Vans are not like cars. They have usually been out to work all day every day, rather than sitting on someone's drive while they are at work. Once they have been cleaned up and painted it is sometimes difficult to tell a 100,000 mile example from a 10,000 miler.
If you are starting up a new business or need to replace your old van the first place to start is on-line. Sure there are magazines like the auto trader and specialist van magazines like Van Finder Weekly - but a quick whiz around the internet should give you results straight away.
There are a number of new websites that have started up to compete with What Van? Previously employed by the What Van Stable, ex-Editor Neil McIntee and others have started a new site called vansA2Z.com. Where this new site differs is in their use of video to review vehicles. Let's face it there is no change of mainstream TV showing a review of a van - the BBC don't even do it with cars any more. Top Gear cannot count, as they don't really review cars any more! Websites like these are invaluable to people in the early stages of looking into which type and size of van to buy.
Once you have narrowed down the make and model, simply enter this into a classified advertising site like auto trader, eBay or vanlocator and you will be given a list of vans to choose from. They usually list both used and new vans and you can not only find the vans that are closest to you, but also sort the results by the cheapest weekly price, monthly price or outright purchase price.
Pay attention to the number of owners the vehicle has had and find out what type of work it has previously been used for. A van that has been used for courier work with many drivers will not have been looked after in the same way that an engineer may care for 'his' van that he is the only one permitted to drive. Many of the sites will have multiple photos of the vans to help you.
Make sure that when you have found the right van for you, then make the proper checks. Take the registration number and run it through a service such as HPI to make sure that the van is no longer on finance or hasn't been subject to a theft and subsequently recovered or if it has been involved in an accident.
Once this has come through as clear, you simply need to sort out payment. If it is over £10,000 then you may not pay cash - this is thanks to money laundering legislation. Many buyers will not take a banker's draft on trust any more and you may not want to wire the money in advance. The best way is if you both belong to the same bank and can transfer the money immediately in branch.
To help you, the most popular manufacturers in the UK are in order Ford, (Transit, Connect, Ranger, Fiesta), Vauxhall, (Movano, Vivaro, Combo, Astravan, Corsavan), Mercedes-Benz, (Sprinter, Vito), Citroen, (Relay, Dispatch, Partner, Partner First, Nemo), Renault, (Master, Trafic, Kangoo, Clio), Peugeot, (Boxer, Expert, Partner, Bipper, 206), Nissan (Interstar, Primastar, Kubistar, Cabstar, Navara, NP200 Pick up), Fiat, (Ducato, Doblo, Fiorino), Toyota, (Hiace, Hilux), Mitsubishi, (L200), Iveco, (Daily, Massiv), LDV (Maxus), Isuzu (Rodeo), Isuzu Truck (NPR), Mazda (BT-50).
Go for the larger manufacturers to ensure a ready supply of spare parts and easy access to servicing. Ford have led the market with vans for the last 45 years. Nex biggest in the UK is, as you would expect, Vauxhall with VW chasing them hard from third position with their Caddy, Transporter, Crafter and newly launched Amarok double cab pick up. The van manufacturer that has increased their sales the most in the last 12 months is Renault - Europe's largest vanmaker - so one to watch out for!
