Kempston Vehicle Leasing was recently interviewed by a national publication. Following is an extract from the interview:

How old is the company and where do you operate?

We have been operating since 1973 and have operations across our various operating divisions in all major centres. The administration of our full maintenance leasing division (ie contracts normally of 3-5 years, with a minimum of 12 months) is centralized to Johannesburg, while the operational service is handled by our nationwide infrastructure of truck rental branches.

Who should use fixed maintenance leasing? Why?

Clients would typically lease vehicles from us because they require the use of a fleet, without wanting the hassles of owning it. We are responsible (depending on the options taken by the client) for financing, licensing, maintaining (including tyres), and ultimately disposing of the fleet, as well as all the risks associated thereto. The FML market is extremely competitive and there is often a misconception that profit margins are high. Relative to direct ownership of a fleet, many companies find leasing an attractive concept when they take into account all that is built into the rate. It also allows fixing of costs and for companies to concentrate on their core business. Many companies also find off balance sheet financing allows them better utilisation of their own capital

What are FML's advantages over owning or simply renting vehicles?

We find full maintenance leasing and rental complement each other as opposed to competing. If a client needs flexibility, they need to rent for that period and it would be a mistake to enter into a leasing contract, just as it would be wrong to buy a vehicle to meet a short term requirement.

What tips would you care to give users?

When looking to enter a full maintenance leasing contract, it´s important to understand exactly what is included and what is excluded. Common variables are tyres (which many suppliers don´t offer), licensing and certificate of fitness costs, interest rate adjustments which are the norm, inflation adjustments or escalations which have a big impact over 5 years. None of these inclusion or exclusions are necessarily good or bad, as long as the client understands exactly what the quoted rate does and doesn´t include.

What does it offer that its competitors don´t?

Kempston Vehicle Leasing specializes in leasing light and medium commercial vehicles, being bakkies up to 8 ton trucks. We do also lease cars and super link trailers. In addition to using dealers, where necessary we have our own workshops nationally carrying their own stock of parts, performing road side assistance, and our own vehicle theft recovery unit which offer additional services to complement those offered by the clients´ choice of tracking company.