Need To Buy A New Work Vehicle. Ideas Please.

[axnutty 10]

I have a gardening business, as a works vehicle I use a 51 plate Peugeot Partner, which has served me very well indeed. It is however knocking on a bit, and wants 4 new tyres, back axle, aux belt tensioner & a wishbone. Which if i do the work myself come to £500 / £600.

 

Now the van is probably worth a £1k fixed & its just easier to write it off on ebay as spares / repairs for £400 & have done. So I need a new company vehicle. But what?

 

1. What looks profesional for a gardening company?
   
2. Is economic on fuel? (Thats 40MPG +) (LPG is an option)
   
3. Good spares prices & easy to work on?
   
4. Reliable
   
5. Could be used in comfort, I do 400miles a week so big noisy cabins arent appriciated!
   
6. Has a good retail value
   
7. Also to consider is that I tend to leave some tools in the back and for that reason I favour roofed vehicles over pickups. (I work in very rural areas so I can get away with it)
   

 

So far with varying (you can say that again!) degrees of practicality I could go for:

 

1. A newer van (Ph2 Peugeot Partner 60/70K on the clock, shiny white, 1.6HDi or 1.9D) £2k
   
2. The car version of the Peugeot Partner/Berlingo (Ph2 60/70K 2.0HDi) £2.2k
   
3. An economical estate car + trailer (Mondeo) £2.5k
   
4. Buy a big ass pickup/monster truck/school run thing & just sell my soul for everything I loath about modern transport (Navaro/Ranger/L200) £5k
   
5. A Landrover (Because its a real mans version of above) £5k
   

 

 

 

As you can see I can stretch to £5k, but im loathed to do so. I can think of better things to spend my money on.

 

Really like some more opinions, ideas, or reviews on those vehicles because im going round in circles.

Edited October 25, 2010 by axnutty

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

No idea what they cost, but I've hired a Transit Connect a couple of times and was pretty impressed- one in particular was not that old and went like stink!

[allye 530 3 Cars]

I can't really comment on the widest range of vans and cars being only 19 but I do know the Peugeot Partner is a fairly awful van isn't it!? Oversteers one way, understeers the other!

 

I drive a Merc Sprinter for work (ranging from the older style 2004 200,000 mile +, up to 260,000! to the new style 58 plate ones) for my step dad and the are properly cracking van, it looks like your after a smaller one so i would say Vito. My step dads company really looks after them and the 250,000 milers really drive like new, I'm amazed at them and prefer the older ones. The are reliable, good resale but I would say not the cheapest to fix. You can't have it all!

 

Plus when empty the older ones are well quick!!!!

 

Ali

[axnutty 10]

I really couldnt careless how fast it is. Or indeed how well it goes round a corner. It needs to be professional appearance & economic. I dont know why, but I think a big Navara pickup behemoth looks the best in terms of appearance for a gardening company. It scores pretty much nowhere else though.

 

I had forgotten about the Transit Conect, I had been looking at those last night. £2.5k something like that

[allye 530 3 Cars]

I would disagree that a big 4x4 looks professional, I would say quite the oposite, a little loutish. Do you actually go off road that much!?

[Atari Boy 11]

I know it does not help but I love these old Merc vans. Never driven one but just like them.

 

I was speaking to one of the chaps who maintains the UPS fleet recently.

There is a Merc van at their Watford depot with over 1,000,000 miles on the clock, that's got to say something.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Jonny, I have driven one of those Mercs, my god it was slooooooooow.......

[swordfish210 20]

No idea what they cost, but I've hired a Transit Connect a couple of times and was pretty impressed- one in particular was not that old and went like stink!

 

I used to do about 1000 miles a week in a Connect and it was fantastic, if i was going to buy a small van for myself i would only have one of them.

[allye 530 3 Cars]

I was speaking to one of the chaps who maintains the UPS fleet recently.

There is a Merc van at their Watford depot with over 1,000,000 miles on the clock, that's got to say something.

 

Thats fairly good going. My companies fleet is 13 vans, all Sprinter all on between 160,000 - 260,000 miles most on original clutches and only ones headgasket fail! Says something about looking after them!

[lfallgti 12]

Why not a new shape transit? it doesn't need to be a big lwb hightop and they don't have the pikey image they used to have. Also parts will be fairly cheap and plentiful.

[Bogsye 22]

I'm no expert on most of the above, but I'd avoid the Land Rover at all cost.

 

£5k will probably turn into a nightmare of rotten bulkhead, chassis needing patched, etc....

A colleague did this for his gardening business, and it just seemed impossible to get a decent LR that wasn't falling to bits.

 

Brian

[muddatrucker 125]

A Proton Jumbuck?

[allye 530 3 Cars]

A Proton Jumbuck?

 

 

No wait, I'm sorry, it could well be a good car.

[GilesW 41]

If you really want something professional then I would say that rules out all the estate/trailor options as tbh that's far from professional IMHO.

 

Also the chav 4x4 - that just makes you look like a fly-by-night cowboy builder or groundworker.

 

A good van is what you need, and by the sound of it if a partner did you then a connect or similar would be perfect. Diesel obviously.

 

 

Oh - I stayed up in the Cedar court hotel in Harrgote for a few days atthe begining of the month. Nice place, so defo a good idea to stay professional looking.

[muddatrucker 125]

 

No wait, I'm sorry, it could well be a good car.

If he gets this one http://tinyurl.com/3acu644 he can use it as a taxi at weekends.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

A Proton Jumbuck?

Don't laugh as there is one coming to the Curborough day with a 350bhp Mitsubishi Evo engine in it. They drop straight in and all the Road rally boys love the hatches

[Bigtimmy 1]

I'd disagee on the Landy front, 5k should get you a good late 300tdi in basic fettle which you can prod into something really nice over time.

 

I was going to suggest an 02 - 03 swb VW T4, ultimately professional in my book, but just looking on Autotrader, hell fire they are holding their values well, looks like 5k would get you a late 90's one..boo to my suggestion!

 

If your gardening does'nt involve too much driving around off road I'd be looking at the Connect. Spanking machines!

[axnutty 10]

If you really want something professional then I would say that rules out all the estate/trailor options as tbh that's far from professional IMHO.

 

Also the chav 4x4 - that just makes you look like a fly-by-night cowboy builder or groundworker.

 

A good van is what you need, and by the sound of it if a partner did you then a connect or similar would be perfect. Diesel obviously.

 

 

Oh - I stayed up in the Cedar court hotel in Harrgote for a few days atthe begining of the month. Nice place, so defo a good idea to stay professional looking.

 

 

Hmm, thats very interesting. As you mention Harrogate is Chelsea of the North. So unfortunatly at least from a business perspective I need to adhere to a new, clean, professional image. If it were up to me id keep banging about in my old van.

 

I agree with your estate car/trailer option. It only even made my short list due to the fact that my other car is a 205. And my other car doesnt even want mentioning as its a R5. So there are times when im traveling the length of Britain on a personal level that having something that is a modern car or "not a van" is appealing. But I have to agree with you, as a company image its not a good one.

 

The very reason I even contenplated "a Vogon Galaxy Destroying Starship Chav 4x4" is for the simple reason I thought that maybe that DIDNT look FLY BY NIGHT. But then I unfortunatly am immersed in a world of the f***ing things. They certainly arent cheap for what they are, nor are they economical. And from asking around various people

 

"What would you like me to turn up in and park outside your house and advertise im working on your garden in?"

 

Nearly all said, "Big posh pickup."

 

 

 

Lets face it, gardening requires no qualifications and anyone can do it & most people have a lawn they dont want to cut. Given the economy is as it is, a great number of people are going to take the self employed route & come next year I expect to see a rise in new gardening companies springing up (pardon the pun). Id quite like to be ahead of the competition with a nice well set up image that stands out.

 

As for using Ford, im all for it, but I always thought Peugeot made the best diesels?

 

So is everyone in agreement that a Ford Ranger or Nissan Navaro or Mitsubishi L200 looks worse than a Partner or Transit Connect parked up outside your house displaying a garden company logo?

[axnutty 10]

As for Landie, I like them. A 4x4 isnt necessary for my work, but they make good tow cars which would be a benefit in their own right. They are breezy, noisy, uneconomical, do have theyre fair share of issues, but I do like them. £5k would buy a reasonable one I think. Itd be much older and higher mileage than any of the other alternatives ive mentioned so far. I think again it helps with the outdoor image you sort of want with a gardening company....maybe im wrong?

[Ludi 2 2 Cars]

I use for work Peugeot Expert,it's pretty reliable and fast.It's bigger than Partner but a lot faster.If you like the Partner you will like Expert too.

 

Cheers,

Viktor

[16v205 9]

From unfortunate personal experience I wouldn’t bother with a 4x4 l200 style vehicle for work, unless of course you don’t actually want to carry anything in it, have amputee occupants for rear passengers, want to do less than 20mpg around town and 25mpg on the motorways, and end up with a sore arse before you've even made it round the drive through for breakfast muffins.

 

On the other hand the 2005+ Vauxhall Vivaro's do around 35-40mpg and have been told they have a updated 6 speed box, I certainly know of a few between 90k and 150k without the issues that plagued the earlier models. Also they tow plant or cars really well.

Rich

[axnutty 10]

Useful opinion there Rich, thanks, scrub the L200 then. Would appear pickups are out altogether then.

 

Anyone got anything to say about Astravans?

[Alastairh 47]

A small transit, keep it simple and common and you will get cheap motoring. Go for one thats not white and you could make it stand out with some graphics.

 

Al

[16v205 9]

I know it does not help but I love these old Merc vans. Never driven one but just like them.

 

My Dad still runs one of these, a 308 luton with only has 60k on the clock from new. He loves it.

 

A few years back he had it stolen from him before it was found 18 months later, they left the sprinter and transits alone.

 

Rich

[Bigtimmy 1]

Also they tow PLANT or cars really well.

 

Ideal for a gardener then