[TDW]

I seen on this forum the debate on whether you should buy a system for £4000 from a supplier or do it yourself for about £1000.

What about a van? Is it worth spending £11,000-£12,000? or I just go for something for about £3000?

TDW

[spotless2000]

I spent £3K on an '02' expert in Feb 06 - since then I've had to buy a new tyre, new cat & new glow plugs & a cam belt ...... oh, and if I want the clock fixed that will mean a complete new console (about £500).

Now I've had all these bits done, it runs like a dream.

New model is due to be released in Feb 07 - at least that will come with a warranty! ....... and a working clock ..... Hey, I might even get to my jobs on time!

[idealrob]

Allways by new with 3 year guarentee, the flog it after 3 year. One year i didnt and on a 3 and a half year old berlingo timing belt went and caused £3500 of damage. If under guarantee , Citroen would have paid out.

Never again

Robert t

[AuRavelling79]

Try www.vansdirect.co.uk - massive discounts.

[newpy]

It's all down to funds / credit facilities available isn't it? I splashed out 7.5k on a dual fuel transit, which costs me peanuts to run (last lpg fuel bill £92 for a month). It's reliable and looks tidy, saying that you can be lucky/ unlucky no matter what sort of money you spend, even new motors break down!!
Personally i would buy the best that you can afford financially without putting a strain the business, taking into account any possiblility of a downturn in business.

[john tomkins]

Allways by new with 3 year guarentee, the flog it after 3 year. One year i didnt and on a 3 and a half year old berlingo timing belt went and caused £3500 of damage. If under guarantee , Citroen would have paid out.

Never again

Robert t

How much!!!!

I got a 3 and a half year old Berlingo and its total value is only £3500.
Either the timing belt breaking caused the van to be written off as well as the engine or you were ripped off!

[D woods]

Hi TDW
If you are working in Central London I would say get a new one.

[Colin_Glenn]

I got a 98 Vauxhall Combo 750KG for £1250+vat. It has a full service history and only 67000 miles.

It runs absolutely perfectly, no smoke, no rattles and I spent less than £50 in diesel last month. All I needed to change was a full exhaust and one tyre, total cost £295.

It took me two and a half months of trawling E-bay to find it but I am well happy.  Also she will be still worth £1000 in two or three years time if I look after her. So I won't lose much in depreciation.

There are good cheap vans out there, you just need to be patient and careful.

Colin

[ok cleaning]

 why you will buy a new van and lose too much money plus you will lose the VAT to unless you are VAT registered so  spend some time and a find well looked after privately owened VAT exluded and use rest of the money for something else

[neil100]

If you can afford new Buy new.

You can offset it against your tax.

I can allways remember when I started w/c many years ago.I could only afford a banger for work. The amount of times it would not start in the morning or pack up on me in the day or at the end of the day.The time I wasted trawling the scrap yards or going cap in hand to my mate to fix it.

No I have to many bad experinces with old cars. I have too many lost and wasted days because of them. For the last 12 years I have allways had a good car or now a new van for work. I have not lost a days work because of car or van problems in the last 12 years.

For me its a No Brainer. New all the way.

If you dont have the money then buy the best you can afford.

Nel.

[spotless2000]

If you go down the used route, I would certainly recommend buying from a BCA commercial auction.

http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/Default.aspx?page=1093

If you can, spend a day just watching and get a feel for how things work.

If you can pick something up under 3 years old it should still have the balance of the manufacturer's warranty and you should get it at a good price!

Good luck.

[macmac]

i got a '01 kangoo from auction when it was just 3 years old for 3,000, it was leased by a cable company from new.had it 2 & half years now with no probs at all and its still worth at least 2k.

[idealrob]

Allways by new with 3 year guarentee, the flog it after 3 year. One year i didnt and on a 3 and a half year old berlingo timing belt went and caused £3500 of damage. If under guarantee , Citroen would have paid out.

Never again

Robert t

How much!!!!

 £3500 for a new engine and fitting, all the valves bent, parts list was incredible. I didnt get ripped off, sold van for £1000, and bought a brand new one for under £5000

robert t

I got a 3 and a half year old Berlingo and its total value is only £3500.
Either the timing belt breaking caused the van to be written off as well as the engine or you were ripped off!

[john tomkins]

It gets worse rob , you had the van repaired for £3500 then sold it for £1000 been better to have scrapped it surely, you'd have not wasted £2500, or am I getting this totally wrong, it is late and I've been on the stella

[idealrob]

Too much stella, ...... never spent a peeny, just sold it for £1000, and bought a brand new one for under £5k.  I am a bit thick, but not that thick to spend £3500 and than sell for £1000.
It was probablly the way i wrote it, it even confused me.

robert t

[TDW]

Neil100

For me I think if it is tax efficent I may go for new.

I'm going to speak to my accountant but does it pay to change every 3 years?

Do you change every 3 years just because of the warranty or is there tax advantages to changing every 3 years aswell?

Thanks for the other ideas aswell.

TDW

[neil100]

TDW

I changed my car every three years.

I am not sure how long to keep the van, Due to the prepartion work, Ply lining, rubbing the van floor down and then painting it, plus the cost of getting someone to install the tank.I will probably keep my van for five years if it does not give me any problems on the mechanical side.

Its not just the cost in getting a new van ready, what do you do with the van your selling. Do you sell it all as a going concern? and buy all new gear for a new van. If not you then need to employ someone to weld plates over the holes in the van floor, extra expense.

Its one reason to buy new as you maximise more years out of a vans lifespan.

The longer you keep a van if you have bought it new, the less you can claim against tax every year. Its one of the benefits of being selfemployed that the tax man helps offset the costs of a new van.

On a brand new vehicle you are allowed in its first year a 40% first year allowance against tax. So if you buy one before  April 5th 2007 you will bve able to make use of the allowance.

I put the full costs of my van against tax and I also put down 50% of my car costs as I use this for collecting and seeing customers.

Nel.