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Looking for a new van that can serve as a occasional private hire minibus. I own a village shop with the wife and we're looking to expand the business a little with the addition of private hire. The aim is ill do airport / occasion / and pre booked cab duties whilst the wife is in the shop. So the van will be used for stock runs as well as private hire duties.
We have a max of 15k Inc vat to put into the new venture which would include insurance/licences/tax etc so maybe around 12k on the vehicle. Obviously it being private hire I'd like some thing with a nice(r) interior than a standard converted panel van.
So far I've looked at....
Nissan nv200
Mercedes-Benz CITAN travalliner (looks stupid long on the 7 seat version
Citrone dispatch
Is there any others I'm missing / should look at?
Ford Tourneo
Oooo thanks - for some reason that doesn't come up on the 7 seat searches on auto trader....
I drive a 7 seat (8 inc driver) passenger Tourneo for work. Great flexibility with the seating and passengers often comment on how comfy it is. Only downside I'm really aware of is that the heating/ventilation systema on ours don't have a rear seat outlet.
I’m close to buying/leasing a Peugeot Traveller: seems like the perfect bike/family van. Same van as the Proace Verso and Citroen SpaceTourer.
Configurable with 5,6,7,8 or 9 seats. You can only get the auto on the 180hp engine, but I’d probably go for that anyway.
LWB T5 Shuttle or rock bottom Caravelle? Lovely place to be a passenger, not so good a drive. Love my t5 but dynamically it's from the ark.
Shuttles are more airport taxi., velle's more sumptuous. A shuttle with the optional rear AC would be perfect. Read up carefully about their engines, reliability and fuel consumption. Probably a 2.0 140bhp would be the one to go for. Avoid 180bitdi - like playing russian roulette with only one chamber empty.
Front bench seat's middle "seat" only suitable for Douglas Bader: best off with two captain's chairs.
Peugeot traveller is a good call. Just need some peril-sensing sunglasses as you walk up to it.
Would love the new Peugeot (TBH I like the looks although most don't), but a good one is at least 3k out of range.
I've discounted t5's as they have much higher milage for the money.
At the moment the nv200 is out in front for me, seats 6 and 7 fold out of the way nicely and there's more about than other similar vehicles. Im looking at franchised dealers only (I've a thread on here about a 2nd hand car) - by more about I mean 2vehichles within a 2hr drive from me......
Are you likely to need to carry 6 passengers and their luggage at the same time?
There's a reason why almost all s/h VW Shuttles are LWB ones - you need the extra length to accommodate that many people plus their suitcases for airport runs.
Grand Tourneo Connect or NV200 combi both look good if you definitely want something more compact and you'll be filling it with people or things but not both at the same time.
I own a village shop with the wife
can serve as a occasional private hire minibus
Very much a case of "are you local?"..........
We also had an animals included church service at the weekend in an adjacent village, aka Vicar of Dibbley.
Regards the 6th/7th seats and airport/luggage runs. It'll be a rare occasion, we have alot of weddings, events and corporate does in the village, so Im gearing it towards that rather than luggage heavy trips. I can always invest in an enclosed trailer if that becomes a thing, however id need to chat with the insurance guys first.
The Grand Tourneo Connect looks ideal But funding a 7 seat version is almost impossible it seams. One on auto trader (bright orange), none in my local dealer network, lots of 5 seat versions though.
Settled on a sub 18k miles nv200..... I've now the minefield of private hire insurance to navigate - filled in a load of quote requests today so I'm fully expecting my phone to be going all day with call backs tomorrow. The cheapest instant quote was 4k for the year, but that was for a full time private hire insurance and we need something a little more flexible.
If worst comes to worse I'll end up using cuvva for a per day insurance scheme until trade picks up to carry permanent insurance cover. It'll be more expensive that way but less risky as 400 a month would be more than I'd expect in trade for the first year.