Van vs Car

Tremone

I have a skoda octavia which I mainly use to travel to work in. It is generally just me in the car and my wife also has a family car. I am a keen gardener and I generally have to fold down the seats when i'm at hardware stores/garden centres.
I was thinking of getting a Citroen Berlingo 1.6 HDi van as this would suit me better. Is there an insurance issue with getting a van as I would be saving on tax and according to reviews it is fairly fuel efficient.

Can't really see the problem but being Ireland I'm sure there is some stipulation that prevents me from doing this

dahamsta

Insurance companies can be tricky with vans, because they're generally insured under business policies for full time work. Ask your insurer if they'll insure a van for you, and if you just drive it to and from work and on other personal business, make sure you specify that when talking to them. I went to FBD and they were very accommodating.

I drive an '03 Astravan, in the same position as yourself with the wife driving a Passat. Definitely glad I switched, the tax is great, the insurance is cheaper and it's very convenient. Just choose who you do favours for carefully or you'll be roped into helping every Tom, Dick and Harry move house, furniture, tip rubbish, etc. Oh, and don't forget that you drive a van when you go to collect more than one person! Yes, I have done it.

On that note, it's worth mentioning that a lot of municipal waste disposal sites won't let you in in a van. You can plead your case all you want, they'll go all jobsworth and cite "de rules" until you're blue in the face. There should be one site that'll still take you in though, and in Cork at least - Raffeen in Monkstown, to be precise - they're a far nicer bunch to deal with anyway.

Berlingos are nicknamed "Barely Go" by van drivers btw. Not sure if it's just a bit of craic or if there's some truth in it.

Can't stand small box vans meself, except maybe the new Caddy and Transit Connect.

adam

Tremone

Melodrama, Would you get bigger space in a astravan, would they not be similar. There seems to bea lot of berlingos on the road so that seems a good sign and I wouldn't be lugging heavy stuff really

dahamsta

Higher roof in the Berlingo, probably a fair bit more space in general if you need it. Not saying they're not a good van, just that they're pig ugly, and that's just a personal opinion.

If you want an opinion on usability, reliability, etc, I'm not your man. I stopped driving vans for a living years ago.

adam

snowman707

Tremone wrote: »

I have a skoda octavia which I mainly use to travel to work in. It is generally just me in the car and my wife also has a family car. I am a keen gardener and I generally have to fold down the seats when i'm at hardware stores/garden centres.
I was thinking of getting a Citroen Berlingo 1.6 HDi van as this would suit me better. Is there an insurance issue with getting a van as I would be saving on tax and according to reviews it is fairly fuel efficient.

Can't really see the problem but being Ireland I'm sure there is some stipulation that prevents me from doing this

I presume you are trading the skoda,

Van insurance should not be too high but you will not be able to transfer your car insurance & hence would lose any NCB bonus you have.

Setanta (http://www.setantainsurance.com/asp/) will mirror your car's NCB & give your the same NCB on the van.

you may have to put the van in the same name as your wife's car

no need to transfer your car policy to Setanta

Check their website to see if they have broker near you.

we have now tranferred our commercial insurance to setanta & the mirror policy is with quinn direct

about 40% cheaper than other quotes

Guy:Incognito

snowman707 wrote: »

I
Van insurance should not be too high but you will not be able to transfer your car insurance & hence would lose any NCB bonus you have.

You'll only lose the current year of NCB (assuming you dont wait till the insurance expires so you get the full year) the NCB from a private policy counts on a commercial though, you just cant transer policies between the two during the policy without cancelling.

snowman707

Stekelly wrote: »

You'll only lose the current year of NCB (assuming you dont wait till the insurance expires so you get the full year) the NCB from a private policy counts on a commercial though, you just cant transer policies between the two during the policy without cancelling.

AHA .. i was thinking of my own case but it was a new policy (hadnt any policy to transfer from) setanta offered full NCB by using the car as a mirror policy