Fix My Van Advert

Sell the van.
Not the plate.

Paste your van advert. You get back a stronger version — and payload, MOT class, ULEZ and VAT-qualifying status left as gaps to confirm from the plate and the paperwork rather than guessed from the model name.

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A van advert is a car advert plus one thing that can prosecute you.

Everything that makes a car advert risky is still here — mileage, service history, MOT status, keeper count, write-off category, none of it stated unless you gave it. But a van carries something a car never does: a plated weight, and a payload figure that is the difference between a legal load and a road-safety offence. Overloading is not a misdescription, it is enforcement action against whoever is driving it.

Which is why this job will not estimate a payload from a model name. "Transit" is not a payload figure — a Transit Custom, a long-wheelbase high-roof Transit, and a Transit with the tow pack fitted can carry meaningfully different loads on the same base model. The only number worth writing is the one on the vehicle's own plate, or a manufacturer figure for that exact derivative.

The four figures a van advert gets wrong

Payload. Not from the body size. From the plate: Maximum Authorised Mass minus the van's actual unladen weight with a driver and a full tank. If a Ministry plate and a manufacturer's plate disagree, the Ministry plate wins.
MOT class. Class 4 up to and including 3,000kg design gross weight, Class 7 above that up to 3,500kg — decided by the plate, not by whether the van looks big or small.
ULEZ. Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol clears the daily charge. The registration year is a proxy for the Euro standard, not the standard itself, and trim variants can straddle the cut-off within one model year.
VAT-qualifying status. Every owner in the chain VAT-registered and reclaiming VAT at each sale — lost permanently the moment one link breaks, and not something this job, or you, can verify from an advert alone.

What a fix looks like

As supplied

2021 Ford Transit Custom 2.0 EcoBlue L2H1 — VAT qualifying, £16,995 + VAT. Great payload, plenty of room, ply lined throughout. Full service history, one owner, ULEZ compliant, no timewasters. Low mileage for a van this age.

What comes back

2021 (71) Ford Transit Custom 2.0 EcoBlue 130ps L2H1, panel van — £16,995 [MUST SUPPLY: is this inclusive or exclusive of VAT?]. Payload and weight [MUST SUPPLY: MAM/plated weight and payload figure from the vehicle's own plate — do not estimate from the model name]. This is a Class [MUST SUPPLY: 4 or 7, once the plated weight is known] MOT vehicle. ULEZ [MUST SUPPLY: confirm the Euro standard via TfL's vehicle checker]. VAT position [MUST SUPPLY: has every owner reclaimed VAT at each sale, or does the margin scheme apply?]. Recorded mileage [MUST SUPPLY: current odometer reading] — for context, a working van this age commonly shows 60,000 to 100,000 miles; state the actual figure rather than calling it low.

Ply lining stayed, moved into a factual load-area line rather than the headline. It is a genuine spec detail — the same weight as a tow bar on a car advert — and elevating it any further would be padding a thin point.

Before you pay.

Can it tell me the payload from the model name?

No, and it will not try. Payload is the gap between the plated Maximum Authorised Mass and the van's actual unladen weight, and it varies by trim, wheelbase, roof height and options within the same base model — a Transit is not one payload figure, it is dozens. It will only write a payload or plated weight you took from the vehicle's own plate or a manufacturer figure for the exact derivative; otherwise it comes back as a marked gap.

Is my van Class 4 or Class 7 for its MOT?

It depends on the plated weight, not the body style: up to and including 3,000kg design gross weight is Class 4, the same as a car; over 3,000kg up to 3,500kg is Class 7. It will only state the class once it knows the plated weight — never guessed from whether something looks like a big van or a small one.

Will it confirm my van is ULEZ compliant?

Not from the registration year alone. The year is a proxy for the Euro standard your engine meets, not the standard itself, and trim variants can straddle the cut-off within the same model year. It will prompt you to confirm the Euro standard or check it on TfL's own vehicle checker rather than asserting compliance from a date.

Can I say it is VAT qualifying?

Only if you tell it the ownership chain is unbroken — every owner VAT-registered and reclaiming VAT at each sale. The status is lost permanently the moment one link breaks, and it cannot verify your chain, so it will never assert VAT-qualifying status on your say-so alone. Confirm it and it will write the claim; leave it unconfirmed and it becomes a gap for a buyer to ask about before they rely on it.

Does it matter that mine has done 140,000 miles?

Not the way it would on a car. A well-serviced diesel van commonly reaches 150,000 to 200,000 miles with no reliability concern of its own, and a hard-working fleet van can rack up 40,000 to 50,000 miles a year. It will never editorialise your mileage as high or low — it states the figure exactly as given and lets the service history carry the judgement.

Is ply lining something I have to disclose like the MOT or the plate?

No — it is a genuine spec detail worth mentioning, the same weight as a tow bar on a car advert, and nothing more. It goes in the load-area section if you have it, not the headline, and it carries no legal weight of its own.

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