Daily driver van

[iacabu]

I've put this in car buying with the hope of getting more response than commercial break.

Having been through 100 ideas since I sold my car, and two other what car threads the final decision has been made that I need a van

This will mainly be a daily driver for a short commute and shopping trips etc, I'm planning to cycle to work when the weather is nice.

At weekends it will be used for business purposes.

Budget is 5k max. Less is better, to leave me with more spare cash. Ongoing maintenance is what it is and funds are available if needed to fix anything.

Vivaro and Trafic seem to be popular and plentiful
Transits also are but have more of an issue with rust
Vitos are available in budget, rust on earlier ones can be an issue
T4 transporter. There seem to be clean ones available at this budget, certainly no worse than equivalent vitos or transits.

Hardest part will be finding one with a straight body. For the business side of things, it does need to look smart. Mileage isn't a major consideration (last car had 188k), but seems to come with increased risk of injector failure, gearbox etc. I know it is mostly pot luck with this sort of thing.

I appreciate I'm not going to get something perfect at this money, but it should be enough to get me going. With any luck I'll be able to upgrade down the line. I've already ruled out a box trailer and an SUV/estate just isn't big enough.

I think the answer is to buy the cleanest one that I can find, regardless of what it is. I'd be fairly happy with any of the above, but if you've any words of wisdom or advice, it would be much appreciated Preferably from experience!

[CLX]

I use a 2007 Trafic as my daily. (2006 Jag XK in the garage, but only comes out occasionally!). I have no business use for the Trafic. Just find it so useful and versatile. I've had it 10 years and had no major problems. Done 110k. It's actually quite nice to drive. Latest duties have been transporting my son to Uni, with all his gear - Plenty of room to spare! Never have a problem if I want to buy some used furniture etc. Recommend it.

[Inverness]

iacabu said:

Budget is 5k max. Less is better, to leave me with more spare cash. Ongoing maintenance is what it is and funds are available if needed to fix anything.

Vivaro and Trafic seem to be popular and plentiful
Transits also are but have more of an issue with rust
Vitos are available in budget, rust on earlier ones can be an issue
T4 transporter. There seem to be clean ones available at this budget, certainly no worse than equivalent vitos or transits.

The vans you have listed all have known issues, we have run both Vivaro's and Transits and they would start breaking at about 70k miles or three years or 1 day after the warranty had expired! Never bothered with Vitos or Transporters as always too expensive when brand new.

They all have woeful security so I would highly recommend extra hook locks on the doors.

A bit of a wild card is find a Hyundai, I understand that they were a good van.

My recommendation would be to try and look for one with a high level trim / spec as this will probably been owened by a sole trader rather than used by an employee who doesn't give a crap!

The advantage of the Vivaro is it was sold by Vauxhall, Nissan, Renault and Fiat, and in only a few variants so a lot of parts are common and easy to get 2nd hand off ebay. The advantage of a Transit is evrey garage would have seen one so will know all the known problems.

You just need to look on autotrader or ebay, and be prepared to travel.

[A500leroy]

Id be adding the Citroen expert and relay to your list.

[andburg]

Worth considering clean air zones…vans will be classed as commercial vehicles.

Do you need a big van, could you use a large problem carrier to avoid emissions zones, get a better driving experience? Plenty of vans have seated versions

If you consider a t4 then perhaps also look at the other xtra long caddy maxi type vehicles, maybe an ex notability one with a tail lift

[ZX10R NIN]

Is your budget including VAT or plus VAT.

[iacabu]

CLX said:

I use a 2007 Trafic as my daily. (2006 Jag XK in the garage, but only comes out occasionally!). I have no business use for the Trafic. Just find it so useful and versatile. I've had it 10 years and had no major problems. Done 110k. It's actually quite nice to drive. Latest duties have been transporting my son to Uni, with all his gear - Plenty of room to spare! Never have a problem if I want to buy some used furniture etc. Recommend it.

Good to hear

Inverness said:

The vans you have listed all have known issues, we have run both Vivaro's and Transits and they would start breaking at about 70k miles or three years or 1 day after the warranty had expired! Never bothered with Vitos or Transporters as always too expensive when brand new.

They all have woeful security so I would highly recommend extra hook locks on the doors.

A bit of a wild card is find a Hyundai, I understand that they were a good van.

My recommendation would be to try and look for one with a high level trim / spec as this will probably been owened by a sole trader rather than used by an employee who doesn't give a crap!

The advantage of the Vivaro is it was sold by Vauxhall, Nissan, Renault and Fiat, and in only a few variants so a lot of parts are common and easy to get 2nd hand off ebay. The advantage of a Transit is evrey garage would have seen one so will know all the known problems.

You just need to look on autotrader or ebay, and be prepared to travel.

Every van seems to have problems of some sort, especially at the age and mileage I'll be looking at. Fortunately I'll be doing very few miles and will hopefully avoid too much hassle.

I briefly looked at the i800 when looking for MPVs, having looked again on the van section of AT, they mostly start at around my max budget

A500leroy said:

Id be adding the Citroen expert and relay to your list.

Will do, a quick at swb relays and they seem to be more pricey than other stuff I've looked at. Will keep on looking elsewhere too

andburg said:

Worth considering clean air zones…vans will be classed as commercial vehicles.

Do you need a big van, could you use a large problem carrier to avoid emissions zones, get a better driving experience? Plenty of vans have seated versions

If you consider a t4 then perhaps also look at the other xtra long caddy maxi type vehicles, maybe an ex notability one with a tail lift

I won't have a problem with clean air zones.
I was originally looking at people carriers, namely the Ford Galaxy, and still need to view one in person before ruling them out, however it looks like they won't be big enough. I think I'd rather get a 5/6 seater version of one of these vans, for flexibility, just depends on what comes up. Only if there's no bulkhead separating the cab and load space though.

ZX10R NIN said:

Is your budget including VAT or plus VAT.

Budget would include VAT

[Teddy Lop]

andburg said:

Worth considering clean air zones…vans will be classed as commercial vehicles.

Do you need a big van, could you use a large problem carrier to avoid emissions zones, get a better driving experience? Plenty of vans have seated versions

If you consider a t4 then perhaps also look at the other xtra long caddy maxi type vehicles, maybe an ex notability one with a tail lift

As above if I needed a cheap van I'd not want something in the one ton+ class, they very often have hard lives, smaller car derived vans are more often privately owned or seemingly used in slightly less abusive roles/that'll do characters. Don't rule out those kombi boxy window vans or Japanese import people carrier efforts either, although the latter while great VFM and typically bulletproof are prone to making mechanics burst into tears and run away for anything more than routine stuff.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

I'd be careful with a T4 as they rust for fun so go over it really carefully. They're also getting on a fair bit now but on the flip side, tend to do away with all the modern diesel related stuff that has the potential to cause problems. There might be some T5s dropping into your budget too - 1.9s are pretty bulletproof and spares are dirt easy to get at.

Like others have mentioned, I'd take a good look at Caddy Maxis - can be had cheap... local Amazon/Evri driver uses an ex-mobility one after having a string of people carriers that all gave up on him. Cost him peanuts and he's had no problems with it in the 2 or so years he's had it. Bulkheads on VW stuff is dead easy to fit/remove as you see fit...

[iacabu]

Teddy Lop said:

As above if I needed a cheap van I'd not want something in the one ton+ class, they very often have hard lives, smaller car derived vans are more often privately owned or seemingly used in slightly less abusive roles/that'll do characters. Don't rule out those kombi boxy window vans or Japanese import people carrier efforts either, although the latter while great VFM and typically bulletproof are prone to making mechanics burst into tears and run away for anything more than routine stuff.

I know what you mean. I don't think I'll go for an elgrand or similar, although I have spent a bit of time looking at them. I did see a trafic that was owned by a father sole trader followed by his son. Looked very clean and at a good price, but I'm trying not to end up with something white.

DaveyBoyWonder said:

I'd be careful with a T4 as they rust for fun so go over it really carefully. They're also getting on a fair bit now but on the flip side, tend to do away with all the modern diesel related stuff that has the potential to cause problems. There might be some T5s dropping into your budget too - 1.9s are pretty bulletproof and spares are dirt easy to get at.

Like others have mentioned, I'd take a good look at Caddy Maxis - can be had cheap... local Amazon/Evri driver uses an ex-mobility one after having a string of people carriers that all gave up on him. Cost him peanuts and he's had no problems with it in the 2 or so years he's had it. Bulkheads on VW stuff is dead easy to fit/remove as you see fit...

I've seen a few T5s that I like but only scraping the bottom for one really. I know there are probably better vans out there, but I really do like the VWs. Obviously so do a lot of other people, there's just something about them.

I looked at maxi caddys but initially ruled them out due to only 2 seats, although some have the rear seats too. This might not be the issue I first thought it would be. I'm also not sure how they compare with a trafic/similar for load volume, I don't want to end up short for space in the near future.

I really like the British Gas blue ones though, would suit the logos we're planning to get and have a nicer interior. Although seem to all be 1.6 and less powerful.

Edited by iacabu on Tuesday 18th April 21:22

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Read up about the 1.6, think they through up injector problems or something. Caddys without rear seats are easy to retrofit too for not a lot - think the floorpan is the same as the Touran so you can relatively easily (and safely) fit a Touran 2nd row of seats...

[blue_haddock]

DaveyBoyWonder said:

Read up about the 1.6, think they through up injector problems or something. Caddys without rear seats are easy to retrofit too for not a lot - think the floorpan is the same as the Touran so you can relatively easily (and safely) fit a Touran 2nd row of seats...

Yes the 1.6 Caddys do have big issues with injectors and over the last couple of years to cost for them has gone throught the roof.

Installing rear seats is pretty easy too.

The british Gas ones wouldnt be my pick as they are the lower powered version and also have a limiter on them.

[jamie w]

Toyota Hiace for reliability.

I ran one for 14 years. Nothing went wrong. The internet will report similar owner experiences.

0/10 for image/credibility though if you're bothered about that.

[Trying2GoFast]

Without wanting to take the piss - have you looked at Nissan Elgrand E50 or S1 E51s? When the middle seats are removed and rears are in the walls, it has about the same load space as a T5.

Downside is they like fuel - I think the E50's have a 3.3 V6 in them. The E51s have a 2.5 or 3.5 V6 in them. They also like to be run on super (around by me it's about 6p more than premium). Not sure on the exhaust issues on the E50, but the E51 should have had the rear cats cored (even better if the fronts have been changed for decent cats).

Bonus is they qualify for import rate car tax, and you can get an E50 for 2-4k I'd say. You might be at the top end of your budget for an E51 S1 though. You may get lucky and get one with selectable 4WD.

I have an S2 E51, so I'm biased, but I love them as a car and would definitely get another and convert to a work van if I ever needed one. I've fit a superking bed headboard in mine, as well as the mattress, without any seats being taken out.

ETA: If you get White (read that you don't want it), you can at least use your white van privileges.

[andburg]

Trying2GoFast said:

ETA: If you get White (read that you don't want it), you can at least use your white van privileges.

problem with a white van is a lot of sites will not permit "work vans" which with a white van and no conversion in OP would be more likely to fall foul of local sites politics

[ED209]

andburg said:

Worth considering clean air zones…vans will be classed as commercial vehicles.

Do you need a big van, could you use a large problem carrier to avoid emissions zones, get a better driving experience? Plenty of vans have seated versions

If you consider a t4 then perhaps also look at the other xtra long caddy maxi type vehicles, maybe an ex notability one with a tail lift

I am having this issue at the moment - my car is a van. A 3 litre v6 diesel Vito, it has the same engine, gearbox and emissions as lots of big Mercedes cars but because it’s registered as a van I am about to get stitched up by the Newcastle and Gateshead clean air zone. If it was registered as a car it would be exempt.

I work shifts in the zone and public transport isn’t an option. It’s a massive pain. I have applied for a grant to help me replace it under the scheme. This was meant to be sorted in December but now at the end of April I still haven’t had a decision re my application. I fully expect to get fobbed off though probably because the wife is the reg keeper of the van and they seem to think this means that it can’t be owned and used by someone else.

[iacabu]

blue_haddock said:

DaveyBoyWonder said:

Read up about the 1.6, think they through up injector problems or something. Caddys without rear seats are easy to retrofit too for not a lot - think the floorpan is the same as the Touran so you can relatively easily (and safely) fit a Touran 2nd row of seats...

Yes the 1.6 Caddys do have big issues with injectors and over the last couple of years to cost for them has gone throught the roof.

Installing rear seats is pretty easy too.

The british Gas ones wouldnt be my pick as they are the lower powered version and also have a limiter on them.

I had seen about injector issues, most I've looked at have had most or all replaced at some point.

I need to go and see a Caddy to see how they size up against a Trafic

jamie w said:

Toyota Hiace for reliability.

I ran one for 14 years. Nothing went wrong. The internet will report similar owner experiences.

0/10 for image/credibility though if you're bothered about that.

I haven't heard a bad word about these, other than the image. I personally don't mind the look of them, older ones rather than new. I'll be keeping an eye on them.

Trying2GoFast said:

Without wanting to take the piss - have you looked at Nissan Elgrand E50 or S1 E51s?

ETA: If you get White (read that you don't want it), you can at least use your white van privileges.

Since you've mentioned, I've taken a proper look at them and the alternative JDM models. I do like them, although I don't know how I feel about the image. The are seemingly a perfect compromise of space, comfort, no van downsides and petrol for my short journeys.

I haven't run them past the Mrs as this is a joint little business venture, and I also don't know how it will look with logos on it.

andburg said:

problem with a white van is a lot of sites will not permit "work vans" which with a white van and no conversion in OP would be more likely to fall foul of local sites politics

I won't be using it as a camper so no worries there

ED209 said:

I am having this issue at the moment - my car is a van. A 3 litre v6 diesel Vito, it has the same engine, gearbox and emissions as lots of big Mercedes cars but because it’s registered as a van I am about to get stitched up by the Newcastle and Gateshead clean air zone. If it was registered as a car it would be exempt.

Good luck, hope you get sorted

[RedAndy]

if youre thinking Elgrand, then get a Mitsi Delica = one of the weird modern ones.
T5 sized, 4x4, weirdy spacey thing. pop the seats out and the fold up bed and you have a van thats a car thats a van.
and they look cool in a weirdy way.

edit - £10k though, oh well, transit and a new engine it is.

[Trying2GoFast]

Trying2GoFast said:

Without wanting to take the piss - have you looked at Nissan Elgrand E50 or S1 E51s?

ETA: If you get White (read that you don't want it), you can at least use your white van privileges.

Since you've mentioned, I've taken a proper look at them and the alternative JDM models. I do like them, although I don't know how I feel about the image. The are seemingly a perfect compromise of space, comfort, no van downsides and petrol for my short journeys.

I haven't run them past the Mrs as this is a joint little business venture, and I also don't know how it will look with logos on it.

If you're in the Midlands (or local to), you're welcome to come have a moot around mine and get a feel for it. I think they're great bang for buck. I've an e51 s2.

[iacabu]

Trying2GoFast said:

If you're in the Midlands (or local to), you're welcome to come have a moot around mine and get a feel for it. I think they're great bang for buck. I've an e51 s2.

Thanks for the offer, bit far from me though as I'm near Blackpool.

Feel free to post some pics though. I'm also hoping to get some measurements of the back space with all the seats down if you're able to help?