It’s a subject we’ve covered before, but in the intervening years much has changed. The equipment available on vans is more closely mirroring that offered on passenger cars, and van buyers are now insisting on more than just electric windows and a CD player in their next used purchase.

For some time, air conditioning has attracted a price premium, but now buyers are expecting it. “The gradual emergence of air conditioning being available across lower specification vehicles over the last few years now translates into significant price differences for used vehicles without it,” said Julian Pullen, chief commercial vehicle editor at Cap-HPI. 

“Large vans have been the last to have this piece of specification added as standard equipment, so when seen on basic spec vans these make strong premiums,” he added. 

Richard James, head of used commercials at Motus Commercials, concurred, citing the risks of a dealer buying a van for stock lacking the feature. “There’s no beating around the bush. If it hasn’t got air conditioning, I’m not looking at it. We’ve all been guilty of talking ourselves into buying a nice-looking van that didn’t have it and then feeling the pain 90 days later! Up until recently, you might get away with a chassis-derived vehicle not having aircon, but even those have started to stick now.” 

Following closely behind in the desirability stakes is smartphone mirroring, which is making stand-alone satellite navigation almost obsolete. Tom Roberts, bikes, leisure and commercial vehicle content manager at Auto Trader, sees the feature becoming a must-have. “As more vans offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, the more it will become just an expected feature. However, there are plenty of customers checking that vans have this connectivity, clearly showing that it is still not assumed to be a standard offering and is therefore desirable.” 

Matthew Davock, director of commercial vehicles at Manheim UK, also recognises the demand for it. “Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now seen as a must-have by many buyers, so such vehicles will command more enthusiastic bids than those without.”

Speccing up

As some of the more desirable features are only offered as standard on vans at a higher trim level, are we seeing fleets in particular opting for these models, hoping for a better residual value than if they had selected a basic model? 

“Many fleet operators are now opting for the [higher] Limited and Highline type specs which also incorporate the sought after alloys, and will often be paired with metallic paint which will always go for a premium over a standard white van,” observes Motus’s James. 

He added: “The traditional ‘business’ spec certainly seems to have been overlooked more than ever in favour of a more retail buyer’s specification choice.” 

Cap-HPI’s Pullen has also seen a change in trends. “The new van market continues to see a gravitation towards higher specification vehicles in general. Whether this is to do with SMEs purchasing a dual-use van that also serves as domestic transport outside of working hours, or because the fleet and rental businesses see better residual value retention in these models, this trend seems set to continue, with the plain white base spec vehicles becoming a much smaller part of the market.”

The appetite amongst the used van buyer for higher levels of specification has been noted by the remarketing companies. Alex Wright, managing director at SVA, said: “Air conditioning, electric windows, automatic transmission, even a full bulkhead will effect uplifts in residual values, some by a few hundred and some by a few thousand pounds.” 

Citing the potential cost of vehicle downtime, he added: “Reversing cameras and sensors are another wise investment as they help drivers avoid minor parking misdemeanours at a time when a visit to a bodyshop or vehicle repairer costs valuable time and money.” 

Geoff Flood, head of LCV at Aston Barclay, gave a real-world example of the effect a high specification van can have on the value realised. “At a recent weekly Leeds LCV auction, a rental company entered 28 grade 1 LCVs from different manufacturers equipped with air conditioning and satnav all finished in metallic silver. All 28 vehicles sold at the first time of asking for above Cap Clean prices in a market which is currently full of identical lower specified white LCVs. The extra specification and paintwork ensured the ex-rental vehicles performed well for the vendor.”

Playing it safe

With all new vans now having advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), is this seen as added value to the used buyer? Or are the features (and the additional cost it has added to new vans) something that the customer has little interest in? Manheim’s Davock thinks it is considered to be important. “We think the ADAS features on modern vans are a significant benefit and are well received by buyers. These features are seen to add value and such vehicles so equipped do attract strong interest.” 

Motus’s James concurred. “Driver assistance is becoming something retail customers are looking in more detail at. Adaptive cruise, pre-collision assist and lane departure warning all now feature in the used buyer’s thinking.”

Andy Picton, chief commercial vehicle editor at Glass’s, remains unsure as to the effect ADAS will have on values. “ADAS adds another level of safety for the vehicle, driver and other road users. Whether this additional level of safety translates into used vehicle demand and a consistent uplift in RVs is yet to be seen.”

Picton also mentioned the new GSR2 regulations, requiring yet more safety tech to be included in vehicle specifications. “As GRS2 is legislation driven and all vehicles sold in the UK have to comply, the additional increased costs to include this technology are unlikely to result in a significant RV uplift when the vehicle appears in the used market.”

Our experts highlighted further items deemed desirable. Roberts has seen a greater interest in security related tech. “Alarm systems. Also, we see a big demand for slam locks and dead locks on new van leases. We’re seeing an increased demand for additional seating too, together with twin side loading doors.” 

Picton has also observed an appetite for dual-purpose vans. “Crew vans remain highly desirable in the used market. In addition, vans in a colour other than white will achieve a better return in a sale.” 

Pullen agrees: “Double-cab vans continue to get good interest, even though these are far more frequently seen than in previous years, they are still very strong performers in most cases.” The level of equipment isn’t the be all and end all to a good return at auction, however, as Davock warns. “Specification such as aircon, metallic paint, automatic transmission, satellite navigation and quality racking continue to be extremely popular with trade buyers, but overall condition and mileage is expected if these spec choices are to influence the hammer price.” 

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