whats best estate car for a small dog walking business?
Discussion
A van gives you more scope for signwriting, and looks more professional. It also means your car won't permanently smell of dog, and you won't be forever putting seats up and down and moving dog guards.
If you really can't justify two vehicles - one work, one personal - then go with a van-based sprogbus like a B'lingo or Kangoo or similar.
If you really can't justify two vehicles - one work, one personal - then go with a van-based sprogbus like a B'lingo or Kangoo or similar.
ange40 said:
Thank you , hadn't thought of a medium sized van with windows. will investigate too.
Would petrol or diesel be best? id be doing short runs and lots of stops.
Most medium size vans are diesel only. Certainly true of the example I used above but it won't have a DPF to cause you trouble if it is over 2 or 3 years old and you'll get an immaculate example for much less than your budget.Would petrol or diesel be best? id be doing short runs and lots of stops.
The Vivaro/Trafic/Primastar van is massively popular and for a very good reason (it's a great van).
A ply lining kit would be a good idea too and quite cheap. Use a roller and some varnish to protect it and it'll wash down too.
Sign write it at little expense and it'll look extremely professional.
Kentish said:
Most medium size vans are diesel only. Certainly true of the example I used above but it won't have a DPF to cause you trouble if it is over 2 or 3 years old and you'll get an immaculate example for much less than your budget.
The Vivaro/Trafic/Primastar van is massively popular and for a very good reason (it's a great van).
A ply lining kit would be a good idea too and quite cheap. Use a roller and some varnish to protect it and it'll wash down too.
Sign write it at little expense and it'll look extremely professional.
Thank you Kentish - I'm starting investigating the van situation. Ive found one v interesting one already kitted out for dogs heated & air con! The Vivaro/Trafic/Primastar van is massively popular and for a very good reason (it's a great van).
A ply lining kit would be a good idea too and quite cheap. Use a roller and some varnish to protect it and it'll wash down too.
Sign write it at little expense and it'll look extremely professional.
When you state re sign writing - how do you do it yourself? Something I've no idea about! Any advice again would be appreciated :-).
ange40 said:
Thank you Kentish - I'm starting investigating the van situation. Ive found one v interesting one already kitted out for dogs heated & air con!
When you state re sign writing - how do you do it yourself? Something I've no idea about! Any advice again would be appreciated :-).
Do you already have a company logo etc, just search yell.com for vehicle sign writers close to you to apply vinyl to the vanWhen you state re sign writing - how do you do it yourself? Something I've no idea about! Any advice again would be appreciated :-).
I've been a professional walker for 8 yrs & trust me you will really want to keep your work car separate from the car you put your family in! I will list the reasons why below & those with a sensitive disposition may not want to read them...
I have used all types of cars over the years from 4x4's to trucks to estates. The car I use at the moment is a 5 yr old Citroen berlingo xtr which I bought at 1yr old for around your budget. I have never owned a car for so long which is a real credit to how suited it is for dog walking. The seats are completely removable which turns it into a van & it also has the internal height you need which gives the option of putting a crate or two in which in time you will probably need to do as not all dogs are good to transport for various reasons which you will find out! The fuel consumption is great & it's very nimble & easy to drive around town doing multi drop work. The car comes with electric windows & air conditioning which you will need. Don't worry about finding cars with fans in the roof, a couple of mates have them & they really don't do much for the dogs. Standard air conditioning will be fine. Second hand versions of this car with good mileage can be picked up for around 5k I think. I'm sure someone else here may correct me on that
Now for the reasons why you don't want to share the work car with your family.
1. Dogs are pretty disgusting! Mine have rolled in just about every type of s
t known to man. My dogs favourite are fox poo, human poo & anything dead. I have had to get out of the van & puke before due to the smell. It doesn't happen often with mine as they know it's a banned behaviour ha ha but there are always one or two sneaky little buggers.
2. Whatever they roll in they will transfer to the inside of the car & each other as they love to curl up together on the way home. You will never be able to say for sure if you've cleaned it all off as things like fox urine will not show on your walls! A crate will be handy for this to isolate the canine offender if you have small children just think what their little hands touch when in the car...
3. Some dogs like to eat anything disgusting they can find. I have had human poo projectile vomited in the back of the van a couple of times. I really don't need to go into detail of how bad that was!
4. Dogs shed hair, dust & dirt big time. It will get into everything. I thought I'd been really clever covering nearly every inch of the car with rubber but alas even with regular cleaning no one I know wants to get in my van as it smells so bad. On the plus side I think my immune system has probably improved from being in it so much as there's not many more places dirtier than it!
5. The car will get scratched & scuffed inside & out.
6. You may be unlucky enough to get someone who has an 'accident' en route. If that happens you'll be praying it wasn't a wee or the 'runs'.
The reasons above are actually why I will be buying a vw transporter next year. I'm lucky that my guys are well trained & we don't have an 'incident' very often but when we do I just need to be able to jet wash the back out. & also for general ease of cleaning to make my 'office' a nicer place to be for me & the dogs.
To be honest all the serious walkers I know have changed from cars to vans for the above reasons. I'm only waiting as maybe fancy a brand new transporter which isn't released til next yr.
Sorry if the post went on a bit but I hope it's helped you answer some questions
I have used all types of cars over the years from 4x4's to trucks to estates. The car I use at the moment is a 5 yr old Citroen berlingo xtr which I bought at 1yr old for around your budget. I have never owned a car for so long which is a real credit to how suited it is for dog walking. The seats are completely removable which turns it into a van & it also has the internal height you need which gives the option of putting a crate or two in which in time you will probably need to do as not all dogs are good to transport for various reasons which you will find out! The fuel consumption is great & it's very nimble & easy to drive around town doing multi drop work. The car comes with electric windows & air conditioning which you will need. Don't worry about finding cars with fans in the roof, a couple of mates have them & they really don't do much for the dogs. Standard air conditioning will be fine. Second hand versions of this car with good mileage can be picked up for around 5k I think. I'm sure someone else here may correct me on that
Now for the reasons why you don't want to share the work car with your family.
1. Dogs are pretty disgusting! Mine have rolled in just about every type of s
t known to man. My dogs favourite are fox poo, human poo & anything dead. I have had to get out of the van & puke before due to the smell. It doesn't happen often with mine as they know it's a banned behaviour ha ha but there are always one or two sneaky little buggers. 2. Whatever they roll in they will transfer to the inside of the car & each other as they love to curl up together on the way home. You will never be able to say for sure if you've cleaned it all off as things like fox urine will not show on your walls! A crate will be handy for this to isolate the canine offender
if you have small children just think what their little hands touch when in the car...3. Some dogs like to eat anything disgusting they can find. I have had human poo projectile vomited in the back of the van a couple of times. I really don't need to go into detail of how bad that was!
4. Dogs shed hair, dust & dirt big time. It will get into everything. I thought I'd been really clever covering nearly every inch of the car with rubber but alas even with regular cleaning no one I know wants to get in my van as it smells so bad. On the plus side I think my immune system has probably improved from being in it so much as there's not many more places dirtier than it!
5. The car will get scratched & scuffed inside & out.
6. You may be unlucky enough to get someone who has an 'accident' en route. If that happens you'll be praying it wasn't a wee or the 'runs'.
The reasons above are actually why I will be buying a vw transporter next year. I'm lucky that my guys are well trained & we don't have an 'incident' very often but when we do I just need to be able to jet wash the back out. & also for general ease of cleaning to make my 'office' a nicer place to be for me & the dogs.
To be honest all the serious walkers I know have changed from cars to vans for the above reasons. I'm only waiting as maybe fancy a brand new transporter which isn't released til next yr.
Sorry if the post went on a bit but I hope it's helped you answer some questions
ange40 said:
liking the dog van! Interesting re petrol - as a diesel owner of 15 years just presumed id need a diesel? What make/model estate car is a good buy for my budget please?
thank you
All boils down to how many miles you are doing and as a business purchase you have to think purely for budget. thank you
Decide how long you are going to keep the car for and roughly work out an estimated sale price at the end of that period (I use the "trade in value" based on what the same car but older would be worth (There are plenty of sites that give free valuations).
Get a spreadsheet going, stick in the miles, stick in the purchase price, and the depreciation, find out how much major and minor services are and how often, work out how much tyres are and how often they're likely to need replacing on the kind of size of vehicles.
Then for each car put in the cost of fuel per litre, estimated mpg (I use 85% of claimed as a decent basis), VED and work out how much it will cost over the time you want to keep it.
Then do the same but without considering the the estimated sale price so you know how much it will cost you a month/week/year / whatever.
I would also consider adding in the cost of a new DMF every 80k or so for a diesel (~£500-£1k) and beware that if you are only ever doing small journeys that you really want to either avoid diesels with a DPF or figure on a big bill which could be as short as every 15k...
Mostly petrol wins for lower mileages due to the lower purchase cost and lower but there are plenty where the difference is so small that you can pick which ever one you prefer.
L100NYY said:
Got to be a Rover, surely?
Although decent car what we've noticed about Dads (turned 50 bought a rover fairly tragic story) is that the cabin is massive great for people but the bought is deceptively small. Their two dogs German shepherd and rotty cross granted big dogs but they haven't got any head room in the 75.What no mx5 suggestion?! Or even a 530d estate!?
There has been some good advise on here already but as dog owner I will add my input. There is no way I would spend 12K on a vehicle used for a dog walking business.
If it were me I would buy a clean and tidy Vauxhall Combo 1.7DI / DTI ( Pre DPF Isuzu engine ) get it kitted out and sign written and have an entirely separate car for other matters.
When we had two great danes and a cocker spaniel we needed a cheapish estate so we bought a Fiat Croma 1.9 Multijet( very good value for age and safety ). We now have one great dane and two cockers and they fit in the boot nicely and the car does a good job carrying anything dog related , towing our caravan quickly and returns 55mpg on the motorway. We have my impreza hatch for outings where dogs are not needed.
12k is far too much imo for a car likely to get smelly and trashed.
There has been some good advise on here already but as dog owner I will add my input. There is no way I would spend 12K on a vehicle used for a dog walking business.
If it were me I would buy a clean and tidy Vauxhall Combo 1.7DI / DTI ( Pre DPF Isuzu engine ) get it kitted out and sign written and have an entirely separate car for other matters.
When we had two great danes and a cocker spaniel we needed a cheapish estate so we bought a Fiat Croma 1.9 Multijet( very good value for age and safety ). We now have one great dane and two cockers and they fit in the boot nicely and the car does a good job carrying anything dog related , towing our caravan quickly and returns 55mpg on the motorway. We have my impreza hatch for outings where dogs are not needed.
12k is far too much imo for a car likely to get smelly and trashed.
Thank you for all your advice everybody
Im looking at Vauxhall Viaro or a Berlingo. Looked at ex dog warden vans very over priced for the van itself!! it seems its an extra 2k for the cages.
Just 2 questions : I'm in Castleford does anyone know where I could get sign writing on my van please?
Secondly how do you safely attach dog cages inside a van or Berlingo?
Im looking at Vauxhall Viaro or a Berlingo. Looked at ex dog warden vans very over priced for the van itself!! it seems its an extra 2k for the cages.
Just 2 questions : I'm in Castleford does anyone know where I could get sign writing on my van please?
Secondly how do you safely attach dog cages inside a van or Berlingo?
How about a twin cab?
Something like this...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...
Then spend the other £4000 on something like this...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...
Something like this...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...
Then spend the other £4000 on something like this...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...
Id go van or berlingo type with cages/separation
If you are transporting a mix of dogs, they might all not get on, hence cages or separation might be needed, it will look more professional and give you more options
Never underestimate the mess that dogs can make, especially if they aren't your own!
You could also do "vet taxi" type service and be better covered if you had a crash as you are using specific transport designed for dogs.
If you are transporting a mix of dogs, they might all not get on, hence cages or separation might be needed, it will look more professional and give you more options
Never underestimate the mess that dogs can make, especially if they aren't your own!
You could also do "vet taxi" type service and be better covered if you had a crash as you are using specific transport designed for dogs.
ange40 said:
Thank you for all your advice everybody
Im looking at Vauxhall Viaro or a Berlingo. Looked at ex dog warden vans very over priced for the van itself!! it seems its an extra 2k for the cages.
Just 2 questions : I'm in Castleford does anyone know where I could get sign writing on my van please?
Secondly how do you safely attach dog cages inside a van or Berlingo?
Loads of the groomers/trainers use VW transporters or Belingos here, as for cages:Im looking at Vauxhall Viaro or a Berlingo. Looked at ex dog warden vans very over priced for the van itself!! it seems its an extra 2k for the cages.
Just 2 questions : I'm in Castleford does anyone know where I could get sign writing on my van please?
Secondly how do you safely attach dog cages inside a van or Berlingo?
https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-ins...
JJ55 said:
I've been a professional walker for 8 yrs & trust me you will really want to keep your work car separate from the car you put your family in! I will list the reasons why below & those with a sensitive disposition may not want to read them...
I have used all types of cars over the years from 4x4's to trucks to estates. The car I use at the moment is a 5 yr old Citroen berlingo xtr which I bought at 1yr old for around your budget. I have never owned a car for so long which is a real credit to how suited it is for dog walking. The seats are completely removable which turns it into a van & it also has the internal height you need which gives the option of putting a crate or two in which in time you will probably need to do as not all dogs are good to transport for various reasons which you will find out! The fuel consumption is great & it's very nimble & easy to drive around town doing multi drop work. The car comes with electric windows & air conditioning which you will need. Don't worry about finding cars with fans in the roof, a couple of mates have them & they really don't do much for the dogs. Standard air conditioning will be fine. Second hand versions of this car with good mileage can be picked up for around 5k I think. I'm sure someone else here may correct me on that
Now for the reasons why you don't want to share the work car with your family.
1. Dogs are pretty disgusting! Mine have rolled in just about every type of st known to man. My dogs favourite are fox poo, human poo & anything dead. I have had to get out of the van & puke before due to the smell. It doesn't happen often with mine as they know it's a banned behaviour ha ha but there are always one or two sneaky little buggers.
2. Whatever they roll in they will transfer to the inside of the car & each other as they love to curl up together on the way home. You will never be able to say for sure if you've cleaned it all off as things like fox urine will not show on your walls! A crate will be handy for this to isolate the canine offender if you have small children just think what their little hands touch when in the car...
3. Some dogs like to eat anything disgusting they can find. I have had human poo projectile vomited in the back of the van a couple of times. I really don't need to go into detail of how bad that was!
4. Dogs shed hair, dust & dirt big time. It will get into everything. I thought I'd been really clever covering nearly every inch of the car with rubber but alas even with regular cleaning no one I know wants to get in my van as it smells so bad. On the plus side I think my immune system has probably improved from being in it so much as there's not many more places dirtier than it!
5. The car will get scratched & scuffed inside & out.
6. You may be unlucky enough to get someone who has an 'accident' en route. If that happens you'll be praying it wasn't a wee or the 'runs'.
The reasons above are actually why I will be buying a vw transporter next year. I'm lucky that my guys are well trained & we don't have an 'incident' very often but when we do I just need to be able to jet wash the back out. & also for general ease of cleaning to make my 'office' a nicer place to be for me & the dogs.
To be honest all the serious walkers I know have changed from cars to vans for the above reasons. I'm only waiting as maybe fancy a brand new transporter which isn't released til next yr.
Sorry if the post went on a bit but I hope it's helped you answer some questions
great post !I have used all types of cars over the years from 4x4's to trucks to estates. The car I use at the moment is a 5 yr old Citroen berlingo xtr which I bought at 1yr old for around your budget. I have never owned a car for so long which is a real credit to how suited it is for dog walking. The seats are completely removable which turns it into a van & it also has the internal height you need which gives the option of putting a crate or two in which in time you will probably need to do as not all dogs are good to transport for various reasons which you will find out! The fuel consumption is great & it's very nimble & easy to drive around town doing multi drop work. The car comes with electric windows & air conditioning which you will need. Don't worry about finding cars with fans in the roof, a couple of mates have them & they really don't do much for the dogs. Standard air conditioning will be fine. Second hand versions of this car with good mileage can be picked up for around 5k I think. I'm sure someone else here may correct me on that
Now for the reasons why you don't want to share the work car with your family.
1. Dogs are pretty disgusting! Mine have rolled in just about every type of s
t known to man. My dogs favourite are fox poo, human poo & anything dead. I have had to get out of the van & puke before due to the smell. It doesn't happen often with mine as they know it's a banned behaviour ha ha but there are always one or two sneaky little buggers. 2. Whatever they roll in they will transfer to the inside of the car & each other as they love to curl up together on the way home. You will never be able to say for sure if you've cleaned it all off as things like fox urine will not show on your walls! A crate will be handy for this to isolate the canine offender
if you have small children just think what their little hands touch when in the car...3. Some dogs like to eat anything disgusting they can find. I have had human poo projectile vomited in the back of the van a couple of times. I really don't need to go into detail of how bad that was!
4. Dogs shed hair, dust & dirt big time. It will get into everything. I thought I'd been really clever covering nearly every inch of the car with rubber but alas even with regular cleaning no one I know wants to get in my van as it smells so bad. On the plus side I think my immune system has probably improved from being in it so much as there's not many more places dirtier than it!
5. The car will get scratched & scuffed inside & out.
6. You may be unlucky enough to get someone who has an 'accident' en route. If that happens you'll be praying it wasn't a wee or the 'runs'.
The reasons above are actually why I will be buying a vw transporter next year. I'm lucky that my guys are well trained & we don't have an 'incident' very often but when we do I just need to be able to jet wash the back out. & also for general ease of cleaning to make my 'office' a nicer place to be for me & the dogs.
To be honest all the serious walkers I know have changed from cars to vans for the above reasons. I'm only waiting as maybe fancy a brand new transporter which isn't released til next yr.
Sorry if the post went on a bit but I hope it's helped you answer some questions
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