Enter eMobility with BusStore
A used Mercedes-Benz eCitaro for Stadtwerke Eberbach.
Tips for financing pre-owned buses
Points to take into consideration when financing a pre-owned bus or coach.
Points to take into consideration when financing a pre-owned bus or coach.
Anyone who thinks that financing and leasing are only important when it comes to new vehicles has not visited BusStore. After all, you wouldn’t purchase a car without considering all the finance packages on offer.
Nowadays, vehicle financing is a standard entrepreneurial tool used by bus companies to protect the economic viability of their firms. “Preserving liquidity is what is needed,” confirms Markus Löffler from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. “The easily planned repayment in instalments gives the customer the room to manoeuvre necessary for an entrepreneur in today’s ever more rapidly moving world.” This increases the customer’s financial flexibility for other investments, such as, for example, in buildings or other operational expenditures.
In the pre-owned bus field, classic financing options are predominant, rather than leasing. If the latter does come into play, however, it is mostly on a kilometre basis. “Classic financing is mostly designed so that the vehicle is fully paid off at the end of the contracted term. For coaches this goes up to the maximum age of 12 years, for city buses it is 15 years,” Löffler says, explaining the financing approach using the German market as example. So-called “balloon financing” is also possible, under which a fixed one-off payment at the end further reduces the monthly burden.
Financing from a single source
The Mercedes-Benz Bank has been a long-term partner of BusStore in Germany and handles a substantial number of its financing deals for pre-owned buses.
“It goes without saying that the customer can also get financing from their own bank. But with us, alongside some very attractive offers, they will also get services from experts in the automotive sector, all from the same provider,” says Löffler. Thus in Germany, for example, financing packages including insurance can be offered. There are also occasional joint marketing promotions offering special terms and conditions, and this for various models. “Here we are also a reliable and fair partner until the end of the term of the agreement,” Löffler says.
But what about credit assessment? Are there differences here between new and pre-owned vehicles? “We draw no distinction here,” says Löffler, emphatically. “As a financial services provider, we strive to ensure that not just legal requirements, but also the obligations the customer has undertaken, can be fulfilled.” For this reason, the credit check takes place exclusively on the basis of economic justifications.
For Löffler, the BusStore slogan “Tried. Tested. Trusted.” applies perfectly where financing is concerned. “So, it is obvious that we are working successfully with BusStore. What with our know-how, sector expertise and network, our tailor-made financial services are of course represented there.”
Points to consider when financing a pre-owned bus.
- Choose a suitable pre-owned bus for your business model. In doing so, take note of quality indicators and warranties.
- Check your finances and determine how much you can pay in advance and what partial payment you would like to make each month.
- Carefully choose your financing partner for the purchase. That could be a financial service provider specialised in the automotive branch.
- Often it can make sense to have the sale, insurance and financing all handled in the same place, in order to save administrative expenses and costs.
- When comparing the terms, take note of additional charges and costs.
