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search through ebay for the type and price you want to pay
its a buyers market at the moment with prices very suppressed
If you're looking for a mid-sized van at the £5K area then the general advice is to avoid Vitos, as thy rust like mad, and Transporters as they are expensive to run. I'd go for a Hiace every time, mine has 130K miles at 10 years old now and has only had about £400-worth of repairs outside of very cheap servicing, in the 6 years I've had it. One central-locking sensor (£45 and I fitted it), and one diff bearing at about £250 plus an hour's labour.
Mine's a LWB, well worth the extra as it's very useable length. I'd buy another every day over the Datsun/Renault/Vauxhall range. I'm tempted to put a private plate on mine, have it re-sprayed, and tell everyone it's a new van. It's that reliable, if I'm not tempting fate here!
Might be worth a look at the auctions. Failing that ex hire vehicles,try a van hire company.
I would not worry about mileage - more important that it has been well maintained and is reasonable all round condition. We've run vans (Mercs and Fords) up to 250K with little problems, that's my limit personally.
Buying from a larger company is probably a reasonable bet, as the company does not want down time, possibly has a courier/haulage license so have to stay on top of things...not doing so can cause them lots of problems.
Personally, I don't worry about mileage either (my 2004 Transit now has 210000 on the clock) - I would be more concerned with service history and bodywork condition.
I looked at a LOT of vans before choosing mine, many were dented, scuffed or scraped all over.
Personally I would avoid ex courier or hire vans as they are invariably abused, thrashed and overloaded daily....
As with all vans, vivaro/trafic/primastar have issues (clutch and gearboxes mainly), also a few niggling electrical problems - my uncle replaced a Toyota Hiace (bought new) with a Nissan Primastar (also bought new) - this has already had a few issues with the electronic dashboard and fuel level sensor within 6 months....
His Toyota Hiace never had a single problem in 4 years and turned in nearly 40 to the gallon!
As Mick said, its a buyers market at the minute - my mate bought another secondhand Transit van for his business the other day and managed to haggle over £550 off the screen price and got 6 months tax thrown in from our local car/van sales place.
Picked up an 07 SWB VW Crafter last year for around that figure, had it delivered which added a bit on but as has been mentionedit's a buyers market at the moment.
Not sure where you are but just outside Melton Mowbray theres a dealer that sells vans hes got some on ebay at 5k and less his vans seem reasonably priced have a look at his other listings http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-Vauxhall-Vivaro-van-62k-1-9-t-diesel...
Cheers for replies folks, what about Hiace for load space in comparison to the others mentioned?
Ever considered buying new? We have only bought new vans. Never looked back.
If you are flat out busy or plan to be, a new van is a great asset, no MOTs, full warranty, no down time with vans at the garage, no stress, good look for your business etc etc.
Its never a good idea to lock-up a load of cash in a van, just have monthly payments.
When driving take a look what all the big companies do, like Tesco, Royal Mail etc they all have the best accountants and watch every penny, if their are doing it you know it makes sense. Most professional trades these days drive new too, eg Gas fitters, plumbers etc
Plus you will reduce your tax bill
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