Price of a Decent Vehicle

[mowandgo]

Iam falling outa love with my van. It has had a few ups & downs in the last few months. Its coverd alot of miles but things should not be this bad. I had a starter motor go to it to garage to be fixed it went again garage did it under warranty but not as quick as i like. The battery died but i tested and it read 12.2 volts strong i guessed and it turned over a freinds old nufield tractor. Cut along story short i just seem to 'F' round wasting time trying to fix when I realy should be working. Now its over fueling I put my foot down it smokes like a train running on coal very slugish too mpg readout says 22mpg it used to read around 33mpg which was impressive . I Guessd it was airflow meter and changed it but its still the same garage I use can only read basic fault codes I understand mechanics realy very well I don't understand computers or sensors or binary very well at all. I understand its overfueling but thats all.

 

 

I could go on. The long and short of it is no van no work. I need to run a business and I find it quite stressful when you not have a van you have confidents in to get you to work. Its a 2007 Peugeot Boxer with 198000 on it. Been great upto now. I guess I have to change vehicles soon I thought about having two vehicles but Iam looking at around an extra £1000 a year for tax & ins. A leace van is around £3000 so I would rather leace than run two. However what puts me off leace is limited millage and every day working scars can develope in large hidden costs.

 

The other thing iam unsure of is weather to get a van or pick up next. Vans are great for transporting just tools to & from site. Not so good for moving materials or vegatation cuttings which I do alot of slice & dice in builders bag takes forever. Maybe a trailer & van. Iam a landscaper & mainly do maintanence. I would be very intrested to hear peoples advice.

[Richard 1234]

Get rid and lease something as you will be able to get to work all the time.

How many days do you need to lose to get the £3k back?

[mowandgo]

I am happy to lease if costs are knowen. The trouble is I do 15000 miles a year & do more than just drive to the office car park & back. I am constantly driving on & off peoples drive ways, yards, fields and streets. Iam allways opening & closing doors I live in and out my van. At the end of lease the vehicles gonna have seen some action. I guess this will increse the cost to an unrealistic level.

[Richard 1234]

I am happy to lease if costs are knowen. The trouble is I do 15000 miles a year & do more than just drive to the office car park & back. I am constantly driving on & off peoples drive ways, yards, fields and streets. Iam allways opening & closing doors I live in and out my van. At the end of lease the vehicles gonna have seen some action. I guess this will increse the cost to an unrealistic level.

 

 

I do the same as you in out mowers strimmers blowers etc.....

Mine is on unlimited mileage.

Yes it may hit you for a few quid at the end but in the term of the lease you've had no breakdowns to stop you working as well as costing you money. It works for me.

[Richard 1234]

How much has the Peugeot cost in repairs this year?

[mowingjamie]

im running a king cab navara at the moment and its seriously pissing me off, very reliable and good towing but trying to fit all the kit i need safe in the back seats is killing me, ive almost decided to go down buying 2 second hand vehicles which i believe is the only way to solve the problem we all have that 1 vehicle does no do everying we need. so the thing im trying to say is stay clear off a pickup if you need tools to stay safe and dry, i dont trust these back boxes for keeping expensive tools in. sounds like you need a 4x4 sprinter which costs around 30k like me!

[Richard 1234]

im running a king cab navara at the moment and its seriously pissing me off, very reliable and good towing but trying to fit all the kit i need safe in the back seats is killing me, ive almost decided to go down buying 2 second hand vehicles which i believe is the only way to solve the problem we all have that 1 vehicle does no do everying we need. so the thing im trying to say is stay clear off a pickup if you need tools to stay safe and dry, i dont trust these back boxes for keeping expensive tools in. sounds like you need a 4x4 sprinter which costs around 30k like me!

 

 

I'm running a double cab navara at the moment and I love it it's new it tows fine which is important as I've got 2 mowers that weigh a tonne each.

Bit thirsty but then it's big pulling a lot around behind it.

If I had a van I'd need another car as I take/fetch kids to/from school.

Just short of £29k

[mowandgo]

In garage fees, parts & wear & tear thinngs like tyres it costs around £1500 a year. Its a givern any vehicle whats done over 5000miles will cost the same over 15000 miles a year.

 

Yes im only another £1500 from a leas van. Its hard to work out depriciation as factor as if clutch, gearbox, engine goes bang its worth £500.

 

Vehicles are expensive iam just trying to work out cheapest option with less stress. I also think loss of earnings & cause of garage time is a big factor. Hard to calculate also. I was thinking of an old 200tdi defender with galv chassis but the all leak oil over driveways & I only do 5% off road a year.

[Big J]

200000 miles on a nearly 10 year old van - it's a no brainer. Get rid of it as it is costing you money and will let you down.

 

I bought (hire purchase actually - VAT as a deposit then £283 a month) an 8 month old Citroen Relay long wheel base van at the end of February. It is outstanding (apart from crap rear door hinges). I have done over 16000 miles in it since then, with an average of 32.4mpg thus far. I tend to usually drive quite steadily and rarely in cities, but it's very often (as in at least 1/2 the time) with a heavy load, whether it be a trailer, or as was the case the other day, an 1100kg tracked chipper in the back.

 

The lease will cost you more per month than the repairs are presently costing, but on 2000 miles a month, you'll save £135 a month in diesel. It also drive beautifully, has cruise, sat nav and blue tooth.

[gensetsteve]

I have had brand new and old dogs.

 

Now I buy 3 years old with 60 k on the clock white no aircon, no bling, no high out put guzzling fan dango engine.

 

Last one was a 3 year old Vito from the main merc dealer new service, mot, tyres and 3 months warranty. 7 k plus vat had it 2 yeArs and just replaced the wiper blades.

 

I don't buy ford Vauxhall or French. And I try not to run them past 140 k or 8 years.There may be plenty of life left in them but the repairs and in hassle are a lot more than the depreciation on something newer.

 

Looking at your original post it occurred to me maybe your going from one extreme to the other. 198 k to brand fire new. Maybe the cheaper answer lays in between.