Looking for a new van
Discussion
Hello everyone,
I'll be looking for a new van soon, and to be honest I might be looking for a mythical beast here.
So here's my requirements:
1. VW Caddy sized, roughly, a little bigger rather than a little smaller.
2. Reasonably economical, 60-65mpg on the motorway please.
3. Ac and rear parking sensors a must, along with a decent radio.
4. Here's the big kicker, I do about 80k miles a year for work. Thus I'm really looking for something that will be good for around half a million miles without a costly repair (like a new engine or battery pack etc.)
So yeah, I get the feeling nothing out there will tick box 4, but is there anything that can get close?
Thanks in advance
I'll be looking for a new van soon, and to be honest I might be looking for a mythical beast here.
So here's my requirements:
1. VW Caddy sized, roughly, a little bigger rather than a little smaller.
2. Reasonably economical, 60-65mpg on the motorway please.
3. Ac and rear parking sensors a must, along with a decent radio.
4. Here's the big kicker, I do about 80k miles a year for work. Thus I'm really looking for something that will be good for around half a million miles without a costly repair (like a new engine or battery pack etc.)
So yeah, I get the feeling nothing out there will tick box 4, but is there anything that can get close?
Thanks in advance
Jag_NE said:
I’d be changing the oil every 5k too.
I'd be a bit daring and maybe push it out to every two weeks instead. Maintenance is one of the other things to consider with a van. Does it come with a proper commercial vehicles workshop at the dealer? Can I drop it off red hot at 6PM having been on the road all day and pick it up freshly serviced at 6AM the next day?
Or am I going to be hanging around in the car servicing queue with 30 fiesta owners at 8:30AM waiting for whatever loan van they decide to give me, and I'll need to be back by 5PM to spend another half hour t
tting around before I get my van back?None, get a discovery commercial or a Corolla commerical, or a big Estate car, what on earth are you doing in a caddy sized van to be doing 80k a year? How do you ever do any work?
No vans are comfy, I’ve had several, caddy’s, transporters, transit customs and connects and none of them are anywhere near as refined or reliable as a car
No vans are comfy, I’ve had several, caddy’s, transporters, transit customs and connects and none of them are anywhere near as refined or reliable as a car
agent006 said:
I'd be a bit daring and maybe push it out to every two weeks instead.
Maintenance is one of the other things to consider with a van. Does it come with a proper commercial vehicles workshop at the dealer? Can I drop it off red hot at 6PM having been on the road all day and pick it up freshly serviced at 6AM the next day?
Or am I going to be hanging around in the car servicing queue with 30 fiesta owners at 8:30AM waiting for whatever loan van they decide to give me, and I'll need to be back by 5PM to spend another half hour ttting around before I get my van back?
That's where I'd be looking I've the vehicle was my main way of earning a living. Having ran Vitos & Transits in the past the experience of dealing with a proper Commerical vehicle dealer versus a Van centre that operated like a traditional 9-5 dealership was night and day. Overnight servicing and repairs, plus being set up for people who relied on the vehicles was great and more than covered the extra costs, although back then it cost more to service the MB but they needed far less maintainance than the fords. Maintenance is one of the other things to consider with a van. Does it come with a proper commercial vehicles workshop at the dealer? Can I drop it off red hot at 6PM having been on the road all day and pick it up freshly serviced at 6AM the next day?
Or am I going to be hanging around in the car servicing queue with 30 fiesta owners at 8:30AM waiting for whatever loan van they decide to give me, and I'll need to be back by 5PM to spend another half hour t
tting around before I get my van back?Jag_NE said:
Doing 80k a year I think 500k is realistic if you stay right on top of the maintenance, I’d be changing the oil every 5k too.
Yep, which are the schedules that I do mine at, (I do about 45k per year).I’d say a Renault Trafic and ignore Renaults service schedule, as like most manufacturers, the ‘official’ service schedule is designed to make leasing the vehicle as cheap as possible.
Instead I’d do;
Oil & filter every 5k
Air filter and cabin filter @ 10k
Gearbox oil every 20k
PAS fluid @ 20k
Fuel filter @ 20k
Coolant and brake fluid every 12 months
Aux drive belt @ 40k
Timing chain and aux drive belt every 80k
Sump off and clean / replace oil pick-up strainer @ 100k.
I had a Transporter for a while. The Trafic is a lot nicer van IMO. Stick to the above service schedules and I can’t see why you wouldn’t see 500k with ease.
As for MPG, I work as a courier, (suburban housing estates), and I’m seeing 29.7 mpg and I don’t hang about at work, even though most of my day is spent in 1st & 2nd gear. It will do mid-40’s on the motorway.
2.0 caddy maxi? Id say the 1.6 but they have injector faults which isn't any fun. Idk if the trend line has the better radio or if its just the highline but there's oem ones readily available that go in. Idk if sensors would be a retrofit or not either but they're great vans. Gutted mine was wrote off 
was the 1.6 and I would never get that engine again though, 2.0 all the way.
was the 1.6 and I would never get that engine again though, 2.0 all the way.Gassing Station | Commercial Break | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff