional insurance to reduce this excess to a much lower figure, or even zero. This usually costs between £10 and £20 per day — a hefty increase on your daily hire rate.

The problem is that you may not want to manage without it — as you could be left seriously out of pocket if anything goes wrong.

There is another way…

Luckily, there is an alternative — you just need to plan ahead.

You see, even if you want to reduce your van hire insurance excess, you don’t need to purchase additional insurance from your hire company. In fact, you can purchase the extra insurance anywhere you like — and luckily there are several companies that specialist in providing this service and can offer you big savings over the standard hire company rates.

What’s more, buying excess insurance from a company like iCarehireinsurance.com is also likely to give you far more comprehensive coverage than typical hire company insurance, which usually excludes tyre, glass and roof damage (a particular problem with big vans).

iCarhireinsurance offers van hire excess reduction (to zero) from just £7.99 per day*. What’s more all their policies include parts of the vehicle that are often excluded from other insurance policies – such as tyres, windscreen, roof and undercarriage.

Buying excess insurance from a specialist company is a no-brainer in terms of cost savings — the only catch is that you need to do it before you pick up your hire vehicle, but since it’s all done on line, that isn’t a big inconvenience.

Why not try it next time you hire a car or van?

Hire A Van From £15 Per Day With Europcar

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Europcar van hire moving houseEuropcar is following up on its New Year Sale with a Spring Van Hire offer that will allow you to hire a van from just £15 per day.

This offer is available for bookings made until 9th April 2013.

**THIS OFFER HAS NOW EXPIRED**

Ken McColl, Europcar UK Group’s Managing Director, explains why the company is running this attractive promotion:

“With many families still bearing the financial brunt of the festive season, our special offer on van hire will help families do more for less and get their house in order again.” said Ken McCall Managing Director, Europcar UK Group.  “We know spring cleaning is a tradition amongst many families so hopefully van hire from £15 per day will provide that extra incentive to get the work done before Easter arrives!”

There are more than 130 Europcar van hire branches in the UK, each offering a range of vans, from small vans like the Vauxhall Combo to large luton box vans that are suitable for small house moves. What’s more, all Europcar vans are fully maintained to manufacturer specifications and covered by 24 hour breakdown, for added peace of mind.

A range of hire packages are available allowing customers to hire from just an hour to a day, a week or even longer. For added efficiency Europcar can deliver vans to home addresses through its weDeliver delivery and collection service.

Snow Delivers Jolly Good Van Hire Business To Shrewsbury!

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Jolly Good Van hire logoShropshire-based Jolly Good Van Hire has been celebrating the arrival of snow, according to Shrewsbury branch manager Jason King, who told Shropshirelive.com that the company’s workload “more than doubled” during the recent snow.

King said that reasons for the surge in business varied, with some customers needing replacement cars for accident-damaged or broken-down cars, while others needed 4x4s or additional delivery vans to cope with road conditions and courier and postal delays.

Jolly Good offers a range of cars and vans, including small vans, short and long-wheelbase vans, luton vans and 9-seater minibuses. The company also offers a range of cars and recently added a six-seater crew cab van to its fleet.

Of course, you can find Jolly Good Van Hire’s branches on the vanrental.co.uk:

For more information, to get a quote or make a booking, visit Jolly Good’s website at:
www.jollygoodvanhire.co.uk.

 

If you run a van or minibus hire business that you’d like to list on vanrental.co.uk, visit our advertising page to get started.

Beware Bogus Van Rental Firms This Xmas

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My Dad was always fond of reminding me that “if a thing seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

Just like the time when someone knocked on my front door and offered me a sofa suspiciously cheaply, telling me that “they’d ordered too many”, anyone who offers you a rental van at an impossibly low rate with free delivery is probably pulling a fast one.

How to spot a bogus van hire firm

The season of goodwill is here, but for some people it’s just another opportunity to rip people off, so I thought I would pass on these 5 tips from the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) to help you spot bogus car and van hire companies before you give them your money:

1.   Only use a BVRLA member. Seeing our logo on the front desk or website is a sign that you are dealing with a reputable company that has been vetted and operates to a professional code of conduct. You will also be able to use our conciliation service in the event of any dispute. Find a BVRLA member via the ‘member locator’ on the BVRLA website at: www.carhire.bvrla.co.uk

2.   Never hand over cash. Most reputable rental companies will only want to accept credit/debit card payment

3.   Make sure the company is operating from a bona fide commercial premises, not a PO Box or virtual office, no matter how prestigious the location sounds

4.   Make sure the company actually owns and operates the cars it is offering – all BVRLA members operate their own rental fleet.

5.   Remember, if the price or service being offered seems too good to be true, it probably is and you may well end up out of pocket and disappointed!

As BVRLA chief executive John Lewis points out, it’s surprisingly easy to create a bogus hire firm:

“These companies offer unbeatable prices and free delivery – but they really are too good to be true. Unfortunately it is very easy for fraudsters to build a simple website and set up a call centre to pass themselves off as legitimate businesses.”

For some more excellent tips on car and van hire from the BVRLA, click here.

Northgate Posts Solid Results Despite Downturn

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Van hire specialist Northgate has published its half-yearly results, which suggest that its recovery plan is on track and it is continuing to deliver solid performance in both the UK and Spain.

Darlington-based Northgate, which operates a fleet of 51,000 vans in the UK and 37,700 in Spain, reported profit before tax of £24.6m for the last six months — down slightly from £26.9m for the same period in 2011, but still broadly in-line with expectations for full year. It also managed to reduce net gearing from 105% to 94%, thanks to a £28.1m reduction in net debt to £343.2m.

As has been the case in previous periods, Northgate managed to maintain its fleet utilisation levels by trimming its fleet. Over the last six months, the company’s UK fleet was reduced from 52,900 to 51,000, while utilisation fell from 90% to 89%. This is a smaller drop than during the same period last year.

Northgate said that average hire revenue per rented vehicle “has remained stable since the beginning of the financial year”.

In Spain, the company’s fleet dropped from 38,400 to 37,700, while utilisation remained solid, falling 1% from 91% to 90%.

New locations

Northgate also reported that it expected to open four new UK van hire sites by the end of the financial year (30 April 2012). The firm did not disclose the new locations but said:

Our analysis shows that a branch needs to be approximately 20 minutes from local businesses to meet their requirements.  Analysing the UK population and GDP has identified gaps in our network where we do not currently address many potential customers’ needs, which are met by small local or regional rental operators.

UK vans get younger, Spanish vans get older

Northgate said that the average age of its UK rental fleet had fallen from 21.4 months at the end of April 2012 to 20.4 months at the end of October 2012, and said that it had purchase 9,600 new vans over the last six months.

During the last six months, Northgate said that it had sold 12,000 vehicles — down from 14,500 for the same period last year. Of these, 19% were sold through its Van Monster retail sales operation, which Northgate describes as “more profitable” than other fleet disposal channels.

Conversely, Northgate said that it was “ageing” its Spanish fleet to reduce capital costs and improve cash generation — although it emphasised that it was “still running a young fleet in comparison to the rest of the market”.

Retail boost

Northgate said that the bulk of the reduction in its UK fleet was due to the loss of several large customers. The company’s regional business, which deals with smaller businesses and retail customers, saw vehicles on hire increase by 200 over the last six months.

Driving A Van In Wind And Rain? Beware Of These Risks

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Driving in heavy wind and rainHigh winds and heavy rain shouldn’t be a surprise at this time of year — but they always seem to catch motorists out. if you’re hiring a van you need to take extra care, as the risks are greater, especially in high winds.

Driving in heavy rain and high winds isn’t much fun at the best of time, but it’s even harder if you are driving an unfamiliar rental van. You will find that the van is more susceptible to being blown around by the wind (especially if it’s empty) than your car, and you may not be completely familiar with the controls for windscreen wipers and ventilation — a recipe for disaster if you are on a motorway or main road.

These tips from the Institute of Advanced Motorists apply to all drivers but are especially relevant to drivers of rented vans — so take a quick look:

  • Before you set off, set your heater controls – rain makes the windows mist up in seconds. You don’t want to be fiddling with controls when you should be concentrating on the road.
  • Slow down. In the rain your stopping distance should be at least doubled. Giving yourself more space helps you to avoid spray, especially when following a large vehicle.
  • Keep your eyes on the road ahead and plan your driving so that you can brake, accelerate and steer smoothly – harsh manoeuvres will unbalance the van.
  • Strong winds can also unsettle your car and even change your direction of travel. Grip your steering wheel firmly and be aware of the effects of the elements on other road users, particularly motorcyclists and flat-sided vehicles.
  • If you have cruise control, avoid using it on wet roads – it may create problems if you start to aquaplane.
  • See and be seen. Put your lights on – as a rule of thumb, whenever you need to use your wipers you should also turn your headlights on, and before overtaking put your wipers on their fastest setting.

In cases of severe flooding, you should reconsider making the journey at all. If it is unavoidable, and you have to drive through deep water, the IAM recommends drivers take the following precautions:

  • Drive on the highest section of the road and don’t set off if a vehicle is approaching you
  • Leave time and space to avoid swamping other cars and pedestrians
  • If you can’t see where you are going to come out of the water, such as when approaching flooding on a bend, think twice about starting to drive into it
  • In deep water never take your foot off the accelerator, as this could allow water to travel up the exhaust pipe
  • Once you’re out of the water, dry the brakes before you need them. The best way is to lightly apply the brake as you drive along for a few seconds, after checking nothing is following you too closely.

Remember, it’s better to arrive late than not at all…

5 Ways To Find The Cheapest Van Hire

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vanrental.co.uk vanVan hire is one of those things people tend to do because they need to — often urgently and without much prior experience.

In that situation, it can be hard to know whether you are getting the right van for your needs at the right price — after all, vans come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and rental rates can vary widely, so I thought I’d share some ‘insider’ tips with you to help you save money next time you hire a van.

1. Compare Prices

You may be surprised just how widely quotes can vary — when we were developing and testing the vanrental.co.uk price comparison engine, we were amazed to find that the cheapest quote was often half the most expensive quote!

Funnily enough, sometimes the vans were coming from the same company — the cost difference was between booking direct and booking through one of the big van rental brokers we deal with directly.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like paying twice as much as I need to for exactly the same service.

2. Size Matters!

When it comes to van hire, size really does matter. Too small and you won’t be able to fit your ‘stuff’ in the back, too big and your stuff will just rattle around and you will be paying extra in hire costs and fuel in order to drive a half-empty van around.

Getting the right size hire van is key — and the best way to work out what you need is with our Van Hire Size Guide. This has been one of the most popular pages on this website ever since we launched back in 2007.

3. How Long Do You Really Need It?

The other way to save money on van hire is to not to fall into what I call ‘the 24 hour trap’. Van hire companies normally charge a daily rate that is calculated in exact 24 hour periods, so if you collect a van at 9am one day and return it at 10am the next day, you will be charged for two days’ hire.

Make sure you use the system to your advantage and choose your pickup and dropoff times so that this doesn’t happen to you.

You might also want to consider the hourly van hire or overnight hire deals offered by companies such as Europcar. If you really only need a van for an hour or two or can manage overnight only, then these can save you money.

4. Drive Slower

Speed makes a big difference to a van’s fuel consumption, especially with bigger vans that are heavily loaded.

You may not believe me, but I know I’m right — I’ve managed 41mpg in my Transit cruising at 50mph on open roads, whereas my usual 70mph motorway speed only gives me 35mpg. Naturally it does take a little longer to get there, but it doesn’t make as much difference to your journey time as you expect. They key is to maintain a good average speed.

5. The Biggest Saver

Choosing the right size van and only booking it for the minimum length of time will save you money, but to be honest, the biggest van hire money saver I’ve found is to compare van rental prices using our system:

  • We get prices from more than 1,000 branches in over 400 locations across the UK.
  • We get all of our prices direct from the company you book with and do not add anything on to them, so the price you get is the same as the price you get if you go direct.
  • The only difference is that you only have to visit one website — this one — to get all of your quotes.

Why pay more when you don’t have to? Compare van hire prices now on vanrental.co.uk.

Hiring A Van? You Need This 5-Point Checklist

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Are you hiring a van for the first time? This checklist will help you avoid costly problems.

Although renting a van is pretty similar to hiring a car, there are a few extra pitfalls you need to watch out for. We’ve put together a 5-point checklist based on our long experience of van hire to help you avoid problems that could be costly — or even dangerous.

1. Tall and wide

Vans are higher and wider than cars and if you aren’t used to it, you can get caught out. A particular problem in the UK is height restrictions on car parks. Finding somewhere to park in a town centre isn’t normally difficult in a car, but you may be surprised how many car parks are off limits to vans, even quite modestly-sized models. Anything over 2m high is generally dodgy, but check the car park’s height barrier as they aren’t all the same. Make sure you know how high your van is — or be very cautious.

2. Tyres

Make sure your van’s tyres are correctly inflated before you load it — and then check again afterwards. A tyre that looks correctly inflated when the van is empty can turn out to be almost flat once the van is fully loaded. This has happened to me more than once — I suspect that many rental companies don’t check tyre pressures very often, they just have a quick look to see if any tyres look flat. The trouble is that this doesn’t work when you’ve got a few hundred kilos of extra gear in the back.

Underinflated tyres are far more likely to puncture or blow out — not fun at 70mph on the motorway (or any other time, really). What’s more, most van hire companies will charge you for replacement tyres unless the damage is due to “normal wear and tear”, which is hard to prove with a blowout.

3. Loaded down

Make sure you don’t overload your van. Depending on the size of van and the load you are moving, this is easy/hard to do. Paper (of any kind) and liquids (e.g. wine and beer) are both surprisingly heavy and a large load of either can easily overload a typical rental van. Building materials are also surprisingly heavy if you need more than a very small amount.

If in doubt, ask the van hire company what the van’s payload is and work out what your load is likely to be. If you are stopped while driving and found to be overloaded, you will probably be prevented from continuing until the load has been reduced and may even be prosecuted.

4. Security

Luton vans can be a particular problem for security. The rear roller shutters do not normally have locks. You will need to provide your own padlock.

Similarly, if you are hiring a panel van, check whether it has central locking and make sure it actually works, especially if the van is an older model.

5. Eddie Stobart, not Eddie Irvine*

When driving a hire van, slow and steady is the name of the game, especially when you go round corners. It’s easy to forget that all of your worldly goods are being hurled from one side of the van to the other — until you open the door and find them in pieces…

When loading your van, start from the front and load right up to the bulkhead. Make sure nothing can shift forwards or from side to side and don’t hesitate to tie/strap things down if they can move. Likewise, if the van isn’t full all the way to the back, then use a strap/rope/plank of wood/etc to make sure that things can’t slide backwards too easily.

Finally, remember that van speed limits are lower than car speed limits — click here for our van speed limit guide.

*Apologies to F1 fans too young to know who Eddie Irvine is…