Van Leasing FAQs

Van leasing is a long-term rental agreement. At the start of the contract, you pay an initial rental, followed by a series of monthly payments for a period of two, three or four years. At the end of the contract, the van is handed back to the finance provider without any further obligations.

You can read more in our How Van Leasing Works guide. 

Van leasing offers many benefits including:

• Low initial rental 
• Fixed monthly rentals for the term of the lease 
• Flexible duration and mileage terms 
• No depreciation risks or disposal concerns
• Manufacturer warranty offered as standard

You can read more about van leasing benefits vs considerations in our How Van Leasing Works guide. 

If you are a limited company, partnership, sole trader or LLP, you may be eligible to apply for a business van leasing agreement. As part of your leasing application, you will be asked to fill out our online Business Finance Application Form. We’ll ask you for details about yourself and your company, which will then be used by the relevant finance company to determine whether you are eligible for finance or not.

To find out whether you’re likely to be eligible for business finance, take our quick Am I Eligible for Business Leasing interactive questionnaire.

For business customers, the most common forms of van leasing contracts (in rough order of popularity) are:

• Contract Hire
• Finance Lease
• Contract Purchase
• Business Lease Purchase

Some vans can also be leased on a personal basis. You can read more in our Personal Van Leasing guide. 

NB: Nationwide Vehicle Contracts are specialists in Contract Hire and Finance Hire agreements. Contract Purchase and Business Lease Purchase agreements are no longer available with us. 

Our van leasing contracts typically range from two to four years, although sometimes five year agreements are available, depending on the vehicle, contract chosen and finance provider.

Prices for two, three and four year contracts are available on our Van Leasing Deals page and via our website. If you’d like to enquire about a five year agreement, please call our sales team on 0345 811 9595 (Opt 2).

At Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, we specialise in long term lease agreements. The shortest van leasing agreement we offer is 24 months (two years).

No, we do not provide no deposit lease contracts for vans. This is because your initial rental forms part of your lease agreement. 

You may be able to take advantage of a low initial rental deal, usually equivalent to one month upfront, however it is worth bearing in mind that paying a larger initial rental will reduce your monthly payments.

View our Van Leasing Deals page for vans available with a low initial rental.

Whether you're a sole trader looking for a small to medium sized van or a limited company looking for larger panel van, dropside or tipper van, we've got lease deals on a great range of vans. 

Thanks to our relationship with manufacturers across the country, we are able to give you and your business deals on a huge range of makes and models of vans at excellent prices, including Citroen, Ford, Volkswagen and Renault to name but a few. 

Visit our Van Leasing page to search our available vehicles.

If you’ve recently established your business or have experienced problems with your credit history in the past, it can be difficult to determine whether your business will be accepted for vehicle finance. 

Most funders ask for a good to excellent credit score in order to be accepted for van leasing finance. If you've been denied finance before, or your company is less than two years old, the funder may ask to see further supporting information, for example:

• 3 months’ business bank statements
• Management accounts
• A director’s guarantee

If you’re unsure whether you will be eligible for business finance, take our interactive Am I Eligible for Van Leasing questionnaire.

If you’ve been declined finance, other funding options may be available to you depending on your circumstances. Your sales consultant will be able to discuss these options with you at enquiry stage.

If you require any additional accessories fitted to your vehicle, such as a tow bar or roof racks, please request this at point of order.

Some small and reversible modifications may be permitted by the finance provider but this will be at your own risk and may invalidate the van warranty. You will also need to arrange for removal any modifications without damaging the vehicle before returning it at the end of the contract.

Ply lining must be fitted to all leased vans. This is to help protect you from any de-hire damage charges (charges made by the finance company for any damage to the vehicle that exceeds the relevant fair wear and tear guidelines) and to help maintain the resale value of the van.

For all vans leased through us, ply lining will be fitted before the vehicle is delivered to you. Our pricing includes the ply lining, so there’s no need for you to worry about additional initial costs.

Many businesses want to add custom stickers, logos and company decals to their lease van or pick-up truck, particularly if the vehicle is used by the company on a day-to-day basis. As custom vehicle decals are easy to apply and simple to remove, most finance providers will allow you to add them to the lease vehicle provided that you remove them at the end of the term and before the vehicle is returned.

You can read more in our Returning Your Lease Vehicle guide. 

Your van leasing agreement will include road tax (otherwise known as the Road Fund Licence), either for the duration of your contract or 12 months, depending on the type of contract you take out.

For Contract Hire agreements, road tax will provided for the duration of the lease contract. 

For Finance Lease agreements, road tax will typically only be provided for 12 months. After that, you will be responsible for taxing the vehicle.

You can read more in our Taxing a Leased Vehicle guide. 

Unless you have a Complete Care agreement, you are responsible for arranging your own insurance on the van. This must be a fully comprehensive insurance policy and the hirer obtaining finance must be the main policy holder on the insurance certificate.

Please note that for business contract hire agreements, the finance company is the registered owner and keeper of the vehicle. You can read more in our Insuring Your Lease Vehicle guide. 

Yes. All vans leased through us are covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. The length of time this warranty covers will depend on the manufacturer. You can read more in our Van Manufacturer Warranty guide.

Please note that for pre-registered vehicles sold with the balance of the manufacturer’s warranty, an MOT will be required (at the customer’s cost) three years from published taxation point, in line with UK law.

Maintenance is an optional package that can be added to your agreement and included in your monthly payments. It includes all servicing, plus the replacement of tyres, brakes, exhausts, batteries as necessary, and includes any labour costs. 

For further details, go to our Vehicle Maintenance section.

If you purchased a maintenance package with your lease agreement, you will need to contact the finance company to book your vehicle into a local approved garage for its annual service and/or MOT if required.

If you do not have a maintenance package, you will need to arrange for the vehicle to be serviced at the appropriate intervals. While you are advised to go to a local main dealer to have your vehicle serviced, you may be able to take the van to a local garage provided they are VAT registered and use genuine manufacturer parts. Please make sure that the service light on the dashboard is reset and that your service handbook is stamped.

Check out our motoring guide on Servicing Your Lease Van for further information.

If you have a maintenance package included in your van lease agreement, breakdown cover is usually included for the duration of your contract. 

If you don’t have a maintenance package included, you may still be covered for breakdown as part of the manufacturer’s warranty. Breakdown cover typically varies from one to five years and usually starts from the date of vehicle registration. 

Find out more in our Van Breakdown Explained guide.

Where possible, we try to ‘ring-fence stock’ to ensure you don’t have too long to wait for the van you choose. Stock vans, subject to completion of the correct paperwork and manufacturer availability, can be usually be delivered within four to six weeks.

Ultimately, the delivery date of your van will depend on the lead time from the manufacturer. Popular and new models will likely mean a longer wait. Some finance providers also have a statutory ‘cooling off’ period, which must be adhered to before your vehicle can be delivered. 

You can read more in our Understanding Delivery Lead Times guide. 

All new vehicles are issued with a V5C registration certificate (also known as the log book) within six weeks of registration. A V5C registration certificate provides proof of registration and is also used as a form of law enforcement.

For Business Contract Hire agreements, the finance company is the registered owner and keeper of the vehicle, therefore they hold the V5 registration document for the duration of the lease agreement.

Yes, most finance providers allow you amend your mileage during your lease contract, however, this is at the discretion of the finance provider. Usually, you need to have a minimum of at least six months left on your contract and your account must not be in arrears or subject to Default or Insolvency. 

You may also be liable to a charge if you change the mileage allowance of your agreement, therefore we strongly advise that you choose a mileage allowance that will cover your needs before signing an agreement.

You can read more in our Amending Your Lease Contract guide. 

Any mileage over the contract is charged at the excess mileage rate. This is  calculated at a pence per mile rate. 

The excess mileage rate applicable to you will be stated in your contract. For example, if the excess mileage charge stated in your agreement is 5p per mile, and you exceeded your mileage allowance by 1,000 miles, you would be charged £50 at the end of your lease.

You can read more in our Excess Mileage Charges guide. 

It is possible to end your agreement early, but you will be liable to pay a penalty charge. The amount this is will depend on how long you’ve got left on your contract and the finance provider.

Find out more in our Early Termination guide.

When returning your van to the finance company at the end of your lease, it will be inspected for damage. Each finance company provides its own guidelines as to what is acceptable wear and tear, based on the age and mileage of the vehicle.

If you return your van and it has any damage that falls outside of these guidelines, you will be liable to pay for it in the form of lease-end penalty charges.

You can find out more in our Van Fair Wear and Tear Guide.

Unfortunately not. For Contract Hire and Finance Lease agreements, purchasing the vehicle at the end of a finance lease agreement is not an option.

Unlike cars, where the Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax is based on their CO2 emissions, vans and other light commercial vehicles fall into one classification, which makes life simpler in terms of taxation.

The current Benefit in Kind tax rate for light commercial vehicles is £3,430 for the 2020/21 tax year. 

Read our Company Van Tax Explained guide for further information.

Unfortunately not. We are unable to assist businesses who wish to use the lease vehicle for "Hire & Reward" purposes as this is not permitted by the funder. This includes Taxi, Chauffeur, Driving Schools and Rental companies. Some funders may also have additional restrictions in place for customers who work in the Motor Trade. 

Yes. Personal leasing is an alternative funding solution for sole traders, partnerships and limited companies who have been trading for less than two years or who have previously been denied vehicle finance. With a personal lease agreement, the private individual taking out the lease agreement is approved for finance, rather than the company or business.

You can read more in our Personal Van Leasing guide. 

Depending on the finance provider, you may be allowed to take the leased van abroad for a specified period of time. Before arranging your trip, you will need to contact the finance provider to discuss your options and to obtain a VE103B form. This is a legal document which allows the driver to take the lease van abroad. 

You can read more in our Taking Your Lease Vehicle Abroad guide.

Unfortunately, we do not offer a part exchange service so you will be responsible for the resale or disposal of your existing van if required. Many of our LCV (light commercial vehicle) customers have used sites such as We Buy Any Van to do this.