How I run my business van - Tom Brown Construction

Van: VW Transporter 1.9 (104) Trendline
Financing method: Outright company purchase

Cumbria-based Tom Brown is an owner-driver family business. The company runs a Transporter van.

The company began four years ago, formed out of Tom's single trader joinery business. It's now become a substantial concern expanding into house building.

Tom bought the van a year ago and plans to run it over three years and 36,000 miles.

"I prefer to buy outright," says Tom. "I'm not a lover of HP or leasing. If the business has a downturn for a few months, the van's already paid for. It's one less cash flow issue out of the way."

Tom says another consideration was the deal offered on his old Fiat Scudo. "The part exchange was generous. I only lost £2,000 over three years and there was a discount on the Transporter."

Tom says he values the Transporter for its build quality, reliability, and comfortable driving position. "It has niceties like air conditioning. They make a real difference on long journeys."

Tom uses his other new purchase - a Lexus IS200 diesel - for pricing new jobs. "It's privately owned. So I charge the mileage back to the company when I use it this way."