Vans - Guidance please.

[Polarbear]

Following on from my 'big van/little van' question.

I have decided to buy a transit sized van, not least for the moving advertising space that sickpup suggests as well as the flexibility a larger van gives.

So I presume any of the big makes, Ford, Vauxhall, Mercedes are pretty reliable and I should just choose the best one I can find irrespective of make?

Second, form my research vans don't come on the 2nd hand market until they are either very high mileage or well battered. The exceptions being a couple of year old ones like this (which I do wonder why people would sell) ....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013-Vauxhall-Vivaro-LWB-Van-2-0D-NO-VAT-like-Trafic-primastar-29-000-miles-/271985795177?hash=item3f539de069

Is this worth the extra over

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013-62-VAUXHALL-VIVARO-2700-2-0-CDTI-115-6-SPEED-SWB-WHITE-CLEAN-VAN-NO-VAT-/331650309546?hash=item4d37e61daa

Is it worth buying new

I have no idea with vans as they are workhorses so does that make the high mileage any less worrying.

I really don't want anything bashed and battered as that doesn't look good with your company name on IMO.

Any comments or suggestions from you lot appreciated.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[grr666]

Mileage wouldn't put me off, my van was a 1 owner ex builders van which I bought at about 8 or 9 years
old, it had done 107,000 abusive city miles having been allocated to a number of typical white van driver types.
It's now on 138k and is my daily driver, it's not perfect but it's reliable and gets the job done.
I paid 700 quid for it but to be fair I used to work for the company that sold it to me. It also came with a fresh MOT,
a years tax and a full tank of diesel It's a 2003 Kangoo by the way.
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[petalbriefs]

Hey UNCLE PB, (nudge nudge, wink wink) We are obvs related cos Im a PB too................. No I havent lost my mind!

You live in MK, I work for Vauxhall, if you do decided to buy say a brand new Vivaro, we have family discounts etc.

Not sure if I would get much help on used stuff but if you did decide to look at a used Vauxhall, gimme a shout and I will help if I can
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Proud owner of an R6 + ZXR400
Honda CBR 125 R - Stolen

[almostthere]

Buy one at auction, leasing companies get rid of their vans this way usually full service history good condition, its where I buy my vans
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Beer, It's the reason I get up every afternoon
www.mfairco.uk

[Copycat73]

there is a place up north that sells pre-reg..
if its of any interest ..

https://www.firstclasscommercials.co.uk/

I`ve had some dealings .. both private and commercial .. seems like a genuine bloke.

same dilemma I had looking at the second hand crap that was for sale.. bought one with 37 miles on the clock .. 6 months old pre-reg.
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[Polarbear]

[Polarbear]

[sickpup]

Before looking at brands of vans look at what non-franchised dealers you have in your area. Buying a van is just the first step, being able to maintain it is just as important.
Once you have a list of non-franchised dealers check their reputations, google could be rather useful in this and then start narrowing down your search.

If I was looking for a transit sized van I would be looking at a petrol one with a factory LPG conversion. These tend to have been bought by non-fleet users so generally have led an easier life.

[MattEMulsion]

If it was me, it'd either be a Sprinter or a Transit and not a lot else. I would say they are the two most reliable workhorses out there.
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Yamaha YZF-R6

[stevo as b4]

I never thought of buying a petrol van, and would not feel that comfortable with one as the default choice is diesel for nearly everyone.

But I suppose if you did buy a petrol, then it could have only been owned by a private buyer as no one else would want one.

Good and local dealers are important, and so is condition. Mileage is not an issue with vans, and many fleet vans are these days well looked after and serviced, as if the companies buy them they like to get 3-4years tops out of them and sell them off without too much depreciation.

I'd say ex hire vans could be a good bet, as the big hire companies won't keep vehicles for more than a year or two mostly. You could look at ex Gas board, Post office, and Telecom van's as these are huge fleet operators and again on average they tend to look after their vans better from a servicing point of view, than Bob Smith the builder, or Fred the plumber etc.

[grr666]

I used to know a window fitter with a 3.0 Essex V6 in his transit
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[natefz6]

Avoid Vivaro Vans and his brother from another mother the Renault Traffic. My brother had a Vivaro when he was self employed and had problem after problem with it spilling cash all over the place with engine and electrical faults. His 57 plate ended up as scrap/breaking as it was not economical to repair!

He started work at a new job and to his delight they had the same there and also had many problems. Engine replacement seems like an expected thing to do every few years..

No offence intended to petalbriefs but if you do go for one buy a good warranty or get it new. Vivaros come in cheap for a reason.

To add to this I drove Transits for years and only had a couple of problems with diesel injectors but that was not that much to repair.
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"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[drzsta]

I've got an '08 Vivaro and touch wood never had a problem in the 70,000miles I've had it. We also had around 40 Renault trafic's at work which were never having 'engine replacements' to my knowledge.

I drop the oil on mine every 10k.

[Busa1340R]

I have owned 4x Ford Transits over the last 9 and a bit years (1xMk6, 2xMk7s and now have a MK8). Each of the first three has easily covered over 150,000 miles in my hands and the only thing that I have had go wrong which took me off the road was a failed Concentric Clutch Slave Cylinder on my 1st Mk7 at about 75,000 miles.
Van was still driveable but had to get from Bristol to Bodmin and back again with minimal gear changes and pulling away on the starter.

EGR valves could be a bit problematic on MK7s but they appear to have got on top of that now - relatively cheap fix that you can diy if inclined to.Brake pad warning light wiring tends to fail - a "shorting loop" plug usually sorts out the blinking pad warning light - again a cheap and easy "fix"

Transits do have a reputation for tin-worm(find a decent one and apply lashings of underbody wax) but I would say they are not as bad as Sprinters for this. French vans do appear to have decent paint in their favour, if nothing else.

I have also owned a Citroen Berlingo van and Citroen Nemo van in this time - both diesel and both covering similiar mileages to the Transit. The Berlingo generally excellent with the exception of noisy alternator bearings. The Nemo was a crock of shite.
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Current: 2010 Suzuki GSX1340R Hayabusa, 2013 Yamaha YP250R X-Max Sport - Previous: Triumph Sprint ST1050ABS, Honda XL600V Transalp, Honda NT650V Dullsville (don't ask!), Kawasaki ZX9R E1, Honda NX650 Dominator, Suzuki GSX1300RKZ Hayabusa, Honda CBR1000FM, Kawasaki GPZ500S, etc etc

[Irn-Bru]

Have experience with Iveco Daily's & Merc Sprinters at my old job, the Merc's always had daft mileage on them, 230,000 miles on one of them, the Daily's never got over 130,000 and would be took off the fleet after 3 or 4 years. Just before I left we got a brand new 15 plate Daily, fully auto 8 speed, massively improved on the old shape one in terms of comfort, no idea about reliability as it was so new but wouldn't buy an auto, it was averaging 18mpg
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KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[natefz6]

[Jewlio Iglesias]

We have a nice Transit van at work, the 140 spec model, nice and quick, high roof and LWB too, great to drive, trip comp says 33/34mpg for what its worth (it's on about 12k, on a 63 plate, not getting battered every day) but sits at 80mph comfortably, picks up good in second and third gear and would be good for the traffic light grand prix

What I WILL say is, we had an issue where the window window decided to not wind back up, for no apparent reason Though it rectified itself after a few days somehow.
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21:41:40 petalbriefs: look phil, I dont preach to you about bowling pins or whatever, so you stick to that and I'll stick to cars
21:38:18 Northern Monkey: chav lives in the garage with an almax on it
21:34:54 rhys99: My train got stuck in heavy traffic

[Wonko The Sane]

from experience, don't bother with LDV vans

each one I've driven was a useless and gutless piece of shite, each one was a different one from the same hire company
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[STONEY!]

I have had a lot of vans!

First of all and most controversially I would wholeheartedly recommend the LDV Convoy. If you are looking for a cheap reliable shed on wheels (what more is a van really?) the convoy is hard to beat in terms of value for money, they are basic and easy/cheap to maintain, they don't really rust (if looked after), they cost peanuts to buy, they are generally a good size (floor is a bit high but so is any other rwd van) Creature comforts are a little lacking!

LDV Maxus should be avoided like the plague!

Transit mk1-5 basic easy to fix the 2.5di is an excellent engine, not fast (unless you find the rarer 2.5tdi) but near on indestructible and pretty economical. rust is the only real killer of these

Transit mk6-7, harder/pricier to fix, still rust but more power and refinements, look out for fuelling issues as they can be expensive to fix

Peugeot/citreon/fiat boxer/relay/ducato (all the same) good size vans, fairly basic, do rust in a couple of spots but generally not bad. the 2.0 hdi is a good lump and generally no issues, gearbox problems are common although sometimes its just the selector cables.

merc sprinter/vw lt/crafter, early ones rust like hell otherwise good, late ones are very nice but pricey to maintain

peugeot partner/citreon berlingo are good small vans, the 1.9d will go on forever (slowly) and return 50mpg+ the 2.0hdi is fast but rarer

renault kangoo is fine too but a bit of a pig to work on at times

VW Caddy's are pretty good but a bit thirsty for a small van, the earlier ones are starting to rot.

vw transporter's are bloody strong, dont really rust, pretty refined and well built but thirsty for the size of the van.

nissan vanette is a turd to be avoided, slow, thirsty and rust like hell.

think thats all the vans I have had, my mate loves his toyota hiace and it seems to be lasting well but I dont know enough about it to comment really.

[mudcow007]

we had a fleet of LDVs they last 2 months before they were returned as they were leaking

these were replaced with a load of Sprinter 313's - awesome vans, fast but heavy on fuel

we now just lease em

Currently running a peugeot Nemo 2 rebuilt gearboxes later its got really bad diff whine (its at 50k )

enjoy

[robs321]

Ive had my Vivaro for 80k miles (currently at 130k)and the only real problem has been a sensor! Like most new vans they all seem to be shit for these type of problems. I had a Hiace but it was very thirsty, the Vivaro has been my favourite van so far after owning mainly Mercs and VWs. Its also been the most reliable!!

[binge]

I've had a lot of vans.
Currently in a 2014 Vivaro LWB Crew-cab.

Out of all my vans, I would say the best all-rounder was my Mk6 Transit, before I fucked about lowering it, and put stupidly big wheels on it.

They have the best turning circle,
They are good on Diesel.
Parts are 2 a penny.
They are the biggest inside.


Down sides are, the rust. But if you keep it clean, it doesn't really cause too much bother.


But the Mk6 Transit gets my vote (2.0 TDDI)

[nickyboy4]

vivaros trafics and primastars are basically the same van and ebay and gumtree is littered with problematic ones, as in everything there are good ones and bad ones but too many bad ones to safely guarantee getting a good one, go for a later toyota hiace d4d if you can, reliability is almost guaranteed, vw t5's are a nice van but too many niggles with them to risk the extra cost