Hi all.been looking at a small car based van for personal use.ive been looking around on the net and have a few questions

Why are some vans no vat while others you have to pay it?

Also I'm looking at something that can be used for passengers etc....I've been looking at vauxhall combo crew vans so I can drop the back seats.are these any good and is there anything to look out for?

I've noticed many in my price range have done 90k+ miles,are they on their last legs or good for plenty more?

And is there a dpf in them?

Thanks

Hi all.been looking at a small car based van for personal use.ive been looking around on the net and have a few questions

Why are some vans no vat while others you have to pay it?

Also I'm looking at something that can be used for passengers etc....I've been looking at vauxhall combo crew vans so I can drop the back seats.are these any good and is there anything to look out for?

I've noticed many in my price range have done 90k+ miles,are they on their last legs or good for plenty more?

And is there a dpf in them?

Thanks

Having had 4 Combos I'd not touch a 1.3 Cdti with a barge pole, 1.7Cdti is more than pokey enough especially with DTUK box and reliable, 1.7 Engines are solid, Cambelt is every 60K I service every 10K however VX are longer intervals, a lot of rattles in ours but that's due to nature of work (courier van) very easy to work on. Tax is £130 a year, just like a Corsa. No DPF, the current one is the only one that's had an issue due to someone leaving a nut in the camshaft area and it whirring around, removed the nut and left as is and its good as gold. Never had an EGR issue

I had the 1.3 Cdti and i hated it, under powered and always had problems with it as well. I have a year old Citroen Berlingo now and i love it.

Are you not better buying a People Carrier, rear sliding doors maybe, rear lift hatch,

that can have the rear seats or some of the rear seats taken out.

Dual Purpose Vehicle, Diesel or Even Diesel Auto.

 

Tint the rear Windows and use as a Van. Then just insure for business use.

Lots of size choices Hyundai Trajet, Ford Galaxy, Peugeout Bipper/ Fiat Qubo/ Citreon Nemo, Chrysler Grand Voyager etc

Edited 2 February, 201511 yr by goneoffSKi

Vans tend to be bought by VAT registered companies, so prices are listed without VAT to show the actual cost to them. As a private individual you'll be required to pay VAT regardless of the price being shown with or without.

 

You'll not be able to insure a van (even a car based one) using a standard car insurance policy, you'll need commercial vehicle one. Road tolls are the same, so a car derived van will need to pay the van rate on the M6 toll and Dartford crossing for example.

 

Much better as posted by goneoffski, get a small MPV type car or one of the cars that were originally vans, you get car comfort with the practicality of a van. For example, Citroen Synergy, Fiat Scudo or its Peugeot equivalent.

Edited 2 February, 201511 yr by mannyo

You'll not be able to insure a van (even a car based one) using a standard car insurance policy, you'll need commercial vehicle one. Road tolls are the same, so a car derived van will need to pay the van rate on the M6 toll and Dartford crossing for example.

 

 

 

Found out about the Dartford toll when I put the BiL's German registered Dacia van on our DarTag or what ever its called now.

 

Looked around at several small vans like the Kangoo and Berlingo.  Lots of volume, but some of them are a bit constrained by the suspension bits intruding.  I guess it depends on why you need the space - delivering double fridges is more critical than a car load going camping or sporting, with their stuff in duffles.

The ones I tried were a bit vanlike.  ie noisy, harsh and crude.  Will that matter for your "personal use"? 

+1 to what others have said

 

A car based on van

 

I was looking a Berlingo/Partner vans, but ended buying the car version as insurance was less than half* and road tax cheaper too

 

eg less than half the annual running cost of the van version

 

*You cannot easily insure vans under personal/domestic insurance these days

+1 to what others have said

A car based on van

I was looking a Berlingo/Partner vans, but ended buying the car version as insurance was less than half* and road tax cheaper too

eg less than half the annual running cost of the van version

*You cannot easily insure vans under personal/domestic insurance these days

Other way around for me, insurance dramatically cheaper and road tax too

As regards vat, most are advertised as plus vat because the previous owner was a vat registered business user, paid vat on the initial purchase and then claimed it back from hmrc. Then when it's sold again the vat has to be paid once more, and the seller then has to pay the vat to hmrc. Every time it gets sold, the vat element changes hands between both owners and hmrc.

 

If a van is advertised as no vat or vat free etc. then it simply means that someone has bought the van who is not vat registered and hasn't claimed it back. At that point the vat stops and the price is the price.

 

Example 1:
 

New van costs £10000 plus vat at £2000 = £12000. Company buys the van at £10000 plus vat and the seller pays £2000 vat to hmrc. The buyer then claims the £2000 vat back from hmrc making the van cost £10000 to them. They run it for a year and then sell it at £5000 plus vat at £1000 = £6000, and the vat element of £1000 is paid to hmrc. The new buyer then claims the vat back from hmrc if he's vat registered and the van will have cost him £5000. This continues every time it's bought and sold.

 

Example 2:

 

New van costs £10000 plus vat at £2000 = £12000. Company buys the van at £10000 plus vat and the seller pays £2000 vat to hmrc. The buyer then claims the £2000 vat back from hmrc making the van cost £10000 to them. They run it for a year and then sell it at £5000 plus vat at £1000 = £6000, and the vat element of £1000 is paid to hmrc.The new buyer is not vat registered so can't claim the vat bach from hmrc so the van costs him £6000 and from that point on there is no vat element on the van. Every time it gets sold after that the price is the price without (or including if you like) vat.

Oh, and don't forget speed limits for vans. We've done this one to death recently though. http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/340533-vanless/

 

Simples.

http://www.sussexsaferroads.gov.uk/costs/car-derived-vans.html

 

Errors there,

there are Citroen Nemo , Peugeot Bipper, Fiat Qubo cars, Petrol & Diesel, Manual & Auto,

& Euro 4 without DPF issues & Euro 5 after there were issues.

Edited 2 February, 201511 yr by goneoffSKi

Simples.

http://www.sussexsaferroads.gov.uk/costs/car-derived-vans.html

Already torn that page to bits mate. It's plain wrong.

What matters now as Smart Cameras /ANPR type come more common is that the Vehicles Class matches the Speed Restrictions 

or NSL's for the Vehicles Class on the DVLA Database.

What matters now as Smart Cameras /ANPR type come more common is that the Vehicles Class matches the Speed Restrictions 

or NSL's for the Vehicles Class on the DVLA Database.

Exactly, and the V5 is the only reliable way of telling what the DVLA class the vehicle as, not  random websites saying "The Citroen Berlingo was a van before it was a car, therefore it is not a car-derived van and must comply with the same speed limits for larger vans. "

Get a Roomster and take the rear seats out, takes about 5 mins for all 3 to come out and about the same to put them in due to there design.

Are you not better buying a People Carrier, rear sliding doors maybe, rear lift hatch,

that can have the rear seats or some of the rear seats taken out.

Dual Purpose Vehicle, Diesel or Even Diesel Auto.

Tint the rear Windows and use as a Van. Then just insure for business use.

Lots of size choices Hyundai Trajet, Ford Galaxy, Peugeout Bipper/ Fiat Qubo/ Citreon Nemo, Chrysler Grand Voyager etc

Are you not better buying a People Carrier, rear sliding doors maybe, rear lift hatch,

that can have the rear seats or some of the rear seats taken out.

Dual Purpose Vehicle, Diesel or Even Diesel Auto.

Tint the rear Windows and use as a Van. Then just insure for business use.

Lots of size choices Hyundai Trajet, Ford Galaxy, Peugeout Bipper/ Fiat Qubo/ Citreon Nemo, Chrysler Grand Voyager etc

Sorry shoulda stated from the start that parking space in our area is at a premium and size (or lack of) is key

Chrysler grand voyager etc too big,although is a good idea and something I didn't think of

Also some other things mentioned I never thought of also,insurance etc

What about the vauxhall 1.2cdti? Any good?

And is 100k mileage a lot for these things?

Sorry shoulda stated from the start that parking space in our area is at a premium and size (or lack of) is key

Chrysler grand voyager etc too big,although is a good idea and something I didn't think of

Also some other things mentioned I never thought of also,insurance etc

What about the vauxhall 1.2cdti? Any good?

And is 100k mileage a lot for these things?

It's a 1.3 and its crap, knackered cam chains more than a CAVE uses oil 1.7 is the only decent Combo engine

It's a 1.3 and its crap, knackered cam chains more than a CAVE uses oil 1.7 is the only decent Combo engine

Lol

Got a cave engine in the vrs so am well practiced!

Lol

Got a cave engine in the vrs so am well practiced!

Drop us a PM if you need any Combo advice

My mate had a combo van, it done just over half a million miles before it died, got abused everyday and always come back for more  

Have you considered the car version of the Skoda Praktik van?  

Are you not better buying a People Carrier, rear sliding doors maybe, rear lift hatch,

that can have the rear seats or some of the rear seats taken out.

Dual Purpose Vehicle, Diesel or Even Diesel Auto.

Tint the rear Windows and use as a Van. Then just insure for business use.

Lots of size choices Hyundai Trajet, Ford Galaxy, Peugeout Bipper/ Fiat Qubo/ Citreon Nemo, Chrysler Grand Voyager etc

Busy day....on the net n driving round

The van would be used for transporting sons kart to the track (haven't bought that yet either ) plus tools,kart trolley n maybe small awning

Kart without bodywork n wheels aren't that wide but after looking at vauxhall combo it probably ain't big enough

Me mam has now said I can use her drive so can go bigger.after all things considered maybe a zafira /galaxy would be a good idea

I don't care how mucky it gets, more of a workhorse so has anyone experience of either the vauxhall or ford?

i.e how flat do the seats go and how easy are they to fold or remove....oh and any engines/variants to avoid

Thanks

We have a couple of Zafiras at work, awful ecoflex engines, spent most of their time in the garage being fixed. The rear most seats fold flat but the middle row will just roll forwards and tip forwards, unless theres another way they can be moved? The galaxy is much larger, the seats are full seats which dont fold but since you dont need them can be removed totally. Ford developed the Galaxy with VW/Seat so the Sharan and Alhambra are the same, Ford also use the PD130 engine in them. 

 

I'm sure others well be better informed and along shortly. 

Edited 2 February, 201511 yr by matt1chelski

Whatever you do, do not buy a berlingo people carrier

Horrendous pieces of kit

We called it the venga bus. Shocking

Why not just buy an octy estate and fold back seats?