[Mr. S]

Looking at buying a brand new Ford transit custom, only because theyre doing a scrappage scheme for my 54 plate which will knock £6,600 off the new price.
I work on my own but may get some help in near future.
Firstly does turning up in a brand new van get more quality work, at good prices?
Secondly the transit custom trend comes with a plastic tray inside the whole length of the back. If I use that do I need to have it speedlined? The new transit custom body is also galvanised. Anybody own one and what have you done?
TIA

[Plankton]

Firstly does turning up in a brand new van get more quality work, at good prices?
No! Certainly not.
There's a YouTube link with a Custom kitted out a few posts down titled ".... bad payload" 

[AuRavelling79]

Looking at buying a brand new Ford transit custom, only because theyre doing a scrappage scheme for my 54 plate which will knock £6,600 off the new price.

Try walking in without a "scrappage" trade in and I bet you'd get almost the same discount (maybe less the true value to them for your old van)

I work on my own but may get some help in near future.

If you are two up and the second person isn't your slimly built wife you will need a minimum of 1200kg payload.

Firstly does turning up in a brand new van get more quality work, at good prices?

Nope. Occasionally it even brings out the jealousy monster who then think you are charging too much.

Secondly the transit custom trend comes with a plastic tray inside the whole length of the back. If I use that do I need to have it speedlined? The new transit custom body is also galvanised. Anybody own one and what have you done?

Never speedlined my now 11 year old Doblo or my 5 year old Hyundai. Seem ok to me.

TIA

My thoughts in red above.

[Splash & dash]

Will it get you better more profitable work , I would say that's difficult to answer, but it portrays you as a professional that takes there business seriously and shows that you are concerned about your image thease things do lead to better contracts and people some not all will be prepared to pay a bit more for a company that looks professional rather than an old tatty van . This is my own experience I have picked up a lot of lucrative work since buying a new van that I dought I would have got without having it , the firms concerned said they were impressed with the van and sighn writing and that's why they contacted me , so it does help

[P @ F]

I think it is important to look the part these days , people are getting fussier by the day , even if they cant afford you , my take is first hand , i used to run a 2001 transporter , nice and clean white fully signed up , the work was coming in like no mans , then i painted it bright pink for a laugh , i didnt seem to get half the biz after that , it did well in a way that it got remembered and i never got mistaken for another w/c , but by then i was pretty much full up and i find word of mouth work better anyway , but looking back now i think that a lot of people just didnt take the company a serious as before the colour change .
A new nice presentable van does help no end but it can work against you too !

[dazmond]

yes you can charge more if you have a brand new van.i do anyway.in fact i put my prices  up to cover my lease payments straight away and ive priced higher for new work since i got it.

i find most people/customers have good things to say about me having a new van and new customers perceive me as being  more professional definitely.i also get other trades like builders,plumbers,etc saying "im the poshest window cleaner they ve ever seen!" .

to me image(nice van,sign written,logo d uniform etc) is the icing on the cake after ive taken care of the other things like quality of work,reliability,trustworthiness and an easy going likeable persona.

i have plastic load liner in my new connect as standard.no need for speedliner etc.

[lal]

 The Scrappage deal advertised as far as i know only pays up to £6600, theres no guarantee you will get the max.

[zesty]

The plastic load liner is perfect, you don’t need to do anything to it. If I was to find the perfect flooring for my custom, it would be that load liner! If you get one keep it.

Will it get you better work, I believe so, people will be willing to accept higher prices when they see your van and appearance. If you turned up in an old car/old van, they may not feel the price you give is justified. People judge (wrongly  but they do) very quickly on appearance.

I had a customer a few weeks ago say ‘your van makes a good impression, it makes you look trustworthy’ which in a sense is true. If you’ve put the drive and ambition into your van and kit, then you’re likely to be a trustworthy window cleaner by default. Otherwise you wouldn’t have bothered to spend out the money on a nice van/sign writing - it shows you take it seriously.

My only regret is that I got the SWB custom. I should have got the LWB, that bit of extra room would come in handy with the extra kit I use (soft wash machine/pressure washer) but if all your doing is windows, a SWB is perfect!

[JandS]

I'll bet 50% of my customers have never seen my van.

[Mr. S]

Hi guys just an update.
I've ordered my new transit custom 290 trend, which means I get the plastic liner inside. I will of course seal all around it with mastic. Ford scrappage deal means after 6 happy years I finally say goodbye to my old transit 280, knocking £6,600 off the brand new one.
I've decided to increase some of my charges in the new year to pay for this.
So, soon onto my next chapter!
Thanks for your replies above!

[robbo333]

I've just purchased a ten year old Toyota Hiace, I owner, fsh, all mots etc and it's mint condition. Not a dent, not a scratch, it's metallic silver and looks like a new van. 
Some of my custies jokingly say "you've got a new van, you must be earning too much"
I say "it's ten years old, i'm not earning enough!"
Soon shuts them up.