Contract Hire Forklifts

It's fair to say that the average forklift does not last as long as you might initially imagine. Anything more than 10,000 miles is actually considered to be a very high mileage for a forklift, so generally speaking your forklift is likely to last for less than 10,000 miles. This is obviously something you will want to bear in mind when you’re stuck trying to decide between contract hiring or lease purchasing your next forklift truck, as it can often make better financial sense in the long term to lease rather than invest.

When you explore forklift contract hire with us, Atlas Forklift will cover the maintenance and repair of the forklift, whether that means short or long term. Only lease purchased forklifts will require the user to pay for the repair and maintenance of the vehicles, as the responsibility is passed on to you when you choose leasing rather than hiring.

Contract Hire - for a cost-effective, hassle-free and tax-efficient option, contract hire is the best choice. Not only do you receive your forklift truck(s) for a fixed term agreement of usually 3-7 years, your monthly rental includes forklift maintenance, servicing and repairs. With a simple budget, you can take full advantage of the equipment before handing back the forklift trucks once your contract ends. Even better, 100% of the rentals paid can be offset against taxable income.

Lease Purchase - a lease purchase allows you to gain eventual ownership of the forklift. You begin by paying total VAT along with the deposit, and then make fixed monthly payments over an agreed period of usually 2-7 years with all of the interest charges set against taxable income. This asset is put on your balance sheet and offset ‘capital allowances’ against taxable income at a rate of 25% per annum on the reducing balance, whilst small companies can offset 40% of the equipment value within the first year. Unlike a contract hire, maintenance and repairs are not included in the price. This is the best option for you if you’re looking to purchase forklifts but haven’t got the resources to buy outright.

Both hiring and leasing a forklift can have benefits and drawbacks, depending on your unique situation. Hiring is affordable and generally comes with its own servicing and maintenance included, but the money you spend will not go towards purchasing the forklift outright as it would when you explore leasing. Hiring is an efficient option that lets you utilise a forklift for a set number of years as stated in your contract, whereas leasing ends with the intention of you actually purchasing the forklift.

There are some disadvantages of hiring new forklift trucks to be aware of. They certainly represent the more expensive option, and they don’t have a record of performance that you can refer to.

Using forklifts that are past their best can cost you money. The average lifespan of a forklift truck is around 10,000 to 12,000 hours of use, which usually covers around 6 years. If you’re looking for a forklift contract hire in the West Midlands and you don’t want to worry about the lifespan of your own fleet, we’ll help you take care of that.