[M.Acorn]

Very happy days ! all 90 of them,Was way to quick for an inexperienced 18 yr old,had Koni`s all round,and had been seen to by a company called gti engineering,and had regular visits to the rolling rd,was as quick if not quicker than my current 3rd scirocco gtx.
will have another one one day,they are worth quite a bit now though .
Got the van back ,cost me £160,2x cylinders 2 x brake pipes 1 x flexi hose, few pipe ends 1 x litre of fluid labour and vat ,had to drain out all the old fluid as it was mostly water  Water pump and cam belt next ,goin to see what happens when it gets put in for mot in Jan,then decide if it`s time for another one

[derek west]

Very happy days ! all 90 of them,will have another one one day,they are worth quite a bit now though .
Got the van back ,cost me £160,2x cylinders 2 x brake pipes 1 x flexi hose, few pipe ends 1 x litre of fluid labour and vat ,had to drain out all the old fluid as it was mostly water  Water pump and cam belt next ,goin to see what happens when it gets put in for mot in Jan,then decide if it`s time for another one

how many new parts?
are you sure it wasn't a different van with the same wheels on it
derek

[clinton]

Mark

I would get rid and get better van mate asap.

A really good sign written van will get you work and look much more profesional..

[jonnyald]

well,i for one like hearing  marks van tales ,  long may it live !!!

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

well,i for one like hearing  marks van tales ,  long may it live !!!

Well I second that. Jonny you beat me to it.

Having said that I could never exist the way Mark operates, but each to their own.

Mind you, pots and kettles spring to mind. My ambulance celebrates it's 10th birthday in just over a month's time. there's quite a bit of rust showing. It's certainly dirty and the power assist is making one hell of a noise and isn't working.

that said I've always known that my service and MOT will cost me about £800 a year and thereafter I'll have trouble-free motoring again for another year. I have a wonderful ex-Ford mechanic who looks after my transit and he's fantastic-always happy for you to look under the "bonnet" with him and allows you to watch him work (if you wants to) and to inspect his work.

It's so much easier to earn the money to pay somebody else to do the repairs/servicing than trying to do it yourself to save a few quid but losing out on lost income from cc in the meantime.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I hate the fact that I've spent my hard earned and also time and effort trying to get customers that I have to then let them down because I can't get to them so I prefer to get a reliable van then the bloody TM breaks down well I prefer to get both new but that's my way of spending (did I really say spending?)

Shaun

[M.Acorn]

Was ok moved one job to next week,the other job was through the agy ,picked the van up at 11,home by 3 with £190 in my pocket,been an expensive day today,yellow pages payment £531. plus the van,glad i am chocca all week.
Pete tong at ministry of sound on Sat night,theatre sunday 

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

But Mark

Moving jobs back to next week means you have less time available next week to book in jobs. Unless you are that quiet that you can afford that type of slack then there is still a big opportunity cost as Shaun was pointing out.

Roger

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Asking for our opinion is one thing but we don't want to endorse getting you into debt which is not for everyone some people may have a good week and then a poor one but to move your business forward and you believe that you can service a loan then I would recommend a new or newer van.

I personally like controlled debt as it keeps me hungry and focused to make the payments others are different, there is a tax benefit but you have to be making money to pay tax so you have to make the decission not us.

With the way the media tell us how the credit crunch started wih spiralling unpaid debt then I don't want to be recommending a debt you may live to regret.

Shaun

[Matt Lindus]

Mark, you are quite right to not use loans and finance. I used to think the same when I started in Ariel’s and Coms. In fact I was probably much worse, I used to pay annual insurances in one payment, same applied to all insurance I had. Everything I had was mine and owned, other than my house obviously.
In the end I was wedging it away quite nicely because I had none of the little "Ankle Biters" attacking my account every month that most men have.

Things are totally different for me now because my circumstances have changed, I now have staff to pay and all the other overheads of a modern business. I even use factoring for outstanding invoices, this is a credit finance for late payers. In other words I have to borrow from John in order to pay Paul whilst I wait for Luke to pay what he should have paid 6 months ago to Peter!! I have outstanding invoices totalling the value of a moderate house and date back to start of the financial crash (2007), I have still had to pay the workers and contractors for their time, not to mention electrical and cabling equipment fitted.
It hacks me off to think that the people who have written off my debt due to bankruptcy are now resurfacing wealthier and healthier than ever before and I am left to pick up the pieces. The law needs to change. I could have sat on my arse, not done these contracts and bought a yacht and sailed the family for 2weeks and still been better off.

Rant over  

Matt

 

[richy27]

I started off with an ex post office combo did me proud while was testing the water never bothered to get it signed just got few cheap magnets.

Soon got fed up witht he lack of space and getting called post man pat.  decided to upgrade got myself a trafic 52 reg paid just over 3k for it spent 400 getting it signed with some nice graphics.

the importance of a prof image really matters and have got so many jobs because of the new van have lost count and had very few when i had the combo.

but you are right to not get into finance unless you feel comfortable with it. i sacrificed my car to get the new van but hey one day in the future i can get a new better car.

[clinton]

Good to hear you doing well richard and by the sounds of it i think you will be succesfull..

Must say the image it gives you pulling up in a nice vehicle will always help and give you confidence

Keep on rolling

[daysdeepclean]

I've got an ex post van and seem to do alright, get the gear in (Including the dip tank and oven cleaning equipment) no bother at all.... I "Have" got it sign written, up to the ying yang in fact and I get plenty of jobs from it. So it's not so much the van, is it

Anyway, we have talked about selling the Disco to finance a VW Transporter so we still have a family vehicle, but as I am still looking at buying a TM in the future (Couple of years or so) I feel I'll be better off getting a brand new van then !

[Andrew Briscoe]

As Richard and Clinton say, image is important.
5 years ago i was one who always saved and paid for everything i wanted, bit old fashioned that way.
Then i bit the bullet, traded 2 vans i had for 2 new ones, good deposit too, the rest over 3 years. 18 month ago i bought another new van, same again good deposit and the rest on 3 years.
In the last years since when i look at my accounts motoring repairs have been nil, except for a droken window and a wing mirror, yes i have been lucky and my staff have been carefull.

Many have commented on my vans, abought newness and clean, and setting right image, as Shaun says they all tax deductable, even the interest on the loan.

Replacement parts are exspensive, i remember getting a quote for an exhaust for a 4 year old fiat doblo was over 300 plus the vat, to me that is 2 months payments, getting any work done by a garage can be 100/hr plus parts and vat. New vans are much more reliable than they where, and you have the warranty and much more peace of mind to fall back on.

My advice is buy new, you wont look back, obviously set your budget.

Andrew

[daysdeepclean]

I don't disagree at all about image, but in the first couple of years it's obviously unwise to commit yourself to a finance when you don't know what's around the corner. To be honest, once I've shook YP's monthly expenditure off and a couple of other "Unnecessary Outgoings" I could possibly be interested in a bigger van with new livery. But I just won't buy second hand again, for the very reasons you mention Andrew!

I'll stick with the Combo for now and put up with being called a postman

[Andrew Briscoe]

I have just bought an 02 Relay, well i swapped it for a m/bike, but it has a truckmount in the back and will be coming out and van sold 

Andrew

[Jim_77]

Presumably bought it for the machine  then Andrew?  Upgrade or robbing for parts?

[M.Acorn]

Taken all comments onboard folks   i started off 5 years ago with a knackered sieara diesel estate,used that until it got written off,have had the van coming up for 4 years now,and if i added everything up i spent on it it wouldn`t be that much.
Got hit in the back,so got new rear door from that,got hit twice in the same place,got new drivers side wing for that.
The only thing that lets it down looks wise,is the usual rust spots around the rear arches,which i was planning on doing myself.
Monday was only the second time it`s been in the garage,other than when i fitted the new clutch and turbo,as i did that in a mates garage over a weekend.
It`s never been unreliable really,turbo going was my own fault for tanking it back from Yorkshire,while my wife was sleeping.
As Colin says,i also think i am going to knock yellow pages on the head,next time around,then use the money i was paying them to possibly finance a newer one,also need to look into taking on a mortage,as i am 40 in april.
But hey ,it could be much much worse,i could still be working as a chef,doing stupid hours,for little money and being unhappy.
I earn a decent living,my quality of life is much much better than it ever was,i enjoy my free time more.
I don`t want to get to the point where i am employing more staff,my wife used to have about 15 staff on her books until the revenue screwed them over,just don`t want the stress.
I get home on an eve / afternoon,knowing i have done a good days work,and i can relax without stressing about tomorrow !

[daysdeepclean]

Mark.... It's a good life isn't it mate... Being a carpet cleaner!!!!

[M.Acorn]

Yes very much so,when i was working as a chef,getting paid monthly,most of my wages were gone about a week after being paid,now i always have a few hundred quid in my pocket 
Being made redundant was the best thing that happened to me.
My wife was always saying why don`t i start up my own business,she was subbing to another carpet cleaning business,i went to Barclays with a business plan,but as i was also working as a chef at the time,they wouldn`t go for it,as they didn`t think i would,put enough time into the business to make their money back,even though i was working 6- 2 most days.
So my redundancy money paid for me to start up + a grand i borrowed from my wife.
Would not go back to being employed ,that is for sure