Van or estate

[miserly]

Hi, I have been offered a rather nice Vectra estate (I know,sexy or what?) and was wondering if any one else
owns such a magnificent beast. Does it look professional turning up in a car rather than a van,considering that an affordable van for me is going to be tatty. I am just starting out as a domestic spark after years in maintenance,and so at least for the first year,money is likely to be tight,what with instruments and registration so this may be a way to save having to run two vehicles. I wouldn't leave tools in a van anyway,so that at least isn't an issue at least. Cheers,Ian

 

[kenny7askew]

you can look a bit like a DIY person working from an estate car even tho your not, its just perception,years ago i worked from a car and i always felt a bit less professional and slightly below other electricians especially parked at wholesalers

 

[ruston]

Saving grace is, if it is unmarked it is less likely to be broken into.
You will have to consider ladders and big stuff.
ladders on an estate don't look the part.
Personally , it's horses for courses.

 

[davesparks]

Don't worry about what it looks like.
If it gets you and your tools to the job and home again then that's all you need.
Doing a good job with a professional approach will do far more good than a pretty vehicle.

I work out of a tatty old landrover, I can say it's ever bothered me how it looks.

 

[ruston]

I agree , do what you need to do.

 

[Adie moore]

when I started I rocked a volvo 940, what I found the most annoying thing was, even though it was a big estate, that I'd struggle to get everything in. so I was planning for jobs and taking what I needed, invariably needing something I'd not planned for. as such brought a van within 2 months.

 

[7029 dave]

Saving grace is, if it is unmarked it is less likely to be broken into.
You will have to consider ladders and big stuff.
ladders on an estate don't look the part.
Personally , it's horses for courses.

Agreed an a LIKE.

 

[ruston]

Ta.

 

[Octopus]

Big disadvantage of most estate vehicles is that you can see what's in the back! unless its got heavily tinted windows....

 

[Adam W]

you can look a bit like a DIY person working from an estate car even tho your not, its just perception,years ago i worked from a car and i always felt a bit less professional and slightly below other electricians especially parked at wholesalers

:iagree: With domestic work the 'theatre' seems to be important; in some ways to some customers the 'theatre' is more important than the electrical work. What you drive, what you wear, how you conduct yourself... Working in accordance with regulations is nice but what they really want is for you to turn up on time in a van with your name on it, then clean up before you leave, for a reasonable price.

There are other threads on here where members have spent several pages cogitating over what kind of signals the age of their van sends out - it seems to be a fine balance between looking professional and successful but not leaving your customers wondering how you're making enough for an overly fancy van.