Why We Chose Business Van Finance for Our New Mercedes Sprinter (And Why We'd Do It Again)

There are days in business when something just goes right. For us, taking delivery of our new Mercedes Sprinter High Roof Long Wheelbase last month was one of those days. It felt like a proper milestone, and if we are honest, it was a long time coming.

We have been grafting away building Portsmouth Roofing Company for a few years now, and for most of that time we have been making do. Our old van was, to put it politely, a liability. It had a habit of letting us down at the worst possible moments. A broken down van on the M27 at half seven on a Monday morning, with a full day of jobs booked, is not a situation you want to be in more than once. We were in it more than once.

So when we finally decided it was time to replace it, we knew we wanted to do it properly. A Mercedes Sprinter High Roof Long Wheelbase was the van. Plenty of headroom for longer materials, enough load space to carry everything we need in one trip, and let us be honest, it looks the part. When you pull up on a customer's driveway in something like that, it says something about the business before you have even knocked on the door.

The Finance Bit

Here is where we had our doubts. We are not a huge operation, and our credit history as a business is, well, fairly modest. We were not sure anyone would touch us, and we had heard a few stories from other local tradespeople about getting knocked back by lenders.

Two separate companies we know locally, both of them tradespeople like us, had mentioned Business Van Finance in passing. Both had used them to finance vehicles for their own businesses, and both said the same thing: straightforward, no messing about, got it sorted. That was enough for us to pick up the phone.

We ended up dealing with Roland, who is their senior finance broker. Thirty-five years arranging business van finance, the man has seen everything, and it shows. He was not fazed by our situation at all. He asked the right questions, explained exactly what the lenders would be looking for, and was completely straight with us throughout. No flannel, no false promises, just a clear picture of where we stood and what was likely to work.

The application went through, we got a deal we were happy with, and we picked the van up from Mercedes in Southampton shortly after. The whole process was far smoother than we expected, and given we had half-braced ourselves to be turned away, that was a relief.

If you are a newer business looking at Mercedes Sprinter finance and you are not sure whether your credit history is going to hold you back, our honest advice is do not assume the answer is no before you have asked the question. Roland and the team at Business Van Finance are worth a call.

What It Means for the Business

We have only had the Sprinter a few weeks but the difference is already noticeable. We are not wasting time making multiple trips to site. We are not getting that knot in the stomach every morning wondering whether the van is going to start. And the response from customers when we turn up has been different. It sounds like a small thing, but arriving in a clean, professional vehicle genuinely seems to change the tone of the conversation.

It has also given us a bit of a confidence boost internally. Having reliable, professional kit matters. It is easier to talk about growing the business when the basics are working properly.

We bought a van. But really, we bought a bit of breathing room, and that has made all the difference.