The decision of whether buying, leasing, or renting is best for your business' heavy and medium duty truck or trailer needs is not a quick one.

Our advice to you is to question your current model. Just because things have always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean that your resources are being optimized.

You can choose to outsource all of your transportation needs to a third party. You can even get your decals and logo placed on the third party equipment so you benefit from branding. In this option, you free yourself from the headaches of dealing with equipment and drivers but the price would be your most expensive option.

For many businesses, the expense and loss of control of completely outsourcing transportation has them looking at other options. Should you buy, lease or rent heavy and medium duty equipment?

Deciding whether to rent, lease, or purchase a heavy duty truck or trailer is not easy. There are many factors at play, such as your business size, the hours and kms your equipment gets used, the duration of your need, your own in-house truck and trailer service capabilities, and whether or not you wish to use cash on hand for a down payment. These are just a few of the things to think about in your decision-making process.

Start by determining the real costs of your businesses transportation costs. And we mean all costs. Our experience shows that approximately 75% of small to medium sized businesses do not have a good handle on their costs. Without a baseline of your true costs, it’s very difficult to make the best decision for your business.

At Maxim, we want to give you the tools and information you need to make the best decisions for your operation. Whether you decide to purchase, lease, or rent, we have a Canada-wide team that can provide you with the best solution to suit your needs.

THE TOP 5 REASONS TO BUY, LEASE OR RENT YOUR HEAVY EQUIPMENT

You should BUY if:

• You are an Owner/Operator who makes a living at trucking.
• You are a smaller fleet (less than 10 trucks) dedicated to trucking.
• Your operation keeps trucks for longer than seven years.
• Your mileage is very low i.e. under 20,000 kms /year.
• Your operation has maintenance and repair facilities and you wish to do this work in-house.

You should LEASE if:

• You are not in the trucking business and wish to focus on your core competence, not transportation.
• You do not have—or wish to have—maintenance or repair facilities.
• Your mileage is higher than 20,000 kms/year.
• Your image is important and you need late model equipment that better reflects your brand.
• You don’t want the burden of vehicle licensing and regulatory requirements.

You should RENT if:

• Your need is going to last 6 months or less (definitely not longer than 12 months)
• You operate in a seasonal or cyclical business with spikes during peak months
• You have regular equipment that is out of commission or broken down
• You are waiting for new equipment to arrive from the factory
• You are trying a new run with equipment you may not have in your fleet but might consider in the future