Pricing, explained
A £650 a month van is not £650 on day one
On our commercial van and car agreements you pay three monthly rentals up front, so a £650 a month vehicle needs £1,950 on the day you sign. On a courier agreement it is one rental up front plus a £2,000 deposit. Every figure on this page excludes VAT, and every one of them is on the stock list against the vehicle it belongs to.
The profile is the whole story
Leasing quotes are written as two numbers with a plus between them. The first is the initial payment, given as a multiple of the monthly rental. The second is how many monthly payments follow it.
The two numbers do not add up to the term, and this is where almost everyone goes wrong. The initial payment is the first payment and covers month one whatever its size, so on a 12-month agreement eleven payments always follow it. A 1+11 is one month up front and eleven monthly, which comes to twelve rentals. A 3+11 is three months up front and still eleven monthly, which comes to fourteen rentals over the same twelve months. A 6+11 would be seventeen.
So a larger initial payment is not just a cash-flow choice about when you pay. At the same monthly rate it is more money overall. Where a funder drops the monthly figure in exchange for more up front the totals move closer together, but that is a different quote, not the same one rearranged. Ours are set per agreement type and shown below.
| Agreement | Profile | Deposit | Day one, ex VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courier Vans | 1+11 | £2,000 | £2,800 – £2,950 |
| Commercial Vans | 3+11 | Subject to status | £1,950 – £2,550 |
| Cars | 3+11 | Subject to status | £1,500 – £2,550 |
| Commercial Rental | 1+2 | Subject to status | £884.52 – £1,275.4 |
An initial rental is not a deposit
They get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. The initial rental is your own future payments brought forward: money you were always going to spend, paid earlier. A deposit is separate, held against the agreement, and governed by its own terms.
You do not get an initial rental back at the end, because you have had the vehicle for it. That is not a catch, it is what the word rental means, but it is worth being certain about before you sign rather than after.
Which profile should you pick?
More up front means less each month, and roughly the same total. So the question is not which is cheaper, it is which suits your cash. A business that has just bought stock or paid a VAT bill is usually better off keeping the money and paying more monthly. One sitting on cash before a quiet quarter is often better off the other way.
Tell us which way round suits you and we will quote it. We are not going to pretend one of them is a saving.
Questions people ask
What does 3+11 mean on a van lease?
It is the payment profile. The first number is the initial payment as a multiple of the monthly rental; the second is how many monthly payments follow it. The two do not add up to the term: on a 12-month agreement eleven payments always follow, whatever the first number. So a 3+11 is three months up front and eleven monthly, fourteen rentals in all, while a 1+11 is twelve.
Is the initial rental a deposit?
No, and the difference matters. The initial rental is simply the first payments brought forward, it is part of what you were always going to pay, not an extra. A deposit is separate money held against the agreement. On FleetMe's courier agreements there is both: £2,000 of deposit on top of the initial rental.
How much do I need on day one to lease a van from FleetMe?
Between £884.52 and £2,950 excluding VAT, depending on the vehicle and which agreement it is on. The exact figure for the vehicle you want is on the stock list, worked out for you rather than left as arithmetic.
Do I get the initial rental back at the end?
No. It is rental, not a deposit, you have paid for the use of the vehicle, in advance. A deposit is a different thing and is dealt with separately under your agreement.
Why is a bigger initial rental sometimes cheaper overall?
It is not always. At the same monthly rate a larger initial payment costs MORE overall, because the number of monthly payments after it does not fall: a 3+11 is fourteen rentals where a 1+11 is twelve. The reason a bigger initial payment is often quoted at a lower monthly rate is that the funder is pricing less risk, and then the totals come closer together. Compare the total across the agreement, not the monthly figure, and not the day-one figure either.
Every figure here is a guide price excluding VAT, read from the same rate sheet as the stock list. Your vehicle, term, mileage, profile and rental are confirmed in writing before anything is agreed.
Get the day-one figure in writing
Tell us the vehicle and the mileage. We come back with the monthly rental, the profile and exactly what is due when you sign.
Enquiry received, one step to go.
We can put a guide figure together from what you’ve told us. To confirm the vehicle, the monthly rental and a delivery date in writing, we need your business details and the underwriting information.
Next step · about 5 minutes
Complete your business application
It’s pre-filled from your answers. Nothing is committed until we confirm your quote and you sign.
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