New Car – Auto Loans

Archive for the ‘Vans’ Category

Did you know that the German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz also produces vans and trucks? Well they do, and they do it well. As of January of 2009, the van collection available through Mercedes-Benz goes as follows.

VANS:

The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a light van which was inspired and partly based off of the Viano MPV. The van offers a payload of approximately one ton.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a mid-sized van. With a payload of two to six tons, this van was passed on a joint venture with the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Crafter. This vehicle was actually produced by Dodge and made available in the USA and Canada, it is called the Freightliner Sprinter and it’s often used as an ambulance.

The Mercedes-Benz Vario can carry a load similar to that of a light truck. It is a heavy van that has a payload of up to 7.5 tons.

Previous or discontinued vans from Mercedes-Benz include the Mercedes-Benz TN or TI which is a mid-sized van that followed the Sprinter and the Mercedes-Benz T2 which is a super heavy van.

When it comes to trucks, Mercedes-Benz is actually one of the world’s largest truck manufacturers. Who would have thought? As of the beginning of 2009, the range of trucks offered by Benz is as follows.

TRUCKS:

The Mercedes-Benz Atego which is a light truck that can haul up to 16 tons.

The Mercedes-Benz Axor is more of a mid-sized truck that is quite articulated and rigid. It can carry anywhere from 18 to 26 tons.

The Mercedes-Benz Econic is a model that is similar to the Axor truck but come equipped with specialized mercedes accessories and applications.

The Mercedes-Benz Unimog is meant to transport loads across very extreme terrains and are generally used for special purpose requests.

The Mercedes-Benz Zetro is similar to the preceding truck and it is meant for off-road extreme operations as well.

An older truck series is known as the Mercedes-Benz L-series which was discontinued in Germany in 1995.

There you have it, all the vans and trucks Mercedes-Benz has to offer you!

One of the concerns in business operation is to provide vehicles for operational use. The businesses that needs vehicles may choose to get a vehicle by outright purchase or through leasing. The former is like buying a vehicle in cash or in installment arrangements and the intention is to fully own the vehicle while the latter is leasing arrangement where the vehicle company still owns the vehicle but is offered to the client as leased item. The client then pays a deposit and leasing fee in a regular basis. Usually the arrangement of lease is flexible with the customer’s paying capacity. Each model or brand of vans has leasing price. What matters is that you don’t need to raise high capital for vehicle purchase. With van leasing, you just need to raise required deposit and ensure that you get regular earnings to compensate the leasing fees to be paid regularly.

The major disadvantage of van leasing is that you have no ownership of the vehicle. As such, you are most likely subject to conditions and terms of usage for the vans. In cases of breakdowns, you are obliged with policies governing breakdown cause by one of your business operations. Despite your effort and money put into the repair, you still don’t own the vehicle. Second disadvantage is that you get to lease used vans. Used vans may not be in good driving condition anymore so it would be detrimental to your business operations.

However, the advantage of van leasing outweighs the disadvantages. First, your payment option is flexible with your terms. Whilst owning brand new vans for your business requires big capital, you can be have a vehicles and be operational already with van leasing. You don’t have to wait until you get big amount to buy vehicles for the business since van leasing only requires deposits and leasing fee paid on a regular basis. There are also arrangements with van leasing companies that suit your current capacity to pay. Second advantage is that van leasing may be using used vans, but these are refurbished models that are definitely useable to new clients. Van leasing companies usually provide used vans to clients since these are vehicles that have previously been leased by other clients. The remodeling of the used vans makes it look like the new user is getting brand new vans for lease. Different models, brands, and sizes of vans has different leasing price so there is definitely one that suits the needs for your business. If your business is into stocks delivery for example, you can find vans that match the distance of your commercial deliveries, the capacity of the stocks usually carried in the van, and the period that you want to use the van for such a routine. Third advantage is that since you don’t own it, you can definitely use another new vehicle if you need to replace the existing one. Vans, just like any vehicles, depreciate. So before it cannot be used anymore, you can readily return it and use another vehicle for continuous business use. If you own the vehicle, you will have problem disposing it to buy a new one or you may be spending money for too much maintenance just to make the depreciated vehicle continuously useable.

There are many companies for van leasing to choose from. You just have to check their services and their period of expertise in dealing with commercial vehicle leasing so you’ll get maximum service for your business needs.

Truly, wheel chairs have been a great help for many individuals since its invention. However, as lifestyles got complicated, other tasks now require more than the help of a wheel chair. This is why wheel chair lift vans were developed and released in the market in the past decades. Indeed, wheel chairs have served a very important purpose in providing users the ability to travel from one place to another. But like many of us, you are most probably looking more into maximum comfort and convenience besides plain mobility. You’d not only want to go to places, but you’d also want to go to places faster and with less hassle.

Van features:

These wheel chair lift vans designed specifically for tasks that require the use of scooters or wheel chairs to travel. Their major function is to make access to the vehicle itself much easier by providing a built-in device that lifts up the wheel chair. The other major function of the wheel chair lift is to provide a secure and spacious seating allocation for the wheel chair user.

This equipment can either already come with a special automated device that can lift a wheel chair from the ground and into the vehicle, or a wheel chair ramp. When used, suspensions often stiffen so that the weight of the wheel chair will be handled appropriately.

They also generally come with two doors. They may have a back door or a side door. With a back door, a lift or ramp is provided for you to be elevated into the van. A back door will allow you to go directly through the middle and into the front of the seats in the vehicle. In this case, the back area of your van is elongated to allow the ramp to be longer and less steep. Parking might become somewhat of a hindrance because of the elongated feature, but most places provide handicap parking spaces.

Some models are ingeniously designed with side doors, thus allowing the wheel chair user to enter the vehicle from the side and travel a shorter distance to the front seat. These vans will not have a problem with parallel parking, but you may need a lot more space on the sides before accessing your vehicle at the parking lot.

Since these vans are built with lowered bearing, it allows wheel chair users to access the vehicle with ease and without the risk of slipping backwards or falling sideways.

Cost:

The cost of wheel chair lift vans vary depending on which type you go with and if you are going to have one customized. You have plenty of options when it comes to prices. Apply for grants, secure a loan, or ask financial help from the government. You can even find ways to raise money with family and friends to finance your wheel chair lift van purchase.