Wanted MWB Minibus

[Paladine]

I am looking to purchase a MWB/LWB Ford Transit minibus which will be used for Private Hire. It only needs 9 seats (including driver) but I am happy to consider ones with more as I will be fitting it out for wheelchair access and can just remove the extra seats.

It should be no older than 2005 (2006 or newer preferred) and I would prefer one with less than 50k miles on the clock. Vehicle must have full service history, be HPI clear and have a decent length MOT if it is 2005.

Body work and interior need to be in very good condition as the vehicle will be used for private contracts including school children and executive travel.

Budget is £9000 cash (inc VAT if applicable).

I am in the North West so would prefer someone within 50 miles of Preston.

Thanks

[bigmastif]

think you missed a blond bimbo with double D`s on that wish list

plenty cheap buses about why not go to your local commercial auction

[Paladine]

think you missed a blond bimbo with double D`s on that wish list

plenty cheap buses about why not go to your local commercial auction

Because I am not aware of any local commercial auctions in my area and I need to get the vehicle on the road by the weekend (that includes putting it through the city council test which takes 24 hours).

[MinorMatt]

Cutting it a bit fine then...

ebay/autotrader is probably your best bet but have a look in the vans for sale section here.

You might find you need a longer one and take out some of the seats??

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TRANSIT-MINIBUS-3 ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Transit-Mini ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-TRANSIT-350- ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-TRANSIT-350- ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Transit-350- ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-TRANSIT-350- ... 240%3A1318

Only seems to be 15 seaters on ebay... but that would give a reasonable amount of space in the back!

[Paladine]

Cutting it a bit fine then...

ebay/autotrader is probably your best bet but have a look in the vans for sale section here.

You might find you need a longer one and take out some of the seats??

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TRANSIT-MINIBUS-3 ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Transit-Mini ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-TRANSIT-350- ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-TRANSIT-350- ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Transit-350- ... 240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-TRANSIT-350- ... 240%3A1318

Only seems to be 15 seaters on ebay... but that would give a reasonable amount of space in the back!

Thanks for those I found one from that list which was perfect for our needs and have just picked it up this lunchtime. Very impressed it is in excellent condition with only 41270 on the clock; managed to haggle 1k off the price too.

[MinorMatt]

Excellent

Glad to be of assistance the 10 mins searching wasnt a waste of time! Which one have you chosen?

I hope you are going to stick around, we are a helpful bunch

[Paladine]

Excellent

Glad to be of assistance the 10 mins searching wasnt a waste of time! Which one have you chosen?

I hope you are going to stick around, we are a helpful bunch

I went with the 55 plate from Preston (2nd from bottom in that list) managed to get him down to 8200 as well (inc VAT). We had the back 2 rows of seats taken out last night which has left us a huge amount of space for the wheelchair fittings.

I will be sticking around for sure as I have a lot of modifications to do so I would appreciate any advice. We had a quote from our local dealers (Pye Motors) for a wheelchair lift and they want £5300 + VAT. The downside is we have to use a Ford Authorised fitter for the conversion and so far Pye are the only ones we have found in our immediate area. If anyone knows any independents out their who are Ford Authorised and might be able to do it cheaper I would appreciate their details. Ideally we would like someone in the North West but if the price comes down enough I would be happy to travel further.

The company that took out the seats are going to do us an electric step for the sliding door to make it easier for more mature passengers to get in and they have quoted us £400 + VAT on that which I think is quite reasonable but I have very little experience with this sort of thing (I was an IT consultant for 15 years before starting Private Hire). They are also going to space out the remaining seats a little more to make the passengers more comfortable with regards leg room.

Once the important work has been done we then need to start on the fun modifications. I will be adding a 27" widescreen LCD TV with Freeview tuner into the back and a PC in the cab which will offer passengers free mobile broadband access over WiFi via a 3G Dongle in the PC. I guess I will need to get a couple of 24V batteries to power this lot? Again this is a new area for me I have never done entertainment modifications to a vehicle before so any advice will be appreciated. Building the PC is no problem, it is more the electrics I need some help with.

I was also thinking about maybe going for an LPG conversion in the next 12 months depending on initial costs and savings it will create.

Finally (for now) sound proofing. At the moment it has a felt headliner and the round dimple rubber floor. Ideally I would like to find a way to improve the sound proofing in both the cab and the back as on longer journeys we want our passengers and driver to be as comfortable as possible.

Thanks again,

Paladine

[sc_BK]

The RAC vans were fitted with fold out (non electric) steps





You might be able to get them second hand off MVS, who decomission the vans http://www.mvsvansales.co.uk/

[MinorMatt]

It would be worth posting your questions in the Technical Problems & Questions section, you will get a bigger audience that way