Volkswagen Vans
New Volkswagen Vans
Used Volkswagen Vans

Volkswagen takes pride in not only providing drivers with new and used vans but ensuring its vehicles are well maintained after being purchased.

Sales increased for the eighth consecutive year of with a rise of more than 13 per cent rise during 2007 compared with sales figures for 2006.

Aftersales are considered to be one of the strong selling points behind the manufacturer's success and sustained period of growth.

According to Volkswagen, its sales up to the end of March 2008 reached 7,616 vehicles. The figure that includes the passenger carrying shuttle, Caravelle luxury MPV and California camper van, shows a 4.4 per cent increase compared to the same period of last year.

Ralf Schueler, head of marketing with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: "We're proud to have increased the number of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles customers every year for eight years, but we certainly haven't rested on our laurels.

"Having started the year with a leading finance and servicing offer for the Transporter, and then introduced the all-new Caddy Maxi in February, the first quarter has certainly been a busy one."

Volkswagen van servicing is long-term and structured at intervals to ensure low running costs.

Service and maintenance cover all routine servicing, oils and fluids required, a brake fluid change and roadside assistance.

In the result of an accident, Volkswagen van centres offer owners a courtesy van and access to their Body Repairs team.

The Careport service provides van drivers with access to an enhanced after sales package. It includes the Volkswagen Emergency Assistance which operates 24 hours a day, all-year round, while European Assistance is available for fleets that travel abroad.

Financing a Volkswagen van can be done via Contract Hire which is a rental paid in return for the use of a vehicle.

Volkswagen Hire Purchase allows a buyer to pay an agreed deposit and then select a repayment period between 12 and 60 months with an option at the end of the contract to purchase the vehicle.

With Lease Purchase (sometimes referred to as Personal Contract Purchase or ‘PCP’) a van driver pays a deposit, agrees a contract period and defers a proportion of the vehicle's cost until the end of the contract period.

Volkswagen Van Centres provide two different warranties with each vehicle sold, the purpose of which is to allow the buyer to have any faults fixed free of charge.

Purchasing a new Volkswagen van entitles the customer to a three-year whole-vehicle warranty featuring two years unlimited mileage manufacturer's warranty and one year Van Centre warranty.

The Van Centre warranty can be extended for a third year or up to a maximum of 100,000 miles depending on which of these comes first.

Cover extends to rectifying any faults in manufacture or workmanship, regardless of whether the vehicle was purchased from an authorised van centre. Additional cover can be taken out for body protection and paintwork.

For used vans, a Volkswagen Assured Used Commercial Vehicle warranty offers a minimum of 12 months cover with no limit to the number of claims made or to their value.

Volkswagen also offers two types of GAP insurance to provide additional cover to drivers whose vans are either 'written off' or stolen.

An insurer will usually offer a 'total-loss' payment based on the current market value of a vehicle in the event of an incident.

This is a figure which could be less than the amount still owed under the finance agreement or the amount originally paid for it.

However, the GAP cover allows drivers access to an additional payment as well as the insurance payout.

At the beginning of 2008 Volkswagen unveiled a new finance offer "to maximise affordability and convenience for customers" for its Transporter model.

The Volkswagen offer includes free servicing and maintenance for three years or 30,000 miles (whichever is sooner) plus the same rates for both the contract hire and finance lease options.

These start from £209 a month for a Transporter T26 short wheelbase (SWB) with 1.9-litre TDI 84 PS engine and 802kg payload.

Chris Blue, national fleet manager of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said that the Volkswagen Caddy winning the Best Small Van in the 2008 Fleet News Awards was partly due to the maintenance the manufacturer provided.

The van's "strengths, plus the back-up of Volkswagen's unique network of dedicated Van Centres, helped deliver record sales again last year – and more satisfied fleet customers," he concluded.