Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

I can finally overtake people

Doddy111

Active member
Messages
311
Location
Manchester
This weekend I had to say goodbye to my trusty French beast, probably one of the ugliest vans ever built and definitely one of the slowest (1.9 NON-turbo diesel) ? its served me well in my first year of business but after being hit with a £450 MOT bill last week plus a load of advisories including brake pipes corroding & an oil leak I decided its time to cut my losses and upgrade. I've now got air con, electric windows, a rev counter (the dispatch had a big daft clock instead of a rev counter) and somewhere to put my brew. 

Next up is signwriting so if anyone wants to share there's so I can get some ideas it'd be welcome. I got a proper cheap job done last time and messed up by not having window cleaning in massive writing on it so I don't want to make the same mistake again. 

IMG_3140.JPG

IMG_3122.jpg

IMG_3145.jpg

IMG_3123.jpg

 
Not the ugliest van ever made but one of them?

I jumped from a Peugeot Expert to a Renault Trafic and it is night and day.

Not brand new but the ability to over take and not worry on steep hills if the vehicle in front slows down and you will have to climb the rest of the hill in first gear is a blessing.

Air conditioning for the few hot days we get and the smug face driving about with the electric windows closed.

Pressing a key instead of checking if 5 doors are locked manually though i do do miss the twin side loading doors.

The soft touch closing ashtray even though i gave up smoking years ago.

The big clock that hurt your finger changing it twice a year.

The handy storage rack above the windscreen.

The sheer indestructibility of the thing and cheap Mot's.

The fact that every Ford van i had before rusted to a mesh and needed cills welded for every mot.

Do i miss it...

Do i f**k

But it was a great van.

Viva La France.

 
I had a Citroen Dispatch and loved it! It was the 2.0 HDI though and had 110bhp so had no trouble overtaking. And.. every door lock worked! Including the boot! Unheard of for an old Citroen. Great on fuel too.

My mate had the 1.9 and it could barely make it up the hill near his house!

Had it in for the MOT and a bit of work during that really cold winter 2 years back. The snow was too bad so couldn't pick it and it was left in the deep freeze for 3 days, when I finally got to it to collect it I tried to start it and the engine was frozen solid. Timing belt snapped and ruined engine ?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not the ugliest van ever made but one of them?

I jumped from a Peugeot Expert to a Renault Trafic and it is night and day.

Not brand new but the ability to over take and not worry on steep hills if the vehicle in front slows down and you will have to climb the rest of the hill in first gear is a blessing.

Air conditioning for the few hot days we get and the smug face driving about with the electric windows closed.

Pressing a key instead of checking if 5 doors are locked manually though i do do miss the twin side loading doors.

The soft touch closing ashtray even though i gave up smoking years ago.

The big clock that hurt your finger changing it twice a year.

The handy storage rack above the windscreen.

The sheer indestructibility of the thing and cheap Mot's.

The fact that every Ford van i had before rusted to a mesh and needed cills welded for every mot.

Do i miss it...

Do i f**k

But it was a great van.

Viva La France.


Haha I'm glad I'm not the only one that had to suffer.. mine cost me £450 the week before I sold it to get the sills welded you can see the shitty job they did on them. It got through its MOT and there was a long list of advisories which included oil leak from engine and brake pipes corroding so I got shot of it quick.

Electric windows are a dream nothing worse than a customer knocking on your passenger side window and then having to reach across to unwind it ?

The only thing I miss is that handy storage rack above the windscreen the big daft clock and the rest of it can get to f**k ?

I had a Citroen Dispatch and loved it! It was the 2.0 HDI though and had 110bhp so had no trouble overtaking. And.. every door lock worked! Including the boot! Unheard of for an old Citroen. Great on fuel too.

My mate had the 1.9 and it could barely make it up the hill near his house!

Had it in for the MOT and a bit of work during that really cold winter 2 years back. The snow was too bad so couldn't pick it and it was left in the deep freeze for 3 days, when I finally got to it to collect it I tried to start it and the engine was frozen solid. Timing belt snapped and ruined engine ?


I only paid £1300 for it and must admit it was a cracking little van it just had no power 0-60 in about 3.3 miles.

I'm certainly not missing it I've loved my first week in my new van although I've had two customers comment that I'm earning too much money 

 
Haha I'm glad I'm not the only one that had to suffer.. mine cost me £450 the week before I sold it to get the sills welded you can see the shitty job they did on them. It got through its MOT and there was a long list of advisories which included oil leak from engine and brake pipes corroding so I got shot of it quick.

Electric windows are a dream nothing worse than a customer knocking on your passenger side window and then having to reach across to unwind it ?

The only thing I miss is that handy storage rack above the windscreen the big daft clock and the rest of it can get to f**k ?

I only paid £1300 for it and must admit it was a cracking little van it just had no power 0-60 in about 3.3 miles.

I'm certainly not missing it I've loved my first week in my new van although I've had two customers comment that I'm earning too much money 
I've had customers say that to me, which I reply... " if I quoted your house correctly I'd be driving a Bentley also" .. soon shuts them up 

 
I'm certainly not missing it I've loved my first week in my new van although I've had two customers comment that I'm earning too much money 
I bought a brand spanker and put a private plate on it, 58 plate, to stop this. I've had a few customers saying it's not a 58 plate but they don't know it's brand new. How sad and jealous can some people be.

 
i had one of them when starting out

ugly as feck but a great runner, mine had 280k on the clock, i paid £500 for it and it never let me down

 
Back
Top