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What’s the difference between flexi hire and contract hire?
As you’ll know by now if you’ve taken even a brief look around our site, flexi hire is a core service of ours here at Intack Self Drive. Essentially, it’s a form of vehicle rental; you’re renting the vehicle from the owner (us) for an agreed period of time. Now, flexi hire is not exactly the same as contract hire. Some people can be fairly loose with their definitions of the two terms, and others regularly use them interchangeably - just to make things even more confusing! So, in order to help you understand the distinctions, below we’ve laid out some of the most important differences between flexi hire and contract hire.
Flexi hire for cars and vans
In a nutshell
Flexi hire has been named fairly straightforwardly; it’s designed to provide a flexible solution for any length of hire, saving you from having to choose between the slightly higher short-term costs of daily hire or tying you into the commitment of a long-term lease. There’s no long term contract with flexi hire; you can just hire the vehicle for a minimum of 28 days, and can renew or roll this contract as often as you require. That’s all there is to it!
Duration:
Flexi hire starts from 28 days as a minimum. After that, you can extend this hire period indefinitely. Need to bring back the vehicle midway through the next month? As long you’re over the threshold of the minimum hire period, that’s no problem. We’ll just pro rata the weeks you haven’t used, and simply reimburse you with the difference.
Costs cover:
The costs are simple; you just pay a fixed hire charge on a continual basis. The costs also cover mileage up to an agreed allowance - if you go over this, you’ll have to pay a little extra for each additional mile. This covers maintenance as standard, and road tax, too. (These alone are often enough to make flexi hire an attractive option for many fleet managers, as it automatically takes care of some of the biggest ongoing items on their agenda.) Normal wear and tear is accounted for under this agreement, but the user is liable for any damages that fall outside this definition; for example, minor crashes or collisions. However, since you don’t ever actually own the vehicle, depreciation isn’t something you should ever find yourself worrying about.
Insurance
Flexi hire vehicles can be covered by a fully comprehensive insurance policy, but it’s worth double checking the details of your own policy before you go ahead and hire a car or van.
At the end of the contract
Once you reach the final date of the contract, you can choose to bring it to a close or renew it - and best of all, you can do this as many times as you like! The lack of commitment involved means that you can routinely switch around your vehicles according to which ones best suit your requirements at any given time. Theoretically, you could do this every month (but that’s quite a lot of paperwork to be dealing with in a short space of time!).
Contract hire agreements
In a nutshell
Really, contract hire is a fairly catch-all term, and tiny but important details can be subject to a lot of variation between each individual provider. Many types of contract hires, though, tend to have broadly the same things in common. One of the key points is that with a contract hire, the company orders a vehicle as new from the factory on your behalf, to meet your own specifications. (With flexi hire on the other hand, you’ll simply choose your preferred vehicle from an existing fleet - namely ours!)
Duration:
The duration of the average contract hire tends to be something in the region of two to three years, and some can even stretch to as long as five. Therefore, this type of contract hire involves a reasonably long term commitment.
Costs cover:
When you begin any contract hire, you’ll start with an initial payment, followed by smaller monthly instalments. Within this sort of agreement, it’s the hirer (you) who’s responsible for organising maintenance (unless of course you opt for a plan with a maintenance package). Like flexi hire, your mileage is covered up until an agreed allowance, and you’re liable to pay anything that goes over that.
Insurance
You’ll almost always need to arrange your own insurance, although there are occasional exceptions. Feel free to ask one of our friendly members of staff for more details.
At the end of the contract
With a contract hire, once the term is up, the vehicle simply goes back to the leasing company.
Flexi hire for cars and vans
So, which one should you choose? Well, really, that’s all up to you! If you’re ready to commit to a new car or van long-term for the next few years or so, then contract hire is ideal for you. However, flexi hire is the perfect option if you’re employing a new starter, or a member of staff beginning a temporary contract or probationary period. It’s also a fantastic choice if you need a vehicle on an ad-hoc basis, or for a specific job or event - or even if you’re just experimenting with various different configurations for your fleet.
Another recent post of ours explains more answers to what is flexi hire in more detail, and explores in more depth all the ways in which it can benefit your business! And of course, if you’ve got any specific questions or you’re already all set to flexi hire a car or van, feel free to give us a call on 01254 57811. We’re here to help!