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Replies

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  Lara Warner October 7, 2008 at 8:43pm

  When we had our maintenance contracts we used to run a Ford P100 with a Truckman top - cost less than £600.00 easy to service and cheap to run. Now we have to have a Tipper to cart all the gear around in but miss the old jalopy!
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  Jason Felstead October 8, 2008 at 9:30pm

  I agree, if you get a car, you will be asking for someone to break into it. not only that once you have your mower, bins etc their wont be much room for anything else. As with Lara we have a tipper as well.
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  GORDON October 8, 2008 at 10:04pm

  I agree with Pro Gard about an estate not looking professional especially if you are employing. But as a sole trader I use a silver Mondeo Estate, fitted it with a removable wooden sleeve to protect the interior and from any equipment shooting forward. I carry a 19" mower, bent shaft strimmer, blower, long reach and standard petrol hedge trimmers and all hand tools plus a ladder on a roof rack. I have only been going for 18 months and have 58 regular customers (nearly all lawn cuts) So although my perception is that it does not look professional I can only conclude that if you do the job right, and are reliable, the fact that you do not have a fancy van only matters to a few and not the majority of small domestic customers.
  If you know your customers well and they the type that you can be on first name terms with then an estate car is fine. It is probably horses for courses and a lettered van will be expected by a certain clientele.
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  jonathan stollar October 11, 2008 at 5:13pm

  I had an estate for my first year. I managed just. However when I got a van, my life became so much better. You will make your money back very quickly. As you can do clearance jobs etc, without having to get a skip. ta JOn