Hire vs Buy

Should you hire or buy

With any project no matter if it be construction, horticulture, landscaping or demolition there is always the possible debate of ‘Hire vs Buy’. Your gut may tell you to simple purchase your equipment, it’s much better to own your own tools rather than hire on a daily or weekly basis etc. Another reason maybe you’ll think that you may get a lot of use out of your equipment and will need it more than once.

The reality is this tends to not be true, particularly when it comes to the use of larger more specialised and dedicated equipment such as diggers, breakers and heavy duty gardening equipment and so you’ll need to adopt a more measured and through process. Maintenance of your kit and the cost of insurance against damage and/or theft is one aspect most people forget to factor in when weighing up the Hire vs Buy argument.

The Hidden Costs

Purchasing equipment outfit in one go appears to be the most simply option, your payments are allocated to just a single outlay that matches your budget. Yet there are costs which always slip through the gaps, chief amongst which is insurance and even replacements costs once your job is finished.

Storage of the equipment is another missed aspect. Most of Hire station’s specialised and heavy duty kit can be stored indoors and small spaces but larger kit may require larger space than what your average garden shed can provide.

Value for Money

When considering whether to hire or buy the financial aspect always comes into play. Will your budget allow for the more quality of machines? Or will you have to settle for the cheaper equipment (which may not produce the end results you are looking for). Hiring tools and equipment gives you instant access to high quality equipment without the large outlay that accompanies expensive kit. Very often the kit you hire will be the same heavy duty machinery used by professionals’ day in and day out. On top of this the kit will have been quality-checked by our team of engineers after every hire, guaranteeing your kit will work and be in top mechanical order. No matter the kit, when your hire with Hire Station you’ll receive a piece of quality, robust, reliable and durable equipment that can handle any job you throw at it!

When hiring tools and equipment you should always consider your timings, both in terms of the conditions of where and when you’ll work and of the period of hire, there’s no point hiring a cement mixer to lay some foundations in your garden for 1 day when you need it for 3 when outsides its heavy rain. If you only need to hire the kit for a weekend, and example would be our range of landscaping equipment, and the weather is good, hire is a far more economical choice.

Summary

In summary there are several aspects to take into consideration when choosing whether to hire or buy. Below we have broken this down so you can see exactly how to calculate whether you should hire or buy the tools and equipment you’ll need for your next project.

Here at Hire Station we understand that hiring equipment might not always be the best option. When considering whether to Hire or Buy there are various critical factors you need to take into consideration such as:

• purchasing
• other costs (this covers variables such as insurance, servicing, maintenance and other such aspects)
• and usage

It is important to fully research each one of the these elements to gather as much correct data as possible that relates to your potential hire / purchase. This way you can they a fully formed and accurate decision on which action to take.

Please find below are our 3 simple steps that will help you to decide whether you need to hire or buy.

Step 1 - Purchasing

Capital Costs and financing

The capital cost and financing is broke down into the initial purchasing costs of your product:

• How much will the equipment cost? - this should be the full cost inclusive of VAT
• What percentage, if any, of the purchase price will be financed? - have you taken a loan out to pay for the equipment? or are you spreading the payments out of a specific period of time?
• What is the agreed rate of finance? (as a percentage) - this is pre-agreed by the creditor before any payment is transferred to you for the purchase of the equipment

Depreciation

• Over what period will the equipment's cost depreciate? (E.g. 1, 2, 3 years etc.) - most companies prefer to depreciate equipment over a period of between 3-5 years
• What will the end of life value of the product be? (as a percentage)

Delivery costs

• What is the delivery cost? - Including the costs of any pre-delivery checks & delivery

Step 2 - Other Costs

Maintenance, insurance, servicing etc

Here you need to include aspects such as:

• Statutory inspections, such as LOLER
• Annual insurance costs - this obviously varies between provider, how long youve had the equipment, any previous claims etc
• Annual repair, maintenance & servicing (this is used as a percentage of the purchase cost)
• The number of incidents that have resulted in damage, loss or insurance claims - the clsoer this is to zero the better
• How much the insurance excess of a claim is - this is the pre-agreed amount of money you will pay upfront to the insurer should you make a claim
• The number of hours spent on purchasing, accounts & insurance
• The number of hours spent on maintenance
• The number of hours spent on delivery

Step 3 - Usage costs

With regards to usage there are 2 main aspects to take into consideration:

1. The number of days per year the product is used
2. The average weekly market hire rate