Can you brand a leased vehicle? Yes, you can brand a leased vehicle. Wrapping is the best way to change a vehicles colour without violating a lease agreement, whilst preserving resale value and minimising end of lease charges.
Policies will vary lease to lease but generally you cannot make permanent modifications to a car or van that will affect resale value. It makes sense for the lessor to protect their investment, but it can be frustrating for businesses looking to brand their vehicles.
Looking for signwriting, decals, or maybe a full design overhaul? What are your options branding wise and how will this affect your lease and insurance?
What are your branding options for a leased vehicle
When it comes to branding options on a leased vehicle, options can be rather slim and will depend on your policy. You can paint, your vehicle and pay and end of lease charge, paint the vehicle twice, or install a vehicle wrap.
Whatever you choose to do, you must inform the leaseholder of any change, no matter how small as you may need to renegotiate the terms of your contract. Make sure you receive confirmation of agreement in writing or email. Lets explore the pros and cons.
Paying the penalty
This is potentially the most costly scenario. You just paint it and accept whatever charge comes your way at the end of the lease. Some lessors will allow paint modification, but ensure you scrutinise your contract, lease charges can add up quickly!
Painting twice
This can be very costly, particularly if you are looking at a full respray, which can range from £1000-£15,000. In this scenario you paint the vehicle in your brand colours, then when the lease is up you respray it in the original colour. One paint job is expensive enough, but two? That could range anywhere from £2000-30,000!! Way, way too much! Painting might be suitable for simpler designs but it is limited compared to vehicle wrapping, both price and design wise. Check out the pros and cons of painting a car for more details.
Wrapping your vehicle
Most businesses wrap their leased vehicles because it is more cost effective than a respray and allows for far more eye catching designs. The average cost to wrap a car is between £1500-£2500, whilst the average cost to wrap a van ranges from £1500-£3000. For more information, checkout our pricing guide.
Wrapping is not only cheaper in terms of installation, but also saves you money on lease charges down the road. This is because the wrap acts as a second skin, protecting the underlying paintwork from scratches and scuffs.
This added protection helps you stay within the fair wear and tear guidelines that are a part of every lease. When it comes to paintwork, anything 25mm or shorter falls within BVRLA guidelines, but long scratches or gashes need to be repaired and paid for. To put this in perspective, if you spend £2000 on a vehicle wrap, you may make a quarter of that back through avoided excess charges.
There is one other advantage to this protection: resale value. A high quality wrap can be removed without damaging the paint, revealing a perfectly preserved vehicle underneath – an ideal scenario for the seller. As a business this will enable you to build a stronger relationship with your lessor, enabling all kinds of perks down the road.
Endless design options make vehicle wrapping the firm favourite among businesses looking to boost brand identity and visibility. The consistency of the wrapping process makes it possible to wrap each vehicle identically, maximising fleet impact. If you are looking to stand out it really is the way to go.
How does branding affect my insurance?
Branding your vehicle will count as a modification for insurance purposes, and you will need to inform your insurer as to the specifics of your design. Certain signage can increase your rates, such as if you state you leave equipment in the van.
However, vehicles with eye catching designs, particularly wraps, are less likely to be stolen as they are easy to track. In the case of vehicle wrapping, it is hard for a thief to remove a wrap without professional aid, and it cannot be painted over. So 9 times out of 10, branded vehicles will be left alone.
Will vehicle wrapping promote my brand?
Yes vehicle wrapping is one of the best ways of advertising your business or campaign. The return on investment (ROI) from vehicle wrapping is greater than any other form of advertising from a cost perspective.
A single wrapped vehicle, driving intercity, can attract up to 16 million views a year with a vehicle wrap costing 10% of the overall price of leasing and running a van – a mere 87 pence per day.
Wrapping is a versatile marketing tool. It can be as subtle or outrageous as you need it to be, from smaller vinyl signwriting or decals, to full blown crazy vehicle builds replete with equally striking wraps!
A vehicle wrap only costs 36 pence per 1000 impressions (CPM), a 6th the price of a Google ad. Assuming equal budget vehicle wrap adds provide 7 times the impressions of a Google Ad campaign. Sound too good to be true? Check out our in depth comparison of vehicle wrapping vs traditional advertising, if you fancy an ROI deep dive.
What’s my next step?
For more information check out our Ultimate Guide to Fleet Wrapping.
You will learn the benefits of branding your fleet, how fleet wrapping works, how much it costs, how to maximise the effectiveness of your branding, different types of fleet wraps, how other companies use vehicle wrapping and frequently asked questions.
