Dog vans

Hi

I'm hoping to upgrade my estate to something bigger so I can get up to four big crates in the back. Really I want to buy a VW Transporter, but haven't quite decided yet (could be a Merc Vito... etc)

But I'm utterly confused by van conversions, insurance, DVLA and so on.

I don't actually want a 'van'. I want a 'car' (eg, a people carrier like a Transporter Kombi or Shuttle that has windows, twin sliding doors, tailgate, air con - things you don't generally get with a 'van'). But I'd be taking out all the back seats and having just cages back there. I don't know if this then means it has become a 'van' for insurance purposes (and also things like bridge/road tolls).

Has anyone else on here done this? What was your experience? Did you have to let DVLA know that the seats had been removed? Did it change the classification of the vehicle from 'car' to 'van'? Do you get stung going over the Severn Crossing and such?

Also, what should I expect to pay for a year's insurance for it (it won't be a business, I'm only transporting my own pets). Is it about the same as for a car?

If anyone has experience of converting a T4/T5 or some other people carrier in this way I'd be really interested in whether it's just the same as having a car in terms of insurance and so on or if it brings a load of hassle!

Thanks a lot. (I know there's a few threads on here about vans but I can't find anything that recent so I hope I'm not repeating something else that I just couldn't find!)

Hi,

Have you looked at ex police vehicles? They are already converted, well looked after and in the grand scheme of things not too expensive.

Hi gb,

On a smaller scale, I bought an Astravan over 4 years ago for the sole purpose of being able to get a crate in comfortably. The estate equivalent would have cost less in insurance and tax, but the van is more practical for the dogs.

I would imagine a day van conversion like you're after would still be classed as a commercial vehicle, though it might be an idea to look on ebay and try and find out there?

The alternative of getting a people carrier sounds good as it would be less basic than a van, but by taking the seats out, in theory would the insurance people need to know about this? It could affect your policy.

Thanks, yes I have been having some difficult getting straight answers about this! The DVLA say if I get a people carrier and remove the seats then they'd want to know (to change the passenger capacity on the registration) but it would remain registered as a car, and not become a commercial vehicle. The road tax is decided at manufacture I believe so would be unaffected whatever. Insurance is an ongoing investigation. In my mind it should be cheaper to insure than if it were a people carrier (fewer passengers to pay for legal/medical expenses in case of an accident) or a commercial van (not carrying cargo etc) but common sense doesn't often factor in these things, does it?! On another forum someone said most companies won't let you transfer your no claims discount from a car to a van either and I really don't want to lose that, so before I buy anything I will make sure I can get it insured as a car/private vehicle or whatever you call it.

A car-derived van type thing wouldn't be big enough anyway as I need something capable of taking 3 or 4 Newfoundland/St Bernard sized crates. They can't be stacked on top of each other so I need a big floor space to get them all in.

if you search the comparison sites you can insure vans or commercial vehicles on normal policies, i have just swapped from a focus to a ford ranger pick up, which is classed as a commercial vehicle and they accepted my car no claims and it was less than £300 for the year, so don't discount a van

Thanks Lizzy, you're right it seems insurance can be comparable to what I'm paying for my estate now. The road tax is about a hundred pounds cheaper anyway so could balance out any difference in other costs... so I'm less bothered about the van thing now! Just need to find the right vehicle that has everything I want. Good thing I'm not in a rush, wow it's harder than you'd think

the tax on Commercial vehicles is capped at £210, we also have a transit

I had a Merc Vito, loved it. I purposely didn't get on with windows as it keeps the sun out and the dogs couldn't see out so didn't bark, not that they do. Due to things changing here I now have a mondeo, but that is not what you want to know

I insured my van for personal use, so it was cheaper. I think if you take out seats etc you have to inform the insurance as it is classed as a modification. As you have already found out the vehicle is classed at manufacture, but DVLA still need to know to change how many seats. If you go with a van to start with it is so much easier to get insurance, it dosent matter if you have cages in as they are not permanent. All you have to do when insuring is state you will be using it for personal, pleasure and one place of work. If you get one already converted, it will, or should have, been re-categorized already. If you look at one and know the reg, you can go on DVLA website and find out how much the tax is on their vehicle tax check page https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax

Hope this has helped.

Yes, it has, thank you!

Am yet to go and test drive a Vito but so far I prefer the Mercedes salesmen to the VW ones I've spoken to on the phone! Apparently if you deal in Transporters you have so much demand for your stock you don't need to waste time being polite to customers