Summer is here and it’s time to get started on those big DIY and garden projects.
If you’re thinking about hiring a van you might want to consider purchasing van hire excess insurance to protect yourself from the risk of accidental damage. Excess levels on van hire vehicles can be very high.
To help you stay in control of the pennies, we have an exclusive discount code from Questor Insurance for van hire excess insurance.Here are the details:
Northgate has added an extra 25 Nissan e-NV200 electric vans to its UK van hire fleet.
Momentum is continuing to build in the electric van market, led by one of the most significant buyers of new vans — the van hire sector.
In recent weeks, two of the UK’s largest van rental firms, Europcar and Northgate, have both added extra EV capacity to their hire fleets.
Northgate has added 25 Nissan e-NV200 electric vans to its fleet, which will be available for hire from July. We expect demand for these vans to be strongest in London, where the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) now means that all pre-Euro 6 diesels must pay a £12.50 daily charge.
Europcar has added new EV capacity to the opening fleet at its new Purfleet van rental supersite, which is located just inside the M25, close to the A13.
As I’ve said many times before in these pages, EV technology is probably better suited to urban-use vans than it is to family cars at the moment. I can only see this momentum increasing as EVs become better understood, more widely used and gain longer ranges.
It’s no secret that some small businesses work their cars and vans hard. When you combine that with the normal wear and tear seen in ageing vehicles, it’s not surprising that breakdown rates appear to be higher than those suffered by private car owners.
According to the RAC, there’s a 31% chance that one of a small firm’s vehicles will break down each year. Batteries and tyres top the list of problems, followed by clutch and alternator issues.
Breakdowns are inconvenient at the best of times. But for a small business they can be extremely costly, as Nicky Brown of the RAC explains:
“Any downtime for a small business is likely to be extremely costly as it represents a serious loss of productivity, missed appointments or late deliveries. And, the smaller the business is, the worse the problem.
What can you do to avoid breakdowns?
Unfortunately, some breakdowns are inevitable. But many are avoidable. Here are a few tips.
Batteries: 18% of all RAC SME breakdown calls to relate to batteries. Batteries can reach the end of their life and ‘die’ without warning. But if your car or van turns over slowly on cold mornings or you suffer flat batteries after a long weekend, consider replacing the battery. Ask for the battery to be tested each time your vehicle is serviced. If reliability is critical, you could consider replacing batteries more than five years old.
Tyres: 13% of SME callouts relate to tyres. Although some blowouts and punctures are unavoidable, many are caused by tyres that are incorrectly inflated, damaged, worn out or overloaded. The solution is to visually inspect tyres and check tyre pressures weekly. With many vehicles now lacking a spare tyre, punctures can be very inconvenient.
Mechanical and electrical problems: These can be hard to spot, but such problems sometimes display ‘early warning signs’ that provide clues something is going wrong. Examples are strange noises or vibrations, or perhaps difficulty changing gear. Train drivers to report these symptoms when they appear, rather than waiting until they become bigger issues and cause breakdowns.
Do you need that old vehicle?
Finally, if you’re running old vehicles in your business and paying for regular repairs, consider replacing them. If you can’t afford new replacements than long-term car and van hire is increasingly affordable.
This offers a number of advantages. You’re not responsible for maintenance costs and as most hire vehicles are new, breakdowns should be unlikely.
Hiring a car or van is also more flexible — you can add vehicles at busy times and return them when they’re no longer needed.
If you operate in Central London and are now forking out £12.50 per day for the ULEZ charge, then renting a modern Euro 6 van would enable you to avoid this charge. For many urban operators doing restricted mileage, this saving could be enough to pay for your daily petrol or diesel usage!
Renting can be cheaper than it seems — it could be worth a look.
Independent van hire firm Astley Van Hire has been supplying local businesses and residents with rental vans since 1986.
The Greater Manchester company is a long-time advertiser on vanrental.co.uk. Based in Astley, near Swinton and Atherton, Astley is open from 7.30am to 7.30pm, seven days a week.
This is good news for anyone wanting to hire a van for the weekend — with many companies you’ll be forced to return it on Monday morning, which isn’t always convenient. But Astley’s seven-day opening policy means that you can pickup on Saturday morning and return Sunday evening. Ideal for house moves, DIY, university runs and much more.
Astley offers a full range of services, including:
4 hour rental
Daily van hire
Weekly hire
Contract hire
Van leasing
The firm’s rental fleet ranges from small vans through to large, high roof vans and luton vans with tail lift. All vans are modern, well-maintained and include AA cover. Unlettered vans are also available.
For more information or to make a booking, contact Astley Van Hire direct:
If you’re looking for a used van that meets the standard then your choice of diesel vans will be limited to Euro 6 models — as a general rule, those registered from September 2016 onwards. (You can check whether any vehicle meets the ULEZ standards here)
However, for low-mileage urban use, modern diesels aren’t ideal. The diesel particulate filters (DPF) used to reduce emissions tend to clog up fast if they don’t get regular long runs to burn off the soot that builds up.
For many city van drivers, a petrol or electric van makes sense. But while there’s a growing choice of new models on the market, availability of used models is very limited. If you only need a small van, one suggestion you might not have considered is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV commercial. In terms of size and shape, this is similar to the old Vaxuhall Astra/Ford Escort vans of the 90s and noughties.
Inside the Outlander PHEV Commercial – it’s basically like a large estate with the seats folded down and boarded out rear windows for security and privacy.
The difference is that the PHEV — or Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle — is powered by a combination of petrol and electric motors that make it ideal for short journeys, where you can run on electric power alone.
As you’d expect, this green machine is exempt from the London ULEZ. But according to Mitsubishi, it’s also exempt from the London Congestion Charge. That means you could save £24 per day (£12.50 ULEZ and £11.50 Congestion Charge) by switching from an older diesel van.
I’m fairly sure that older models of the Outlander PHEV should also be exempt from the ULEZ and Congestion Charge – but check before you buy. This model was introduced in 2013, so there are a growing number to choose from. Although commercial (van) variants are rarer, you might be able to manage by simply tinting the rear windows on a standard Outlander PHEV and folding the seats down.
Although you’ll need a charging point at home to keep the batteries topped up, driving this PHEV SUV around town should save you money compared to petrol or diesel. It could be worth a look.
What can you get for £1 these days? Not very much. But one thing you can do is hire a van (or car) for just £1 from major hire companies through the driiveme.co.uk website⇒*.
What’s the catch?
Here’s the deal. Big hire companies need to ‘rebalance’ their fleets. That means moving cars and vans from one location to another so that they’re available to hire in the right locations.
One way to do this is for the companies to pay drivers or vehicle transporters. But that’s expensive for them and a bit wasteful too.
The other alternative is to rent out the vehicles for £1 to customers who want to travel those routes.
The advantage of this is that it saves a wasted journey — you want to travel from A to B and the van (or car) needs to be moved from A to B. So it’s a win-win situation.
The £1 charge is only needed to activate the hire vehicle’s insurance. Apart from that, all you have to pay for is fuel.
Obviously there is a catch: you have to take the car or van between two fixed locations, usually within 24 hours. But if the route works for you, then this can be a brilliant and cheap way to move around the UK.
To find out more, take a look at the driiveme.co.uk website⇒* and see what’s on offer today.
*driiveme.co.uk website⇒This is an affiliate link. If you book a hire with driiveme.co.uk after clicking on this link, we’ll receive a small payment.
How to adjust your van seat – source: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
According to Prab Chandhok, chiropractor and member of, British Chiropractic Association, “Many people now point to driving as a trigger for their back or neck pain”.
Here at vanrental.co.uk, we don’t think that modern vans are likely to give you a bad back. But there’s no doubt that long periods at the wheel can aggravate an existing problem and possibly make it worse.
The good news is that modern vans are more comfortable and ergonomic than ever. Van manufacturers are going to increasing pains to ensure that there vans are at least as comfy as their cars. After all, many van drivers spend far longer at the wheel than the average car driver.
For drivers, we believe that the key to a healthy, pain-free back is to make sure that your seat is adjusted properly so that you’re in a supportive and stress-free position when you’re driving. Van manufacturer Volkswagen has put together some tips to help you get comfy behind the wheel:
Height: Your thighs should be as parallel to the floor as your seat will allow, and where possible try to get your hips higher than your knees. You should also adjust the thigh support if you have one to ensure you have the maximum surface of your thighs touching the seat.
Pedals: You should be able to push the pedals to the floor with a bend in your knees.
110°: Bring your seat all the way up so it’s straight and then take it back until you are comfortable whilst maintaining a 110 degree angle between your back and thighs.
Lumbar Support: The lumbar support should be adjusted so you can feel it support the hollow in your back but so it’s not causing your spine to arch more than is normal for you.
Head Restraint: The height and angle of your head restraint should be adjusted so you can feel the centre of the support touch the middle of the back of your head, although it does not need to be touching at all times
Steering Wheel: Once in correct seating position, bring your arm up in front of you and position the centre of the steering wheel to be in line with the fold of your wrist.
Rear Mirror: Lift up your chest by five degrees and then adjust your mirrors to help stay in an upright position on long drives.
If this all sounds complicated, here’s how you should look when everything’s adjusted right:
Your thighs should be parallel with the floor, arms comfortably bent at 10-to-3 and legs bent slightly even when you push the pedals to the floor.
And if you have any tips for avoiding back pain, please share in the comments below to help your fellow van drivers stay pain free.
The disruption caused by changing emissions rules doesn’t stop there. Last year’s switch to the WLTP emissions testing regime for new cars and vans caused disruption to new vehicle supplies across Europe, as the new testing system caused bottlenecks for manufacturers.
The introduction of the ULEZ in London means that anyone who isn’t driving a Euro 6 diesel will face a £12.50 daily charge for driving inside the congestion zone (the area will be expanded in 2021). Realistically, this isn’t a viable choice for daily operation — doing so five days a week would cost £3,250 per year.
With cities such as Birmingham and Leeds due to introduce Clean Air Zones in the next few years, the emissions problem isn’t going away. But operators wanting to update their fleet to Euro 6 models may find that supplies are limited and prices rising, even for used models.
Auction group BCA recently held its first dedicated ULEZ van sale, where all vehicles were Euro 6 compliant or electric/hybrid vans. As part of the sale, BCA guaranteed that all vans being sold would be able to enter the Ultra Low Emission Zone without charge.
A total of 148 vehicles went under the hammer, selling an average of 104% of their CAP book price — i.e. they sold for more than their book value. Some used dealers at the auction confirmed that they are now only retailing Euro 6 models.
With such strong demand, used van prices are likely to remain high, in my opinion. I think many van operators could be better off outsourcing their vehicle supply to large rental firms and focusing on their core business.
Indeed, all of this brings to mind a famous quote from oil baron J Paul Getty, once the world’s richest man. Talking about business, Getty said:
“If it appreciates, buy it. If it depreciates, lease it”
There’s no doubt at all what category vehicles fall into. From the day you buy them, they depreciate and cost you money to maintain. If you’re still running Euro 5 or older vans, I think there’s a real risk that their used value will collapse over the next few years. I suspect that no one will want to buy vans that are effectively banned from many major towns and cities.
In my view, unless transport is a core part of your business, van operators are better advised to consider long-term flexible rental deals such as those from Europcar and Northgate.
If you’re looking for daily van rental quotes for your business, you can compare prices with our independent van hire price comparison engine.
Fast forward eight months, and I’ve just learned that Europcar has started buying Citroen Berlingo Electric vans for use in urban areas, especially London Congestion Charging zone. When the London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone comes into force in April 2019, electric vans will qualify for a 100% discount.
Alongside this change, the company has also ordered 100 new Citroen Berlingo vans in Enterprise specification. This high-end spec includes the kind of equipment list that’s more usually found on cars.
Standard spec for the Berlingo Enterprise includes air conditioning, rear parking sensors, cruise control, speed limiter, automatic electronic parking brake, alarm, one-touch electric windows, heated and electrically-operated folding door mirrors, front fog lights with cornering function and tyre pressure monitoring.
Europcar says that private rental customers increasingly expect the comfort and convenience features of a modern car. Meanwhile business customers, who increasingly use rental vans for long periods, want to ensure that their drivers are well-supported and able to do their job comfortably and efficiently.
