Buying guides

Helpful advice before you buy

Simple answers to the questions our customers ask most.

Which size van do I need?

Compact vans (Berlingo, Caddy): around 3–4 m³. Ideal for tradespeople carrying tools and small loads, and easy to park in town.
Medium vans (Transit Custom, Transporter, Vivaro): around 5–7 m³. The all-rounder — takes an 8×4 sheet on the floor in long-wheelbase versions.
Large vans (Sprinter, Transit, Daily): around 10–17 m³. For removals, deliveries and bulky goods.
Measure your longest regular load, and check the width between the rear wheel arches as well as the overall width.

Payload is how much weight the van can carry — the difference between its gross vehicle weight and its weight empty. Passengers, tools, racking and ply lining all count towards it.
Gross vehicle weight (GVW) is the most the van is allowed to weigh fully loaded. It's on the plate usually found in the door frame or under the bonnet.
Overloading is an offence. Vans are weighed at the roadside, and an overloaded one can mean a fine and being stopped from driving on until it's lightened.
Your licence: if you passed your car test from 1 January 1997, you can drive vehicles up to 3,500 kg gross weight. Older licences often cover larger ones — check yours on GOV.UK.
Over 3.5 tonnes, business use usually brings in an operator's licence and tachograph rules, which is why most vans stop at 3,500 kg.
Towing: a van's towing limit is separate from its payload, and the van, load and trailer together have a limit of their own (the gross train weight).

Panel van: the most load space for its size, secure and weatherproof, with a bulkhead between you and the load. The right choice for most trades and deliveries.
Crew cab (also called a crew van, kombi or double cab-in-van): a second row of seats — usually six people in all — with a shorter load area behind. Ideal for moving a team and their kit.
Pickup: an open load bed and usually four-wheel drive, so they suit farms, rough ground and towing — many can tow up to 3,500 kg. Payload is typically around a tonne.
Tipper and dropside: open bodies for building and landscaping. A dropside's sides fold down for loading; a tipper tips its body to unload sand, soil or rubble.
Luton or box van: the most volume for bulky, lighter loads like furniture, often with a tail lift. The body's weight means less payload than a panel van of the same size.
Since April 2025, HMRC treats most double cab pickups as cars for company car tax and capital allowances. If you're buying one through a business, check with your accountant first.

"+ VAT" means 20% VAT is added to the price shown. We show the full price including VAT underneath, and VAT-registered businesses can usually reclaim it.
"No VAT" means the price shown is the full price — there's nothing extra to pay, which can suit sole traders who aren't VAT registered.
"inc. VAT" means VAT is already included in the price shown, so there's nothing extra to pay either.
Every vehicle on our site is clearly marked one way or the other.

VAT: if you're VAT registered and the van is for the business, you can usually reclaim the VAT on a "+ VAT" van. A "No VAT" van has no VAT to reclaim.
Tax relief: vans count as plant and machinery, so a business can usually deduct the cost from its profits in the year it buys one, through the Annual Investment Allowance.
Private use: if the van is available for private use, there's a flat-rate van benefit charge, usually far lower than company car tax. Driving it to and from work doesn't count as private use.
Finance: sole traders, partnerships and limited companies can all buy on hire purchase through us, with Close Brothers Motor Finance.
Every business is different, so check the details with your accountant before you buy.

Diesel vans meeting Euro 6 (generally registered from late 2016, or late 2017 for larger vans) are compliant with London's ULEZ and the UK's Clean Air Zones, such as Bradford's.
Petrol vans meeting Euro 4 (generally from 2006) are compliant too.
Vehicles we know are compliant carry a ULEZ badge. If one doesn't and you need it to be, ask us.
Always double-check a specific registration on the official government vehicle checker before you travel.

Ask to see the service history, and check the vehicle has been HPI checked — every one we sell is.
Check the logbook (V5C) details match the vehicle.
Look at the load area, doors and tyres, and take a test drive.
Compare the monthly finance cost, not just the price.

Find your vehicle: browse our stock here, and ask on WhatsApp for more photos or a video walk-around.
Come and see it: viewing is by appointment at Levens Hall Park, Killinghall. We'll have it ready for you to look over and take for a test drive.
Part-exchange and finance: we'll value your current vehicle and take it off the price, and arrange hire purchase through Close Brothers Motor Finance if you'd like it.
Ready to go: every vehicle gets a full mechanical check, a service where needed and a fresh 12-month MOT if the current one is getting short, with a 6-month Gold warranty from Warranty Solutions.
Collect or have it delivered: collect from us, or we can arrange delivery anywhere in mainland UK through our trusted transport partners, at a competitive price.