Right,starting driving lessons at mo,looking to get smallish van for work(gardener)never needed till now,work at big job,any ideas,good or bad to get or avoid,helpfull info etc,also rough running costs,i am 42(yes better late than never)wife has car,,will also be used to ferry bikes to trails(wife had enough of that)cheers all,ps looking at,nissan nv200/vauxhall combi size or sim,

Are you aelf employed? When you say big job does that mean you only have one garden? Makes a difference qhether you need space for waste, getting mowers in and out 12 times a day etc

Insurance can be expensive on vans, and as you are a new driver without any no claims bonus that’s going to be magnified. I’ve found Adrian Flux to be a good broker for covering unusual situations.

Normally I’d not hesitate to recommend van ownership, particularly as a second vehicle, but in your case it might be worth thinking about a large, cheap estate car.

I’ve got a Vauxhall combo , ex British gas, ( the old1.7 diesel) iirc the 1.3 version has quite a poor reputation for engine reliability. Never had any real problems with mine. Maybe look at whatever vans in your price range on autotrader to see what’s available first. Use aviva for insurance as everyone else failed to offer van and car policy for me and the wife aviva were ok on price too. If I could have any van it’d be a Toyota Hiace.

SWB Transit, will be big enough for your needs and spares are plentiful as are garages to work on them.

If carrying waste as GD mentions above, you will need a waste carriers licence. The authorities are really trying to clamp down on this so there are a lot of spot checks going on in industrial estates etc of vans over the last few years. There has been a large number of folk getting fines local to me due to not having a licence.

Waste Brokers will require you to have one before allowing you to dump your waste with them also.

ETA: Licence cost me about £200 2 years ago, about the same for 1 fine. i think it lasts for 4-5 years before needing renewed.

I’m a self employed gardener, i just have a Peugeot Partner which is big enough for me. I don’t do any waste disposal anymore not worth the hassle/time. Double up ok for bikes I can get 3 in fine.
Not sure if it’s still the case but if you do green waste only licence was free, either way you still need one.
Aviva, Axa and Hasting Direct have always been the best for van insurance for me.

I’m a self employed gardener. Previously I had a medium wb transist and two of us worked out of that. Now I have a Renault trafic short wb which is a great size for just me and also much nicer to drive. I use it for bike trips to Wales etc. It’s pretty good on fuel for a 10 year old vehicle. Insurance is only about 300 but that’s lots of years driving and no claims. 200ish Road tax.

Re waste carriers licence. Do get one but for green waste only it it free from the environment agency. Do not pay someone online to do it for you this is a company making money for filling out a form.

Myti… Is that the newer 1.6 trafic? What’s it like?
What’s the build quality like?

It’s a 56 plate. Can’t remember literage off the top of my head but I love the van compared with my transit. Absolutely no rust. Everything in great working order for an old van and very nippy to drive. Low mileage though at 66000.

I’m in a t300 mwb mr transit. Perfect van for me as it takes 2x 21″ mowers in the side door, leaving the back empty for access to tools or for bags of waste.

Buy the van to suit business first, pleasure second.

NCB, biggest con trick of all time, i’m sure you’ll get a reasonable quote if you shop around.

Hi all,thanks for advice,yes i am s/e, main job is big one site job2days,few smaller jobs,at most8/10 of them over 3 days,so not much in out with mowers,,.friend has said vaux engine is underpowered to him,tho compared to his prev vw caddy,.apart from that he is happy,brother has citroen berlingo,says parts are expensive,compared to prev van.will have to check on waste disp,my local council even make us pay for household garden waste,so certain would have too there,plenty of fly tipping goes on tho,not sure on estate car,did look into it,butthink van more what i need,or even car derived van,thanks all

It’s not paying to dispose of waste, that’s extra. You need to have a licence to move job waste around, which you have to pay for every couple of years. or just arrange that the customer gets rid of their own.

56 plate 1.3 cdti Vauxhall Combo as daily driver here, currently ~125000miles

Costs since purchase in May
Purchase £1700 (Cheap-ish for the age/mileage as it was a trade in)
Driven 14618 miles since (mostly commuting dual carriageway and motorway)
Used 1208 litres of diesel
Fuel cost of £1512
~10p/miles (average of 54.9mpg / 12.1miles/litre)
I’ve done two oil and filter changes (<£40 on the drive at home)
Replaced 2 x brake bulbs, 2 x headlight bulbs, 1 x indicator relay, 2 x wing mirror glass and the battery (total of £140 all DIY)
To pass MOT it needed a new rear spring, and rear section of brake line (£331 all in)
Tax is £142/6 months

Total cost of running so far £460 (MOT and repair, servicing costs)
Tax and insurance £823 (for 12 months)

It regularly takes 4 bikes with me and a passenger to races and has happily take more plus kit for weekends away. Chuck dirty bikes in on a trap then sweep the back out when dry and good to go to work again the next day.

I bought a Vauxhall Vivaro for the bikes and as a second vehicle I had no insurance no claims and was looking at around £300/year insurance with Gladiator.. however this was private and not for business use so not sure how that would compare, I’d also been driving for 25 years so that may have helped the price.

Ok thanks all,info really helpful,Tiim thanks for breakdown info as well,all noted,maybe back on in near future,if pass test etc,,

1.3 cdti Combo here too (09 plate, 101k). Bought it from a local dealer a couple of months ago as he specialises in this particular engine.

£2200 and in pretty good condition too. Every van he gets in, he changes the turbo, timing chain, clutch and a full service. Buys parts in bulk so gets them pretty cheap.

Did a bit of digging and a lot of people rated these as being very reliable and cheap to fix when they do go wrong. Fits an XL Hightower and a small Roubion in the back with kit, all wheels still attached.

Insurance was cheaper than my previous car too (about £325 a year). Also, tax was cheaper too.

Your age will also go in your favour when it comes to insuring, first year will be high but nothing like as silly as that of a teenager. I’d say 2.5x tops.

Hi yes did look into combo when we got our car few years back,heard the engine parts cheap and easy to get,tho heard they out of fiat,which combo is based on,it’s one of my shortlist,and good size,my orbea go in no problem there.alas first year high insurance inevitable,tho have drive and garage to drop it a small amount,,,,small,

Berlingo parts are not expensive. Who ever told you that is talking pish or drove an ldv before…. You couldn’t give them away so would make most modern vans look expensive.

Berlingo parts are cheap and easy to work on.

When you get a quote for insurance find out how much it would be with your wife as a banned driver too?
Mine went down. (The price…not the wife).