New diesel engined vans - a potential financial disaster?

[Zootsuit]

The new vans are leased.
Who picks up this extra maintenance cost is debatable.
I would have thought that cost would have been fixed at the point of tender,that's what a sensible business would have done...but it is RM procurement we're talking about.

Interesting, do you know which company the vans are leased from? Everything I can find on the subject suggests that they are owned by Royal Mail, some fairly recent news tells of a £70 Millon investment in new vans, or is this to do with a leasing deal?

Might be good news if they are leased, if they do prove to be unfit for purpose perhaps we can send them back!

[arnold cheshire]

The new vans are leased.
Who picks up this extra maintenance cost is debatable.
I would have thought that cost would have been fixed at the point of tender,that's what a sensible business would have done...but it is RM procurement we're talking about.

Interesting, do you know which company the vans are leased from? Everything I can find on the subject suggests that they are owned by Royal Mail, some fairly recent news tells of a £70 Millon investment in new vans, or is this to do with a leasing deal?

Might be good news if they are leased, if they do prove to be unfit for purpose perhaps we can send them back!

if they were leased after a certain amount of years they would have to give them back . say 3 years . not hang on to a clattered old one for 9 years

[UnhappyGremlin]

The new vans are leased.
Who picks up this extra maintenance cost is debatable.
I would have thought that cost would have been fixed at the point of tender,that's what a sensible business would have done...but it is RM procurement we're talking about.

Interesting, do you know which company the vans are leased from? Everything I can find on the subject suggests that they are owned by Royal Mail, some fairly recent news tells of a £70 Millon investment in new vans, or is this to do with a leasing deal?

Might be good news if they are leased, if they do prove to be unfit for purpose perhaps we can send them back!

if they were leased after a certain amount of years they would have to give them back . say 3 years . not hang on to a clattered old one for 9 years

Not true. They are leased, according to my boss just a few weeks ago, smaller CDV types are to remain in service for 6 years, while transits/vivaros etc. are to remain in use for 10 years. He said it's to save money. No doubt it is, just not for RM, the leasing company maybe. After all, per calendar month cost of leasing them will stay the same, barring the yearly increases, i.e. just because a van is 10 years old, I doubt we will get it cheaper.

[dvbuk55]

Well I don't know how many are leased but I do know there is a bit of a row about the problem and the leasing company say they are not responsible for ensuring the suitability of the vehicle for there not to be a problem. At the moment the vehicles we've had go down have been fixed by RM mechanics and the duties they are used for have been changed to ensure that there is a reasonable mileage used.

[arnold cheshire]

The new vans are leased.
Who picks up this extra maintenance cost is debatable.
I would have thought that cost would have been fixed at the point of tender,that's what a sensible business would have done...but it is RM procurement we're talking about.

Interesting, do you know which company the vans are leased from? Everything I can find on the subject suggests that they are owned by Royal Mail, some fairly recent news tells of a £70 Millon investment in new vans, or is this to do with a leasing deal?

Might be good news if they are leased, if they do prove to be unfit for purpose perhaps we can send them back!

if they were leased after a certain amount of years they would have to give them back . say 3 years . not hang on to a clattered old one for 9 years

Not true. They are leased, according to my boss just a few weeks ago, smaller CDV types are to remain in service for 6 years, while transits/vivaros etc. are to remain in use for 10 years. He said it's to save money. No doubt it is, just not for RM, the leasing company maybe. After all, per calendar month cost of leasing them will stay the same, barring the yearly increases, i.e. just because a van is 10 years old, I doubt we will get it cheaper.

leases would be too long and cheaper to buy . who believes what a dom says I DONT

[UnhappyGremlin]

A few years ago, RM negotiated the purchase of thousands of Ford Escort vans (quite amusingly, a genuine CDV) on behalf of the leasing company because they could get them cheaper. They then sold them to the leasing company at cost. I know this because I worked with the guy that did it, albeit briefly.

It may be cheaper to buy, but since when has that been a valid point? This is RM. They don't do anything sensibly.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, there is a rumour that the leasing company is owned by a current or former RM board member and/or their spouse, so they are lining pockets if this is true. Not many major companies with large vehicle fleets actually own them, so there must be some financial reason for this. Don't know what that could be.

There is also the point that, for quite some time now, RM has been massaging the figures so we look like we're in trouble, and this would be just another very easy way of continuing that trend.

[arnold cheshire]

A few years ago, RM negotiated the purchase of thousands of Ford Escort vans (quite amusingly, a genuine CDV) on behalf of the leasing company because they could get them cheaper. They then sold them to the leasing company at cost. I know this because I worked with the guy that did it, albeit briefly.

It may be cheaper to buy, but since when has that been a valid point? This is RM. They don't do anything sensibly.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, there is a rumour that the leasing company is owned by a current or former RM board member and/or their spouse, so they are lining pockets if this is true. Not many major companies with large vehicle fleets actually own them, so there must be some financial reason for this. Don't know what that could be.

There is also the point that, for quite some time now, RM has been massaging the figures so we look like we're in trouble, and this would be just another very easy way of continuing that trend.

a ford escort van looks nothing like a ford escort car think

[UnhappyGremlin]

A few years ago, RM negotiated the purchase of thousands of Ford Escort vans (quite amusingly, a genuine CDV) on behalf of the leasing company because they could get them cheaper. They then sold them to the leasing company at cost. I know this because I worked with the guy that did it, albeit briefly.

It may be cheaper to buy, but since when has that been a valid point? This is RM. They don't do anything sensibly.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, there is a rumour that the leasing company is owned by a current or former RM board member and/or their spouse, so they are lining pockets if this is true. Not many major companies with large vehicle fleets actually own them, so there must be some financial reason for this. Don't know what that could be.

There is also the point that, for quite some time now, RM has been massaging the figures so we look like we're in trouble, and this would be just another very easy way of continuing that trend.

a ford escort van looks nothing like a ford escort car think

It does at the front. Look.

[arnold cheshire]

A few years ago, RM negotiated the purchase of thousands of Ford Escort vans (quite amusingly, a genuine CDV) on behalf of the leasing company because they could get them cheaper. They then sold them to the leasing company at cost. I know this because I worked with the guy that did it, albeit briefly.

It may be cheaper to buy, but since when has that been a valid point? This is RM. They don't do anything sensibly.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, there is a rumour that the leasing company is owned by a current or former RM board member and/or their spouse, so they are lining pockets if this is true. Not many major companies with large vehicle fleets actually own them, so there must be some financial reason for this. Don't know what that could be.

There is also the point that, for quite some time now, RM has been massaging the figures so we look like we're in trouble, and this would be just another very easy way of continuing that trend.

a ford escort van looks nothing like a ford escort car think

It does at the front. Look.

hardly similiar

[PhilthyPhil]

As far as the van leasing thing goes my understanding (from our fleet manager) is that RM own the leasing company and it is just something which is done for accounting/tax reasons

[DGP1]

I remember driving these, wouldn't pull you out of bed in the morning (always 1st gear for going up any hill) and the back door locks where a bit dodgy (remember the lock sticking at the beginning of the duty, couldn't get at the mail ).

[dvbuk55]

I remember driving these, wouldn't pull you out of bed in the morning (always 1st gear for going up any hill) and the back door locks where a bit dodgy (remember the lock sticking at the beginning of the duty, couldn't get at the male ).

Was he annoyed DG?

[DGP1]

I remember driving these, wouldn't pull you out of bed in the morning (always 1st gear for going up any hill) and the back door locks where a bit dodgy (remember the lock sticking at the beginning of the duty, couldn't get at the male ).

Was he annoyed DG?

YOU weren't that annoyed

[dvbuk55]

I remember driving these, wouldn't pull you out of bed in the morning (always 1st gear for going up any hill) and the back door locks where a bit dodgy (remember the lock sticking at the beginning of the duty, couldn't get at the male ).

Was he annoyed DG?

YOU weren't that annoyed

I was a little bit, it was really chilly in the back being deshabille.

[DGP1]

I remember driving these, wouldn't pull you out of bed in the morning (always 1st gear for going up any hill) and the back door locks where a bit dodgy (remember the lock sticking at the beginning of the duty, couldn't get at the male ).

Was he annoyed DG?

YOU weren't that annoyed

I was a little bit, it was really chilly in the back being deshabille.

You're going to get us sent back into the naughty room when we've been so good recently