How.... how do you afford a van?
- Thread starter Badjamin
- Start date
I imagine it won’t be too long before euro 6 diesels get added to the charge I imagine. They are cleaner (in theory) but still not great for local air quality, especially when large numbers are concentrated in areas which trap surface level pollution- I.e city centres.
We were all mis-sold diesel really.
Does anyone know how the dash options selector works? If it's not on the steering wheel on the wiper stalk I dunno where it is. Is it just a button on the dash? Why would someone put a steering wheel on a van with buttons if it's not connected? It looks like they do... after a quick internet search it looks like it's a thing that people do... Why? 
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Is there a button on the opposite side of the cluster to the trip mileage button?
yeah I think so - one at each end of the speedo glass?
Undoubtedly. However the focus was on CO2 at the time and diesel is more efficient and there's less CO2 (although my Euro 6 150hp 2.0 litre van attracts more VED than my 2.2 litre Euro 5 diesel 4x4?!?!) But anyone who had owned a diesel knew about the soot and the smell. Unfortunately diesel is the most popular van fuel, as much as I like the torque I hate the smell, the slow morning warm up times and the fact you always risk getting your hands all smelly when refuelling. I suppose at least my van has the heated windscreen and mirrors. There's still people out there who think they can "pre-heat" a diesel.
The VED brackets are based on the manufacturers CO2 emissions figures for each vehicle. If your 4x4 is taxed at a higher rate it’s because it produces more CO2 than the T6.
The difference between Euro 5 and Euro 6 is the Adblue, this only reduces NOX not CO2. If anything it may unofficially result in more CO2 due to the cooler less efficient combustion and the resultant soot caused by less efficient combustion resulting in more fuel burn to run a DPF re-generation.
Euro 6 is all about chasing NOX reduction, unfortunately many downsides.
It's the other way around. My 2.2 litre Rav4 from 2011 is cheaper in VED than the T6. About £90 cheaper. Many people have complained that their Euro 6 has been more expensive to tax. Undoubtedly the VW van is clearly spitting out more CO2 which is odd as its a smaller engine and the same horse power.
The Rav4 is a car, therefore taxed on emissions. Unless your T6 is Shuttle, Caravelle or California, it will be taxed at the across the board commercial vehicle rate.
Isn’t the van a lot heavier then a RAV? It’s the grams of CO2 / Km that forms the rating. If the MPG is lower it’s producing more CO2 / Km.
The V5 doc’s show the CO2 output.
Tax rates according to CO2 output
Vehicle tax rates
Tables showing the rates for vehicle tax for different types of vehicle.
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Speak for yourself.
And your kidneys as you might need to sell one at some point to pay for yet more modifications and/or repairs further downstream.
If it wasnt for CAZ and ULEZ in this country my plan to run an older van for four years and do all the work myself would be a brilliant plan. I finish a loan for my last car soon, this bought a t5.1 Caravelle that was in essence okay. The plan was make it mechanically sound, then run it for four years ish with zero loans and pay everything cash and do everything I can myself.
Okay a new engine is a bit of a hiccup but the alternative is a big loan again for a newer and lower mileage Caravelle 4motion. If it wasnt for the engine replacement I would have paid out less than £20k for a 2014 Caravelle dsg 4motion with rebuilt suspension and brakes and serviced very well transmission, lots new bits and its now driving so smooth. Even with new engine does it make sense for say the next four years as an occasional second vehicle, fun bus, mtb mule, holiday tool, maybe.... Caveat is it isnt legislated off the road any time soon
Okay a new engine is a bit of a hiccup but the alternative is a big loan again for a newer and lower mileage Caravelle 4motion. If it wasnt for the engine replacement I would have paid out less than £20k for a 2014 Caravelle dsg 4motion with rebuilt suspension and brakes and serviced very well transmission, lots new bits and its now driving so smooth. Even with new engine does it make sense for say the next four years as an occasional second vehicle, fun bus, mtb mule, holiday tool, maybe.... Caveat is it isnt legislated off the road any time soon
I drove down the M4 to pick up my van and on the way back saw a 50mph limit for "air quality reasons". About 2 miles later you see Port Talbot steelworks pumping out all sorts of fumes. That's when you realise this is more about some people being anti-car.
All depends on the pollutant. Transport is by far the biggest producer of NOx in the UK with 35% coming from road transport and 17% from other transport forms. 22% is from power generation (all those filthy EVs
) and ‘only’ 19% comes from industrial processes.As for particulate matter - the stuff that is even found in our internal organs, then people with log burners in their homes (2.5 million of them apparently ) are the main source - 3 times higher than road transport. But mention insulating homes and it’s like you’re offering to spread the plague.
And what happens when gas prices go up? more people start burning wood. There's more smoke in the air locally than when I moved into my house in 2009. Having some smarter politicians would be nice. Are they not aware of the energy losses in the electricity grid? every time power goes through a transformer you're losing 30% or more in some cases, but they keep pushing electric over gas. People know that burning stuff is the more natural way to produce heat.
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19% from industrial processes - imagine what it would be if we didn’t offset our pollution by getting others to do most of the dirty processes for us nowAll depends on the pollutant. Transport is by far the biggest producer of NOx in the UK with 35% coming from road transport and 17% from other transport forms. 22% is from power generation (all those filthy EVs
As for particulate matter - the stuff that is even found in our internal organs, then people with log burners in their homes (2.5 million of them apparently ) are the main source - 3 times higher than road transport. But mention insulating homes and it’s like you’re offering to spread the plague.
To keep warm. Yet if houses were properly insulated they would not need huge amounts of heat input at all saving the occupier money on fuel (and healthcare costs) while reducing pollution.
As for ‘That's when you realise this is more about some people being anti-car.’ I think that’s a bit of a generalisation and over exaggeration.
Many of us love our cars, vans, motorcycles and the freedom they provide. Doesn’t mean we all love the idea of an early death with either cancer or heart disease or stroke though. See it as some people being anti-disease, not anti-car.
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