Which Van (£2000 budget?)

[danzman1991]

Hi guys,

Hoping for some advice, going to chop my estate car in for a van.

From experience, what would you guys recommend?

I've been trawling eBay and Vantrader for a little while, and the ones that come up again and again are the Citroen Berlingo and the Fiat Doblo. Not convinced a French / Italian made van is a good idea when the van needs to be 100% reliable as my income will depend on it!

I have VERY little knowledge of vans so any help is appreciated!

Daniel

[Buff Mchugelarge]

I used to drive lots of Berlingos in my last job.
They are very good at what they do, tough, good load space and cheap to run.
The only problems we had were rear light circuit boards corroding, causing bulbs to fail, and rear arm bearings(I put that down to being overloaded a lot of the time we had 1+ tonne in them when full!).

The 2.0 Hdi's are good for big loads, they are better on longer journeys due to lower ratio 'box but can be thirsty round town but are pretty quick when empty!

The only 1.6 Hdi we had broke down on us (never found out the cause. Long story)

Earlier 1.8/9 non turbo diesels are borderline indestructible and incredibly frugal but are pretty slow, a bit agricultural and aren't really happy on motorways when fully loaded.

[Darkslider]

Can't go wrong with a 2000-2005 transit for that budget as long as you check for rust.

[crossy67]

Bomb proof and still holding value compared to their successor.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/peugeot-expert-hdi-/2514...

Ran 3 of them for 5 years. 120000 miles watch for leaky hp fuel pumps, squidgy turbo hoses, cat and back box and front suspension arms. Great vans.

[Busterbulldog]

Only a fool doesn't buy a transit

[nct001]

Just bought a 2010 60 Citroen Dispatch for £2250... had to pay the vat on top but money well spent

[Hugo a Gogo]

Doblos have a very bad reputation, there's a reason why they are so cheap

[JD66]

I'd imagine something like this would be fairly bombproof reliability wise, just have to worry about rot. This one looks fairly clean, although slightly pricey considering the miles and the small amount of surface rust. I'd expect it to be mint and low mileage at that price.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-X-Ford-Transit-100-...

[JD66]

On second thoughts this looks cleaner and less money

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-TRANSIT-120-SWB-PAN...

[MonkeyRacing]

I bought a 58 plate Renault Kangoo 1.5dci (last of the old shape) this time last year on 104k and it's now on 171k. Cost me £2000 + VAT. I discovered it had been clocked and I estimate it's actually somewhere between 221k and 271k! In the 67 thou miles I've covered it's only needed the expected wear and tear items replaced. Only let me down once, actually two days ago with either a glow plug or injector problem but I'd still say that's fair enough considering the 'real' mileage. It does feel pretty well screwed together especially for a Frenchy.

Averages 55 mpg which results in about 600 miles on a tank. I'd say 70% motorway and i tend to sit at around 60 mph.

Mines got aircon & elec windows but the one thing I'd really like but you never find on a small van is cruise control. Downsides well the ride is a bit bouncy (lowering the rear tyre pressures by 5 psi has helped) and it does drone on a bit from the rear without an internal steel bulkhead. In the main I'd say a cracking little van.

But....... Do you really need a van because the insurance is pretty steep? My chosen job at the moment of courier work probably doesn't help the premium mind! You might want to consider an MPV or the car version of a Berlingo / Kangoo instead.

[Six Fiend]

What are you using it for?

If only need a small van it's a no brainer, Berlingo/Partner. Very reliable. Saw enough in the courier industry to know they're good. Excellent space inside too.

I put over 100k on a Transit Connect in a short time, a good mile muncher but liked a drink. Great carrying capacity which meant I could do more jobs.

[V8RX7]

What's going in it ?

Smaller van: Transit Connect
Larger van: Toyota HiAce (as you can't afford a Transporter)

[SeldomSeenKid]

A mechanic friend of mine has ran Renault Kangoos for as long as I can remember, (2003 onwards) and he swears by them. Decent ones can be picked up within your budget.

If you're after something bigger, my old man has had a Peugeot Boxer for 6 years, and engine wise, it's never missed a beat.

Happy searching.

[Hooli]

Bilingos & Pug Partners (same van) are st, uncomfy & horrible. typically french really. Buy a RWD transit.

[vit4]

The OP doesn't really say what size van, but WRT the Berlingo/Partner the 2.0 HDI is a solid lump and if looked after will go on forever plus some days. And then a bit more. The Transit Connect is bigger but with more modern engines, which in turn means a bigger chance of stereotypical diesel problems. As far as I know, they didn't come with the older rough-but-indestructible Endura-D lump.

Someone mentioned Transits; with all vans of this size, rust is the biggest issue. From what I see, the Vauxhall Movano/Nissan Interstar/Renault Master is the least rusty, or at least take the longest time to become rusty, the Merc/VW vans are the worst, and the Transits are either incredibly bad or surprisingly good.

[V8RX7]

vit4 said:

Someone mentioned Transits; with all vans of this size, rust is the biggest issue.

Merc/VW vans are the worst

Merc yes.

VW - I have never seen a rusty T4 / T5 I think you're thinking of 1960/70 T1/T2 but there aren't any comparable transits etc as they've all been scrapped many years ago.

[danzman1991]

Hi guys,

Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated.

I should have mentioned what I need a van for and what size would be best.

I basically run a contract cleaning company which seems to be growing rapidly, I just feel like the next step is to have a really smart looking signwritten vehicle - obviously the best way of doing this is a van.

The kind of size I think I need is a Berlingo size (the biggest bit of equipment I use is a floor buffing machine). This obviously rules out the Transit I would have thought as the benefit of the extra (unused) loading capacity wouldn't stack up with the loss in economy.

My confusion is basically what engines I should be looking out for / avoiding at all costs. As far as I can work out the 1.5dci or the 2.0hdi is what I should be looking for then?

Thanks again,
Daniel

[pad58]

This is where I mention the VW Caddy although you may not find a Mk3 for that price.