Buying a new van advice

[Kyle Mcandrew]

I'm going self employed soon and I am in need of a van. I've seen a pretty good deal of

Monthly payments of £319
Deposit of 3.5k
Finance at 2%
Credit amount of 17.5k with a total amount payable of 22.6k

This includes VAT which I'm not going to be VAT registered.

Its on a new van. The main reason this looks good to me is because of the low deposit for a van with a warranty where I'm in theory not going to have any issues. I did look at second hand but I need like 7k to get anything half decent and financing on any are all high aprs.

My main thing is tho I don't understand what I can claim back on or how that works.

Cheere

 

[Murdoch]

I would suggest you consult an accountant .... it’s not just the van you need to be sure of in the early years

Re VAT ... how can you be sure you won’t need to register? The current threshold isn’t on the tax year, it’s ANY 12 month period HMRC decide ....

 

[OffshoreGas]

I never do finance for personal purchases but its a good tool for business, a lot of the protection you have as a private individual don't exist if you’re buying as a business. A lot of vans get dumped on the second hand market because they have expensive issues to fix. You can be lucky but I’ve been stung a few times. Vans are generally more expensive for parts etc for some reason too.

Even if you have £30k to spend on a van there are generally more profitable things you can do with the cash as a business.

You need to speak to a decent accountant to find the most tax efficient way of buying the van. What that is depends on your personal circumstances and the type of business you have.

 

[Last Plumber]

How much is the van if you bought it outright?

 

[Jim09876]

Surly better to buy a used van for a few grand? Get a few years income behind you then up grade when required. Always spend minimum on vehicles dude unless you can’t help yourself wagging the dog

 

[Harvest Fields]

Always worth buying old for the first 5 years matey. Nothing worse than finding out the job isn’t for you and being stuck with a van you don’t need.

 

[Last Plumber]

If I were you starting out, I would be looking at Ex-fleet sales. You can pick up well maintained vans for a good price.
Ex-BT vans are normally pretty good and that deposit you're looking at is probably half way to a good second hand van that looks smart enough.
If you've got the cash, buy it outright and see how you go in business. I would avoid starting out with a commitment to £320 a month. That's my personal view on it.

 

[Gasmk1]

i bought a new van not long after starting out i was VAt registered then so the Deposit was the Vat so got that back, after i had had that van for 6 years bought a larger van vivaro (first van was a doblo) which i kept for 7 years. i see where he is coming from with warranty on new van. but nowadays i would be more temted with nearly or pre registered which both my vans were might even be tempted by leasing.

 

[Chuck]

IMO, the first thing a new business needs is a talk with an accountant who is used to dealing with similar small businesses.

In general, try hard to minimise all regular monthly payments in the early years. It takes several years to build a business and cash flow will be the thing that keeps you awake at nights. On this basis, if the repayments on the £7k van are less than on the £17.5k van then I'd go with the SH van. Don't get hung up on the APR difference because you are not comparing like-with-like. Plus, if you get the right SH van someone else will have paid for it to be boarded and racked.

 

[Gasmk1]

IMO, the first thing a new business needs is a talk with an accountant who is used to dealing with similar small businesses.

In general, try hard to minimise all regular monthly payments in the early years. It takes several years to build a business and cash flow will be the thing that keeps you awake at nights. On this basis, if the repayments on the £7k van are less than on the £17.5k van then I'd go with the SH van. Don't get hung up on the APR difference because you are not comparing like-with-like. Plus, if you get the right SH van someone else will have paid for it to be boarded and racked.

my first van came from motorpoint and was too good a deal to refuse second van from arnold clark saved a lot with being pre registered motorpoint have some great deals on nearly new vans approx 6 months old woth low mileage i am sure there are other van sales similar. bit of advice for resale is also go for at least one side door in rear as the dlleivery drivers prefer them with 3 or even four rear doors

 

[centralheatking]

When you start up a business and even after a few years you really need to keep FIXED costs to a minimum. Fixed costs can really kill your will to carry on. If you have a bad week and your shiny truck
costs £100 per week the next week you will need £200 before you get out of bed. Go get a decent one used for cash and don’t forget they all depreciate especially new ones. Don’t spend too much because when it goes wrong just throw it away and get another. Houses go up in price vehicles plummet as soon as you drive them off the forecourt. Centralheatking

 

[SimonG]

I've had my 06 fiat doblo for 18 months cost me 1250 cash. Been self employed 15 years this year.

Cant see the point in crippling yourself with a load of debt when starting up. But each to their own.

 

[JKG]

You really need to speak to an accountant first of all. I would advise not to buy a brand new van straight away and get some cash in the bank before buying new.
I do see where your coming from with warranty and peace of mind though, I got a ex demo van from a main dealer about 18 months ago it was 3 months old and had 4K on the clock and got it at a great price compared to what it was worth new.
Shop around first

 

[oz-plumber]

Done some calculation ( rough ) and to put it bluntly.

If things went pear shaped after 1 year, you would owe more on the van than you could re-sell it for.
You deposit + your 12 month repayments, would not cover the loan if you sold the vehicle after 12 months.
You wouldn't get enough money from the sale of the van to cover the loan.

You would then be paying out a loan on a vehicle that you no longer have.

Shop around and find something that your 3.5K deposit is between 30% and 50% of the van price.
Loan the rest over a shorter period.

 

[king of pipes]

Very risky thing to do for a new business I have to agree with the chaps above buy a good second hand van keep your overheads down just got myself a new one 3 years old 250000 miles £7500 with vat no way I would buy brand new they get dented and scratched up i would be Soded off when it got marked up . Kop