[michael mckeary]

There's a new Crafter coming out now. I was just looking at the price of the one I would go for. Cash price £56k or £680 a month to lease it. There is plenty of old type with delivery mileage at £40k. Looks like I will be focusing on one of these. Looks like our van is our biggest outlay and I was wondering how much this equates to each week. Fuel, Insurance, cost of depreciation, Road Tax and anything else that pushes the cost up. If anyone has just bought a new van it would be interesting to hear their costs. TIA

[Jay Le Huray]

There's a new Crafter coming out now. I was just looking at the price of the one I would go for. Cash price £56k or £680 a month to lease it. There is plenty of old type with delivery mileage at £40k. Looks like I will be focusing on one of these. Looks like our van is our biggest outlay and I was wondering how much this equates to each week. Fuel, Insurance, cost of depreciation, Road Tax and anything else that pushes the cost up. If anyone has just bought a new van it would be interesting to hear their costs. TIA

I for one would never pay £56K for a van new or old

[NBwcs]

There's a new Crafter coming out now. I was just looking at the price of the one I would go for. Cash price £56k or £680 a month to lease it. There is plenty of old type with delivery mileage at £40k. Looks like I will be focusing on one of these. Looks like our van is our biggest outlay and I was wondering how much this equates to each week. Fuel, Insurance, cost of depreciation, Road Tax and anything else that pushes the cost up. If anyone has just bought a new van it would be interesting to hear their costs. TIA

I for one would never pay £56K for a van new or old

Or pay out £680 a month for leasing either. Each to their own

[Splash and dash]

There's a new Crafter coming out now. I was just looking at the price of the one I would go for. Cash price £56k or £680 a month to lease it. There is plenty of old type with delivery mileage at £40k. Looks like I will be focusing on one of these. Looks like our van is our biggest outlay and I was wondering how much this equates to each week. Fuel, Insurance, cost of depreciation, Road Tax and anything else that pushes the cost up. If anyone has just bought a new van it would be interesting to hear their costs. TIA

I for one would never pay £56K for a van new or old

Think it all depends on the size of your business and what you are earning  nothing is worth what it costs theses days but most 3:5 ton  vans  are around that sort of price range , we need to factor in theses sort of expenses in our pricing of jobs to keep up with this it’s an ongoing  situation.

[michael mckeary]

Say a tenner a day would be £50 for 5 days. I was thinking £30 a day meaning £150 for the 5 days. That would turn out to be £7200 for 48 weeks. The way things are going we might need to factor in £40 a day just to turn out our van if one had bought a £40k one. I remember they were advertising a new Crafter to lease for £250 a month plus vat so £300. It looks like things have doubled in price bar our pricing. Not afraid now to quote a tenner for a council house but the trad guy does them for £7. He doesn't have a van nor cleans the doors so its all profit.

[AuRavelling79]

Say a tenner a day would be £50 for 5 days. I was thinking £30 a day meaning £150 for the 5 days. That would turn out to be £7200 for 48 weeks. The way things are going we might need to factor in £40 a day just to turn out our van if one had bought a £40k one. I remember they were advertising a new Crafter to lease for £250 a month plus vat so £300. It looks like things have doubled in price bar our pricing. Not afraid now to quote a tenner for a council house but the trad guy does them for £7. He doesn't have a van nor cleans the doors so its all profit.

What does the trad guy drive? Why do you need a new van? What is your turnover on window cleaning compared with other self employed activity? How much do you need from self employed activity each month?

[dd]

I have had my van for over 18 years.  If your current Crafter is still in good shape why not keep it? VWs are supposed to be built to last.

[AuRavelling79]

I have had my van for over 18 years.  If your current Crafter is still in good shape why not keep it? VWs are supposed to be built to last.

Absolutely/ My van is over 12 years old, been written off last year and resurrected.

Reliability and mileage might be a factor.

And be ruthless with yourself in saving for another (or at least a tidy deposit).

[DJW]

How many free cleans would you need to do to pay for that?

[windowswashed]

Would never dream of buying a new van for work, first three years depreciates too much.

[EandM]

My Ranger is 22 and cost me £2,500, 12 years ago!

It just keeps going and now on 185k miles.

[Smudger]

Citroen Relay - 5 YO - brought new @17K
Maxus - 3 YO brought new @16K
Boxer H2L2 - 3 YO brought on its second birthday 20K ( last year )

only vanity would drive you to splash out 56k - especially when your turn over is about 20K a year (judging from your posts)

[tlwcs]

How many free cleans would you need to do to pay for that?

57000?

[Always shining]

£10 for a council house that are usually 3 bed semis. No wonder you can afford to spend so much on a new van 😃

[simon w]

56K over 5-10 years of mostly trouble free driving plus some nice income tax relief first year of purchase, is it really that bad? Looked after it's going to have a resale value along with a regular bit of money put aside as a deposit for your next van is it really that bad? I bought a brand new Custom Limited two years ago and at the time it made no sense to buy second hand with three year old vans with 100K on the clock at silly prices.

[michael mckeary]

What does the trad guy drive? Why do you need a new van? What is your turnover on window cleaning compared with other self employed activity? How much do you need from self employed activity each month?

He doesn't drive. He decided to sell his run and start with a construction company. His run got sold a few times and the last guy is at hmp at the moment so the original seller is back building his round on a PT basis.
I keep vehicles for 10 years because I take care of them. My van has just turned 100k and is a 57 plate, I bought it from a vw dealer when vat was 15% and it was 18 months old and 23k on the clock. I'm getting busier all the time and do £2k a month on windows alone. Just got offered a £2k job to lift and replace slabs for a customer. Nothing wrong with my van bar the rust. Big obstacle is moving system over to another van but I could always get Grippa to do it. Will see how it goes but just bought a flywheel and clutch for it. 

[michael mckeary]

I have had my van for over 18 years.  If your current Crafter is still in good shape why not keep it? VWs are supposed to be built to last.

You are correct but it has alot of rust coming through now.

[Ggh]

Citroen Relay - 5 YO - brought new @17K
Maxus - 3 YO brought new @16K
Boxer H2L2 - 3 YO brought on its second birthday 20K ( last year )

only vanity would drive you to splash out 56k - especially when your turn over is about 20K a year (judging from your posts)

These vans seem pretty cheap, where
‘d  you get them from?

[dazmond]

Citroen Relay - 5 YO - brought new @17K
Maxus - 3 YO brought new @16K
Boxer H2L2 - 3 YO brought on its second birthday 20K ( last year )

only vanity would drive you to splash out 56k - especially when your turn over is about 20K a year (judging from your posts)

It's bought not brought!

Why the hell do people say this instead of the proper word?

[dd]

I have had my van for over 18 years.  If your current Crafter is still in good shape why not keep it? VWs are supposed to be built to last.

You are correct but it has a lot of rust coming through now.

If it has a lot of rust that would put me of buying another.

My van has done a bit over 150k miles. Always have it  regularly serviced etc and has been extremely reliable.

I seem to remember you posting you are planning to retire in a few years. If you do not think your Crafter will last you 4 or 5 more years, it really is not a good recommendation for buying another one.