Van v Car

[A55]

I could do with a van/pickup, I am a wannabe property tycoon - watched Properties under the Hammer for years, thought it be easy - and occasionally need to transport things like tiles, flat packs, fridges.

I have a Alfa Giulietta, nice car, rubbish load carrier, seats don't fold down fully, high loading sill, has a lip so can't slide things out.

On my walk home from work yesterday morning came across a Fiesta van for sale, 14 plate, £4000 and it has a big orange flashing light on the roof, but looking at costs, tax is much higher than a car so is insurance, so the dumb question is why buy a car derived van rather than a car?

Although a little older £4000 can buy a Vito van for example, so why buy a Fiesta van?.

if I were to get a car for load carrying, obvious choice would be a Fiat Baringo, what else?

Hopefully someone will understand my gibberish.

Thanks

[Regbuser]

I think the answer is that you run a van through your company, fully expensed and tax deductible, with a car for private use.

[jonwm]

I have a "van" as our family car at the moment, it's a transporter T6 kombi, it's auto and although it's missing some car comforts it does a great job at family work and tip runs!

I find it much cheaper to insure, yes it's increased this year but as an example of our 2 cars this year that renew at similar times.

Both insured for business travel:

Wife's E93 went from £450 to £590
Transporter went from £390 to £439

Tax is similar with the BMW being a 3.0d

[MattyD803]

If you need to purchase and run this personally, I'd say something like a Citroen Berlingo Multispace or Peugeot Partner equivalent would be the answer here.

Good load lugging capability, whilst the 2.0 HDi will be cheap to insure and run and not being a target to tool thieves when parked up.

[Belle427]

My father in law used to have a 2004 seat alhambra which was similar to a ford galaxy but it was a very practical thing.
Seats came out of the back easily and there was a huge amount of space in it, much nicer than your average van.
Maybe something like that may suit.

[Truckosaurus]

Regbuser said:

I think the answer is that you run a van through your company, fully expensed and tax deductible, with a car for private use.

This is the correct answer. Small vans like a Fiesta are just a tax dodge rather than any practical use - if you actually needed to carry anything other than a driver you'd be buying a Berlingo/Transit Connect/etc.

[Trevor555]

Not sure about your local council tip, but ours doesn't allow vans in.

But they do a Berlingo multi van type thingy.

Edited by Trevor555 on Wednesday 24th April 08:38

[Jag_NE]

More pointless fantasising that will lead to nothing….builders merchants, ikea, curry etc all deliver

[A55]

Jag_NE said:

More pointless fantasising that will lead to nothing….builders merchants, ikea, curry etc all deliver

Ok, been exposed by these with superior intelligence that are on here, it is my fantasy to own an old van!

I should have thought that .builders merchants, Ikea, Curry etc all deliver stuff bought of Ebay for example.

I am just exploring options, so in a way your right but why is that a problem?

[The Selfish Gene]

I sold my 911 (997) and my Landy and bought a transit van , new, through my company.

Never been happier. Its a 2022, i've turned the BHP and Torque up 20% and got 20% better fuel economy.

Within reason it doesn't matter where I park it.........I can do everything with it, it's never too small.

Park with the rugrat, bikes, canoes, karting, motorbikes, camping, BBQs

Bloody fantastic. The only 'downside' if that sort of thing bothers you, is that I get looked down on a lot when I'm out and about in it. I find it quite funny but van racism is definitely a thing, particularly for the Tesla types.

I quite enjoy when I'm wearing a nice suit for the office job or club and people see me get out, it's all very confusing to them.

Oh, also, you can park anywhere, hazard warning light and a high viz to nip into a shop - bloody marvellous!

[Snow and Rocks]

Jag_NE said:

More pointless fantasising that will lead to nothing….builders merchants, ikea, curry etc all deliver

What a bizarre response.

I'd waste half my life if I had to wait for everything to be delivered.

OP - I run a Hilux because I need the combination of proper 4x4 and towing ability along with a decent easily cleanable loadspace. The insurance is more expensive but the flat rate tax is cheaper than an equivalent 4x4. Parts and servicing are also peanuts so it's much cheaper to run than any equivalent passenger 4x4. Not sure how much of that applies to a Fiesta van though!

Edited by Snow and Rocks on Wednesday 24th April 15:11

[Cliov6dan]

If you’re doing property maintenance a load space of 2.4m would be handy. Even if only diagonally. A small trailer may be a good option and a vehicle that can tow a bit.

[Snow and Rocks]

Good point - a decent trailer is a game changer and can give a car the same load carrying ability as a LWB sprinter with few of the running costs of a second vehicle. You obviously need somewhere to keep it and it depends on the sort of properties you maintain - can be a pain in urban areas.

[r3g]

Watch out for the euro status on older vans. Many LEZs don't allow then just because they are vans, whereas cars with the same engine are allowed.

[samoht]

Also be aware of the minefield of complexity around commercial vehicle speed limits esp if you're doing longer trips.

[r3g]

samoht said:

Also be aware of the minefield of complexity around commercial vehicle speed limits esp if you're doing longer trips.

"Minefield of complexity"

Singles and duals = 10mph less. Not sure how that is a minefield of complexity.

[MattyD803]

A55 said:

Jag_NE said:

More pointless fantasising that will lead to nothing….builders merchants, ikea, curry etc all deliver

Ok, been exposed by these with superior intelligence that are on here, it is my fantasy to own an old van!

I should have thought that .builders merchants, Ikea, Curry etc all deliver stuff bought of Ebay for example.

I am just exploring options, so in a way your right but why is that a problem?

I'd give that post a damn good ignoring - they have quite obviously never done any property refurbishment etc. You could find yourself dashing all over the place for all manner of bits and pieces, not to mention tip runs. Been there got 3 t-shirts so far.

I've got a couple of rental houses, not to mention ongoing refurb and works at home and my large MPV has been absolutely essential for getting various jobs done. Couldn't be without it.

[samoht]

r3g said:

samoht said:

Also be aware of the minefield of complexity around commercial vehicle speed limits esp if you're doing longer trips.

"Minefield of complexity"

Singles and duals = 10mph less. Not sure how that is a minefield of complexity.

The actual speed limits are reasonably simple (although I think if you were e.g. driving North via M11/A14/A1(M) the number of times you'd have to change from 60-70 would take some getting used to).

However, the definition of which vehicles they apply to isn't that simple, and it's possible for two otherwise very similar vehicles, eg pre and post-facelift versions of the same van, to be categorised differently

legislation.gov.uk said:

dual-purpose vehicle

a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage both of passengers and of goods or burden of any description, being a vehicle of which the unladen weight does not exceed 2040 kg, and which either—
(i)

is so constructed or adapted that the driving power of the engine is, or by the appropriate use of the controls of the vehicle can be, transmitted to all the wheels of the vehicle; or
(ii)

satisfies the following conditions as to construction, namely—
(a)

the vehicle must be permanently fitted with a rigid roof, with or without a sliding panel;
(b)

the area of the vehicle to the rear of the driver's seat must—
(i)

be permanently fitted with at least one row of transverse seats (fixed or folding) for two or more passengers and those seats must be properly sprung or cushioned and provided with upholstered back-rests, attached either to the seats or to a side or the floor of the vehicle; and
(ii)

be lit on each side and at the rear by a window or windows of glass or other transparent material having an area or aggregate area of not less than 1850 square centimetres on each side and not less than 770 square centimetres at the rear; and
(c)

the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the back-rests of the row of transverse seats satisfying the requirements specified in head (i) of sub-paragraph (b) (or, if there is more than one such row of seats, the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the back-rests of the rearmost such row) must, when the seats are ready for use, be not less than one-third of the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the rearmost part of the floor of the vehicle.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regu...

Also note that what it says on the V5 may not actually be true

gov.uk said:

The Department for Transport recognises that historically some vehicles may have been incorrectly registered.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-der...

[Pica-Pica]

Some comments.
We have a lady near us who drives a small van, just to carry two large dogs around. She doesn’t get ‘looked down upon’.
Yes the car-derived van or not, can be a speed limit issues (I have yet to see police care much about vans doing 60 mph on a single carriageway.
Having said the last comment, there was a guy on a speed awareness course (he worked for Ford, as I did back then), and he was done for that in a Transit Connect van. He argued that as it was based on a Ford Focus chassis, it was a ‘car-derived van’. It apparently doesn’t work like that, it literally has to be a car with blanked out rear windows.
I would look for a range of vehicles you like, check insurance and tax, and get what you want.
One advantage of some FWD vans is that you can slide across to exit the passenger side - that maybe something to look for.

[RazerSauber]

If you're after a van, get a van. Transits are stupidly popular for a reason. The modern ones are surprisingly comfy and easy to live with. If you're not dead set on a van then get some manner of old people carrier. Zafira/Picasso/Galaxy sort of thing. Car like enough to drive, massive load spaces.

If you're going to run one as your only vehicle, bear in mind that car and van insurance aren't always compatible with your no claims. Some places don't allow NCB earned on a car to be used on a van and vice-versa.