Equipment Rental and Leasing

Rental Equipment Can Help With More Than Just Getting the Job Completed

Good news: Equipment Rental is now on the GSA Schedule under 51V

Rent vs. Buy?

Renting equipment or vehicles is an attractive option for the government. It provides more benefits than outright purchase, and provides the widest variety of equipment for added job versatility. Some of the costs that are avoided by renting instead of purchasing include:

• Warranties
• Insurance
• Regular maintenance and repairs
• Storage
• Transportation

Renting not only helps to reduce costs, it also allows you to take advantage of the expertise of staffed professionals who will: 

• Assess and secure the right equipment for the job; and,
• Offer a wide-variety of specialized and modern equipment.

When it comes to deciding whether to own or rent equipment there are many things to consider. One would be the burden of ownership that you would not have if renting such as:  

• Ownership requires a capital investment to cover the direct costs of equipment
• Ownership also requires additional costs for a maintenance shop, maintenance staff, training, fuel, etc
• Renting keeps the burden of buying, maintaining and selling the equipment on the rental center
• National rental companies make significant annual investments in the newest, most advanced equipment on the market; and,
• Rental companies invest in maintenance staff to keep all equipment in top condition.

Renting provides flexibility to:

• Take on a wide variety of jobs and projects that may require equipment you don't have the capital to purchase
• Use specialized equipment that can be obtained via renting
• Allow for equipment to be available when and where needed
• Save time and money through availability and access; and,
• Invest in maintenance staff to keep all equipment in top condition.

Renting provides access to expert knowledge and training by:

• Providing the most up-to-date equipment through the experts within the rental companies; and,
• Offering groups that have experience with specialized equipment applications, such as scaffolding services, aerial specialists, pump and power.

By renting, all the advantages of these investments are realized without the burden of ownership. Using the GSA equipment rental program will result in many positive benefits for the government. Each opportunity should be studied and equipment rental considered.

GSA Facilities Maintenance and Hardware Acquisition Center has partnered with the American Rental Association (ARA) to improve outreach education and list the advantages of renting vs. buying or leasing. The brochure, "Why Rent" (nongovernment website) fully explains the partnership between FMHAC and ARA. 

You can access contact information for all GSA rental equipment suppliers by visiting the GSA Advantage web site. Just go to Category 515 002 in, GSA eLibrary for more information.