Van: Diesel or Petrol?

[Rodolphe]

Hi everyone,

Newcomer in the business, I am about to sell my beloved motorbike to buy a van. Let's not talk about that.

For mostly city riding, I wonder if diesel really is the better solution. Any views out there?

R.

 

[secret squirrel]

I think a petrol van is a rare breed?

I've got a diesel and thought you only get the advantage if you do loads of mileage.

 

[Best]

Yes, petrol vans must be rare. Low mileage with a small van would probably mean petrol fine.
Bear in mind that, even though petrol engines are nowadays greatly improved, diesel engines are very high torque, so ideal for a bigger or fully loaded van. Diesel vans will have a larger amount of potential buyers when you try to sell it on later.

 

[stevetheplumber]

with the reversal in the price difference between deisel and petrol theres not much in it regarding running costs
most of the perol engine vans youll see around are mostly duel fuel with lpg especialy the bigger stuff
if your near the lez or cc zone then petrol duel fuel may even be better

 

[REDSAW]

lpg or bio way to go.
plenty of combo's out there depends what size van your after.
also, auto box more economical for city roads.
me?. l/r defender derv 24to the gallon.lol.

 

[dontknowitall]

Do what my sparky does. Buy a large van and keep your bike inside it.

 

[nysk2008]

the way some customers bang on you will need nitrous or something better mate

 

[glenno1]

Red diesel for me Lol

 

[johnnyplumb]

30 years ago most vans were petrol and it was rare to see a diesel van, nowadays it's the opposite. assuming your looking to buy secondhand and not new, you'll have a much bigger selection of vans with diesel.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

did not even know there was petrol vans . i would say diesel van or LPG if going in central London but even lpg is cheaper will cost you more to run your vehicle then diesel , plus lpg tanks are small and you have to fill up every 2-3 days i think is a nonsense .
love diesel and will probably change my van to electric when they come out and they are more affordable in the next 5-10 years till then is diesel time

 

[Rodolphe]

Thanks all, I guess that solves it.

Do what my sparky does. Buy a large van and keep your bike inside it.

I would LOVE to be able to afford to do that.

Halas... maybe in a few years, when I'm a rich man like all of you guys ;-)

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Rich ...... U must be leaving in a dream !!!!!
Hope you are been sarcastic !

 

[Rodolphe]

Well... sarcastic no, but hopefully a little funny? Trying to anyway.

 

[GQuigley67]

I'm selling a transit 2007 model if you are interested

 

[REDSAW]

I'm selling a transit 2007 model if you are interested

transit vans are like cows!.

with a cow you can amputate a leg at a time to eat it while its still producing.
a transit, you can scrape it down of rust each week and weigh it in.

 

[Rodolphe]

I'm selling a transit 2007 model if you are interested

Hi Quigley, I might well be (though I had more of a Transit Connect type in mind, for size) but I was more thinking about a Sept. purchase. Do you want to PX with a Kawazaki ? ;-)

 

[ManchesterGas]

did not even know there was petrol vans . i would say diesel van or LPG if going in central London but even lpg is cheaper will cost you more to run your vehicle then diesel , plus lpg tanks are small and you have to fill up every 2-3 days i think is a nonsense .
love diesel and will probably change my van to electric when they come out and they are more affordable in the next 5-10 years till then is diesel time

I take it that you haven't had an LPG van yourself?


I had a Berlingo LPG, then a Renault Trafic 100DCI and now have a Transit T350 LPG.

The Berlingo LPG did around 35mpg on gas
The Trafic did around 30mpg on Diesel
The Transit does around 22mpg on gas.

Gas costs me currently 63p/litre
Diesel is £1.43/litre

The Berlingo had a 60L tank, with 80% of it useable, so 48 litres or 10.6 gals, a range of 373 miles on gas.
The Transit has a 110L tank, so 88L, 19.55 gals, 430 mile range on gas alone.

LPG vehicles at present still dont pay the London CC, not that that matters to me as I live in Manchester!

 

[Resolute]

Where abouts are you based Rudolphe? I'm selling a Combo van if you're near me?

What's the Kwaka your selling?

 

[Rodolphe]

Where abouts are you based Rudolphe? I'm selling a Combo van if you're near me?

Hi Resolute. I should have properly introduced myself when I joined, sorry. I was born in France (hence the comical first name, though not all French are so blessed) and have been in the UK for 15 years or so now. I'm in the middle of a reconversion and a newly qualified plumber. Expect numerous "How do you..." posts in the coming months, although this forum really already has so much useful info in it it's incredible. Oh, and I'm based in Croydon and don't mind travelling for the right reasons (i.e. as long as I can drive a van back and don't have to push it, it doesn't have to be next door).

What's the Kwaka your selling?

My pride and joy is a 4 years old Z750 just like the one below, colour and all. It has 12k miles on the odometer, has been used in town so has a few small scratches on it, not many, and a full and comprehensive service history. I think I would find it less hurtful to part with one of my kids (<- that's a joke, before one of you calls social services!)

However between now and Sept I have to commute during rush hour on the M25 every day, and it's no longer raining every minute of every day, so I am not selling before early September. Since the money for the Van will have to come from the sale of the Bike, I'm not sure the timing would work for you.

Still, I'll make sure to re-post when I'm actually ready to buy, from the answers it looks like this is going to be as good a place to look as a used-van dealership!

 

[Resolute]

Not a bad bike, ridden them a couple of times and pretty smooth. I've just sold my CBR, was a shame to see her go too.

Hopefully my van will be sold before sept, but if not I'm only in Horsham so not too far from Croydon. Where abouts in London you working?

 

[Rodolphe]

I am sole-trader, and since I haven't started long ago, I work... well anywhere I can, and not yet very much at all Generally speaking I guess I'll be doing a 25 miles radius or so from Croydon.

 

[Helpfulplumber]

I have a vw caddy 69ps, it does 60mpg round town driven steady. Trick is not to over load with tools and crap. I had a transit before this that did 25 to the gallon, to dear to run.

 

[RichardLopez]

Hi,

Diesel used to be a no brainer for trades but now it seems to be pricier than regular. So just consider how much more mileage you'd get from diesel, if not much difference stick to petrol i'd say