ACCORDING to our van man David Hill, the light commercial market is a little slow at the moment. However, this is to be expected at the time of year and in fact business is still being done and the trade is still buying stock, although it is a little picky.

The market for small vans is reaching saturation point and some older models are struggling somewhat. Fiesta vans are almost finished and are looking dated. They are still finding homes, but only at the right money. Old shape Astravans are definitely on the way out and are falling in value, while new shape examples are putting in a steady performance.

Renault Kangoos are going off pretty quickly at the moment because there are just too many of them around. Vauxhall Combos are also plentiful but numbers are subsiding so values should stay fairly steady. Fiat Scudo sized vans are also holding steady, even with some big miles on.

Turning to panel vans, Mercedes Vitos are still performing well, even with 100,000 miles on the clock. If Sprinters are in a nice condition, they will also make the money - even those with 250,000 miles, although the bigger the engine the better. The new CDi range is struggling however, which could be because they are considered expensive or because the trade has a reliability question mark over the new engine.

There is good news on the new Ford Transit. Although the long wheelbase format is struggling, the short wheelbase is performing strongly and has increased in value a little.