Vehicles, buy them, lease them, or pay them up?

[laddergarder]

I generally use older vehicles for work as I know they are going to get banged about a bit with every day use, but the downside is they do tend to need a bit of work when I go for MOT's.

Last year I must have spend close to 2k on an old van I had, then it still was going to need another 1k spent on it because of a problem with the rear suspension, so I had enough and got rid. But I just bought another old van. I will get a good year or two's use out of it, but after than I think I may consider buying something a bit newer.

For the guys that have shelled out of a bit on a decent van, is it just the case the everyday use will take it toll on any van regardless of age, or could spending more buying new save me more money in the long run, with a vehicle that will last longer and need less repairs, plus look more professional.

Now then there is the cost of new van, a new renault traffic is close to 20k. Even if I kept that 10 years, it is still 2k a year. plus repairs.

I have had a look at lease vehicles, but these companies make there money from you, and repayments on a larger van is around £2500+ annually.

So really just wanted to hear some thought on the best way to keep expenses down with regards to vehicles.

Buy old every couple of years? buy new keep it for a good few years, or lease a vehicle.

Or on the other side of coin, is it just a case of pot luck with vehicles, will you get old ones that will do you well, and some new ones that will cause you nothing but headaches?

 

[A.K WINDOWS]

ive got a 2001 berlingo and its been a great van good on fuel ect when i bought it i had new belts done and put a new clutch in and thats all it had done in 2 years,i service it myself every six months.

i paid 1400 for it 130000 on the clock never misses a beat.its pot luck id say but i like to own my car and dont want to be paying for it for the next ten year i can see both sides of the story but for me i just hate debt.

the trick is to do most your repairs you can like brakes and sevrvice you can save alot of coin i learnt how to mess with cars of youtube

 

[Ryan]

i looked into this and its easy to get a good van for 2-3k that would last 4-5 years easy if you look after it

i bought a transit connect for 2k + a px van worth around 500 so 2.5k for a van that will last me 4 years prob cost me 1k a year with service repairs along the way even if its a bit more who cares its still cheap :]

 

[GMcleaning]

i would never buy any vehicle brand new, you lose thousands the moment you drive it off the forecourt, look at vans 2/3 years old, they will still be in good nick but will be considerably cheaper

 

[lee.h]

get a good one for about 2-3 grand .. giv it new oil and filters all round and go for it.. i put a cam belt on mine soon as i had it as well to make sure. i think anythin cheaper can pottentially be a false economy although there are loads of olds vans that are sweet as a nut

 

[harunh]

i spent 3k on my van. 1 owner... i got it and changed the fuel filter and air filter straight away /emoticons/biggrin.png Drives great now... but the tracking is a bit out of place got to get that sorted.

 

[Andy D]

Paid 5k for transit connect 220 54 plate over 4 years ago been a dream no probs very reliable great vans!

 

[Paul]

I paid £400 for my berlingo, good little van for the price but I don't trust it to much, now on the hunt for something around £2-3k but really don't know what to get.

 

[Posh]

N reg Astra. £500. 60mpg. Love it.

 

[harunh]

Paul u can pick up a nice 56 plate van for 3K with 1 owner and service history with low milage and 12 months MOT - That way you know its been well looked after and not ragged about by several different owners.

Ive seen a few vans that are 5 years old and they have had 3 different owners - Dont go for these vans, Its been bought and sold that many times within 5 years for a reason.

Go for a Renault Kangoo or Peugeot Partner or Citroen Berlingo, I would suggest Ford Transit Connect or volkswagen Caddy but they are a bit expensive unless you want a older van.

I got my van (Partner) for just under 3K and it has 43k miles and 1 owner and the engine was spot on and its great runner in top notch condition. Its going to look really smart once i get my vehicle signed up /emoticons/biggrin.png

Thats what you should expect if you spend 3,000

You can also go for a vauxhall combo (Ex british gas vehicle) on auto trader, theirs about 20-30 on Auto Trader priced from 2600-4000 all with 1 owner and service history plus full MOT and at least you know its an ex company car and has been well looked after /emoticons/smile.png

 

[AS Window Cleaning]

2005 Volkswagen caddy. genuine reason for previous sale, 2 owners. 43,000 miles. £6000. great for first year, and second. third year 500 quid on MOT (drive shafts), wiring loom 200 quid. flywheel and turbo on way out too.

got warrantee to cover wear and tear now, so hopefully be ok.

carrying a lot of weight and 15,000 miles a year, gonna have maintenance costs.......

sometimes can buy an older van and get lucky, luck of draw sometimes!