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UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Bobs Window Cleaning on February 03, 2008, 08:55:51 pm

Title: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Bobs Window Cleaning on February 03, 2008, 08:55:51 pm
Hi all
My Kangoo van with 125 litre tank ain't big enough, I'm thinking of going down the road of getting a Fiat Scudo or something similar.  Should I go to the auctions or not? 
Have any of you had experience of auctions and give me a few pointers?  Also, is there anyone who could recommend a good van which will hold a 400 or 500 litre tank and still leave enough space for the Freedom Trolley which I use sometimes as well?
Looking to spend around £4k. 

Cheers Bob

ps now gonna watch Lost
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: d s windowcleaning on February 03, 2008, 10:06:26 pm
i personally wouldnt use a auction , a mate bought a real nice motor last year from one paid in the region of 5 grand for this . problems then started within a week or two kept cutting out , real sluggish , he took it to the local garage and was told he would need a new engine . if you do decide to go to auction be careful . you dont get warrenty at auction but you can from some dealers not all and for £4000 you should get a decent van for that price .
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: NWH on February 03, 2008, 10:08:02 pm
Don`t use an auction,put the £4000 down on a new trafic.At the moment renault are doing 0% so you can`t lose.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Bobs Window Cleaning on February 03, 2008, 10:11:57 pm
Thanks guys.

What about if I got a van from the big companies like BT or Royal Mail? Dont they use the auctions to sell?


Bob
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: NWH on February 03, 2008, 10:14:59 pm
Thanks guys.

What about if I got a van from the big companies like BT or Royal Mail? Dont they use the auctions to sell?


Bob
Have you seen the way those blokes drive them vans,do the sensible thing and go as new as you can afford forget vans that have been thrashed by big companies,if it wasn`t your van and if it went wrong and you didn`t have to pay for it how would you treat it.With a new van you know where it`s been from day 1.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on February 03, 2008, 11:03:12 pm
auctions are fine IF you know what your doing (after all where do you think the dealers get em from) try one of the big places BCA are good dont know if there is one in norwich but try website. you can register and get advance info on upcoming stuff used to cost for this but not much and it saves you going to auctions when there is nothing to look at.any thing that has come from any of the big leasing companies should have good history and you really can save a LOT of money.IMO you are taking a risk wherever you buy your van its just varying degrees of risk
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Londoner on February 04, 2008, 07:10:54 am
We used to buy loads of cars from auctions but it is a trade event and you have to know what you are doing.
The advice to buy new is sound advice. I bought a Peugot Partner new a couple of weeks ago. The main agents are offering fantastic deals on all makes.

I got a £3,800 discount, side door, metallic paint air-con, CD player and its costing me £35 a week.
Thats better than leasing and better than buying secondhand.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: steve m on February 04, 2008, 07:23:11 am
If you buy at an auction you must remeber three main things. 1/ you only geet 24hr warrentee 2/ VAT must be added onto the end price, and 3/ the auction fee must also be added. As said before shop around there's some cracking deals on at the moment, 0% finance on renaults, £3000 off toyotas, citroen vans at givaway prices
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Mike_G on February 04, 2008, 02:07:22 pm
You dont get 24 hr warranty from an auction you only have until the end of the sale, so if you bid and win but do not pay until the auction has finished you have no warranty at all.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Bobs Window Cleaning on February 04, 2008, 04:18:51 pm
Thabnks for the replys guys?

Still not sure what to do. Cant really afford the buy a new one and hate being in debt so leasing is out  for me.

Bob
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Mike_G on February 04, 2008, 04:38:42 pm
Bod. I dont think you wil get much at the auction for £1500 unless it is a small local company. The bigger ones charge about £200 plus vat for there idemnity charges etc on anything for about that so you are not likely to make huge savings and they dont normally have many vans there for that kind of money. You could spend all day at the auction waiting for the only decent van for that money to go through and be outbid on it. Keep an eye on here I have seen a few good (accoording to the ad) vans for sale in the buy and sell section.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: JSMC on February 04, 2008, 04:55:59 pm
plan on buying from fleet sales at auction. will spend 4.5k max including VAT and fees
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on February 04, 2008, 05:04:36 pm
look at the BCA websites first mate .car auctions are not the minefield every one thinks lots of these auctions are one company sales ir lloyds finance lex leeasing etc 4k will go further than you think and a lot of these vehicles will have full history and verified mileage.worth a trip to see how it all works just take a mate who knows a bit about the trade
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: JSMC on February 04, 2008, 05:27:56 pm
already been at them viewing vans and have been in contact regarding the fleet sales.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Bobs Window Cleaning on February 04, 2008, 05:42:53 pm
Mike.

Not £1500, Im looking to spend £4000 plus whatever I can get for my kangoo.

Bob
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Mike_G on February 04, 2008, 07:14:44 pm
Must be dreaming, 1500 must be another post :-[ Where are you based? Auctions will work there commission on a sliding scale the more you spend the more commission you have to pay so keep that in mind. I have got most of my vehicles from auctions and only ever had one wrong un. If you do go to an auction make sure you know the value of the vehicle you intend to bid on, it is very east to get carried away and pay more from an auction for a van than you might from the autotrader. And try to aviod vehicles that are in the 'general sale', these are the ones that are entered privately and could be hiding a multitude of sins. Go for the ones that are 'direct' from a dealer or leasing company and get one with service history.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Purecleanplus on February 04, 2008, 07:27:31 pm
Friend of mine has a 400 litre tank in his kangoo!!
Flat one with sureflo pumps and 7 litre DI tank.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: NWH on February 04, 2008, 08:25:23 pm
We used to buy loads of cars from auctions but it is a trade event and you have to know what you are doing.
The advice to buy new is sound advice. I bought a Peugot Partner new a couple of weeks ago. The main agents are offering fantastic deals on all makes.

I got a £3,800 discount, side door, metallic paint air-con, CD player and its costing me £35 a week.
Thats better than leasing and better than buying secondhand.
Take the advise given,buy a NEW van if you don`t you`ll wished you had.This time of the year before the new reg is out there giving them away compared to a few months ago,in about 6 weeks time you won`t be able to get 0% at most dealers and all the extras thrown in.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Bobs Window Cleaning on February 04, 2008, 08:46:02 pm
Decisions decisions

Thanks all but still not sure what to do.

If i buy a new van (Dispatch,scudo or similar) which i presume will cost around the 10k mark and say I get a grand for my van.  That leaves 5k after I also pay another 4k.


That leaves me with A 5k debt......aaargh. 5 blooming k.

I wouldnt sleep at night.

Keep the advice coming.  Im in the Norwich area.


Bob
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on February 04, 2008, 09:01:05 pm
Must be dreaming, 1500 must be another post :-[ Where are you based? Auctions will work there commission on a sliding scale the more you spend the more commission you have to pay so keep that in mind. I have got most of my vehicles from auctions and only ever had one wrong un. If you do go to an auction make sure you know the value of the vehicle you intend to bid on, it is very east to get carried away and pay more from an auction for a van than you might from the autotrader. And try to aviod vehicles that are in the 'general sale', these are the ones that are entered privately and could be hiding a multitude of sins. Go for the ones that are 'direct' from a dealer or leasing company and get one with service history.
look at the BCA websites first mate .car auctions are not the minefield every one thinks lots of these auctions are one company sales ir lloyds finance lex leeasing etc 4k will go further than you think and a lot of these vehicles will have full history and verified mileage.worth a trip to see how it all works just take a mate who knows a bit about the trade
BCA if i could post alink i would but i cant even get an amidar picture up ;D the nearest to you is probly peterborough if you know any mechanics or anyone with a bit of common sense regarding cars go along and see what you think ,you may be suprised ;)
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: NWH on February 04, 2008, 09:04:18 pm
Don`t forget that 5000 grand dept your talking about is claimable remember,think about the money you`ll save in repair bills.We don`t buy new vans for a laugh.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: steve m on February 04, 2008, 09:05:25 pm
you could go another way, expensive but in the long run its 100% tax deductable, and thats to long term rent. Fully insured, fully maintained, what more could you want
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: NWH on February 04, 2008, 09:09:16 pm
100% deductable dosen`t exist,the only thing you can claim back which is 100% is vat.I`ve looked into every option about the best way to buy a van and in all ways you will never be able to claim back 100%,i`m sure Gordon Brown would laugh at that.And to claim the VAT don`t forget you have to be registered,if your not the best way to buy is HP.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: steve m on February 04, 2008, 09:24:22 pm
so what cant you claim back on van rental then
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: marc on February 04, 2008, 09:25:48 pm
go for new you can wright it off against your tax your acountant will know but you get more for the first year then the next few years you can wright off a smaller amount   hope this helps vauxhall vans are 30% down then 0% finace i think over 3years rather than put 4k down and your van  i would put your van down as a grand (approx) then a further 2k or so in cash and keep the rest of your money in your bank working  for you    best of luck  what ever road you go down what ever van you get dont forget to show us the pics     marc
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: NWH on February 04, 2008, 09:46:24 pm
so what cant you claim back on van rental then
If you rent a van you can claim back a percentage of the payments,the percentage depends on work mileage but whatever it is you won`t get 100% no where near it.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Phil Mitchell on February 05, 2008, 09:54:53 pm
I got my transit from an auction 1 year ago. P plate, 67000 miles years mot. Yeah, its not a looker and its got some rust but so what, i'm not on an ego trip!   
Just put it through mot on Friday and payed out £250. I'm happy as I'm earning a good wage and own my van so no additional finance costs. Now I'm doing ok I may consider something abit nicer when this one starts letting me down, and will probably go back to the auction.
Make sure you know what your looking at though or take a mechanic with you if possible.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: steve m on February 06, 2008, 08:46:16 am
so my van is used solely for work, sign written, the lot, and is a tool the same as my poles and every thing else, so why cant I claim the 100% as I do my tools
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: sgibsoncleaning on February 08, 2008, 08:09:34 pm
bod, there is a van sales at yelveton on the lowestoft road, they seem to get all the ex bt vans direct. lovely clean low mileage vans but he does want good money for them. he had a few connects and transits there last week. also a van sales next door with some clean ones.
might be in the same boat as you. i wasnt impressed last time i went to the auction in norwich, now at wymondham. they do have some good direct from company vans in there check their website or the EDP for the next van sale
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: macmac on February 08, 2008, 11:31:47 pm
so what cant you claim back on van rental then
If you rent a van you can claim back a percentage of the payments,the percentage depends on work mileage but whatever it is you won`t get 100% no where near it.

I think your wrong on that one dude, i'm pretty sure it's 100% against tax.

Tony
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Bobs Window Cleaning on February 09, 2008, 08:40:19 am
Thanks sgibson.

I live only 2 miles from yelverton (thurton) so may give them a look on sunday. I wanted a scudo but may have to settle for summit else.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: The Seven Bays Window Cleaning Company on February 11, 2008, 07:18:47 am
We used to buy loads of cars from auctions but it is a trade event and you have to know what you are doing.
The advice to buy new is sound advice. I bought a Peugot Partner new a couple of weeks ago. The main agents are offering fantastic deals on all makes.

I got a £3,800 discount, side door, metallic paint air-con, CD player and its costing me £35 a week.
Thats better than leasing and better than buying secondhand.

Hay Vince is that £35 including Vat?

Did you have to put down a deposit?

Sounds a good deal - I'm after a Partner/Berlingo. I was thinking of the 800payload

Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Londoner on February 11, 2008, 07:38:24 am
Yes, including vat. Actually its £35.28 a week. I paid £1,800 deposit.  I got loads of extras though like metallic paint, side door, roof bars, towhook, aircon etc. The basic model in white works out a lot cheaper.
Great little van as well, drives lovely.
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: The Seven Bays Window Cleaning Company on February 11, 2008, 11:40:13 am
Thanks Vince.

What dealership was that through?
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: Londoner on February 11, 2008, 06:35:26 pm
Robins & Day, Colindale, Edgeware, Middx. 0208 731 1000 The guy I dealt with was Dave Voller in fleet sales. 
Title: Re: Need new van....Auctions?
Post by: The Seven Bays Window Cleaning Company on February 11, 2008, 07:10:11 pm
Thanks Vince.

I'll be looking them up. ;D