Black vans for under £3k

This is the point of looking at vans?

If something that can be tidied sufficiently cannot be sourced, then I'll have to find something and paint it.
 
I'm amazed that someone with an apparent knowledge in car paintwork would select a black van for under 3k. A colour that will show every single dink, dent and imperfection - fine if you were buying a brand new van but not something for under 3k.

Edit: beaten by fox ;)
 
MikeHiow said:
As for image and the need for a black van - this is a small Island and for a little more effort/expenditure I can have a black van that shines like hell which grabs people's attention and is essentially a rolling advert for very little outlay. Not forgetting the "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality around some areas - I want people to know instantly what's going on.
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I KNEW you would say this! Are you seriously planning on using a shiny 3k sign written black van as your primary means of advertising?

Oh, and also, I never said you were a teenager, just that you had a teenagers mentality to things like this. Although I would expect someone in their mid to late 20s (at a guess?) to have a better grasp of where this thread was going to go way before they posted it.
 
BinnsY said:
People raise a good point about the amount of space you would need. Would something like an Astra van not do the job?

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/price/3000/4999/stock-item-id/at8a647b6f2fc51d70012fec450ead4f9c/advert

Something like this is relatively new, the paint looks like it would polish up to portray the image you want and I think with the correct logo it could look quite smart. I accept its a bit over budget but I see no reason why you couldnt haggle a little off that and if you really want to portray a good image I feel your budget may be a little short.
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That looks pretty much perfect for the job.
 
Age is everything with a van, it is pretty much the most important thing after making sure you buy one of the correct size and payload. They are a totally different situation to cars where the model and not the age matter most.

An old van whatever the colour looks like an old van, old vans are associated with crime and dodgy people. All vans are so similar that you simply want to get whatever you can get for the budget which visually looks the most modern.

The colour makes no odds at all, if anything a coloured van looks unprofessional in my opinion as the "done thing" is to have a white one. Get it sign written with a nice logo, keep it looking super fresh, and as said buy the most modern looking van you can find.

This is why i went against all my car buying instincts and bought a '57 plate facelift sprinter, rather than an old one which would have done exactly the same job. It looks new, and therefore it looks trustworthy.
 
Jez said:
Age is everything with a van, it is pretty much the most important thing after making sure you buy one of the correct size and payload. They are a totally different situation to cars where the model and not the age matter most.

An old van whatever the colour looks like an old van, old vans are associated with crime and dodgy people. All vans are so similar that you simply want to get whatever you can get for the budget which visually looks the most modern.

The colour makes no odds at all, if anything a coloured van looks unprofessional in my opinion as the "done thing" is to have a white one. Get it sign written with a nice logo, keep it looking super fresh, and as said buy the most modern looking van you can find.

This is why i went against all my car buying instincts and bought a '57 plate facelift sprinter, rather than an old one which would have done exactly the same job. It looks new, and therefore it looks trustworthy.
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Mike, read this and listen to it.

It is complete truth.
 
I assume the plan was to keep the big black van detailed to show off your work (to who, I don't know, but thats another argument), but do you seriously want to spend half your time and materials struggling to keep a large black van looking half decent?

Thats like owning a cake shop and eating half the cakes!
 
Skeeter said:
I assume the plan was to keep the big black van detailed to show off your work (to who, I don't know, but thats another argument), but do you seriously want to spend half your time and materials struggling to keep a large black van looking half decent?

Thats like owning a cake shop and eating half the cakes!
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The cleanliness thing is another one. Surely in this business the presentation of your work vehicle is paramount?

I can tell you my black cars look dirty after 50 miles. The white sprinter still looks ok after 5000. A black van will be a bloody nightmare, and you will spend 15 hours cleaning it as it will be huge.
 
That Astra is too small, not to mention the insufficient max load. Water and tank alone will be ~440kg before you consider the rest of the equipment and me.

Wicksta said:
I'm amazed that someone with an apparent knowledge in car paintwork would select a black van for under 3k. A colour that will show every single dink, dent and imperfection - fine if you were buying a brand new van but not something for under 3k.
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You'd be amazed what can be transformed.

Take this Civic for example - it looked **** before, in fact when I turned up at the unit my Dad laughed at me for even attempting it, yet the end result left him and the owner pretty much speechless at the transformation.

Before:
5f1552c6.jpg

513d540e.jpg


After:
IMG_1438.jpg


A trip to the dentless paint repair man and it'd be even better.

The point is that a lot is possible with dent removal and paint correction and this is something that needs to be evaluated by actually looking at candidates rather than thinking "it can't be done for £3k".
 
If you're going to put photos on a website to show off your work, then you need to make better use of your camera... that barely looks any more than a quick 2 bucket wash to me.
 
Mike, those 3 photos and a writeup will do more for your business than any £3k van will. And I assume you have done that... without a van?
 
Jez said:
The cleanliness thing is another one. Surely in this business the presentation of your work vehicle is paramount?

I can tell you my black cars look dirty after 50 miles. The white sprinter still looks ok after 5000. A black van will be a bloody nightmare, and you will spend 15 hours cleaning it as it will be huge.
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I already look after a LWB, Full height black transit - I know what is involved in keeping it clean.

[TW]Fox;19207257 said:
What happened to the succesful business Mike? Presumably you didn't wind it up, as it was succesful, did you sell it?
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It was wound up when my hosting provider went bust with no record of what belonged to who and £8k+ of my kit (and more importantly, data) was liquidated as their own.
 
Why would you need to carry around 450kg of water?

Surely people let you use their hose? I would have thought that would be expected, I wouldn't expect a detailer to turn up in some kind of mini fire engine.
 
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