I appear to have bought a private ambulance!
Discussion
Intended as the replacement for my 2009 Connect Limited that has provided me with reasonably reliable, if slightly niggly service over the last 7 years. I live in a city centre, emissions controls are coming at some point, and I thought it best to try and get a Euro 6 while the prices are still ok and my old van is still worth something.
2018 Connect L2 Trend with 35k miles, history, mega upspec inc alloys, nav, reverse cam, cruise, load through bulkhead, payload upgrade, dab and Fords Synch 3 system, which means carplay through iphone connectivity. Unusually, it has a tailgate with screen rather than the twin solid rear barn doors 99% seem to be specced with. I've had it a fortnight today.
Typically, living in Newcastle, this was in Dartford! My criteria was specific. I wanted, in descending order, blue, black, grey, or at a push, silver. Absolutely not white. Needed to be a LWB. Ideally a top spec Limited model. Sub 40k miles with history. I didn't want to pay vat. It needed to be, if not immaculate, good enough to be made so. That limited the market somewhat. Spoke to the seller, a trader, negotiated a discount, and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, paid a deposit.
Whilst trying to figure out the logistics of getting there to view it, I was talking to a friend about it, who, it transpired was viewing a Ferrari FF 40 miles away in Watford. So we travelled down on the Friday, stayed at a hotel 5 mins away from his Ferrari, viewed it on the Saturday and left a deposit, then nipped over to Dartford to see the van. The seller simply threw us the keys and walked away, saying to pop to the office and give him a shout when I was ready to drive it. My kind of guy.
We started it, plugged the code reader in and I was massively encouraged to see no current or historical faults logged. Also delighted to discover that, despite being Euro 6 compliant ( the main reason for the change ), the 1.5 doesn't need adblue. We left it ticking over for 20 mins or so, nothing untoward, drove it, again, nothing untoward. Negotiated another hundred off, and set off for Chelmsford where I had done deal with a guy ( absolute knobhead as it turned out ) for some wheels and tyres to use as spares for winter.
Having agreed to meet him at an appointed time, and having driven a significant distance in the wrong direction to get there, I was less than impressed to discover he had left 5 mins before I arrived and wouldn't be back for an hour and a half. Right, well, you can f
k off and die then frankly.
I pointed my new acquisition homeward and got about 40 miles north. What's that noise on the over run? Sounds like a noisy gearbox! Maybe it's just a characteristic, I've never driven one of these before. 20 miles further, and I'm fairly sure I shouldn't be hearing this. Bonnet up in a layby,and it's clear it's done either the alternator or tensioner bearing. 200 miles of fairly gentle driving later and it's home without further incident. It's still under warranty, but Ford can't look at it for a month and I need it, so out with the stethoscope, which identifies a knackered tensioner bearing, possibly due to the engine being jetwashed prior to sale. I bought a new tensioner and fitted it, which fixed it.
I had taken a week off work to swap over from the old van to the new one luckily, so managed to get several jobs done. First thing was a rear window grille and the same window tinted black to stop people looking in. Ford floor mats. The bottom inner corners of the rear lights are vulnerable to damage, both were broken, both now replaced. I finally got the wheels and tyres I was after, the latest model steel wheels look better than the alloys in the pic, have nearly new matching Continentals on and are now fitted. Replaced a damaged side body moulding.
It's been down to Watford and back today to collect the Ferrari, 520 miles there and back. Set off at 5am, arrived at 9 am, deal done and back home at 2.10pm. 46 mpg, absolutely faultless. Very civilised, quiet, pleasant thing. Briefly saw more than 120 on the way home.
I decided it looked so much like a hearse that I've been looking at plates for it in keeping with the appearance of it. Very taken with the idea of AU70 PSY, but it isn't new enough for that. EX11 UME, PR08 ATE and GON 3R are unavailable, as is H3 RSY, PEG 1T, and DUN 1N. However BO07 BAG is £880 plus fees, and if it wasn't for the interference of She Who Must Be Obeyed, I'd have already done the deal!
Long post so I'll stop, but more to come. Some pics of it when I got it. More to follow of how it's developing if it's of interest.
My old van in the background.
2018 Connect L2 Trend with 35k miles, history, mega upspec inc alloys, nav, reverse cam, cruise, load through bulkhead, payload upgrade, dab and Fords Synch 3 system, which means carplay through iphone connectivity. Unusually, it has a tailgate with screen rather than the twin solid rear barn doors 99% seem to be specced with. I've had it a fortnight today.
Typically, living in Newcastle, this was in Dartford! My criteria was specific. I wanted, in descending order, blue, black, grey, or at a push, silver. Absolutely not white. Needed to be a LWB. Ideally a top spec Limited model. Sub 40k miles with history. I didn't want to pay vat. It needed to be, if not immaculate, good enough to be made so. That limited the market somewhat. Spoke to the seller, a trader, negotiated a discount, and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, paid a deposit.
Whilst trying to figure out the logistics of getting there to view it, I was talking to a friend about it, who, it transpired was viewing a Ferrari FF 40 miles away in Watford. So we travelled down on the Friday, stayed at a hotel 5 mins away from his Ferrari, viewed it on the Saturday and left a deposit, then nipped over to Dartford to see the van. The seller simply threw us the keys and walked away, saying to pop to the office and give him a shout when I was ready to drive it. My kind of guy.
We started it, plugged the code reader in and I was massively encouraged to see no current or historical faults logged. Also delighted to discover that, despite being Euro 6 compliant ( the main reason for the change ), the 1.5 doesn't need adblue. We left it ticking over for 20 mins or so, nothing untoward, drove it, again, nothing untoward. Negotiated another hundred off, and set off for Chelmsford where I had done deal with a guy ( absolute knobhead as it turned out ) for some wheels and tyres to use as spares for winter.
Having agreed to meet him at an appointed time, and having driven a significant distance in the wrong direction to get there, I was less than impressed to discover he had left 5 mins before I arrived and wouldn't be back for an hour and a half. Right, well, you can f
k off and die then frankly.I pointed my new acquisition homeward and got about 40 miles north. What's that noise on the over run? Sounds like a noisy gearbox! Maybe it's just a characteristic, I've never driven one of these before. 20 miles further, and I'm fairly sure I shouldn't be hearing this. Bonnet up in a layby,and it's clear it's done either the alternator or tensioner bearing. 200 miles of fairly gentle driving later and it's home without further incident. It's still under warranty, but Ford can't look at it for a month and I need it, so out with the stethoscope, which identifies a knackered tensioner bearing, possibly due to the engine being jetwashed prior to sale. I bought a new tensioner and fitted it, which fixed it.
I had taken a week off work to swap over from the old van to the new one luckily, so managed to get several jobs done. First thing was a rear window grille and the same window tinted black to stop people looking in. Ford floor mats. The bottom inner corners of the rear lights are vulnerable to damage, both were broken, both now replaced. I finally got the wheels and tyres I was after, the latest model steel wheels look better than the alloys in the pic, have nearly new matching Continentals on and are now fitted. Replaced a damaged side body moulding.
It's been down to Watford and back today to collect the Ferrari, 520 miles there and back. Set off at 5am, arrived at 9 am, deal done and back home at 2.10pm. 46 mpg, absolutely faultless. Very civilised, quiet, pleasant thing. Briefly saw more than 120 on the way home.
I decided it looked so much like a hearse that I've been looking at plates for it in keeping with the appearance of it. Very taken with the idea of AU70 PSY, but it isn't new enough for that. EX11 UME, PR08 ATE and GON 3R are unavailable, as is H3 RSY, PEG 1T, and DUN 1N. However BO07 BAG is £880 plus fees, and if it wasn't for the interference of She Who Must Be Obeyed, I'd have already done the deal!
Long post so I'll stop, but more to come. Some pics of it when I got it. More to follow of how it's developing if it's of interest.
My old van in the background.
Edited by Heaveho on Saturday 27th February 21:50
Edited by Heaveho on Saturday 27th February 21:51
Heaveho said:
I decided it looked so much like a hearse that I've been looking at plates for it in keeping with the appearance of it. Very taken with the idea of AU70 PSY, but it isn't new enough for that. EX11 UME, PR08 ATE and GON 3R are unavailable, as is H3 RSY, PEG 1T, and DUN 1N. However BO07 BAG is £880 plus fees, and if it wasn't for the interference of She Who Must Be Obeyed, I'd have already done the deal!
BD07 BAG is £250 including all fees direct from DVLA - it sort of works for meHeaveho said:
Nice van - the contents were a surprise based on your plate choices 
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Haven't measured it exactly, but it's designed to be able to lift the front edge of a sheet of 8x4 onto the top of the bulkhead which is shaped like a shelf for that very purpose and still be able to shut the rear doors. It's lower than my old Connect, but a foot longer. I had to take the bulkhead out of the old one to get the seat far enough back, this on'e is generally just bigger everywhere except roof height. Those ladders under the roof are 6ft. staircase ladders.I'll have a proper measure today and let you know..
Edited by Heaveho on Sunday 28th February 08:42
B'stard Child said:
Heaveho said:
I decided it looked so much like a hearse that I've been looking at plates for it in keeping with the appearance of it. Very taken with the idea of AU70 PSY, but it isn't new enough for that. EX11 UME, PR08 ATE and GON 3R are unavailable, as is H3 RSY, PEG 1T, and DUN 1N. However BO07 BAG is £880 plus fees, and if it wasn't for the interference of She Who Must Be Obeyed, I'd have already done the deal!
BD07 BAG is £250 including all fees direct from DVLA - it sort of works for meHeaveho said:
Nice van - the contents were a surprise based on your plate choices 
Some other wit also suggested having it signwritten with " Don't pi55 me off or you'll end up in here ".......Yeah, I'm a decorator, no one has yet died of shock at what I've done to their house, but never say never!
anonymous said:
[redacted]
It does look nice and exactly what I wanted to know, will the motorbike fit?I've just sold my old van and looking for something newer, similar size to this, the Connect Tourneo is favourite.
Once you've had a van its difficult to do without one.
Yesterday I saw a Peugeot Traveller, I didn't know such a thing existed, lovely thing (for a posh van) available in three wheelbases. This one was black, auto, 180bhp, all leather seats with the 6 in the back removable etc, I was impressed!
I am interested in how you get on with this, which engine and power output does it have?
Just read again, its a 1.5
Edited by XR on Sunday 28th February 09:09
Heaveho said:
B'stard Child said:
BD07 BAG is £250 including all fees direct from DVLA - it sort of works for me
£250 all in? Wow, been looking in the wrong places! That might end up being mine. Someone suggested getting that with " no bodies kept in van overnight " in small font along the bottom of the plate. Made me laugh anyway. Some other wit also suggested having it signwritten with " Don't pi55 me off or you'll end up in here ".......Years ago Mrs BC got a speculative postal letter offer of a suitable Plate (for her) for £850 plus fees from one of the plate reseller companies
I thought it was a bit on the spendy side for a vanity plate - On DVLA it was 399 inc all fees (I still thought that was spendy but manageable)
XR said:
It does look nice and exactly what I wanted to know, will the motorbike fit?
I've just sold my old van and looking for something newer, similar size to this, the Connect Tourneo is favourite.
Once you've had a van its difficult to do without one.
Yesterday I saw a Peugeot Traveller, I didn't know such a thing existed, lovely thing (for a posh van) available in three wheelbases. This one was black, auto, 180bhp, all leather seats with the 6 in the back removable etc, I was impressed!
I am interested in how you get on with this, which engine and power output does it have?
Just read again, its a 1.5
Hi again, it's the 120 ps model, again, a preference. It's quite a big thing for a 1.5 engine. Absolutely right about the " once you've had a van it's difficult to do without " . I had an Aprilia 1000 in my old van without having to put the front seat down. I would have sworn that wouldn't be possible, but it managed it. The back in this is longer, so as long as the height isn't an issue, you should be ok.I've just sold my old van and looking for something newer, similar size to this, the Connect Tourneo is favourite.
Once you've had a van its difficult to do without one.
Yesterday I saw a Peugeot Traveller, I didn't know such a thing existed, lovely thing (for a posh van) available in three wheelbases. This one was black, auto, 180bhp, all leather seats with the 6 in the back removable etc, I was impressed!
I am interested in how you get on with this, which engine and power output does it have?
Just read again, its a 1.5
Edited by XR on Sunday 28th February 09:09
180 brake sounds great! I'll do some homework to see how these respond to a remap, the figures are encouraging ( plus about 50 ft lbs ), but I don't know what that does to the reliability on these. I didn't get my last one done as the clutch struggles as standard on the 110.
Eyersey1234 said:
Looks a nice van OP, well bought
Thank you, I'm delighted with it. The fact that I probably paid 3k less than I thought I'd have to has sweetened any misgivings I might have had!I bought some model specific seat covers which arrived last week. They are such a good fit it took nearly 2 hours to get them on, but they're waterproof and very heavy duty.
Todays jobs so far have included relocating the spare wheel from underneath to inside, as there's nothing less fun than trying to get at the thing under there on a dark wet motorway! And relocating my home made ladder rack to the centre of the van, as it was blocking the top shelf of the racking previously.
I put the steel wheels that I bought for winter use on it on Friday as I had a long trip on Saturday and they had newish tyres on. I'm coming around to the idea that I like them more than the alloys and they may stay on. Also had a pair of shortened plates made up, however I'm not entirely convinced they'll be staying.
Next jobs are roof rails and bars, and trying to find a way of having a ladder roller on a tailgate model, seemingly not easily achieved.
you'll be glad of no AdBlue tank, we have 4 Connects at work, 3 with and 1 without.
a 45l tank is a real pain in the ass, quite often i've filled up Sun night, Tue night and again on Friday depending on where i travel.
i'm glad your computer readout is 46 mpg, i thought mine was stuck, never seems to alter no matter how i drive it!
Heated screen is a joy as is the Heated seat, i was surprised how comfortable they are as when you first feel the side bolsters, or rather lack of them
re the low roof....the number of times i've caught my head on the side door mech and the plastic clips holding the light!
not quite Hearse like...
a 45l tank is a real pain in the ass, quite often i've filled up Sun night, Tue night and again on Friday depending on where i travel.
i'm glad your computer readout is 46 mpg, i thought mine was stuck, never seems to alter no matter how i drive it!
Heated screen is a joy as is the Heated seat, i was surprised how comfortable they are as when you first feel the side bolsters, or rather lack of them
re the low roof....the number of times i've caught my head on the side door mech and the plastic clips holding the light!
not quite Hearse like...
old'uns said:
you'll be glad of no AdBlue tank, we have 4 Connects at work, 3 with and 1 without.
a 45l tank is a real pain in the ass, quite often i've filled up Sun night, Tue night and again on Friday depending on where i travel.
i'm glad your computer readout is 46 mpg, i thought mine was stuck, never seems to alter no matter how i drive it!
Heated screen is a joy as is the Heated seat, i was surprised how comfortable they are as when you first feel the side bolsters, or rather lack of them
re the low roof....the number of times i've caught my head on the side door mech and the plastic clips holding the light!
not quite Hearse like...
Ah, yours is the fancy new shape, nicer front end than mine. No heated seats on mine either, about the only thing I might have specced that it hasn't already got. Not sorry at all about no adblue, as far as I'm concerned that was a real result! I very much doubt it's actually doing 46 mpg, I start a journey on a full tank with the readout saying 520 miles, I'm halfway through and it's saying 470!a 45l tank is a real pain in the ass, quite often i've filled up Sun night, Tue night and again on Friday depending on where i travel.
i'm glad your computer readout is 46 mpg, i thought mine was stuck, never seems to alter no matter how i drive it!
Heated screen is a joy as is the Heated seat, i was surprised how comfortable they are as when you first feel the side bolsters, or rather lack of them
re the low roof....the number of times i've caught my head on the side door mech and the plastic clips holding the light!
not quite Hearse like...
So the 3 year warranty on this runs out on Friday. 36600 miles on it. Ford want £330 to extend it for a year. Would you? There's a few things I've read about the multi media stuff, mainly the touch screen going black. Don't know enough about this shape model mechanically to make an informed decision.
ALBA MELV said:
Liking the look of the Connect. I inherited my old mans NV200 a couple years ago and vans are so handy as a 2nd vehicle.
Steel wheels do look better than the alloys in my opinion.
As for the warranty, at less than a quid a day I'd certainly be going for it as a peace of mind.
Thanks for the reply. When you break it down to less that £1 a day, I have to agree that it sounds like a must really. One of the problems with the warranty seems to be, from recent experience, that they need a months warning to be able to even look at it, which on a work van, isn't practical if it's urgent. The belt tensioner let go on this the day I bought it, and even though it was under warranty, I ended up doing it myself as I couldn't have it off the road that long.Steel wheels do look better than the alloys in my opinion.
As for the warranty, at less than a quid a day I'd certainly be going for it as a peace of mind.
So the new van continues to give decent service and mpg. Still getting used to the difference in load space, it's generally bigger, but the lower roof height is going to take a while to adjust to. From a bashing head point of view anyway.
Old van now emptied, cleaned and ready for sale.
Hoping to get decent money for this, it's difficult to value, the prices are all over the show on ebay.
Old van now emptied, cleaned and ready for sale.
Hoping to get decent money for this, it's difficult to value, the prices are all over the show on ebay.
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