Help needed to find a van

[luggsey]

My Renault Traffic is 15 plate and almost 100k.
Its comfortable and practical, better seats then the same Vauxhall versions on our firm IMHO.
Two litre turbo, mines limited to 68 so mine stays in 4/5 most of the time.
Reliability is crap, had the AA and RAC out several times.
Electrical gremlins, flat batteries, dpf faults, leaking oil from cam cover, failed position sensor in steering, squeaking suspension on the front......
I also had to get the GPS upgraded as it didn't recognise full UK post codes.
I won't be buying one for myself!

[Prufrock]

I have a great deal of experience with vans over a very long period of time, and with your budget* I'd recommend buying the best long wheelbase Ford Transit Connect you can find (the LWB version has a standard side load door and a slightly higher roof (than the SWB version) - it also looks better !

Cheap as chips to maintain and very robust and durable if cared for, so try and go for a privately owned one, and try to buy one without VAT.

Anything else, especially Mercedes or VW will be expensive to maintain and they aren't any better than Ford.

Jon.

*even with a larger budget I'd still recommend the Ford.

[AndyV7o]

Kerplod
People run them ragged, and the vauxhall around them can be troublesome, but the engines themselves are widely known to be very good. The common faults dont exceed those of a D5.
Biggest problem is oil pump- the pulley nut can be undertightened thus coming loose, and the internals of the later models can fail, largely due to ignorance; the oil spec changed from 10w40 to 5w30 at same time they changed the pump, but people insist on 'putting the 'right' or cheaper 10w40 in instead of the 'silly' thinner or more expensive 5w30' in, the resultant excess pressure overloads the pump. Turbo trouble can occur due to neglect, crank sensor can fail which is a cheap problem to rectify, and there can be injector/injector seal issues. A lot of this can be avoided by responsible ownership and correct workmanship. Anything else is attributable to the vauxhall its installed in.

[capt jack]

Thanks All. A lot of really useful information there. The requirement is for mid-September onwards, so I've a bit of time yet.

Having been looking around, plus based on the comments above, I do agree that possibly a budget of £3k is a bit limiting, so we're thinking that possibly another £1500 would be a wise investment.

I'm in two minds between a Transit Connect / Vauxhall Combi size, or the Vivaro / Trafic size. There's a bit more thinking to do around that. No point in buying a smaller van only to find that it's not big enough, but then again the smaller vans are cheaper, and there's more around in the price bracket, so if it will do the job, the smaller van would be the choice.

Once again, the Forum shows just how good it is - no matter what the question, the answer is on the Volvo Owners Forum. I just wish that Volvo made vans!

I'll resurrect this thread once the decision is made.

Thanks again

Cheers

Jack

[Prufrock]

Transit Connect is a Monospace van and take a look at the LWB version, you might find it's a good compromise between a small van (Combo - yuk) and the smaller (SWB) Connect.

Jon.

[AndyV7o]

How about a Nissan NV200?

[phil1968]

Originally Posted by 4x4

Saw this on FB
Don’t know anything about the van or the seller but if you want more info I can send you a link to the page.

The W639 Mercedes van is a good vehicle, I’ve owned mine and my previous W638 for 20 years and they’ve been reliable, worth considering.

I've had three of those from new, an '04 plate, a '57 plate & currently a '12 plate which is coming up to 180,000 (trouble-free) miles. The earlier ones suffered from corrosion but were fully galvanised from about 2005-onward. Very reliable. The only things needed replacing have been 4 new injectors & a DMF at circa 140,000 miles -not bad.
We've also run VW Transporters, (previous generation boxy-styled) Ford Transits & Vauxhall Vivaros on the fleet; the Transporters are OK (although £800 to replace an alternator was a bit of a shock as pretty much the whole front end of the van has to come off for access), the Transits suffered early engine mechanical failure & the Vivaros were very troublesome with all manner of faults including failed clutch master cylinders which entail gearbox removal to replace & typically a failed gearbox at circa 100,000 miles. The current Transits on our fleet are turning out to be quite troublesome also.

[volvo always]

I'm self employed doing plumbing and property maintenance and in 2000 when I passed my NVQ Level 2,3 in plumbing and gas I bought a 4 year old Daihatsu hi-jet 1 litre van.

I hated it soon after and got rid after it cost me £286.40 to get it through the mot. Nearside rear strut leaking.

Sold, after MOT and nice to wave goodbye.

I hated the lack of visibility and blown around in the wind.
I ended up using my Nans Volvo 340!

When we moved to France in 2003 I bought a 1986 Volvo 740 GLE estate for renovations. Kept for 5 years.
Moved to Ireland in late 2009 and bought a Volvo 240GLT auto estate for £350. Still got and runs well but needs TLC as used as a tool shed. Daily driver for 11 years. Now got a 940.

In my job in a Care home doing Maintenance we used 58 reg Peugeot partners. It never actually needed any repairs, just servicing. Not roomy enough though as we covered 6 care homes in the group from Devon to Birkenhead.

For my self employment for the last 18 months I just use my 1996 940 estate and find it great. Use the load cover to hide tools and what with so many vans getting broken in to find the estate looks like any other car.

I also get to drive something comfortable, automatic and fully working AC. with great visibility.

James

[psl]

Having started with a Isuzu none turbo combo mk1 20 years ago, I kept to what I knew that lasted and was durable. I had 2 combos, then moved onto astra Isuzu td vans. The last Vauxhall I had was a mk4 cdti, I got rid of that after 3 months and moved onto Peugeot expert 1.9 none turbo vans (pre 2007) you can still pick low miles ones up for sub £3000.
Last year a friend was selling a low miles Renault kangoo of 2010 vintage, wanting a slightly smaller van, I took a chance, hearing many horror stories and being warned off by friends alike, ive been expecting the worse since ive owned it...……………………..Not had an issue. If it went bang tomorrow I think I`ll frame it, its made its money back time over. Thing is I`ll always pay that little bit more for condition and a full service history. In one day I can stop start over 30 times, drive no more then 5 miles on average.
My fav van of all time has to be the pug expert 1.9 none turbo, amazing mpg for its size, 2 side loading doors and 3 seats up front too.
Grab a facelift version upto 2007 in Pug, Citroen of Fiat form and you wont go wrong

[AndyV7o]

The old PSA xud 1.9 D/TD is a great engine, the 2.0 hdi is decent. The 1.6 hdi can be a horror story unless you have absolute proof it has been serviced, thoroughly, every 10k on the dot using correct high quality oil (preferably Total Quartz ineo ecs).
The renault 1.5 dci is a decent engine if looked after well, some problems can be had with earlier examples, but after the first few years, if treated right can be quite alright. Wouldnt want to work on one though, the 1.5 dci kangoo engine bay is not a pleasant sight...