[8weekly]

I'm still trying to find a second van. I want something presentable and have a budget of about 8k, but when you look at vans from dealers they are pretty dire for that money inc the VAT. Typically an 08 Transit with 80,000 miles or more and very tired looking inside.  Or a newer one with well over 100,000 on the clock. Bearing in mind you can pick up a new one for £15k plus the VAT I can't see how they are intrinsically worth the money. I'm now thinking a new or nearly new with finance and let no one else drive it!

[samson]

We bought a nearly new, but a cat d insurance !    Saved over 8k on it, and has never missed a beat apart from the odd mishap.
I knew I would never resell the van, so I will buy a similar cat D when this conks out 

[samson]

There was no VAT either, so saved a bit there too !    Place was in Wolverhamton, was an insurance damaged place with loads of vans.

[Scrimble]

brand new fiat doblo maxi http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/fiat/doblo/2015-fiat-doblo-1-3-multijet-16v-sx-van-diesel-broomhall-vfpa-2c929a794f97881f014f9b5eb6121c3c/price/8000/9999/makemodel/make/fiat/model/doblo-cargo/model/doblo

or if you want something cheap
http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/vauxhall/combo/2006-vauxhall-combo-1-3cdti-16v-2000-panel-van-1248cc-diesel-newark-vfpa-8ad0cd074e4db082014e4de4a29e11cf/makemodel/make/vauxhall/model/combo

[SeanK]

A van is only a piece of equipment and the majority of trades treat them as nothing more than that, so getting a clean
second hand one that has been well looked after is hard to achieve.
If your doing well in this game there no reason why you cant buy new and replace every 3 or 4 years at very little cost, that new
Van you where talking about at £18000, keep it 4 years and replace your talking about £1500 to £2000 a year depending on finance.
Even if you bought an old banger at £3000 and keep it for three years and scrap it that's a £1000 a year.
The secrete is to treat it as a piece of equipment and don't waste money water proofing the insides and all the other rubbish
(alloys ) that some people seem to think you need in a work van.
Put pen to paper do a few calculations and you will see what I mean and don't worry who's going to drive it do those overpriced
used vans not tell you something.
 

[8weekly]

brand new fiat doblo maxi http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/fiat/doblo/2015-fiat-doblo-1-3-multijet-16v-sx-van-diesel-broomhall-vfpa-2c929a794f97881f014f9b5eb6121c3c/price/8000/9999/makemodel/make/fiat/model/doblo-cargo/model/doblo

or if you want something cheap
http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/vauxhall/combo/2006-vauxhall-combo-1-3cdti-16v-2000-panel-van-1248cc-diesel-newark-vfpa-8ad0cd074e4db082014e4de4a29e11cf/makemodel/make/vauxhall/model/combo

Needs to be two man, so neither of those would be up to it.

[Klean07]

I recently brought a high mileage (128.000) Citroen Dispatch one previous owner with fsh on a 11 plate. It looks new inside and outside. Passed mot no problem too! I paid £5,700 including vat! I personally wouldn't buy new because you lose too many ££'s!

[Don Kee]

How much?!?!

I spent £3.5k a couple of years back on a 06 transit with 39k on the clock!! (Private)

Good clean inside & out, re plylined, wax & t cut (i'm sad) and waxyoiled it...

Only thing that has come up over the past 2mot's is pads & discs and a cv joint (its fwd)

Look on auto trader etc...you'll find a beaut if you look hard enough, for that money mate

[8weekly]

A van is only a piece of equipment and the majority of trades treat them as nothing more than that, so getting a clean
second hand one that has been well looked after is hard to achieve.
If your doing well in this game there no reason why you cant buy new and replace every 3 or 4 years at very little cost, that new
Van you where talking about at £18000, keep it 4 years and replace your talking about £1500 to £2000 a year depending on finance.
Even if you bought an old banger at £3000 and keep it for three years and scrap it that's a £1000 a year.
The secrete is to treat it as a piece of equipment and don't waste money water proofing the insides and all the other rubbish
(alloys ) that some people seem to think you need in a work van.
Put pen to paper do a few calculations and you will see what I mean and don't worry who's going to drive it do those overpriced
used vans not tell you something.

I agree with most of that.

[8weekly]

How much?!?!

I spent £3.5k a couple of years back on a 06 transit with 39k on the clock!! (Private)

Good clean inside & out, re plylined, wax & t cut (i'm sad) and waxyoiled it...

Only thing that has come up over the past 2mot's is pads & discs and a cv joint (its fwd)

Look on auto trader etc...you'll find a beaut if you look hard enough, for that money mate

I've been looking for weeks.  My Boxer was private. £5k with 50,000 miles and in superb condition & I've not seen anything advertised to touch it.

[dazmond]

A van is only a piece of equipment and the majority of trades treat them as nothing more than that, so getting a clean
second hand one that has been well looked after is hard to achieve.
If your doing well in this game there no reason why you cant buy new and replace every 3 or 4 years at very little cost, that new
Van you where talking about at £18000, keep it 4 years and replace your talking about £1500 to £2000 a year depending on finance.
Even if you bought an old banger at £3000 and keep it for three years and scrap it that's a £1000 a year.
The secrete is to treat it as a piece of equipment and don't waste money water proofing the insides and all the other rubbish
(alloys ) that some people seem to think you need in a work van.
Put pen to paper do a few calculations and you will see what I mean and don't worry who's going to drive it do those overpriced
used vans not tell you something.

i bought a 9 year old transit connect(LWB T230) last year with 95000 on the clock for£2,400(no VAT).spent £600 on it straight away(4 new tyres,battery,cambelt change,fuel and filter change) so 3k altogether.

i fully expect it to last me 5 years with minimal repairs driving approx 3000 miles a year.it is in great condition for year.clean and tidy.i have had a new starter motor and alternator fitted though in the last year and new front brakes but the cost is minimal due to good local cheap garage.

and it came fitted with alloys!

no waterproofing.ive just put cheap rubber mats down in the back and a bit of plywood to secure my reel.brand new tank and frame (£500 including fitting)and £500 for signwriting and part vinyl wrap.

so ive spent 4k on van,signwriting/wrap and new tank and frame fitted.

you dont have to spend a lot to have a half decent set up!

[Tom-01]

I'm still trying to find a second van. I want something presentable and have a budget of about 8k, but when you look at vans from dealers they are pretty dire for that money inc the VAT. Typically an 08 Transit with 80,000 miles or more and very tired looking inside.  Or a newer one with well over 100,000 on the clock. Bearing in mind you can pick up a new one for £15k plus the VAT I can't see how they are intrinsically worth the money. I'm now thinking a new or nearly new with finance and let no one else drive it!

I think if business is going well its worth buying new or nearly new. Its good for tax reasons, its good for warranty reasons and after 3 years get a new one. Plus you're not spending out all that money in one go, pay monthly. When you look at what lots of trades have to pay for their work premises a monthly van payment is nothing.

[KS Cleaning]

I'm still trying to find a second van. I want something presentable and have a budget of about 8k, but when you look at vans from dealers they are pretty dire for that money inc the VAT. Typically an 08 Transit with 80,000 miles or more and very tired looking inside.  Or a newer one with well over 100,000 on the clock. Bearing in mind you can pick up a new one for £15k plus the VAT I can't see how they are intrinsically worth the money. I'm now thinking a new or nearly new with finance and let no one else drive it!

If you already have the 8K saved why not take a loan over 2 years and get a new or nearly new van? A 10K loan over two years you will only pay around £350 in interest, depending on your circumstances.

[Walter Mitty]

A van is only a piece of equipment and the majority of trades treat them as nothing more than that, so getting a clean
second hand one that has been well looked after is hard to achieve.
If your doing well in this game there no reason why you cant buy new and replace every 3 or 4 years at very little cost, that new
Van you where talking about at £18000, keep it 4 years and replace your talking about £1500 to £2000 a year depending on finance.
Even if you bought an old banger at £3000 and keep it for three years and scrap it that's a £1000 a year.
The secrete is to treat it as a piece of equipment and don't waste money water proofing the insides and all the other rubbish
(alloys ) that some people seem to think you need in a work van.
Put pen to paper do a few calculations and you will see what I mean and don't worry who's going to drive it do those overpriced
used vans not tell you something.

Precisely why I went for a new one recently.  I was sick and tired of my old one letting me down.  I did my sums.  I took the last three years, added up the repair bills, off road time, cost of hiring replacements, the slower earnings of working from a backpack from a hire van (not to mention ther extra body strain) and factored factored in the extra tax relief of a new one - not to mention the lower fuel consumption (discovered that bit since I got it).  I reckon that I'm shelling out an extra £140 a month more than running my old one.  What's that - two extra houses a week?  I do intend to look after it though and have waterproofed it.  My highest mileage is 10k a year.  Keep it 7 years I reckon (70,000 miles) and there will still be a reasonable van to put toward the next one.

[dazmond]

£140 a month extra over 5 years is £8,400.thats 4 luxury holidays for me and the missus in 5 star hotels!

each to their own.i cant justify spending a lot on a van that does 3000 miles a year (just used for work).

[Walter Mitty]

£140 a month extra over 5 years is £8,400.thats 4 luxury holidays for me and the missus in 5 star hotels!

each to their own.i cant justify spending a lot on a van that does 3000 miles a year (just used for work).

You nailed it with the mileage Daz.  I need reliability.  I already have a high debt level even before taking this on.  I have room to turn over another £800 to £1k a month - gaps that I'm gradually filling.  The unreliable van was stopping that.  Give it 3 or 4 years and I'll be able to have some reasonable holidays again; a 5 star tent in a field

[deeege]

£140 a month extra over 5 years is £8,400.thats 4 luxury holidays for me and the missus in 5 star hotels!

each to their own.i cant justify spending a lot on a van that does 3000 miles a year (just used for work).

3000 miles a year 😀. My new vans 10 months old and has done 10,000 miles already.

Getting a brand new van was the single best decision I made for my business.

Also you are forgetting to take into consideration the cost of lost work when your older van is off the road. You book a day off a year for its Mot and lose another 2 days a year due to various other problems is 3 days a year at £200 a day x 5 years = £3000. I know you'll say you don't lose 3 days a year but I'd bet that you do.

It's horses for courses but I'll not be driving a van that's older than 4 years old from now on.

[dazmond]

£140 a month extra over 5 years is £8,400.thats 4 luxury holidays for me and the missus in 5 star hotels!

each to their own.i cant justify spending a lot on a van that does 3000 miles a year (just used for work).

You nailed it with the mileage Daz.  I need reliability.  I already have a high debt level even before taking this on.  I have room to turn over another £800 to £1k a month - gaps that I'm gradually filling.  The unreliable van was stopping that.  Give it 3 or 4 years and I'll be able to have some reasonable holidays again; a 5 star tent in a field

enjoy your new van mate.you should have relatively trouble free motoring for the foreseeable future now.

i hope your filling up your round now with good domestic jobs rather than commercial mate.i know you ve been in this game even longer than me(by 2 years i think!).it must of been a heavy hit losing some of your big commercial contract work esp if you had  debts to pay off?

all the best

[dazmond]

£140 a month extra over 5 years is £8,400.thats 4 luxury holidays for me and the missus in 5 star hotels!

each to their own.i cant justify spending a lot on a van that does 3000 miles a year (just used for work).

3000 miles a year 😀. My new vans 10 months old and has done 10,000 miles already.

Getting a brand new van was the single best decision I made for my business.

Also you are forgetting to take into consideration the cost of lost work when your older van is off the road. You book a day off a year for its Mot and lose another 2 days a year due to various other problems is 3 days a year at £200 a day x 5 years = £3000. I know you'll say you don't lose 3 days a year but I'd bet that you do.

It's horses for courses but I'll not be driving a van that's older than 4 years old from now on.

like i said each to their own danny.we have very different workloads and types of work.i also dont work 5 days a week EVERY WEEK over the course of a year so a few days for MOT/repairs is nothing and doesnt affect my overall yearly income at all.

[Walter Mitty]

£140 a month extra over 5 years is £8,400.thats 4 luxury holidays for me and the missus in 5 star hotels!

each to their own.i cant justify spending a lot on a van that does 3000 miles a year (just used for work).

You nailed it with the mileage Daz.  I need reliability.  I already have a high debt level even before taking this on.  I have room to turn over another £800 to £1k a month - gaps that I'm gradually filling.  The unreliable van was stopping that.  Give it 3 or 4 years and I'll be able to have some reasonable holidays again; a 5 star tent in a field

enjoy your new van mate.you should have relatively trouble free motoring for the foreseeable future now.

i hope your filling up your round now with good domestic jobs rather than commercial mate.i know you ve been in this game even longer than me(by 2 years i think!).it must of been a heavy hit losing some of your big commercial contract work esp if you had  debts to pay off?

all the best

Losing those big chunks of work in quick succession did hit me badly Daz, and it took quite a while to make it up in £12 - £25 houses.  Indeed, it would be tricky to fully make it up as some of the commercial work was out of hours.  The mistake wasn't in it being commercial work though - it was because I subcontracted much of it from other companies.  When one company changed the way it did things, that was quite a number of jobs went in one hit.  When a second did similar, that was another load gone.  One of them didn't even pay up as they folded.  That's old history now though.  In the long term, it's not so bad because when subcontracting that much work, I had to dance to too many tunes that weren't my own.  I had to meet the contractors' requirements as well as their individual customers'; not good for someone who values creating his own work environment.  I still do subcontract a little but it's not regular - more about it being a bit of extra work, rather than something that my regular income depends upon.
 However, taking commercial work on when it's my own work is still a viable option.
It's quite freeing to be driving something and not worrying about it breaking down.