Man With A Van - viable idea?

[Foresty_Forest]

Would be interested to hear opinions about starting a man with a van business. I already have a full-time business, but I'm interested as we need a second family vehicle and I could do with some extra income - no need to explain why. The potential for flexible hours attracts me. I've driven a van for a restaurant/catering in the past and am comfortable driving in city traffic etc. I'm considering whether to buy a van or to lease. The leasing seems best idea. It's a costly monthly expense, but I don't need to spend capital all at once and repairs etc. should be taken care of.

Thanks

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

It's not about the van or anything else . Can you get good quality work that is priced well.

My theory has always been focus on getting the business at a profitable rate and then do the easy bits finding the vans and taking on drivers ect ect

I always hear people say what sort of van should I lease buy or borrow my Nans. I have never asked this as I have never cared The only thing I worry about is getting the business in and looking after our existing customers

 

[MBE2017]

Been many posts on the same idea over the years, the lifestyle appeals too many, no boss, driving around in a van, low barrier to entry etc.

I agree with Jeremy getting the correct paying work is the most important thing. You need to decide what kind of work you are wanting to do, at what price etc.
For instance I never did waste collection, I specialised in small moves, and got a lot of business from places like eBay, Craig’s list etc.

The biggest problem is in tough times in particular you have the busy fools who will deliver a sofa for the price of a pint, normally in their works van. So you need to find well paid work, preferably cash in advance, be fully insured, legal and legit, whilst competing with hundreds that are not. All this with fuel, insurance and repairs at all time highs.

It can be done, I did well out of it and still miss the game personally, but the hours can be long and uncomfortable, even a decade after having stopped I still get 2/3 calls a month from old clients wanting myself with a van.

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

I agree with what has already been said – first, see if you can get any well-paid work before you invest time and money into a van.

In the past, I had a few bad experiences with moving companies and men with vans, and once I found a good one, I keep using the same company. Even if sometimes they seem a bit more pricey, I like their quality and reliability. So if you can slowly build up a database of repeat customers it can be a quite lucrative business with a constant flow of inbound work.

 

[Foresty_Forest]

I have quite a lot of experience in moving fine art paintings. And have employed a specialist fine art mover a couple of times myself. Would that be a good angle to take? I'm willing to shift stuff and garden waste to the dump as well...

 

[japancool]

It's a costly monthly expense

You'll also need goods insurance, so factor that in.

 

[MBE2017]

I have quite a lot of experience in moving fine art paintings. And have employed a specialist fine art mover a couple of times myself. Would that be a good angle to take? I'm willing to shift stuff and garden waste to the dump as well...

I imagine the fine art transport would be profitable but slow to start, the garden waste disposal would be a much larger market and very constant, but you would need to price it as commercial waste. All the tips monitor vehicles these days, often you need permission sent too the house in advance to take waste to public tips.

I doubt you could do the two, would you want your fine art travelling in a smelly van full of twigs and soil?

 

[HFE Signs]

I would avoid the dirty work and keep the van clean and aim for prestige work:

• Fin Art (as you suggest)
• Dedicated point to point courier service
• Motorcycle collection/delivery
• Ikea deliveries (I say this because whenever I've been its funny watching people with small cars trying to get in something that doesn't fit!)
• Specialist equipment movement

Regarding the van itself, it seems you have already weighed up the buy/lease pros and cons, from a tax perspective and cashflow probably lease might work best.

 

[Foresty_Forest]

from a tax perspective and cashflow probably lease might work best.

Does that mean I can declare 100% of the monthly lease payment as an expense on my return, rather than the usual £0.45/mile?

 

[HFE Signs]

Does that mean I can declare 100% of the monthly lease payment as an expense on my return, rather than the usual £0.45/mile?

I’m pretty sure you can with it being classified as a commercial vehicle and if it’s used 100% for business, but check with your accountant

 

[ChronovaEng]

• Dedicated point to point courier service

Not a bad time to try this out, given the mail strikes atm.

 

[fantheflames]

Don't lease until you have a good idea of the clients you can take on.

As others have said, leasing is the best way to go.

But you'll need to take good care of the van - and this might depend on the type of business you'll take on.

 

[Scubadog]

I would suggest purchase new.
Most dealers offer 0% interest and given the super capital lowance of 130% it often works out cheaper than buying second hand.

I have no idea why people suggest lease when ylu can get pretty much the same terms and own the vehicle. With lease....its just a revenue cost, no asset, no capital.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

Don't lease until you have a good idea of the clients you can take on.

As others have said, leasing is the best way to go.

But you'll need to take good care of the van - and this might depend on the type of business you'll take on.

No offense like, but what does a marketing business know about running a van? Nada.

It's pretty believable forum fluff and filler though! If you could write a bot to replace you scanning the thread and reposting the information in such a colloquial way (obviously with your signature at the bottom) then you'd be on to a winner! Much better than the usual Indian content, 9/10

 

[fantheflames]

No offense like, but what does a marketing business know about running a van? Nada.

It's pretty believable forum fluff and filler though! If you could write a bot to replace you scanning the thread and reposting the information in such a colloquial way (obviously with your signature at the bottom) then you'd be on to a winner! Much better than the usual Indian content, 9/10

Is there a rule on the forum about not commenting on specific posts that's 'outside' of your business category?

Not interested in 'fluff', 'filler' or 'bots'.

I've just joined the forum and quite enjoying it.

But your negative post gets a -9/10 for me.

 

[MBE2017]

Personally I would avoid leasing and buying new.

Buy a reasonable condition van secondhand or rent for a while, find out if you can make it work. Be aware though that the van is only the start of your expenses, fuel and insurance, breakdown services, maintenance, repairs etc, it never stops, it just gets more expensive all the time.

I used to charge £60/80 hr for a sprinter man and a van over 15years ago, the van cost myself £4K, insurances £1.5k. I doubt most would get over £30hr today, with similar vans now £12-15k, insurances £2-3k, fuel now double the cost.

Best of luck, it’s a hard game to make money in, it can be done, but it’s not as simple as some people believe, do things the same way as everyone else and you will get the same results.

 

[japancool]

Thank you for sharing this info!

What info might that be?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Leasing for the average owner driver is unviable
We have leased LWB Pug Boxers and I pay £1200 a month for each one the reason the price is so high is because we require an unlimited milage deal
Our leased vans are worked hard and flat out because we have good paying business where we charge a high rate

@MBE2017 is spot on with the advice buy a good cheaper one . I had a good deal the other day 8K for a 16plate Lwb Vauxhall Movano with 80K on the clock . This should also help with my future plans in the sun

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

There are also accounting differences in how lease payments are treated versus hire purchases.

I think a main difference is that lease purchases are made monthly including VAT, whereas with hire purchase you pay the VAT up front. Someone with an accounting background will be along shorlty I'm sure.

 

[MBE2017]

@MBE2017 is spot on with the advice buy a good cheaper one . I had a good deal the other day 8K for a 16plate Lwb Vauxhall Movano with 80K on the clock . This should also help with my future plans in the sun

Nice deal, miss my vans, might buy one next year, such useful things to have. I like the cosmetic appeal of the new Citroen range, harking back to the Citroen H van look.