I need to buy a Transit van and having rented and tried different ones I have come to decide between a Vivaro ,Transit and a VW transporter.- Obviously I won't touch a Renault because of problems galore with my Espace.
Ford(D.M) have got a special offer on pre reg before the end of Sept on a 61 plate
a T260 SWB 85PS 17,935 - 6,436 = 11,499 ; A t280 85ps @ 11,999 ; aT280 115 @ 12,499
and will contribute 1k to the finance
Vauxhall have a Vivaro 2.700 at 18,093 with a voucher - 5,350 12,743 and if I can use that,not checked that out yet with the 4 yr deal that could be attractive.
haven't looked at VW prices yet and don't like the thought of a Nissan and Mercs too costly for my needs.
I am happy to put about 5k down and do the rest over 2/3/4 yrs depending on offer and figures - or do I just buy a 2nd hand for the 5k and hope ! Any thoughts would as always be greatly appreciated
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A Vivaro is Vauxhall's version of a joint venture with Renault and Nissan - it has more than a little Renault DNA - Ford it would be for me.
I'd try to stretch to the best BHP you can afford - I have a friend who bought an economy Ducato motorhome - he had to change it as it was just too gutless.
Last edited by: R.P. on Wed 21 Sep 11 at 09:34
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Wotspur, what do you use the van for?
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>> Wotspur, what do you use the van for?
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Towing the caravan, and selling tarmac etc? ;-)
Last edited by: swiss tony on Wed 21 Sep 11 at 09:53
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>>Ford(D.M) have got a special offer on pre reg before the end of Sept on a 61 plate
a T260 SWB 85PS 17,935 - 6,436 = 11,499 ; A t280 85ps @ 11,999 ; aT280 115 @ 12,499
and will contribute 1k to the finance
I drive a T260 at work and it is a great van and I have driven it the length and breadth of the country. But our cargo is not heavy, usually just bags of clothing.
Occasionally I have carried suites in it and I really wish we had got the Hi roof version as constantly crouching in the back takes its toll!
Ours is FWD and was fine in last year's snow.
Re new or used, I would have a serious look at used. As with cars, there are some horrible ones out there but you do occasionally find a mint low mileage example.
Recently a dealer near me was selling our van for £6995 + vat - 57 plate with 30k miles.
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Sounds like a long term van with the finance situation you refer to.
Two vans then for me, Transit or Toyota Hiace.
Not just good vans but very reliable...Tranny may have more size options, but the Hiace with the higher of the two power options will go on for ever, it's only had a facelift really over nearly the last 15 years, and i believe uses the Hilux 2.5 Diesel engine, if it ain't broke?
Mate's Tranny (big 'un) i serviced a few weeks ago when i took pity on it hadn't been serviced for 4 years (or cleaned for 2 till i did that too..;), but he has had some hefty bills at MOT times...not all linked to neglect but many could have been prevented with a bit of TLC, it's RWD and very easy to work on, i think it's done around 140k miles.
Vivaro and it's Nissan equivalent are the same van.
There's a fellow here who owns a big Renault Master, he often sings it's praises.
French vans are not like some of their car equivalents, you only have to lok at Berlingo, Expert, Kangoo to find excellent robust and durable vehicles...maybe simplicity still has a part to play.
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Needless to say, I like Transits, backbone of Britain and all that.
But I think the days when a Tranny was the only sensible choice for a workhorse van are gone.
Mate of mine has a Vivaro, he's pleased with it.
I had a brief go, and it drives very nicely, although I expect a modern Transit would drive just as well.
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Hired quite a few different types recently - the Vauxhalls seem more soft on the ride side - the Fords seem to be better made and more solid, certainly in the cab.
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>> There's a fellow here who owns a big Renault Master, he often sings it's praises.
>>
My Master long/high has been a good friend since new in 02. Now on 110k and has had some dough spent recently, but what hasn't? Still going strong and I would have another tomorrow without question. Sat my backside in a new tranny recently cos I was bored and I thought that the seat squab was shorter than the Renault. Dismiss it at your peril. DMF probs with tranny still????
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sorry for delay...
Mainly for carrying heavy work equipment around... quite liked the VW Transporter I saw yesterday had 2 side doors, but a lot more expensive than the Ford and Vivaro , are they worht the extra ?? - of to see some Trannies this pm, been offered a new 61 at 12.5+Vat at D.M witha 1k finance package for those taken up beofre end of Sept - so going to see what else I can get..
Cheers for the replies so far
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Mercedes sprinter seems a good reliable work horse rwd of course is that a problem would you prefer fwd?
The traveling comunity seem to swear by the transit and they have many.
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Sprinters seem to suffer badly with rust.
New ones could be better.
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>> The traveling comunity seem to swear by the transit and they have many.
Including yours, if you buy one and don't have several alarms/immobilisers fitted to it. A statistic from a few years ago: Out of every 7 commercial vehicles stolen (from a Punto van to a 44t artic) 6 of them were Ford Transits.
Wotspur - avoid any van that's been used for multi-drop parcel work. Yellow Sprinters, Transits with the remnants of FedEx lettering on the side, etc. They will have done 20,000 miles a year in 200 yard hops, battering the battery, starter motor, clutch, seats and doors into submission.
Sprinters only rust where they've been bumped or scratched, or where the signwriter was a bit careless with his Stanley blade. A van that's washed regularly won't rust half as much as one that's always dirty.
The only VW T5 I've ever driven was an early model in 2005, it was well put together and went like utter stink but had a couple of "interesting" electrical problems - interior lights had a mind of their own for one thing, not good on a 1,000 mile vehicle.
I'd much rather buy a 4-year-old van with >150k miles on it, everything important will have been replaced once and it will have been serviced on the dot. Have a look at FIAT Ducato vans, they seem surprisingly resilient compared to the cars. Higher power vans in general don't necessarily mean greater fuel consumption, but they do mean better day-to-day driveability which is more important than you'd think.
Above all, avoid the Iveco Daily. :)
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Sat 24 Sep 11 at 22:11
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Laddo is driving around in a 57 plate Tranny T280, its been a bit troublesome, but he says its lovely to drive. Friend of mine has just put 120k trouble free miles up on a VW T5, I have driven that, that's a nice drive too,.
Wouldn't trust a sprinter, everyone I know says they go like stink but are a bag off poo for reliability,.
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>> Wouldn't trust a sprinter, everyone I know says they go like stink but are a
>> bag off poo for reliability,.
>>
The original Sprinters (long gearstick type) were a good tool, I bought a 1999 model back in 2003 to move down here; 310 LWB hi-top, averaged 29 mpg and had over 180K on the clock, the only thing it cost me in a year was a new alternator.
Bodywork does rust I agree, back door being particularly suspect, but an excellent van for long distance. I am reliably informed that the later versions had quite a few issues, mainly electrical-based, and the "improved" gearchange was hideous.
If you do buy a Sprinter, avoid the four-pot basic engine, woefully under-powered; the 310 was the ideal compromise between power and good fuel economy.
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Slightly OT here, but what is typical MPG for a LWB hi-top van as compared with a Luton?
Reason I ask is that I had to drive an X-reg Transit Luton up to Stoke and back (a 450-mile round trip from here) in July, to help a mate move, and it used £175 in diesel over the trip, which I worked out as being about 19 mpg - bit rubbish when you consider the trip back was unladen. I have never driven anything so simultaneously thirsty and feeble.
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Luton bodied vans are awful for fuel, the huge frontal area and squared-off back end do not make for good aerodynamics. I did get 25.9mpg from one last week though, but then it was an 11-plate Sprinter with 56mph limiter, cruise control and 6 gears...
In my new job I seem to be the only one following the rules and bringing the vehicles back full of fuel, several mornings I've started off with less than half a tank and have had to fill up on the way out as well as on the way back. I always calculate mpg between fill-ups if possible, last week a 52-plate Transit High roof LWB gave me 26.2mpg on a 300 mile, 90% flat-out run.
15 years ago I used to get 30mpg empty and 26mpg towing from a 1988/E Transit pickup, which deteriorated to 26mpg empty / 22mpg towing from another otherwise identical 1996/P model.
I'm out in the '11 Sprinter for a fortnight starting on Thursday, should yield some longer-term figures.
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>>Luton up to Stoke and back (a 450-mile round trip from here)
Are you sure the odometer wasn't reading in Kilometres?
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>> Are you sure the odometer wasn't reading in Kilometres?
>> had to drive a Transit Luton up to Stoke and back
www.tullett-self-drive.co.uk/images/transit%20luton.jpg
Sorry :)
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Sun 25 Sep 11 at 22:50
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My fault. I put a comma where there wasn't. ;>)
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Back in the day you only needed to threaten a Ford commercial with something vaguely key-shaped to take it away.
I recall once some prune locked the keys in a Ford Cargo. As it was a hire we only has the one set. I both opened and started (to prove I could) it with the "FS" type ignition key from an Austin 1100. Putting the two keys side-by-side, I doubt the 1100 key even reached the tumblers.
No fiddling or wiggling involved, it just worked like the right one.
Most fun thing about the old "square nose" trannies was how far inboard the leaf spring mounts were. You could terrify the living bejeezus out of the uninitiated with the body roll of a laden Luton come the first corner.
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The seating position of Commer vans was unnerving until you got used to it.
There was a momentary feeling of going straight on after turning the steering wheel because the driver's seat was forward of the front road wheels.
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>> Most fun thing about the old "square nose" trannies was how far inboard the leaf
>> spring mounts were. You could terrify the living bejeezus out of the uninitiated with the
>> body roll of a laden Luton come the first corner.
>>
I'll testify to the fact a twin rear wheel standard panel van Tranny could outcorner a mini back in the 70's, used to upset a lot of car drivers with that thing, once it rained you steadied up mind, Michelins, heavy on the oversteer.
Anecdote, those old trannies were drum brakes all round and by the time a service was due you had drastically reduced front brakes and were stopping with probably 50/50 F/R brake distribution, you learned to drive though.
Another anecdote, those Tranny flared rear wheel arches used to be fitted a lot to Escort Mexico's.
And another, the 2 litre V4 petrol in Tranny seldom had the CHG problems of the Corsair/Zephyr mk4, lower compression ratio.
I like Trannies:-)
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Trannies had aquired discs at the front by the time I got my paws on them.
For sheer stupidity, Leyland Sherpa with a Luton body in slippery conditions. Best thing for predictable throttle steer I've ever driven. I got quite a dab hand at applying the merest smidgen of steering and then cornering using the loud pedal around the sidestreets of London in the snow.
Had to. Turning the wheel any distance in those conditions at anything above walking pace invariably resulted in it going straight on. Truly dreadful for grip it was.
One of the ones on fleet came with the optional extended mirror arms for box or luton bodies. I managed to remove both simultaneously without touching any part of the box body while haring through a width restriction. 10/10 for aim, minus a lot for good thinking.
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I whipped the driver's door mirror off a hired Transit going through a width restriction in Walthamstow, in north east London.
The bill for the damage was about £40, not too bad, even in those days.
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Just to add.
I think the restriction was 6' 6", and the top of the restriction post caught the bottom of the mirror.
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Thanks to you all for all your advice, so here's an update
I seriously liked the Hyundai and VW Transporter -on looks primarily, but have ruled them both out unfortunately. The Hyundai side doors are restrictive because of the bulkhead and door positioning, The VW was a lot narrower than the Tranny, and then when I sat in the front, OMG the headrests were awful. they were like angled into the middle of my head, I tried it without them, but 2 reasons it wasn't for me.
So its time to check out the Toyota Hiace -as reommended above , otherwise it'll be a Ford.
Living near Blackbush I might check out the potential savings on buying at auction - went there a few ago, it was incredibly exciting
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>> The VW was a lot narrower than the Tranny, and then when I sat
>> in the front, OMG the headrests were awful. they were like angled into the middle
>> of my head, I tried it without them, but 2 reasons it wasn't for me.
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That's odd. The headrests on our Transporter T5 are adjustable for angle and give me no problems at all. But, yes, the T5 certainly looks narrower than a Tranny on the road.
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Needing to buy a van - R.P.
