Taxi, Operator, Minicab, Private Hire and Uber Car Finance

Are you a Taxi, Minicab, Private Hire or an Uber driver? Are you registered as a limited company and want to upgrade your vehicle? Or perhaps you are starting out and want your first taxi? Or do you want to own a fleet of taxis and rent them out?

There are a number of ways you can access the funds that you need to start or grow a taxi company. Whether you are using Uber, Ola, an Operator, Private Hire License or even just a traditional taxi – it is important to make sure you choose the right type of finance that suits your business and its circumstances.

We work with a variety of specialist Taxi Finance Companies, that specialises in working with businesses that need help to buy their first or grow their fleet of Taxis and Ubers.  

Below we explain some of the most common forms of finance available for Taxi Companies. It is really important to note if you are going to use your car as a taxi, this includes an Uber, Ola or Private Hire as well – it is integral you tell the lender first. If it comes out that the car is being used as a Taxi or Hire Care and the lender has not been informed, they may cancel your finance agreement and take your car away with no notice. It is integral you are honest and upfront and the purpose your company needs the car.

Hire Purchase Finance - for Taxis, Minicabs, Ubers, Operators and Private Hire

Hire Purchase is a great way for a business to access finance, which can allow them to buy a new or second-hand vehicle, that can be used as a Taxis. Hire Purchasing allows a company to spread the payments of the taxi evenly over time - which can help an owner easily work out how much money they need to turn over a month to make a profit. There are generally no large upfront deposits needed and after the agreed repayments are made the company will own the taxi. Hence the term Hire Purchase – You hire it until you own it.  Hire purchase agreements can vary in length depending on how fast you want to pay it back.

Positives of Hire Purchasing Taxis and Ubers:

•                 Set fixed monthly payments – to easily manage your cashflow
•                 Directors don’t need to be homeowners – Unlike other forms of finance, with hire purchasing or asset finance, the lender will use the car as the guarantee and not look for a director’s home or other assets.
•                 Asset Ownership – At the end of the hire agreement you will own the car.
•                 Cost – It is often cheaper to Hire Purchase than Lease.
•                 Second Hand – It is easier to buy second-hand taxis and cars using Hire Purchasing than Leasing.
•                 Bad Credit Rating – It may be easier to obtain a Hire Purchase Agreement if you have Bad Credit or a CCJ. Always get in touch and see how we can help you, despite your credit situation. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Negatives of Hire Purchasing Taxis and Ubers:

•                 Corporation Tax – As you are a limited company and at the end of your agreement you will own the car, you can not write off the cost of the car as a loss. This means, unlike leasing, it will not decrease your corporation tax bill.
•                 Servicing Agreements – As you are buying the asset, most times there is no free servicing included. With some taxi specialist finance Servicing and Insurance can be included with your vehicle package.
•                 Payment to Purchase – When looking at financing deals, remember that at the end of the contract you will have to make a final payment to buy the asset. Do the maths and research to make sure if it will be worth it in the long run.

Lease Finance - for Taxis, Minicabs, Ubers, Operators and Private Hire.

The most common form of finance for Taxis is Leasing. If you want to buy a new vehicle to start or grow your companies’ fleet – leasing provides a flexible form of finance that can grow and shrink easily with your business. With leasing the lender will buy and retain ownership of the car. You will pay an agreed amount every month to use the vehicle. At the end of the period you will be given the choice to give the vehicle back, buy it or upgrade it to a new model.

With the speed of technology advancements in electric vehicles and the increase in taxes and fees for polluting vehicles – this form of finance can really give you the peace of mind you need in forever changing landscape. After your short- or long-term agreement, you can simply upgrade your vehicle to another model, a bigger car or even give the car back and move to another company.

Positives of Leasing Taxis and Ubers:

•                 Latest Model – Having the flexibility and freedom to upgrade your vehicle regularly, gives you the power to always have the cheapest running and cleanest car on the market.
•                 Finance Costs – Short term agreements give you the freedom to continually look at the market to make sure you are getting the cheapest finance deal
•                 Short- or Long-Term Contracts – You can choose whether you want a long term or short term leasing contract. This will allow you to finance for the life of the car, or for a much shorter time, to allow you to upgrade quicker.
•                 Services and Insurance – Sometimes our specialist taxi leasing companies will throw in perks such as free servicing and insurance. While these contracts are quite expensive, they can sometimes actually be better value for money.
•                 Back on the road – Every hour your car isn’t on the road, it isn’t making money. If your car was to unexpectedly breakdown or be involved in an accident – leasing can sometimes offer you a replacement much quicker than relying on your standard insurance to get you back on the road.
•                 Corporation Tax – As you are leasing your Taxi and don’t technically own the car, you can write the lease payments off as a loss to the company. This means your taxable income on your profits for corporation tax will shrink. This is what is often referred to as ‘debt being cheaper than ownership’.

Negatives of Leasing Taxis and Ubers:

•                 Ownership – Unless you choose to buy the car at the end, you will never actually own the Car.
•                 Cost – Leasing is a lot more expensive per month than Hire Purchase Finance. However, with all the perks in Leasing and the freedom and flexibility, it can sometimes work out better value for money.
•                 Deposit – You will quite often be asked to pay a deposit when leasing. This will range often between 10%-15% the value of the car. However, we can easily be able to help you access this finance, to get the deposit you need to start a leasing agreement.   

Driver-to-driver finance - for Taxis, Minicabs, Ubers, Operators and Private Hire.

This is essentially the same as an Asset Finance loan but specialising in Taxis. If you have an existing taxi that is owned by someone another driver or company, the lender will buy this taxi off them and then hire it back to your company in the form of a Hire Purchase Agreement. You will then pay the lender back a fixed amount every month, until you have paid off the total amount of the car.

To access this type of finance, you will need to have access to a deposit, as a lender won’t lend more than the value of the car you would like to buy. High Gear Finance and its partners can easily help you access this deposit if you don’t have it available. Get in touch and let’s see if we can help you today.

If for any reason you can not make repayments anymore, the lender in most cases will just simply take the car away.

License plate finance for Taxi’s

If you are trying to buy an existing Taxi Plate, License or company which owns taxi licenses – our partners will be able to help. We work with specialised taxi finance companies and Taxi Banks, that can offer finance to buy specialist items such as these. They are trained industry professionals who are able to understand exactly what you are buying and the value and constrains this will be to your business.

We understand the Taxi Industry. Our Partners can offer deals and facilities that can suit your companies needs, armed with the knowledge of the industry and the flexibility and freedom your company needs to operate and grow. Whether you have bad credit or not, whether you are after unsecured or secured finance to grow your business or you want to buy a new or second hand taxi – get in touch today and let us match you to the best lender and type of finance to help your company get the cars it needs to grow.