vx220

hi,
on behalf of a mate, are there any pitfalls or benefits to using a car derived van as a private vehicle?

obviously you get a massive boot(!) and only two seats, but i mean more along the lines of tax/insurance type stuff?

anything he should know?

ps... he knows it will be more expensive at the dartford crossing

1.9 xr2 on 40's

depends on the van i spose, if its an old escort combi you can put seats in the back easy, escort van the worst is rot
insurance is usually a little over the car it was based on but not much

i dont know about newer stuff and tax bands etc

utternutter

insurance i would of thought, some companys wont insure em so if you go to change it over from your car you may have a polite no sorry fuck off elsewere lol

stuboy

mate bought a fezza van and went to insure it and they wanted double compared to a normal fezza

focusv8

Tax is no different to a car, same rules pre 2001 etc.
Unless it's over 3500kg.

Insurance will vary, some insurers don't believe that you only want private use and will assume it's business use, hence higher rates.
Keep searching for a good deal.
Carrying your own tools for your trade is not business use, unless you are self employed.

You need to choose carefully as not all small vans are car derived and can fall foul of the speed limit restrictions.

E.g
Ford Combi and Peugeot Partner are car derived.
Transit Connect and VW Caddy are not car derived.

.


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RichieST

iTrader: (2)

I looked into van insurance a little while back, a lot of companies were massively overpriced and wouldn't recognise the fact it would be private use, although one company gave me a very good price, i think it was evaninsurance or something similar to that!

RUPERT THE BIG HAIRY BEAR

ive just bought a mk5 fiesta van

Csm

A lot of insurance companys wonder why you want a van if its not for business........they think you just dont use one as a car lol

Reason........ i have 3/4 dogs and cant fit them in a car

Saaamon

iTrader: (2)

Buy a volvo

S3an

i have a peugot expert van that i use for business purposes, cost £260 a year to insure. dont think its that bad.

Csm

Some people dont wear v-neck jumpers and pretend to be posh

fuzzy

ive got a 5 seat astravan with rear seats and use it for social and domestic use but not for purposes of employment.
nothing untoward has happened so far.

rstdave

iTrader: (3)

as above i wouldn't say vans were expensive to insure, my 06 transit connect insured for business use with tools etc costs me £340 fully comp, i had to start a fresh policy too as i already had a car but they gave me full no claims discount anyhow.

dingla rs

iTrader: (2)

my fiesta van cost me 235 quid fully comp, lot cheaper than car i got quoted for same engine year just with glass

Si B

iTrader: (59)

I have an Escort Van, and at 31 with 5 years NCB it costs £115 to insure TPFT.

Bargain.

Other plus side is "Car derived vans" are allowed to do car speed limits - ie 70 on dual carriage way. A Connect for example can only do 60.