The van has been in to the garage again today, and they declared that the engine may last another year but no more. The van is 20 odd years old already, and it suits us fine as its the best mix of 'big enough to fit loads of stock into' and 'camper; and works great for all our big vehical needs.
So, question for the traders, how do you choose a trading van and when do you decide its past maintaining? Currently we plan to fix this in due course, but at some point its not worth it.
Tax-wise, I was advised by the accountant that our Land Rover truck is so old and knackered (it's now 22 years old!) that it would be better to claim mileage for it than put it on the books - seeing as it is also used for shopping trips, the odd school run and general runabout use.
His advice was to claim 40p a mile for business use, which soon adds up.
...in which case take the simplest way out and claim the mileage for each and every business-related trip. You'd be pleasantly surprised how much 40p a mile adds up to when offset against what you make.
We do what Gervase suggests - it works very well.
I think that your pocket will tell you when your van is due for replacement.
Here's an interesting one. You are only allowed to claim a certain percentage of your vehicles expenses if you use it for business but I was able to claim a 100 % for my pest control van because as it was used to carry poisons and the like I was able to argue that business was its sole use.