10:00 am, August 27, 2026
The used van market is being hit by a growing chasm between what sellers expect and what dealers are willing to pay.
That is according to new data from online marketplace OnlyVans, which shows that owners are significantly overestimating the condition and value of their vehicles.
Research shared exclusively with Car Dealer found that 84.9% of van owners rated their vehicle as either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, despite many being more than a decade old or having six figures on the clock.
The study analysed 393 valuation requests submitted through the OnlyVans website between July 21 and August 25.
It found that the average van being valued was nine-years-old and had covered 90,000 miles. Meanwhile, within the group of owners describing their vans as ‘excellent’, one in four had covered more than 100,000 miles and 13 had passed 150,000 miles.
Elsewhere, 24 vans described as excellent were built in 2015 or earlier.
Across all 393 valuation requests, the OnlyVan report found the overall median valuation of used vans to be £5,000 although almost one in four vans was valued at less than £2,000.
The data also suggests owners are also holding on to their vans for longer, with more than a third of requests concerning vehicles aged seven to 10 years, and a further 25.2% related to vans aged 11 to 15 years.
Only 8.9% of requests were for vans aged three years or less.
Experts say the findings are resulting in dealers increasingly finding themselves having to manage customer expectations before they can agree a trade-in price.
Luke Polach, founder of OnlyVans, told Car Dealer: ‘I think they [dealers and sellers] are looking at two different vans.
‘The owner sees the van he bought. He remembers what he paid, he knows how he looked after it, he knows the work it has done for him. That is a real thing, but none of it is on the vehicle.
‘The dealer sees the van he will have to sell. He is looking at what it needs before it can go on the forecourt.’
Advising dealers on how to handle the changing nature of the used van market, Polach added: ‘Expect the seller to arrive with a number that is too high, and expect the reason to be condition rather than the market.
‘If you can show why, you get a better conversation than if you just give a lower price.’
‘The vans are also older than I expected. The median age was nine years, and the median mileage was ninety thousand. That tells me people are holding vans longer before they sell them.
‘Value drops very fast between year six and year nine and it drops again at the third keeper – from around £5,000 at two owners to around £2,000 at three.
‘Most owners do not expect that second drop at all. So the seller who has crossed both of those lines is the one who is most surprised at the appraisal.’
Transit Custom values fall sharply
When it comes to vans, the Ford Transit has been the top dog for more than 60 years.
However, that has not saved the model from being one of the biggest depreciators in OnlyVans’ data.
The research found that Transit Custom models were the most frequently valued, accounting for 64 of the 393 requests.
Its median valuation was £13,400 for vehicles aged up to three years, falling to £9,000 for those aged four to six.
For vans aged seven to nine years, that figure dropped again to £5,900, before falling to £4,650 for those aged 10 to 12.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen was another notable feature of the data.
While Ford accounted for 27.7% of requests, VW came in second on 18.8% – ahead of Vauxhall in third on 14%.
OnlyVans said Volkswagen’s share of valuation requests was stronger than its representation in the wider UK van parc.
The brand’s most popular van – the Transporter T6 – had a average valuation of £9,900, according to the data.
Polach told Car Dealer: ‘Volkswagen was almost 19% of requests, which is much higher than its share of the vans on the road.
‘I cannot tell you exactly why. It may be that Transporter owners check the value more often because they know it holds money. Or it may be the camper market.
‘But if you are buying a Volkswagen, you are probably dealing with a seller who has already checked.’