6 top tips for buying a great second hand van
Vans, like their owners, tend to work hard. As commercial vehicles they often do high mileage, be overloaded, hit the odd tight corner, so if you’re buying second hand it’s a good idea to know what you’re looking for and avoid a costly mistake. This short guide is designed to help you do your research, find the right van and make sure the van you buy is a good is worth the money.
1. Set a budget
How much do you want to spend on your van? An obvious question, but until you’ve set a budget it will be difficult to focus on what’s available and what best meets your needs. Once you know your budget, you can start comparing makes, models, mileage and age.
2. Identify the make and model
You know your business, your mileage and your payload. Work out exactly what you need the van for, how much you will be carrying and the mileage you’ll be doing each year. Fuel efficiency is important if you’re doing miles and there’s a trade off between vehicle size and payload capacity and miles per gallon. Newer vehicles are likely to be more fuel efficient. Converting a second hand van to gas is a good idea, but you’ll need to find one with a petrol engine.
3. Checking the vehicle
You can buy guides for what to look out for with specific makes and models of vans through online van dealerships. However, there are some very simple and straightforward checks you can do yourself to check there’s nothing seriously wrong.
• Take a torch and piece of carpet with you and take a look under the chassis for rust and damage. Check the exhaust is solid that there are no kinks, holes or loose fittings.
• Check the body of the van for evidence of touch ups and re-sprays – on the front or rear of the van could indicate crash damage.
• Check the interior of the van corresponds to the mileage – if the van has low mileage and a beaten up interior it’s possible the clock’s been tampered with.
• Test drive and check the gears move smoothly from one to the other – juddering or sticking could indicate wear in the gearbox or problems with the clutch, both are expensive to fix.
• Make sure you test the brakes when you test drive – on a quiet stretch of road do an emergency stop
• Check the tyres for wear.
• Take a friend or colleague with you to check the vehicle; they may see things you miss.
4. Checking the paperwork
If you are buying privately make sure the registered keeper and the address you view the van at are the same. Check the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of the van corresponds to the one on the V5C registration document corresponds to the VIN on the van. Find out where the VIN is on your make and model of van before you go to look at a vehicle. Check current and past MOT certificates, any service documentation or garage receipts, these will tell you if any major work has been carried out. You can double check registration and keeper details of any vehicle on the DVLA website or call their premium rate telephone number: 0906 185 8585.
5. Tax relief and the second hand van
As vehicles essential for business any finance you raise for purchase is tax deductable. If you are VAT registered, you won’t be able to claim VAT back on a second hand van, whether bought through a dealer or a private sale. For advice on a company van and tax see HMRC’s advice
6. Watch out for...
• Private sales giving a telephone number and time to call – it could be a phone box
• Mobile numbers – try and make sure you call private sales on a landline
• Viewing the van at an address other than the registered keepers’ address
• A van that’s priced significantly less than other vans with the same mileage and age
• Anything that looks too good to be true at a price that is too good to be true, probably is too good to be true and if anything seems fishy, walk away.
• For DVLA advice on how to avoid buying a stolen or clocked van see their buying guide on directgov