Has anyone here done leases for a business?
Looking at potentially getting a Transit van for my bike lighting business. Something to use on weekends to travel to events and to create a presence, informal advertising if you will. Curious if anyone here has leasehacked a vehicle for their business. Since this would only be used on weekends and the occasional long trip, I think would be able to get away with a 10-12k mile lease without worry.
Thoughts?
Sorry no idea about business leasing but I did happen to drive a Ford Transit cargo van about 250 miles yesterday to pick up some furniture. It drives OK for a van. You have to get used to not having a rear-view mirror and learn to use the side mirrors. Very noticable front wheel drive understeer but you probably aren’t tracking it so…
The cheap ones can be extremely stripped down. Mine had just a radio with no way to even plug in additional devices to play music. Completely un-insulated as well so be prepared for lots of road noise. Very nice sized load area with excellent access from three sides.
I’m pretty used to no back window, used to drive an ambulance I owned as a race car hauler for quite a while. 
Stripped out is what’s excellent about it. Can build out a system to hold a few bikes, slide out battery charging station, maybe some primitive camping provisions for my sales guy if he wants to. Outdoor folks are weird like that. 
Though also entertaining the idea of having one custom built, apparently I can just order one, then pick it up at the factory in Kansas City, only about 4 hours away from me. Would be pretty neat.
My concern would be whether you’d want to customize something you will be turning back in after 3 years.
Looks like Ford’s website offers it for $219 with $2,549 + tax title and license at drive off. Says there is $4,000 in factory cash on it at the moment.
As with any other lease I’m assuming you should start by negotiating the sales price. True Car is saying you can get about $1,600 off before incentives in my market. That is $22K for a stripper before incentives. No idea what the residual or MF are but I’d bet end of the day if you work at it you could probably get one of these for slightly under $200 a month with no down and paying tax/title/license only. Mind you that is a zero option, completely base van.
Or if you don’t mind used they seem to start about $10K up around $15K. Of course as a business you might be better off with the lease for tax reasons.
@MConte05 Ford Motor Credit is one of the easier dealerships to offer business only leasing/financing. Other options include Chrysler and GMC. But for any business accounts, there will be 2 main points that’ll determine options - is it a lease or purchase, will you sign as a PG or use only business credit.
In addition to having an actual Corp/LLC and EIN (Fed Tax ID), you’ll also need to have a number with Dun & Bradstreet with established commercial accounts, at least 2 years in biz. These accounts can include business credit cards, net 30 terms with vendors (there are several for both new and established businesses), open credit lines with vendors (example, Dell, Best Buy, Staples, Amazon, etc.)
Depending on the business credit, you may have to provide business tax returns, bank statements, and/or financials. Also, in some cases, a business lease may require a personal guarantee (meaning they check your credit, but it may not show up as a tradeline - this is usually easier than with no PG). It all depends on terms you’re looking to obtain and the way you want to structure the transaction.
Message me if you have any questions. Have gone through this process twice already in the passed few months 
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Thanks,