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WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Page 131
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Hardly a day passes at Commercial Motor before someone rings up and asks "What's the best vehicle to buy?" While even road hauliers need guidance every once in a while, it has to be said that the majority of people asking us that question are invariably prospective light commercial vehicle buyers.
A road haulier's business is trucks, so when it comes to buying one the average operator has a pretty good idea of what's best for the job. And that is borne out by practical experience.
But for the light commercial buyer a van is just a part of the business, a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. And that business could be plumbing, decorating — anything. Where does the experience for buying the best van for the job come from then?
For the unwary, the market is a mass of pitfalls and questions. What kind of van should I buy? How big? How heavy? Petrol ... or diesel?
Fortunately, the market is divided into a number of categories making any choice that little bit easier. Some of those categories are based on vehicle types: panel vans, car-derived vans and pickups, for example.
Other categories are driven by legislation like the 1,525kg breakpoint for annual goods vehicle testing, or the 3.5-tonne threshold that divides a typical van user from a professional haulier. Above 3.5 tonnes you'll need an Operators' Licence, a CPC (if you're hauling goods for someone else) and you'll have to use that "spy-in-the-cab", the Tachograph.
Unless you are planning to carry loads in excess of 1,800kg, those things are definitely for the professionals. The average light commercial user is inevitably carrying goods for him, or herself and has little need for Tachographs, CPCs and all the other trappings of road transport.
The typical van user wants a reliable workhorse that will go from A to B cheaply, quickly and reliably. It is to the great army of light commerical vehicle users, the great "silent" majority, that Commercial Motor's Light Vehicle Special is dedicated.
If you have been wondering what you should buy next, or whether you should even buy at all, then read on. Good reading, good hunting, and good luck.
Stu.,
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