Battered van shite

[SunnySouth]

We’ve all seen Amazon’s benchmark-setting vehicle presentation policy, but I was impressed the other day to stumble across this truly excellent example of unbridled van abuse sat in a Wickes car park. The sill trim nonchalantly hanging off was a high point for me, as was the comedy ‘fit’ of the utterly hammered side door. Rear tyre nicely balding and underinflated for good measure. Absolutely heroic.

Show us yours?!

 

[Brigsy]

Looks quite tidy compared to some i see about. 

Back in the late 90s i worked for the local council. All the vans were absolutely knackered and in a similar state. They give me a g reg mk4 1.6d escort van, no pics as fcuk loads of years ago. Usual mk4 rust and generally took about 30 seconds of cranking to fire up on a morning. It would either start or flatten battery and then they would come out and jump it off. If it went in the workshop it never came out fixed just bodged. Great times looking back no trackers or nothing

[Missy Charm]

I helped a friend of mine move house a few years ago.  She hired a van to assist, and we spent the day shuttling back and forth between her new gaff and a storage unit.  Friend's first comment regarding the van was, 'I really don't like it'.  

I asked why not and was told that the exhaust pipe was broken, which meant the cabin filled with exhaust whenever the engine was running.  Oh boy, did it ever.  We drove about with the windows open and got on with it.  

[catsinthewelder]

Reposted from a couple of weeks ago.

Took quite a lot of hammering the bodywork to fit this new rear light unit after a horsebox reversed into it.  

We've learnt our lessons about fixing bodywork so try not to use any filler on any vans we're still using as it looks even worse the next time a customer crashs it!

[SunnySouth]

1 hour ago, catsinthewelder said:

Reposted from a couple of weeks ago.

Took quite a lot of hammering the bodywork to fit this new rear light unit after a horsebox reversed into it.  

We've learnt our lessons about fixing bodywork so try not to use any filler on any vans we're still using as it looks even worse the next time a customer crashs it!

That’s a truly superb effort!

Hire van I presume?

[catsinthewelder]

@SunnySouth Yeah, when we're not using it for removals.

[loserone]

When I first moved Mrs L1 out of Craghead, we went to the posh tanfield industrial estate and rented a van from a place advertised as "rent a wreck" in the local shop.  

She couldn't drive and I had just replaced my Lanos with a five year old N16 Almera.  The van was a Luton which had been driven into a low bridge so the area of the box body over the cab was crinkled up like a webasto.  The tail lift worked but the rear door didn't come all the way down, so you always had a breeze.  And there was no 3rd gear.  

 

It was running on fumes when I collected it, I can still remember the feeling of pulling into the petrol station and wondering if I was going to make the roof worse.  Think I put more diesel in it than the hire cost and as it was showing on the guage when I handed it back the chap gave me a fiver back (it was £20 a day in 2007) and confessed he'd not intended it for hire yet but that the van I'd booked had been borrowed by someone without asking.  

[SunnySouth]

On 14/06/2025 at 22:32, catsinthewelder said:

Reposted from a couple of weeks ago.

Took quite a lot of hammering the bodywork to fit this new rear light unit after a horsebox reversed into it.  

We've learnt our lessons about fixing bodywork so try not to use any filler on any vans we're still using as it looks even worse the next time a customer crashs it!

Without wanting to sound a dick, do you not worry that turning up to do removals in an obviously mildly battered van might have a negative impact on your business’ reputation?!

I think I’d be paranoid!

[catsinthewelder]

@SunnySouth   We're mostly known for being a van hire company that have moved into removals so I think most of the customers would probably expect this stuff to have been done to our vans while elsewhere!

It is the next one out though, will get rid in the autumn when things quieten down if we don't find a well priced new one in the meantime.