Dub Transporters - Talk to me...
Discussion
I'm going to be chopping in one of the cars (probably my 3 series) for a van in a month or so, so have been looking around at the market for something tasty.
Seems like the whole world loves the VW transporter - they've got the biggest range of aftermarket stuff, lots of info on everything on the web etc etc, the reviews all seem to say they're better than a Vito, so that's what I've decided on for the moment.
Problem is... the prices are confusing the hell out of me. People seem to think that a 5 year old 100k mile van is worth nearly 15 grand!
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2780305.htm
Is it a case of wishful thinking, and actually they don't sell at anything like the advertised prices? (Much like "show cars") Or is the cost to get a non-semi touched up/converted van (which you can get for ~7k) to the same kind of condition actually astronomical and these prices are right?
Hopefully someone has some prior experience of this market - I don't want to get shafted
Seems like the whole world loves the VW transporter - they've got the biggest range of aftermarket stuff, lots of info on everything on the web etc etc, the reviews all seem to say they're better than a Vito, so that's what I've decided on for the moment.
Problem is... the prices are confusing the hell out of me. People seem to think that a 5 year old 100k mile van is worth nearly 15 grand!
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2780305.htm
Is it a case of wishful thinking, and actually they don't sell at anything like the advertised prices? (Much like "show cars") Or is the cost to get a non-semi touched up/converted van (which you can get for ~7k) to the same kind of condition actually astronomical and these prices are right?
Hopefully someone has some prior experience of this market - I don't want to get shafted
Edited by BMWBen on Thursday 9th June 13:47
There's a lot of mugs who will pay over the odd for Dubs, dealers know this and chance their arm. Something will come up at more sensible price, Depending on what you're actually going to use the van for you might find better value with other bramds. The Transporter is a good van but not uniquely so.
I'm going to be using it for lugging windsurf kit, my boat, bikes... possibly sleeping in it every now and then. I do need it to look pretty decent, as it'll probably get a fair amount of "car" use as well...
Interesting that you say the transit is a better drive, from what I've read on the web people seem to say the transporter is the most car like of the vans. Mainly said by people with transporters to be fair!
Interesting that you say the transit is a better drive, from what I've read on the web people seem to say the transporter is the most car like of the vans. Mainly said by people with transporters to be fair!
I drive an 09 transporter for work and i think its terrible, the seats are like wooden benches, the engine is very noisy and you get so much wind noise and wind in your ears with the window open it actually hurts,and there isnt any storage/cubby holes to put anything in
so far in 46000 miles its had 1 new driveshaft,3 top mounts,1 complete strut,new brakes pads all round 3 sets of tyres, 1 door handle,cup holder is broken and spits the empty cups out! 2 breakdowns,one was a broken wire from the turbo the other was an emission filter, admittedly it is a company van and does get driven quite hard!!
The only + point i can think of is the performance if you can put up with the noise
i have had transits before this and think they are miles better (imo)
so far in 46000 miles its had 1 new driveshaft,3 top mounts,1 complete strut,new brakes pads all round 3 sets of tyres, 1 door handle,cup holder is broken and spits the empty cups out! 2 breakdowns,one was a broken wire from the turbo the other was an emission filter, admittedly it is a company van and does get driven quite hard!!
The only + point i can think of is the performance if you can put up with the noise
i have had transits before this and think they are miles better (imo)
jacksonvr6 said:
I drive an 09 transporter for work and i think its terrible, the seats are like wooden benches, the engine is very noisy and you get so much wind noise and wind in your ears with the window open it actually hurts,and there isnt any storage/cubby holes to put anything in
so far in 46000 miles its had 1 new driveshaft,3 top mounts,1 complete strut,new brakes pads all round 3 sets of tyres, 1 door handle,cup holder is broken and spits the empty cups out! 2 breakdowns,one was a broken wire from the turbo the other was an emission filter, admittedly it is a company van and does get driven quite hard!!
The only + point i can think of is the performance if you can put up with the noise
i have had transits before this and think they are miles better (imo)
Hmmm that list of repairs isn't happy reading is it...so far in 46000 miles its had 1 new driveshaft,3 top mounts,1 complete strut,new brakes pads all round 3 sets of tyres, 1 door handle,cup holder is broken and spits the empty cups out! 2 breakdowns,one was a broken wire from the turbo the other was an emission filter, admittedly it is a company van and does get driven quite hard!!
The only + point i can think of is the performance if you can put up with the noise
i have had transits before this and think they are miles better (imo)
Ive driven most vans available on the road from a SWB Transit to a full size Sprinter and i can comfortably say without a doubt the T5 Transporter is far and away the pick of the lot, especially if you are seeking something that is very car like to drive, to say a Transit is a better steer baffles me, it may well handle SLIGHTLY better, but to drive and sit in they dont even come close, and this comes from 150,000 miles in a Transit and 30,000 in a T5.
Where i worked before we were replacing the 3 year old T5s with new vans and we could only get two 2.5 130bhp models as the newer 2.0 140bhp had just been released, the boss wasnt keen on being a "guinea pig" for the new model so the driver of the third T5 fancied a Vito for a change,as he has driven T4 and then T5s for the past 15 years so it was a bold move, and within a week of his Vito coming home he knew it was a mistake and wanted his old T5 back badly
Based on the above experiences when i was buying a van last year for myself i went straight for a T5, a 2.5 130bhp Model, and its been brilliant, in the same time ive owned the T5 ive owned several newish (07 on) BMWs and sold them all, but never had the desire to sell the T5, this for me speaks volumes as i couldnt replace it with anything else but another
FWIW, everyone has their own opinions, some prefer Transits, Vitos etc but for me my T5 does everything i need of it, its certainly swift enough when the trailer isnt hitched and despite what fans of the 1.9 T5 say its been 100% reliable and very good on fuel regularly retuning 35mpg average.
In comparison my Transit wasnt that quick, and rather gutless with a trailer, it was very van like inside and was poor on fuel, it averaged around 25-27 MPG, that was a 2.0 FWD 100bhp Model
They do have their issues (as do any vehicles) but buy a good one and you will enjoy it
Where i worked before we were replacing the 3 year old T5s with new vans and we could only get two 2.5 130bhp models as the newer 2.0 140bhp had just been released, the boss wasnt keen on being a "guinea pig" for the new model so the driver of the third T5 fancied a Vito for a change,as he has driven T4 and then T5s for the past 15 years so it was a bold move, and within a week of his Vito coming home he knew it was a mistake and wanted his old T5 back badly
Based on the above experiences when i was buying a van last year for myself i went straight for a T5, a 2.5 130bhp Model, and its been brilliant, in the same time ive owned the T5 ive owned several newish (07 on) BMWs and sold them all, but never had the desire to sell the T5, this for me speaks volumes as i couldnt replace it with anything else but another
FWIW, everyone has their own opinions, some prefer Transits, Vitos etc but for me my T5 does everything i need of it, its certainly swift enough when the trailer isnt hitched and despite what fans of the 1.9 T5 say its been 100% reliable and very good on fuel regularly retuning 35mpg average.
In comparison my Transit wasnt that quick, and rather gutless with a trailer, it was very van like inside and was poor on fuel, it averaged around 25-27 MPG, that was a 2.0 FWD 100bhp Model
They do have their issues (as do any vehicles) but buy a good one and you will enjoy it
I really like the Vito and would find it hard to take a Transporter over one, especially a RWD one. I have had 2 that were both great big mileage companions, didn't use a lot of fuel, were very reliable and could almost be fun to drive.
Though if I was buying the van to do hard work rather than be a practical way to cover miles I would save money and buy a transit.
Though if I was buying the van to do hard work rather than be a practical way to cover miles I would save money and buy a transit.
jacksonvr6 said:
I drive an 09 transporter for work and i think its terrible, the seats are like wooden benches, the engine is very noisy and you get so much wind noise and wind in your ears with the window open it actually hurts,and there isnt any storage/cubby holes to put anything in
so far in 46000 miles its had 1 new driveshaft,3 top mounts,1 complete strut,new brakes pads all round 3 sets of tyres, 1 door handle,cup holder is broken and spits the empty cups out! 2 breakdowns,one was a broken wire from the turbo the other was an emission filter, admittedly it is a company van and does get driven quite hard!!
The only + point i can think of is the performance if you can put up with the noise
i have had transits before this and think they are miles better (imo)
+1so far in 46000 miles its had 1 new driveshaft,3 top mounts,1 complete strut,new brakes pads all round 3 sets of tyres, 1 door handle,cup holder is broken and spits the empty cups out! 2 breakdowns,one was a broken wire from the turbo the other was an emission filter, admittedly it is a company van and does get driven quite hard!!
The only + point i can think of is the performance if you can put up with the noise
i have had transits before this and think they are miles better (imo)
A couple of guys I work with have these as their work vans, and all 3 of them have had never ending issues.
All 3 vans of them have had driveshafts replaced and one is having ongoing turbo pipe issues.
They are 09 reg vehicles, and they seem to spend months on end in the main dealers.
The 3 guys that have them are sick to the back teeth and want rid of them.
AVOID!!
Not wishing to be offensive to the OP in particular, because he isn't the first and definitely wont be the last but wouldn't a more appropriate (if not slightly verbose) thread title be 'I'm going to buy a VW Transporter because of the image, I don't suppose they've got anything tangible I could use to justify my decision'.
Seriously, you're going to take it windsurfing and want to look cool, you're not setting up a business, just buy the bloody thing.
Seriously, you're going to take it windsurfing and want to look cool, you're not setting up a business, just buy the bloody thing.
t. The Transit before was ten times better. I have just went from a 2007 T5 to a 2011 T5.
102 bhp up to the 140bhp 6 speed. Both are 5 Seat Combi's.
Negative Side is obviously the price, and parts are probably not cheap. We traded the 102 because it started to get to the stage where things were starting to go. At 130,000 miles, the actuator for the variable geometry turbo jammed and blew the intercooler. BUt that was pretty much the first thing that went wrong. I think there were problems with the 6 speeds on the 2.5's???
How someone can say a Transit drives better baffles me, and Transit interiors must be made by playschool.
The old 1.9's are a bit rough, new 2.0 is million times better for smoothness but really dead off boost.
For those people saying about going through driveshafts, I'd be checking how they had been driven. I drove mine HARD, and I mean really hard for 130,000 miles and NEVER had a driveshaft problem. When we turfed it in, the CV's were starting to get a bit clicky on lock.
1 thing I can say about our transporters tho is they never have heavy loads in them. 200kg at the very most of stuff.
102 bhp up to the 140bhp 6 speed. Both are 5 Seat Combi's.
Negative Side is obviously the price, and parts are probably not cheap. We traded the 102 because it started to get to the stage where things were starting to go. At 130,000 miles, the actuator for the variable geometry turbo jammed and blew the intercooler. BUt that was pretty much the first thing that went wrong. I think there were problems with the 6 speeds on the 2.5's???
How someone can say a Transit drives better baffles me, and Transit interiors must be made by playschool.
The old 1.9's are a bit rough, new 2.0 is million times better for smoothness but really dead off boost.
For those people saying about going through driveshafts, I'd be checking how they had been driven. I drove mine HARD, and I mean really hard for 130,000 miles and NEVER had a driveshaft problem. When we turfed it in, the CV's were starting to get a bit clicky on lock.
1 thing I can say about our transporters tho is they never have heavy loads in them. 200kg at the very most of stuff.
roverspeed said:
For those people saying about going through driveshafts, I'd be checking how they had been driven. I drove mine HARD, and I mean really hard for 130,000 miles and NEVER had a driveshaft problem. When we turfed it in, the CV's were starting to get a bit clicky on lock.
We have 3 x 09 reg vans driven by 3 different drivers, and each of them has had the driveshaft replaced under warranty. There is obviously a problem with the parts, if 3 vans bought at the same time, have all had the same problems at roughly the same time.
Nothing to do with how they are being driven.
Edited to add - a quick google reveals that there are driveshaft issues.
Edited by XDA on Friday 10th June 00:11
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff