[Barnes Wallis]

Who does it?

Anything bad to say about it?

Anything good to say about it?

[Granny]

I'd say looks unprofessional.  Bit like family car with ladders on the roof rack.
Sign written van will get more walk ups anyday.
G.

[magic moments]

Completely disagree with the above ,a clean looking estate car with say magnetic signs looks good and proffesional,your just hampered by what you can carry ,I did it for 4 months before buying a van picked up plenty.

[Barnes Wallis]

It must be cheaper to run a car, as you could put it on the same insurance as your regular (home) car - no more business insurance to worry abou t(apart from PL, but that's different).

You could buy a perfectly decent estate for £500 - none of that £10k nonsense.  ok, so no good if you want to do gutter vacking etc, but for basic wfp, I would have thought ideal.

[G Griffin]

I'd sooner be buying a cheap second hand car than I would a van, as well.
Vans tend to have been abused more.

[AC Window Cleaning]

So you dont need business insurance to use a car for BUSINESS USE?
Ok then.........lol

[Barnes Wallis]

It's not as if 'they' would know.  A car is a car.  The wfp kit in the back?  "I was delivering it'.

Sorted.  Saved £300.

[AC Window Cleaning]

Why even bother having insurance at all then??
Even more saved.
How would they know? hmm...............

[AuRavelling79]

So you dont need business insurance to use a car for BUSINESS USE?
Ok then.........lol

Tesco's include business use as standard; you'd be a muppet not to.

And I've used an estate car with a 175L tank and up to 3 x 25L barrels.

It's fine to get you started in wfp - but for one man nothing beats a van with a minimum of 400L for speed. Can be a Doblo or Partner if you like.

[H2GoKent]

I would think the main problem would be weight. I don't think cars are designed to carry anywhere near the same weight as vans, and water is heavy 1kg per litre.

Overloading a vehicle is not just a problem because of the suspension, it would also mess with your brakes etc as well. if you crashed a vehicle because it was overloaded they would throw the book at you, you probably would invalidate your insurance and you would end up paying out a lot more than £300!

Maybe you could buy an older van that has extra seats and you have the best of both worlds.

[g.brookes]

cons - all the little spillages will cause rust very quickly in an estate car.  its terrible for your back having to lug stuff out of it.  it definitely does look a lot less professional.
pros - its a lot cheaper

[EandM]

I have a Citroen XM estate with the usual Hydropneumatic Suspension. Carries 500 kg easily, suspension adapts for weight and load so drives exactly the same loaded as it does empty. Citroen C5 would be another good one but the trick is obviously with the suspension. Have used the XM and previously a CX for window cleaning, WFP in the XM with no problems. Still prefer my truck though.

[bumper]

ive just bought a vauxhall estate it had a tow bar and it was working bought a trailer £200 sorted now,but reversing is a pain,i jump out and turn it round

[dazmond]

i think estate cars are absolutely fine if your trad only.i used one for years.there are still loads near me with them.no probs.but i think for WFP you should either get a trailer or a van.

when i converted to WFP i went straight for a cheap van.im still running it over 2 years later.

WFP will ruin a car.suspension,the carpets will get wet and stink and it looks very unprofessional IMO.then theres the small problem of getting your poles in and lugging barrels about!!no thanks!

if i were you id sell your car and buy a van,go straight for van mount,get it signed up or get some good quality van magnets and take it from there.

then when you start making half decent money buy a separate car so in effect your van is a "tank on wheels,money making vehicle" and your car is used for leisure and pleasure!

trust me!the luxury of being able to go out in a clean car with no WFP,poles and water after a hard days work is great!!that way you can fill up and do your end of the day jobs then forget about window cleaning until the next morning!!

[Barnes Wallis]

Cheers for that. 

[johnny bravo]

if using a car for wfp get a trailer, weight sorted, i use ford estate,   but only carry 3         25 litre drums for tops. cant carry enough water weight , ruin suspension.

[andrew hamshare]

Thus far my old Landon cab is perfect for the job. They're made to lug stuff and have great accessibility. Everyone loves it and they are cheap as...

Check them on eBay.

[EandM]

i think estate cars are absolutely fine if your trad only.i used one for years.there are still loads near me with them.no probs.but i think for WFP you should either get a trailer or a van.

when i converted to WFP i went straight for a cheap van.im still running it over 2 years later.

WFP will ruin a car.suspension,the carpets will get wet and stink and it looks very unprofessional IMO.then theres the small problem of getting your poles in and lugging barrels about!!no thanks!

if i were you id sell your car and buy a van,go straight for van mount,get it signed up or get some good quality van magnets and take it from there.

then when you start making half decent money buy a separate car so in effect your van is a "tank on wheels,money making vehicle" and your car is used for leisure and pleasure!

trust me!the luxury of being able to go out in a clean car with no WFP,poles and water after a hard days work is great!!that way you can fill up and do your end of the day jobs then forget about window cleaning until the next morning!!

Yes indeed.

Although my car is quite capable of handling the weight it is indeed the issue of soggy carpets and what that water does to the interior.
Doesn't seem to matter how careful you are and how leak / drip free your system is it will always end up getting water inside the car.
That's why I like pick up trucks so much as you're completely isolated from the water, they carry probably twice as much weight as you actually need and if they get wet it doesn't matter.

[Window Washers]

It must be cheaper to run a car, as you could put it on the same insurance as your regular (home) car - no more business insurance to worry abou t(apart from PL, but that's different).

You could buy a perfectly decent estate for £500 - none of that £10k nonsense.  ok, so no good if you want to do gutter vacking etc, but for basic wfp, I would have thought ideal.

you cannot use a wfp system from a car on a standard policy, you would not be insured, phone them and ask.

I doubt but don't not know for a fact, that a commercial policy would not insure a wfp in a car either.

I car is imo not suitable for wfp, trad yes

[NJWindowCleaning]

I work from a sedonna and when i came to insure it, they told me if I didnt have business insurance then the insurers got a loophole of not paying out if you have an accident, so yes you do need business insurance for using a car.