Volkswagen Crafter Luton 2.0 CR35 TDI
At Swiss Vans, we stock the excellent VW Crafter Luton van with or without a tail lift. These are great box vans for a wide variety of needs, and as they’re built on the VW Crafter Chassis Cab, you know you’re getting a quality, reliable vehicle. Call us today to discuss your requirements; we have plenty of vans in stock, but we’re also always happy to do custom builds to our customers’ exact specifications.
Our Lutons are designed and tested to the latest European standards, and if the VW isn’t quite right for you, you could also consider another manufacture; we stock Luton vans from all the major manufactures including the Ford Transit Luton, the Peugeot Boxer Luton, and the new SAIC Maxus Luton. So you’ll certainly have plenty of choice!
How to Finance Your VW Crafter Luton Van
We pride ourselves on the fact that we offer a wide range of affordable finance options to suit almost every budget. With deposits from only one payment down, we can make things work for most circumstances. As an example, you could get a low-rate Luton finance lease from just £299 per month. In general though, you can choose between:
- Cash Sales / Buying Outright
- Finance Lease and Contract Hire
- Hire Purchase (HP) and Lease Purchase
Optional Extras and Upgrades
If you need a little more kit on your new Luton, no problem! Upgrades can be added to your monthly payments, and we can fit a variety of extras including:
- Reversing camera (from £399 fitted)
- Reversing camera + Sat nav (from £1299 fitted)
- Wrap (from £2500: allow extra time for delivery on this one)
7 Ways To Finance Your Van
Most of our competitors are leasing franchises. Their vans are usually purchased by the hundred; they may have sat on the lot for a while by the time you come along. These franchises tend to prefer contract hire as it locks customers in with them for longer. However, here at Swiss, we work with banks. We’re not tied in to any one plan, so we can offer you a wider array of options. Our vans are fresher and our deals are better, as there’s no middleman franchise taking a cut.
Each of the following finance methods is tax deductible. It’s important to remember that, unless your insurance policy provides “new for old” cover, you will need a GAP insurance policy in case the vehicle gets written off. More on this at the bottom!
- Hire purchase: VAT down or VAT deferred. HP is a great way to actually buy a van. If you’re VAT registered, you can claim the whole VAT amount back within three months.
- Contract Hire: Bear in mind that there is a credit check with contract hire even though many people believe there isn’t. Contract hire is more popular on cars than vans, and it’s better for large fleets. In fact, it doesn’t offer any advantage for fleets of fewer than 10. (If you want to change more than 10 vehicles in one go, then please get in touch.)
- Lease purchase: As some manufacturers offer deals that can’t be used with lease purchase agreements, this may not be the best option. It’s similar to hire purchase as you own the vehicle at the end of the contract, but different in that there’s a large “balloon” payment at the end to help keep monthly payments lower. VAT-registered customers can claim back in the following quarter if they pay the entire VAT amount as the deposit. Lease purchase can be a great option for businesses if, for example, you want a T6.1 to keep and convert to a motorhome later on. Sometimes pre-registered vans are cheaper, so do ask us about what we’ve got available.
- Finance Lease: By far the most popular finance method as it attracts the lowest payments. Finance leases also attract the largest discounts from manufacturers. Another benefit of this method is that you can fit accessories to the van while you have it.
- Operational Lease: An operational lease is just like a finance lease apart from that you can hand the vehicle back at the end. Some of our Mercedes vans are like this.
- Asset Finance: We can finance many products, not just vans.
- Credit Limit: Pre-approve your van purchases 90 days in advance. This can be very useful if, for example, you have a contract tender.
GAP Insurance
If the vehicle is written off, your normal insurance may not cover everything you owe on your finance agreement. You could end up having to buy an older, cheaper van just to achieve the same monthly payments. A GAP insurance policy can help. For more information, please see our GAP policy page. And to buy a GAP insurance policy, you can click here.
We love to give our customers plenty of choice, so at Swiss Vans, we supply both ready-made, manufacturer-built Luton vans and bespoke builds. People are often in a rush when it comes to buying a Luton as they are so expensive to rent, so there often aren’t many about, but do our best to keep a decent stock. You never know when you might need one!
As all Luton vans are handmade, you’ll see the tool marks of the craftsmen who made your van regardless of the make and model, but some builds are more standard than others. And if you’re after a truly bespoke Luton van, you may need to get Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) for the build, but we can talk you though that a little more. This is not a huge deal, but bear in mind that it can add another month or two to the delivery time (at least 12 weeks from when the chassis is in stock for basic bespoke builds). It’s one reason why stock Lutons are much more popular than custom builds!
Here are a few basic facts about Lutons and Luton builds. If you need any more information, don’t hesitate to give us a call!
- Most (if not all) are made from GRP (glass-reinforced plastic, or a type of fibreglass) over marine ply. It’s lightweight, maintenance-free, and it resists minor knocks. Although Lutons were made with more aluminium in the past, this rarely happens now due to the cost: aluminium is expensive compared to GRP. And GRP Hex is also lighter: sometimes it’s even possible to save up to 80kg on an overall build.
- All Luton vans have an aerodynamic pod that extends over the cab. This is great for lighter items; its maximum load weight is about 75kg. (It’s worth noting that many manufacturers use roof aerials, and often these will protrude into the pod.)
- It’s possible to add a sleeper pod instead of the aerodynamic pod; this sleeper pod can be accessed from inside the cargo area.
- Most Luton vans have a load length of approximately 4 metres, but with a bespoke build, you can go to maybe 4.8 metres on some chassis, especially if they’ve been extended.
- Almost every Luton van can have a tail lift fitted. Although tail lifts add a lot to the convenience of the vehicle and ease of loading / unloading, they typically weigh 150kg, and that gets subtracted from the overall payload. Dell and Radcliffe seem to be the most popular brands as far as we can tell, but as tail lifts are not always a stock item, this is another instance where it might be better to take a stock vehicle already fitted with one if and when you can. That said though, if weight is an issue for you and you’re prepared for the potential of an extra wait time, be aware that it is possible to get lightweight tail lifts — that weigh as little as 80kg — at an additional cost.
- Luton rear doors are always roller shutter unless you’re having a bespoke van built. Then, you could consider the alternatives — bar doors and D-Day doors — if the standard roller doors won’t work for you. D-Day doors can split in half and serve as a loading ramp, so they could be very useful depending on your circumstances.
- As standard, most Luton vans come with a single row of tie rails. More can be added, but it’s cheaper and faster on a stock Luton for customers to sort this themselves after delivery. The average cost at UK Luton builders is about £100 per row, and you would almost certainly be looking to go to one of these builders as it’s often impossible to send a Luton back to the manufacturer for small extras. At least if you want them in any kind of reasonable timeframe!
- Some customers go for what’s called a low-loader Luton van. The difference between this and a standard Luton is that the chassis on the low-loader accommodates the wheels on either side of the floorplan, so loading is easier. As an extra benefit, low-loaders don’t normally need tail lifts as they’re already pretty close to the ground.
We offer a huge variety of upgrades for bespoke Luton builds and quite a few for stock Luton vans for sale or lease too. Please note though that upgrades on bespoke builds will add to the delivery time.
Most of the following upgrades can be added to your finance agreement. For more straightforward extras like additional tie rails, we ask our customers to find a local Luton builder with whom we can cooperate, as it’s much faster this way.
Easy Upgrades Available of Stock or Custom Vans
- Reversing cameras
- Sat nav
- Improved infotainment system
- Driver-tracking systems
- Remote vehicle immobilization
- Leather seats and alloy wheels (really)
- Vehicle coatings to repel dirt
- Sign-writing and LED-advertising systems
- Load locks and extra tie rails.
- Tail lifts (sometime but not always: it depends on the builder!)
Even More Upgrade Options for Bespoke Luton Vans
- Sleeping pod
- Lightweight GRP Hex panels for a weight reduction of up to 80kg
- Additional lighting inside
- Extra-strong floor
- Refrigeration
- Tail lifts (150kg standard weight) and extra-low-weight tail lifts (~80kg weight)
- D-Day doors (for low loaders)
- Additional security such as rear or roller-shutter slamlocks