Anybody run a VW Transporter?

[sider]

We're thinking of buying one (business purchase) to do some rather big mileage over the next few years.

For those running them, how do you find yours?

Recommended or not?

Folks have advised me to spend money on cheaper vans - i.e. Renault, Ford etc - as no matter how much you spend, the lads using them will always try to drive them to within an inch of their life!

[v8will]

Not personally but there has been a few transporters in the family over the past few years. Very much a premium product and the last one was sold due to fears over the fragility/ high mileage reliability of the engine (2.5 130) I can't speak for all the latest 2.0 models but I hear the DMF are an issue at 60K plus.

If it's not for personal use I'd probably suggest the cheapest van you can get and rely on the warranty

[sider]

I'll be using it from time to time and the plan was for something premium to match the image we want to portray but if a Transit with wheeltrims will cut it, then so be it!

[kiethton]

From what i have heard from friends that drive them they are quite nice places to be....this one has to be one of the cheapest new ones around, especially when some haggling will see it with you for just over £15k for a new one

http://www.s-w-s.co.uk/stock_detail.aspx?id=9606

[v8will]

Certainly the T5 has the image, very nice to drive too and quite quick for it's size. I've actually thought about a 3 or 4 year old 1.9 with rear seats for lugging the kids and dogs about in, a little bit cheaper to buy and run than the 2.5.

[seagrey]

If you decide on a 2.5 pd,beware!
Same engine fitted to my touareg:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Garlick]

I used one for a week with the larger diesel engine and it was superb.

It drove like a car, was very comfortable, had all the toys you could need, was fast and relatively economical too. As a commercial to cover miles in, I'd say it was unbeatable and we occasionally used it over the car as it was that good. They always look rather smart too when compared to the competition.

[sebhaque]

We've had Transporters at work for a while now and I was actually considering buying one myself a few months back. Asked the fleet guys who drive them regularly what they thought, their sentiments were that as long as the vans were taken care of and serviced on time, they'd be pretty reliable machines. Since they were fleet vehicles the servicing was taken care of by the company, but the chap I talked to showed me round one of the vans that was on a 59 plate (this was around September 2010) and had 188,000 on the clock. Still looked very solid and the engine sounded fine - in fact, the only thing showing it's 188k was a huge amount of stone chips on the front.

[BDZ]

Much prefer the Transporter to the Transit. The Transit always felt quicker but the Transporter was a much nicer place to be, didn't rust, and the interior stood up to heavy usage where the Transits fell apart inside.

Only issue I found with a few Transporters was a dodgy gearchange. The gear selection setup had a habit of breaking and sometimes you'd throw the stick forward with no idea whether you were going to go into reverse, first, or third.

[bignathy]

Had a '07 T5 SWB 130 from new as a pool van/hack and its been OK doing around 20k miles p/a in a varied mix of London multidrop and continental bailout work.

Payload is around 1300kg which is more than our lwb sprinters. Image wise with sidebars and alloys in a nice metallic its a winner. Drives great with the 130 engine and the 6 speed box is nice on the motorway. We tried the 175 engine but that was a bit much tbh and difficult to drive smoothly. Everyone likes it and its easy to park and goes into multi storey car parks which is handy. Also good for towing as its 3t rating gives a useful 1250kg trailer allowance for B+E license holders.

Downsides are front tyre wear. OE tyres are £120 from my vendor but have been quoted £190+ from others. Also reliability wise we had the PAS pump go which was a warranty job (just) and the ignition barrel went which needed a whole new lock set & keys (£500)which was disappointing. Interior is a little fragile with a few niggles but on the whole its been a good purchase at around £18k + vat with air/alloys/metallic paint/parking sensors/towbar.

Watch the dealers for servicing though our experience has not been the best although that's true of all commercial main dealers.

[XDA]

A couple of my colleagues have these as their company vehicle, and they've all suffered drive shaft faults. iirc I think they are 10 Reg.

Atleast 3 out of the 4 have had drive shaft faults, and the vans have all spent many weeks in the main dealer. It's got to the stage that my employer won't be buying any VW Transporters again.

[GPT]

A friend has the 2.5 130 and loves it. Never had a major problem in well north of 100k.

[RizzoTheRat]

Had them as rentals a few times and they're much nicer to drive than a Transit or whatever the Vauxhal equivilent is, though its load space seems a little smaller.