Fuel Economy - Thinking Of Running A Car And A Van

[pewter]

Fuel economy on my van (2003 VW T4 2.5TDi) is not great and i have been planning a new van in 2013.

The van does roughly 30mpg . A full tank of premium diesel costs £100ish and will do 440-470miles

If i am working in the city i can do 80-100miles in a day which costs £20ish

I was planning to get a newer facelift T5 with Euro 5 engine (2010 or newer). But after reading road test reports the fuel economy does not seem much better. Some claim up to 40mpg but i am not sure of there load.

My new idea

BMW 320d touring (estate) efficient dynamics model.  between 46-68mpg and only £30 a year to tax

road test reports i have read claim 50-60mpg is to be expected and up to 68mpg on the motor way.

If i am able to use the beemer to work in the city for a week my fuel bill will be reduced from £100 to £50 and will be a lot more comfortable. Over a year i could save £1000-2000 

I would keep the van for when i need ladders and other big stuff, and for dirty jobs. I could use the van on day 1 of a job to get stuff there and then use beemer for the rest of the days until i need to get stuff off site. It would give me more incentive to stick to cleaner jobs, fault finding and testing.

I have always hated people that work out of cars, as they are usually eastern European skankers that dont pay tax and under cut us proper tradesmen that have insurance, registration and branded tools.

I started to look into economic little vans but the road test reports said they were rubbish with a load. The beemer seems more economic, more comfortable and could carry as much load as the little sooty type vans that claim to be as economic. I could also use the beemer for personal use, i think the children would approve.

Just wondering what other electricians get  MPG wise, what it costs per week, what you have or plan to do to reduce costs. Is there any other electricians that get buy in an estate car. 

 

[ProDave]

I'm an Estate car convert.

I drive a Subaru Forrester. With the seats down, there's as much room in the back as a small van. It takes 3 metre lengths of conduit or trunking inside, and ladders on the roof bars with no problems, even my big tripple extension set if I need them.

And in a few minutes with a bit of unloading, it's a 5 seat familly car.

It tows anything I have, my caravan, my trailer and my boat.

And did I mention permanent 4 wheel drive and fairly decent ground clearance for those rough tracks and building sites.

MPG is not special, but Subaru now do diesels so they should be better.

I really find it hard to find any reason why anyone drives a van as a sparky, unless the amount of gear you need to carry demands a BIG van.  For me, if I had a van, then I would need a car as well, so that's extra cost, and I would seriously miss the 4WD.

What I am saying I think is just use the estate car all the time and forget the expense of the van. 

I guess the only downside as you say, is some people may not take me seriously if I don't arrive in the vehicle they expect me to, but so far that's not been an issue.

I do think Subaru are missing a trick, and a van based on the forrester chassis with permanent 4wd I think would be a very handy vehicle, and would be about the only thin that may tempt me to a van. Providing you could get fold up occasional use rear seats.

 

[DJ1]

The subaru boxer diesel is very weak.

The beemer diesel is a belting engine, not a very big estate though.

You could get a 2 year old mondeo estate, dirt cheap, more reliable than the bmw, massive inside and very safe for the kids.

Road tax is more but running costs are abit cheaper, servicing etc.

And won't feel too bad knocking it about a bit, unlike the Beemer.

 

[Sharpend]

The question is in my opinion, how would you feel parking up with all your tackle on display, after all we don't all live out the back and beyond!!

Also what happens when that something heavy topples over and causes damage? Doesn't look so good on/in a car, but almost expected on a van?

Just saying!

Drive me a good ole VW caddy for me troubles, approx 550 miles to tank full. Drives like a car. Have heard though that the new facelift shape is only a 1.6 engine that isn't as good on fuel. Unless you opt for the top dog version with bigger engine.?

 

[revjames]

wise words indeed DJ1 beemer taking stuff in and out all the time wont be long before there are scratches and dents and you will be pig sick.

 

[DJ1]

Another plus for estate v's van, not sure about your local tip/refuse dump, a van is commercial so only limited free tip visits in 12 months, were an estate is a private car, so you can visit your Tip as many times as you like.

Thats why I love my Pathfinder, 33-34 MPG 7 seats, seats lay flat, and it's the only 4x4 estate that has a boot space with the 3rd row of seats up, and I can pull 3 tonne..........happy days!

One more thing has blacked out rear 2/3'rds privacy glass, so no unwanted peakers to see whats inside.

 

[pewter]

i looked into the caddy as i thought it would be a lot more economic. From actual road users and sites like fuelly.com i was surprised to hear the caddy only returns around 32mpg same as my old 2003 T4. What mpg do TEF caddy users get.

Stuff on show is a problem, but the van also has security issues. I suspect the van may be less secure. A blanket or small site box might work.

I have looked at Mondeo's. They are less economic, more to tax and only £1000 cheaper on a £9000 motor. Ever since owning 3 escort vans years ago i have wanted to stay away from rotten Fords. Although if one for the right money came along it would be worth it.

If i spend £8-9000 on a new van or car whatever the make i will sulk at any scratches or dents. If its gonna be used for work its gonna get war wounds. I agree the Beemer has higher parts and service costs but could have cheaper fuel and tax.

 

[DJ1]

Fair enough, the escorts were crap, although the last ones made was 12 years ago.

The family Bus is a 3 month old Galaxy this is averaging 44mpg, built solid, nothing like the old fords.

My son has a BMW M120D, cracking deisel, drives it like an 18 year old would and hitting 55- 60mpg.

I've driven it, probably the best BMW series I've ever driven. I'll ask him what the road fund duty is, I know its very low.

 

[Andy™]

i rarely use my car for work, only used if i cant get my van close enough (which is rare). car is just too small, not enough space for all my tools & materials

 

[sellers]

My van broke down last year and took a week to fix.

In the meantime I used my car, an MX5, would't recomend it!  haha!

 

[Billy the kid]

Read a report in PE mag a couple of months ago regarding gas converted vans. Might be worth thinking about. Would I be right in thinking the tax man stings you on a car more than a van? Not sure about that but remember a conversation I had with my accountant.

 

[alpha spark]

I've thought about converting my van to LPG have u not thought about it then your van will be better off

 

[wooly]

You can get "chips" which give more power and economy and I think they're about £300 fitted. I know someone with a T5 who had it done and there were 3 options: economy(slight hike in power but more economical) balanced (bit more power with more economy) or power (all out ice cap melting power)

He went for the balanced which took it from 90bhp to 120bhp and its also more economical than it was.

 

[kelvfoozinda]

I have a company Fiat Doblo 1.3 Diesel at the moment...it is doing average 34mpg, motorway and town driving. Its worse than the Medium top SWB Transit it replaced! Would deffo not recommend it! I would stick to a van for security though, window for a couple of drills on a road side wouldn't phase most pikeys, but a door with deadlocks would be better!

 

[ProDave]

My van broke down last year and took a week to fix.
In the meantime I used my car, an MX5, would't recomend it!  haha!

My Wife's car broke down and was off the road for a week. She requisitioned my Subaru, and I had to use my 1972 Landrover for work for a week. That was tricky as at the time it was only a truck cab with an open back, so everything had to be crammed into the cab.  It's got a full length hard top on now so if that happens again there's plenty of space inside it.

 

[Evans Electric]

No offence Pewter but using a BMW saloon as an Electrician's van just sounds barmy to me .  Unless its some sort of old nail .  My m8 uses his Merc for work as he doesn't like driving a van.     Load space  = poor        roof rack  = non  /  room for steps taller that 3 tread  =  nil

 

[Nicky Tesla]

Vans usually have all sorts of stuff in the back usually crammed full. You would have to shift all that stuff out every time you want the seats down. Also when moving stuff about in the back of a car there is not much head room to rummage around.

 

[ProDave]

Another thing I love about my forrester, is it's big hinge up tailgate.

When it's raining, with the tailgate up, I can stand in the dry under the tailgate to rummage about in the back (with decent headroom)

Compare that to most vans with a pair of hinged doors that leave you standing there in the rain while you rummage about in the back.

Why don't more van's have hinge up tailgate's?

 

[Andy™]

i can stand up in mine...

 

[Evans Electric]

I used to have a Ford Tardis  , bigger inside than out , not many about .

Flogged it to some Doctor bloke :innocent