Buying secondhand van - hints & tips please

Cazza

OH is a self employed builder and currently has a MWB Renault Master which has caused a ridiculous amount of hassle and grief with faults. It is 3 years old this month, there's still a year to go on the finance but he's had enough so we're looking to replace it.

He's interested in either an Iveco Daily or VW Crafter so we're starting the trawl of Autotrader and used van dealers. We will be buying via a dealer rather than private sale, as we'd like the protection offered via this method with warranties etc, despite the fact we will pay more. Our maximum budget is around £13,500 including VAT but he'd be happy with something much older with higher mileage if it's got a reliable reputation. If it's £5,000 we could buy without needing finance; not having to pay a loan each month would be great!

Any hints / tips / recommendations for things we should look out for??

paddedjohn

Vauxhall are selling 61 plated vans list price 17k for about 10k

Cazza

paddedjohn wrote: »

Vauxhall are selling 61 plated vans list price 17k for about 10k

OH is pretty set on the Daily or Crafter - the Vauxhall Movano is too similar to the Master - we really have been bitten by this nightmare of a van!

patman99

The Movano is a British-built Renault Master but without all the issues the French-built stuff has. I know 2 people who have had theirs for 3 years with no issues at all.
One piece of advice, look to see what everyone else is driving. Parcelforce currently run 'Dailys' so there may well be some good ex-Pf examples around. These will be well serviced to boot.

Both the RAC & AA use VW Transporters. Have only seen one Crafter on the road so far, so not that popular in Essex/Suffolk.

Myself, I'm the 3rd owner of a '97 LDV convoy (1st owner - Royal Mail, 2nd a guy who used it to drive to Spain 3 times a year). Unlike all the Transits I looked-at, it was rust-free.

I will admit to looking at 8 vans before making my choice and a Daily was one I would have bought if the price was right.

Delivery_Driver

I had a Movano at work from new for around 3 years, doing approx 50k miles in it and it was pretty good, expecially as it was used for multidrop deliveries which really wears a van out.I'd say 1 day in the life of a multidrop vehicle is equivalent to a months normal driving so I wouldn't even consider buying any vehicle that had used for this purpose.
The things it needed were:

Front discs and pads x 3(so 4 sets including the ones on when new).
Rear discs and pads x 1.
Flywheel ring gear failed at about 40k.
New battery.
Drivers seat base replaced(worn bolsters).
Approx 8 tyres, but mostly due to screws in them from constantly parking near the curb and driving down tracks/industrial areas.

All the above are expected when using the van for delivering as you are constantly stop-starting(around 100-150 stop-starts a day), reversing, parking, getting in and out of the van.Just general heavy duty work a builders van will not get.
It averaged around 25mpg when delivering but I could get 45mpg when not and started 1st time, using hardly any oil at all.Hah, you'd think I was trying to sell it .

YORKSHIRELASS

My OH has a Vauxhall Vivaro which he bought a year ago and so far its been great. We were reluctant to buy a Vauxhall after a nightmare with a Vauxhall Combi a few years ago but finding the right van can be hard work.

Finding out a vans previous history is so much more important than with a car. We try to buy ex-Company vans which have generally been serviced and looked after and if you can find a trustworthy dealer then that gives you peace of mind.

In our experience you have to have a bit of an open mind when looking for vans because the choice of vehicles out there in the right price bracket with the right condition and mileage tend to be limited.

Good advice from Delivery Driver too - not something I would have thought about.

Cazza

Thank you for the advice! I have persuaded OH to contact a Vauxhall dealer for a test drive on a Movano, so will see how he feels about it then.

The Master is as small as he wants to go, so the VW Transporter would be a bit too small but the fact they are used by AA and RAC does bode well.

Thanks you delivery driver - as you say, if the Movano can cope with this type of work, then as a builder's van it should be fine. I am trying to persuade OH that the likelihood of ending up with another nightmare like this one is slim!

Yorkshirelass - is there anywhere in particular you would look when searching for an ex company van, or is it the way the advert is worded?

s_b

find a well established dealer not one thats is run by itinerant clockers in the background
unfortunately most of the white van dealers i know in yorkshire i wouldnt buy anything off them for this reason
might be worth getting hubby to go to john o gaunts van sale at leeds too?

do your homework very very carefully

Cazza

Thank you - yes, we definitely want a reputable dealer (the Renault main dealer we have had contact with up until now have been about as much use as a chocolate teapot!)

What is John o Gaunt's? Neither of us have anywhere near enough knowledge to buy at auction. We're happy to travel for the right vehicle but Leeds is a real trek from us unless we're pretty certain before we leave home! (Surrey / Sussex / Hampshire border)

eamon

As an additional benefit a Movano has a bigger payload than the equivalent sized transit.

Cazza

Yes, he's quite anti-Transits - doesn't like the ride and finds the seats very uncomfortable. He will carry a 1,000kg bulk bag fairly often, so it needs to be able to take that plus other materials and tools but also stay under 3.5 gross weight as that's the maximum for his licence.

We've been searching Auto-trader this evening and found a few Ivecos which are possibles, within our cash budget.

Are there any particular niggles we should be looking out for with this vehicle? c6-8 years old, mileage up to 50,000.