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“The short term car leasing specialists”
A company that leases 4x4 vehicles has been going to the rescue of the NHS and other essential services through the recent snow and ice.
Equalease is just one of a handful of leasing companies that leases 4x4s for three-six month periods, and has been swamped during the last fortnight by demand for vehicles on three month leases thanks to the poor weather.
Managing director Paul Ashton said: “We have seen a dramatic increase in enquiries for 4x4 vehicles during the last couple of weeks. Interestingly, this has mainly been from organisations such as health services who operate outreach services and engineers who work in remote areas in essential industries such as power and water.
“The fact is that if a fleet needs a vehicle to reach a remote site in bad weather involving snow and ice, there are only certain types of vehicle that can cope with the conditions. Few daily rental fleets carry large numbers of 4x4s, so we have been one of the few sources able to supply a suitable vehicle at short notice.”
Ashton said that a typical organisation supplied by Equalease during the last fortnight was Bolton Primary Care Trust. Their GP’s and nurses visit terminally ill patients to provide care and a number of these patients live in remote locations. Equalease was able to provide a 4x4 vehicle within 24 hours which enabled them to continue their vital work during the bad weather.
He continued: “Obviously the number of 4x4s we can supply is limited and we have been doing our very best to allocate the vehicles on a priority basis.
If a fleet manager comes to us and really needs a vehicle to reach people who require essential medical care, then we will obviously do our very best to help satisfy their request.”
Ashton added that demand was now starting to ease as weather conditions improved slightly but that many fleets had seen the advantages of having access to 4x4s for the winter period on a short term lease.
He said: “Large 4x4s have had a bad press in recent years because of their poor environmental record and perhaps deservedly so. However, the last few weeks have also served as a reminder that they have a place when driving conditions deteriorate as considerably as they have done recently. The fact that these conditions are only temporary means that our short term leasing is an excellent solution for that need.”
Vehicles provided by Equalease on 3-12 month leases are taken from its fleet of cars, all of which are less than two years old. Leases include a standard annual mileage allowance of 15,000 miles a year or 1,250 miles a month and include all maintenance, breakdown recovery and road fund licence.
Current prices include a Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 Tdi Altitude Auto for £479 per month based on a six month lease at 1,250 miles per month.