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Cutting out van servicing is an expensive false economy

Research by European vehicle marketplace BCA suggests that a service history can add up to 10% on used light commercial vehicle residual values.

BCA researched price performance for a basket of 5,000 LCVs through its sales earlier this year, comparing price achieved against industry guide values for vehicles with and without full service histories.

Duncan Ward, BCA's head of commercial sales, says that price improvements for those with full service histories increase for older vehicles.

For lower mileage vehicles, (sub-50,000 miles) BCA saw a 3.5% uplift in performance, rising to nearly 4% for vehicles with 50,000—100,000 miles under their belt, and then up to 10.4% for vans that had covered moe than 100,000 miles.

"A van is a working tool so it makes good sense to maintain it properly, but if further evidence was needed, a service history will also add to its value when it is sold," comments Ward.

"With many small businesses and sole traders typically running used vans, there may be a temptation to extend or even ignore the recommended servicing schedules," he continues.

"However, regular servicing on even the oldest vehicles will make them more saleable when it is time to change."

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