How I run my business vans and cars - Graham Twist, director, Astra Security
Vehicles: 6 vans / 2 cars
Financing method: contract hire and outright purchase
Astra Security is a provider of security systems and services, ranging from alarms to closed circuit TV systems.
Based in Maidstone, Kent, the company is 27 years old and run by brothers Graham and Robert Twist. They have nine employees.
Astra Security runs a fleet of eight vehicles: six vans for the company’s engineers; and two cars for the directors.
Graham says the vans – two Citroen Berlingos, two Vauxhall Combis and two Vauxhall Astravans - are bought by the company and are run over four years before being sold.
But the directors’ vehicles – two brand new Honda CR-V diesels – are on contract hire.
“We’re replacing my brother’s Passat and my 307 CC,” says Graham. “I do lots of scuba diving so I needed the functionality of the CR-V, and Robert has a family and a dog that all needed accommodating!
“We also looked at the Toyota RAV4, but the better interior quality of the Honda, and the lower CO2 emissions, swung it for us.”
Graham says they scoured the internet for the best contract hire deals, but eventually ended up back at the supplying dealer Drake & Fletcher.
“The quotations for Honda Finance were better, so we went with Honda Contract Hire. The service we received from Carol Noble, the business specialist there, was also very good and always helpful.”
The two CR-Vs are on a 24-month/32,000 mile contract.
Graham says they’ve bought their cars previously but contract hire offers them a low-cost and hassle-free way to fund their cars.
“Plus we can get back 50% of the VAT on the rentals,” adds Graham. “And we’re not faced with selling the vehicles at the end of the day.”
About Astra Security
Astra Security is a family run business based in Maidstone, Kent. It provides security systems and services including intruder alarm systems, electronic gate openers and locking systems and safes. Click on www.astrasecurity.co.uk to find out more about the company.
Further information
- If you would like to know more about contract hire, then we have an article on it in our Advice Centre. Click here to access What is contract hire?
