London to Edinburgh + Cargo. Vehicle of choice?
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Over summer I plan to move from one capital city (London) to another (Edinburgh). Obviously my car will be coming (E46 330Ci) but its interior capacity is too small to accommodate all of my possessions. I only want to do the journey once if possible as it is ~400 miles each way. I will not be using a removal firm because of bad experiences in the past. Ideally I would like to do this in style and a 5 series touring should have the capacity to take the payload. However, I don’t know any that I can hire for a reasonable price that allows for such mileage? A 520d should do as the potential of a 535d would be wasted, although a bit of torque would be nice with the large payload. I am just looking for something comfortable and roomy to hire for a week, which will have comfort on par if not better than the E46, but with more space.
As a last resort a comfortable MWB van will. These are alien to me. Which ones are best for comfort?
Over summer I plan to move from one capital city (London) to another (Edinburgh). Obviously my car will be coming (E46 330Ci) but its interior capacity is too small to accommodate all of my possessions. I only want to do the journey once if possible as it is ~400 miles each way. I will not be using a removal firm because of bad experiences in the past. Ideally I would like to do this in style and a 5 series touring should have the capacity to take the payload. However, I don’t know any that I can hire for a reasonable price that allows for such mileage? A 520d should do as the potential of a 535d would be wasted, although a bit of torque would be nice with the large payload. I am just looking for something comfortable and roomy to hire for a week, which will have comfort on par if not better than the E46, but with more space.
As a last resort a comfortable MWB van will. These are alien to me. Which ones are best for comfort?
I've been doing the "house move in transit" thing this week. Four trips. Glasgow - Leicester.
Never again.
When you add the fuel into the van hire costs and factor in the time and exhaustion, it's not worth it: a cheap removal company is only a few hundred more.
Also: transits are horrid things. Bounce around all over the place and no power.
Never again.
When you add the fuel into the van hire costs and factor in the time and exhaustion, it's not worth it: a cheap removal company is only a few hundred more.
Also: transits are horrid things. Bounce around all over the place and no power.
Edited by dxg on Thursday 14th April 20:01
dxg said:
I've been doing the "house move in transit" thing this week. Four trips. Glasgow - Leicester.
Never again.
When you add the fuel into the van hire costs and factor in the time and exhaustion, it's not worth it: a cheap removal company is only a few hundred more.
Also: transits are horrid things. Bounce around all over the place and no power.
And the potential to cause a few thousand more in damages. Insured or not its not worth the hassle. Time won't be an issue as I will be between two jobs. I just don't want to make the mistake of getting a well used transit, something more comfortable and not as noisy please.Never again.
When you add the fuel into the van hire costs and factor in the time and exhaustion, it's not worth it: a cheap removal company is only a few hundred more.
Also: transits are horrid things. Bounce around all over the place and no power.
Edited by dxg on Thursday 14th April 20:01
I drove a LWB VW van from Kent to Berwick and back last Saturday. It was a long day but not as bad as I expected. The seat was comfortable enough and once up to speed it was pretty quick.
The only problem was the length of the thing and the lack of parking sensors... It cost £140 from national (free upgrade from MWB transit) for Friday-Monday.
The only problem was the length of the thing and the lack of parking sensors... It cost £140 from national (free upgrade from MWB transit) for Friday-Monday.
Have used a Transit TDi 115 for a medium distance removal a couple of years back and I really enjoyed driving it! Fully loaded obviously had to be careful but when empty it went pretty well. However my guess is you'll underestimate the amount of stuff you have and will be mightily pissed off when you have a van full and loads left over, though assuming you have a mate driving the Beemer you have some room for maneuver
dxg said:
I've been doing the "house move in transit" thing this week. Four trips. Glasgow - Leicester.
Never again.
When you add the fuel into the van hire costs and factor in the time and exhaustion, it's not worth it: a cheap removal company is only a few hundred more.
Also: transits are horrid things. Bounce around all over the place and no power.
It's a bloody van, what do you expect? Laying black lines at the traffic light GP? Regardless of make they invariably seem to have enough power to maintain 80-90 on the flat and no more. Merc sprinters and Ivecos seem to have a rep of having slightly more power than the competion, but in the scheme of things it won't make much of a difference as furniture/possessions will usually be volume limited rather than weight limited; the van will not be heavily laden.Never again.
When you add the fuel into the van hire costs and factor in the time and exhaustion, it's not worth it: a cheap removal company is only a few hundred more.
Also: transits are horrid things. Bounce around all over the place and no power.
Edited by dxg on Thursday 14th April 20:01
geeteeaye said:
Have used a Transit TDi 115 for a medium distance removal a couple of years back and I really enjoyed driving it! Fully loaded obviously had to be careful but when empty it went pretty well. However my guess is you'll underestimate the amount of stuff you have and will be mightily pissed off when you have a van full and loads left over, though assuming you have a mate driving the Beemer you have some room for maneuver
Wise words my friend, I think I will get it all boxed first and then do some maths 
clabcon said:
And the potential to cause a few thousand more in damages. Insured or not its not worth the hassle. Time won't be an issue as I will be between two jobs. I just don't want to make the mistake of getting a well used transit, something more comfortable and not as noisy please.
The op's entire worldly belongings fit into a car. I'm guessing he wont be transporting high value white goods like freezers, washing machines & a tumble dryer. I am imagining a lot of clothes, bedding & towels. ETA..I've got confused here haven't I, you are the op.
Edited by Man from UNCLE on Friday 15th April 01:55
hidetheelephants said:
dxg said:
I've been doing the "house move in transit" thing this week. Four trips. Glasgow - Leicester.
Never again.
When you add the fuel into the van hire costs and factor in the time and exhaustion, it's not worth it: a cheap removal company is only a few hundred more.
Also: transits are horrid things. Bounce around all over the place and no power.
It's a bloody van, what do you expect? Laying black lines at the traffic light GP? Regardless of make they invariably seem to have enough power to maintain 80-90 on the flat and no more. Merc sprinters and Ivecos seem to have a rep of having slightly more power than the competion, but in the scheme of things it won't make much of a difference as furniture/possessions will usually be volume limited rather than weight limited; the van will not be heavily laden.Never again.
When you add the fuel into the van hire costs and factor in the time and exhaustion, it's not worth it: a cheap removal company is only a few hundred more.
Also: transits are horrid things. Bounce around all over the place and no power.
Edited by dxg on Thursday 14th April 20:01
You just have to assume you are Dave the 20 stone builder who doesn't stop for anyone.
whatever you do, do NOT get a leyland LDV high top.
Drove one of them from london - Oslo - London in a weekend to move a mate back to the UK back in 1998 ..... i am still traumatised by that trip, although i still did it faster than Clarkson in the MacMerc SLR on TG
West London - Bislett, Oslo in 17hrs 35 minutes - van was shagged by the time we got it back!! 
Drove one of them from london - Oslo - London in a weekend to move a mate back to the UK back in 1998 ..... i am still traumatised by that trip, although i still did it faster than Clarkson in the MacMerc SLR on TG
West London - Bislett, Oslo in 17hrs 35 minutes - van was shagged by the time we got it back!! Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff