Insignia estate to replace transit ???

[Jaxo]

Hi all, my transit packed in before christmas,.. long story short but was going to cost me more to fix it than what it was worth (2002 swb/ lr transit with 180000 on the clock). I scrapped it for a few hundred quid and have been using my car for a few months now.

I promised myself a new van "after christmas" (and more importantly when i finished a couple of jobs and had the £££)... Now im in that position where I could go and buy maybe a 5-6 year old transit, but I have been giving it some serious thought as to wether or not I actually need a van at all.

I have been using my personal car, which is a 2.0 cdti insignia hatchback and tbh its "adequate" for what I do. I seriously thinking of chopping the car in and getting an estate version and a roofrack.... (The fact there doing a 200BHP twin turbo diesel is whats tempting me the most tbh )

My main concern is not what your probably thinking, will I fit everything in..... No, Its will I seem unprofessional going to jobs in a car as apposed to a van? Im not worried about advertising etc as Ive never had any of my vans sign written, most, if not all of my work comes from word of mouth and my website so driving about in a mobile billboard is not of any importance to me.

I`d just wondering what others opinions is,. has anyone went from a medium sized van to an estate car before? has it made you feel unprofessional going to jobs? as if your doing homers rather that running a business and lastly and most importantly has it lost you work not having a van?

Basically all I need to carry is tools, drills and ladders.. maybe some cable and a few other bits and bobs but i can fit all this in my hatchback and for the bigger jobs my wholesaler delivers anywhere...

P.S Another couple of important factors is my wife does not drive and I`ve got 3 kids so a car is essential for the family but sits in the drive like an ornament during the week when I at work in a van... only paying tax and insurance on one vehicle is another + point

 

[Meggerman]

Integral Electricians and ADT Alarm Engineers all drive estate cars

 

[Jaxo]

True megger, I was going to include that in my original post too as I know a few alarm installers and they all have company estate cars.. Big companies too

 

[Jaxo]

Just realized I have 2 accounts here... This one which i created last year and never used and one with the username "Jaxo" which I created last month and had posted from.. Could I kindly ask an administrator to merge this account with my "Jaxo" one please.. If you check the email address you will see they`re both my accounts

 

[Octopus]

Just realized I have 2 accounts here... This one which i created last year and never used and one with the username "Jaxo" which I created last month and had posted from.. Could I kindly ask an administrator to merge this account with my "Jaxo" one please.. If you check the email address you will see they`re both my accounts

Re merging 2 accounts best you PM admin to see what they can do.

As for using an estate car the thing to watch out for is that all your kit will be on show unless you have heavily tinted windows! I use a Ford S-Max with heavily tinted windows and its difficult to see whats inside!

 

[Hawkmoon]

Just realized I have 2 accounts here... This one which i created last year and never used and one with the username "Jaxo" which I created last month and had posted from.. Could I kindly ask an administrator to merge this account with my "Jaxo" one please.. If you check the email address you will see they`re both my accounts

No I would keep them both - just think of the fun you could have arguing with yourself in a thread

 

[Hawkmoon]

I find it appropriate to carry (in addition to tools) at least a basic stock on the van to cover the more common issues - seems more professional than having to leave the job for a socket, dual box, or whatever. Don't think I could compress everything into a car.

Car derived van may be better (Kangoo or similar), cheaper than transit, easier to park etc - you have to be tidy with your gear storage though.

 

[uksparks]

I was unsure at first about getting a van, but I got a Vauxhall Combo, picked it up for £800 and its the best thing I did, to be honest I would like a bigger van but parking etc..

I found I started to damage the car working from a car.

 

[Hawkmoon]

A mate of mine (chippy) uses a car derived (Citroen), he fitted a false floor on top of existing 6-8 inches higher to slide steps, drills etc into - leaving plenty of normal floor area above (if you get me).

 

[Marvo]

Just realized I have 2 accounts here... This one which i created last year and never used and one with the username "Jaxo" which I created last month and had posted from.. Could I kindly ask an administrator to merge this account with my "Jaxo" one please.. If you check the email address you will see they`re both my accounts

I've merged the user account 'Jaxo' with the 'JW Elect' account that you're using now. All the post made by Jaxo now belong to JW Elect and the Jaxo account no longer exists.

 

[Poult12]

Intregal and ADT are not the only ones who drive estate vehicles. Honeywell, Haven Fire also do. If your are more of an installer i would be inclined to stick with a van over an estate car.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

I ran round in a Focus estate for many a year, till i outgrew it. There are many advantages to running a car, it is more comfortable, quicker, better on fuel, cheaper to insure etc etc. The only downside i found was having to take all my kit out every night, as a car is easier for pikey scum and other lowlife to get into. generally fixing additional security devices to a van is more practical than doing it to a car, because we don't run a van for its looks, and usually additional security is seen as a plus when you sell it on. I somehow can't see many potential purchasers of your Insignia being too impressed with a great big high security lock fixed to the tailgate, and a "no tools left in this vehicle overnight" sticker on the boot, when the time comes to move it on.

Cheers………..Howard

 

[PEG]

About 15 years ago,i had my van (transit) stolen and lost £13,000+ of my precious tackle....I had a year out larking and vowed not to put as many eggs in one basket again. On re-entering the world-of-toil,i decided to work out of a big 4WD and it was my best decision yet. I take the expensive items out at night,i still have the 5 seats with a tidy,7 with an empty,have a heavy-duty roof bar set,and can tow me 3.5 t trailer when more gear is required. It means you have to be precise in the gear carried for each seperate job,but it can be done. I see no reason why your estate idea would be any harder. I have a couple of friends who ran vans,and thought i was mad not replacing the van,one's a farrier,and the other is in my area of fun...they both work out of 4WD's now...

 

[Jaxo]

I've merged the user account 'Jaxo' with the 'JW Elect' account that you're using now. All the post made by Jaxo now belong to JW Elect and the Jaxo account no longer exists.

Thanks Marvo, I appreciate that ! .. Can I be a pain and ask if you could change the JW Elect username to Jaxo as this was the one I was wanting to keep

 

[Megavolt]

About 15 years ago,i had my van (transit) stolen and lost £13,000+ of my precious tackle....I had a year out larking and vowed not to put as many eggs in one basket again. On re-entering the world-of-toil,i decided to work out of a big 4WD and it was my best decision yet. I take the expensive items out at night,i still have the 5 seats with a tidy,7 with an empty,have a heavy-duty roof bar set,and can tow me 3.5 t trailer when more gear is required. It means you have to be precise in the gear carried for each seperate job,but it can be done. I see no reason why your estate idea would be any harder. I have a couple of friends who ran vans,and thought i was mad not replacing the van,one's a farrier,and the other is in my area of fun...they both work out of 4WD's now...

What 4wd you uses