Whether renting or buying suits you depends on when the vehicle is needed across the year as well as how many days it is used. Include peak-season simultaneous demand and rental availability.
Reconstruct the last 12 months from your calendar: chilled-load days, weeks when vehicles were needed at once and route durations. Obtain quotes for the same service level. For ownership, use financing, insurance, maintenance, tax, breakdowns and expected resale value; for rental, use daily or monthly rates, handover conditions and extra charges.
For a simple comparison, divide each option's annual total by the same chilled-load days to get cost per day. This does not capture availability or backup risk by itself. If demand is seasonal, compare by month as well.
Assess a third option on the same route: a standard vehicle with closed cold-transport equipment. Record vehicle, net load, trip duration and product temperature. Decide from actual use and quotes rather than assumed thresholds.
