Is it time to replace your van? 8 signs to look for

1. The repair bills are mounting. The odd fix is normal on any working van. A steady run of them, month after month, is your van trying to tell you something.
2. It is off the road too often. Every day a van sits in the garage is a day you lose income. A van off the road for three days in your busy season is not just a repair bill, it is three days of work you had to turn away.
3. The running costs are creeping up. Older vans tend to drink more fuel. If the pennies per mile keep climbing, a newer van can pay for itself sooner than you think.
4. The mileage is getting high. High miles are not the end of the world, but they do shorten the odds on the engine, gearbox or clutch needing attention before long.
5. It no longer fits the work. If the business has grown or the jobs have changed, the van that was spot on three years ago might be too small, too big or the wrong shape now.
6. It is starting to look tired. A scruffy, dented van says something to your customers before you have said a word. Presentation matters more than most people like to admit.
7. It is due something big. A cambelt, a clutch, a turbo or a major service on a high-miler can cost more than the van is worth. If a van worth £3,000 needs £1,500 of work, you can be spending half its value just to keep it limping along.
8. You have lost confidence in it. If you set off each morning half wondering whether it will get you home, that doubt has a real cost of its own.

If a few of these ring true, it is probably time to sell your current van and buy a replacement. Selling direct to another trade buyer, rather than trading it down a chain of middlemen, keeps more of the value in your pocket and puts the van into the hands of someone who actually wants it.

Vangoo is built for exactly this: sell the van you have grown out of and buy your next one directly, with the condition shown upfront on both sides of the deal.