[Moderator David@stives]

Rog

Get to the bank and borrow £5000 and buy something newer, older vans equal false economy , believe me been there done it.

£500 van , engine problem = £1000+  then plenty of other repairs to go , end result scrap van , fortune lost

Dave

[Sir Squeaky]

Can't borrow any more money Dave.
They've already given me a big overdraft to see me through the last 4 weeks that i haven't worked.

I've had loads of cars for cheap money and had no less problems than more expensive ones.

It's only got to last a few months until I'm back on my feet and earning more than I was anyway.

[a-r window cleanin]

Go to a local car auction and have a look there.
We picked up a K reg Vauxhall Astra van for £280, spent £100 on parts and got it a full MOT
We have had it nearly 2 years now with no probs (apart from a little rust which has recently appeared out of nowhere)

[Ian_Giles]

Can't borrow any more money Dave.
They've already given me a big overdraft to see me through the last 4 weeks that i haven't worked.

I've had loads of cars for cheap money and had no less problems than more expensive ones.

It's only got to last a few months until I'm back on my feet and earning more than I was anyway.

Cars are a very different animal to a van, a van for £500 is likely to be a shed

Bite the bullet and take a look at at lease hire/purchase and so on, I know I'm paying out £250 a month, but mine is a big van, I'll bet you can get up and running with a smaller van for less than half what I'm paying out.

Surely you can afford £30 per week?

All you are doing is delaying things for a few months anyway, and you'll still have all the running costs of a van anyway, and you'll have to go through fitting the tank and your equipment all over again.

I totally understand your reasons for going for a cheapo van and running it until you can afford to upgrade, but you WILL be earning the money, and for something like £30 a week you'll have a brand spanking new van to do it in.

Unless of course you are planning to go for a van the size of mine or larger of course...

Look into it at least, see what the costings are before you dismiss it out of hand...

Ian

[Paul Coleman]

Obviously I don't know the details of your finances Roger but any extra outgoings through getting something decent will soon be offset by the extra money you can earn.
Also Roger, maybe check out this site.  I am linking you to the personal loan section.  Before you dismiss it out of hand, have a look at the more info buttons on the right.  Some of these loans have a deferment period of three months meaning that you can have a three month grace period before you start repaying.
If you go down this route a few suggestions though:-

1) Check that the deferment period can be used at the start of the loan rather than only once you have made some repayments.

2) Borrow a bit extra to take care of your overdraft as well if it's causing you anxiety so that you will only have one debt and hopefully less stress.

3) DO NOT (and this is a very big no-no) tell them it is for a van.  Say it's for a car.  Commercial loans are treated very differently, are far more expensive, and are harder to get.

As far as my lender is concerned, I own a brand new car rather than a second hand van and a water system (I changed my mind didn't I?)     .

[Paul Coleman]

Obviously I don't know the details of your finances Roger but any extra outgoings through getting something decent will soon be offset by the extra money you can earn.
Also Roger, maybe check out this site.  I am linking you to the personal loan section.  Before you dismiss it out of hand, have a look at the more info buttons on the right.  Some of these loans have a deferment period of three months meaning that you can have a three month grace period before you start repaying.
If you go down this route a few suggestions though:-

1) Check that the deferment period can be used at the start of the loan rather than only once you have made some repayments.

2) Borrow a bit extra to take care of your overdraft as well if it's causing you anxiety so that you will only have one debt and hopefully less stress.

3) DO NOT (and this is a very big no-no) tell them it is for a van.  Say it's for a car.  Commercial loans are treated very differently, are far more expensive, and are harder to get.

As far as my lender is concerned, I own a brand new car rather than a second hand van and a water system (I changed my mind didn't I?)     .

Sorry.  Forgot to put the link into the previous post'

http://www.fool.co.uk/loans/compare-unsecured-loans.aspx?source=iemeuml10180002

[Sir Squeaky]

Bite the bullet and take a look at at lease hire/purchase and so on, I know I'm paying out £250 a month, but mine is a big van, I'll bet you can get up and running with a smaller van for less than half what I'm paying out.

I can't take on any more debt Ian.
A smaller van than yours isn't less than half, it's about £50-60 less a month.
I've looked into it, and a medium sized van is about £190-220.

Don't forget that the first couple of months I won't be earning as much as I did, due to WFP first cleans, and learning it.
Also, I've barely worked for a month and it'll take a while to get used to full days anyway.

[Sir Squeaky]

Cheers Shiner for your efforts, but I'm breadline as it is, and I already owe the bank £5000-odd (not all my spending  :)