[Ian101]

Will be ready to put second van on road within next 2 months so starting to think about what to go for.

currently run a 2005 Combo which is reliable and ideal for a 1 man and a squeeze but ok for 2 men spent a fair bit on it within last 18 months - suspension, brakes, oil pump, battery, clutch pedal, tyres etc etc so about £1500 in total but now good for next 2 or 3 years on major items.

Can lease / buy new van but its £250 ish a month every month for next 4 or 5 years

Can buy a 3 year old with say 60000 on it for £160 ish a month so just when the big bills and problems can start to land and dont fancy spending out on stoopid dual mass flywheels etc or be lucky and have nowt go wrong

or but another old un for under £1500 outright and be up and running with system etc for £2000 all in but run risk of bills like experianced on my combo but no monthly payments.

Thought of having 2 vans with no monthly payments is nice but on downside if off road for a few days here and there then the new one dont seem as expesnive plus take into account tax benefits then the brand spanker looks cheaper then the headline payment

[AuRavelling79]

I ran banger cars until 2006 when my hand was forced by an accident; I had a choice of clearing out my savings and buying new for cash; buying on monthly or buying secondhand.

I was fearful of buying a 2nd hand lemon van and bit the bullet and bought a brand new doblo from vans direct over 4 years. Still running it now as a second/occasional van at 7 years old and 38,000 miles.

In March 2012 six months after DtM joined I bought a brand new Hyundai iload with a 5yr warranty.

Unless you are one of those rare individuals that walks in with cash (and even then I would consider not using up my dosh) I would:-


1. Buy from a dealer waving internet deals under his nose and see if the manufacturer or garage are offering a good repayment deal.

2. Go to your bank and see what they offer for a loan. (Tell 'em the garage is offering you a great deal mind!)

I was aiming to pay my van off in one year using a bit of savings and the extra from a few good months; in the end the bank offered me an overdraft of 15K at about 4/5% (loan rate about 7/8%) plus £200 arrangement fee and said if I paid it off within a year and had no overdraft at the end that would be it. But if I needed to renew the overdraft for any amount (even just say 1k) then I would have to set the arrangement fee up for another year.

It focussed my mind into paying it off and I did; just! But at that interest rate it was worth it.

Also: Because I am a "business" (even self employed/non vat registered) Hyundai (the dealer) were able to get me an extra 2.5% off list price - all I had to do was show my headed paper which went in with the order to Hyundai. So that saved about an extra £400 plus which the dealer got back from Hyundai.

  

[andyM]

The initial cost of a new vehicle can look daunting compared to a used vehicle.
But if you can get a new vehicle for a good price the positives outweigh the negatives in my opinion.

[S.W. Window Cleaning]

New every time. I just bought a new Vivaro for £240 a month but no worries about break downs etc and a 3 year warranty. No brainer. I thought so anyway.
   Steve 

[Ian101]

New every time. I just bought a new Vivaro for £240 a month but no worries about break downs etc and a 3 year warranty. No brainer. I thought so anyway.
   Steve 

hmmmmmmm my thoughts plus new is nice 

[Ian101]

I ran banger cars until 2006 when my hand was forcedby an accident; I had a choice of clearing out my savings and buying new for cash; buying on monthly or buying secondhand.

I was fearful of buying a 2nd hand lemon van and bit the bullet and bought a brand new doblo from vans direct over 4 years. Still running it now as a second/occasional van at 7 years old and 38,000 miles.

In March 2012 six months after DtM joined I bought a brand new Hyundai iload with a 5yr warranty.

Unless you are one of those rare individuals that walks in with cash (and even then I would consider not using up my dosh) I would:-


1. Buy from a dealer waving internet deals under his nose and see if the manufacturer or garage are offering a good repayment deal.

2. Go to your bank and see what they offer for a loan. (Tell 'em the garage is offering you a great deal mind!)

I was aiming to pay my van off in one year using a bit of savings and the extra from a few good months; in the end the bank offered me an overdraft of 15K at about 4/5% (loan rate about 7/8%) plus £200 arrangement fee and said if I paid it off within a year and had no overdraft at the end that would be it. But if I needed to renew the overdraft for any amount (even just say 1k) then I would have to set the arrangement fee up for another year.

It focussed my mind into paying it off and I did; just! But at that interest rate i was worth it.

Also: Because I am a "business" (even self employed/non vat registered) Hyundai (the dealer) were able to get me an extra 2.5% off list price - all I had to do was show my headed paper which went in with the order to Hyundai. So that saved about an extra £400 plus which the dealer got back from Hyundai.

 

didnt think about overdraft as you say you can pay off more when u have it 

[Ian101]

The initial cost of a new vehicle can look daunting compared to a used vehicle.
But if you can get a new vehicle for a good price the positives outweigh the negatives in my opinion.

do u ever get customers giving it "oooooooooooooooo new van must be paying u too much" ??

[Ian101]

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/peugeot/expert/2013-peugeot-expert-van-2-0-hdi-130-l1-h1-atv-panel-van-2-70t-diesel-newbury-vfpa-8aa09e62438fab910143a49df2542dc9/makemodel/make/peugeot/model/expert/registrationyear/2013/max

summit like this works out over 5 years hp at £9 a day over 20 days a month ........ easy just stop going to maccys for lunch every day 

[andyM]

The initial cost of a new vehicle can look daunting compared to a used vehicle.
But if you can get a new vehicle for a good price the positives outweigh the negatives in my opinion.

do u ever get customers giving it "oooooooooooooooo new van must be paying u too much" ??

No.
Not to my face anyway. 

[PurefectWindowCleaning]

My new van is 3 years old. 47000 miles but is in prestine condition.

I toyed with the idea of a new van straight from the dealer, but these were like £11000

This one was £6500 with a free steal bulkhead 

[NBwcs]

Unless somethings changed, buying new has always been the most expensive route because of depreciation no matter how its financed. There are obvious plus points to new over old so guess its down to how flush your feeling. Personally id never buy new, im not in the van long enough to appreciate it and with me, it wouldnt look new for long  

[mufcglen]

ive not had new vans but being a mechanic and working for peugeoti used to get a nice discount and used to buy new cars and the depreciation you loose driving it out the showroom made it worth it back then, after a few years i chopped it in and got a new one but it always made me cringe every other day seeing a new mark on the car!
after that the novelty soon worn off and i was happy with a second hand bargain,being a mechanic i knew what to look for and always repair them myself but if you cant repair a van then with the warranty its worth thinking about as you could easily buy a great second hand van then a month down the line the engine drops out and if you dont know anybody who could sort it how much is that gonna set you back!!
for me personally though second hand all the way and i do the repairs myself plus if i got a new van i couldnt imagine putting things in the brand new shiny rear only to watch them scratch and dent the van lol!!

[Total shine cleaning services]

Spent £2200 on a 2005 hi roof lwb transit connect, it runs and sounds like new, you will always save money on 2nd hand vans providing you put time and effort into finding one that's been cared for.

Graham

[Clever Forum Name]

It depends if you know what you are doing when buying second hand.

If you are gonna turn up and tyre kick for 10 mins. Buy new

[roundbuilder]

Im never flash when it comes to work vans, i always buy 1 for under 2k. I dont want customers to think that im flash or earning to much etc as may lut some of them off! Also it gives you more money to spend on a decent flash car for pleasure and not wasting it on work.

[Jon_Phelps]

I bought new back in September.  The old van was on its last legs so wanted to trade it in whilst it was still running but i also came the conclusion that if i had a new van

which has a warranty (in my case 3 years) then i wouldn't need to worry so much about any big unexpected bills, getting it MOT'd (not necessary on a new vehicle for 3

years) and i would also know right from the start how well the van is looked after.  This in turn has given me the mind set the the van is dealt with and therefore no fuss,

focusing my attention on other aspects of the business which i want to develop.  buying new has worked for me but i appreciate why its not for everyone.  i started out

with a rusty piece of cr@p and the time and money it took to keep it running should have been spent elsewhere! or saved for that matter

[Soupy]

Couldn't do new. Land Rover charge far too much for split new 

Besides, they fit transit engines in them nowadays, blech.

[windiewasher]

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/peugeot/expert/2013-peugeot-expert-van-2-0-hdi-130-l1-h1-atv-panel-van-2-70t-diesel-newbury-vfpa-8aa09e62438fab910143a49df2542dc9/makemodel/make/peugeot/model/expert/registrationyear/2013/max

summit like this works out over 5 years hp at £9 a day over 20 days a month ........ easy just stop going to maccys for lunch every day 

That sounds decent mate but go for lwb!
You will soon make the extra money for the hpi!
Plus you have a van to sell so you will be ok for maccys lunches for a bit!

[Ben wood]

Surely if your ready to put another van on the road, you would be making more than enough profits to buy a new van, cash or on finance. If not maybe you should look at your work first. If it were me, I would buy a van no more than 3 years old, and put it on finance so you don't empty your bank accounts and spend the money on advertising

[Mike #1]

I would never buy brand new 12 months old maybe form a dealership , That is what i did when i bought my L200 over 2 yrs ago it worked better for me in terms of loan repayments .

I assume you have a wife and kids Ian , Why not go for a pick up then if your personal motor develops problems or has to go in garage or something then you have a five seater vehicle .

And if you just strap the tank in the back of a Truck with a pump box etc  it can be stripped out very quickly for personal use on a weekend if their was a need to take it out .

Get one with a canopy on the back and board over it and you can still put shopping etc in the load-bed on top of tank defo worth considering you wont be able to offset all expenses if it has personal use as well .

But my  truck is the only vehicle me and my wife have and manage just fine for business and personal use plus an L200 is truly built as workhorse and will take the weight of a 600ltr flat  tank in the back and you will barely notice it when driving . Mike