I like the look of the connect.As much as i would like head room to stand up in, i wont be buying anything bigger than the connect (give or take a bit here and there)

Is there anything else worth looking at? I am not that keen on renault,cit or peugeot (dont ask why) but seem to have taken a fancy to the ford more.which is odd,as if it was a car i would look at a renault or a pug first.

Are these ford vans as reliable as everything else or can they be more expensive to fix? I would be looking at something cheap with a high mileage.80-90k wouldnt really put me off but would there be any other reason at that mileage to steer clear if its had a decent history of servicing?

Thankin you!

Martin.

Lots of options out there in that size, Citroën Berlingos are very competitive on prices/spec as are the Volkswagen Caddy’s, Or a Vauxhall Combo, at the other end you have your Fiat’s Doblo and Fiorino, no real experience at the second hand side of things as only sell new (broker for a commercial vehicle company) but you should be able to get something around the 3-4 year old mark that is just coming to the end of a lease agreement. To be honest you can’t really go far wrong with the Ford, just don’t expect to get much of a deal on price that’s all

Vauxhall Vivaro and Nissan use the same van but different interior and front bumper
Forget the Transhit vans rented many of these and will not ever go back.

Transit – my dads got un . Never broke down but several expensive bit gone inc pas pump waterpump alternator ecu front calipers and has several design flawd

An 08 owned since new ! On 75k

I’ve got an ’03 connect lwb and although it’s only done 65k it’s been near faultless. Bar a couple of bulbs and the usual wear and tear items I’ve not done anything to it by way of repairs….

I’ve had mine 2 years, only had to replace the 5 year old battery . I’d have another. Passenger seat is not up to much though.

having done a good few thou in connects and caddys i’d have another caddy but frankly i did no repairs to either and both did much the same mpg justa q of looks.

have heard poor reports on the connect. not a great data sample from a few people i know who have them, but reading around reflects this. ecu/sensor issues predominantly.
i run a pug expert ( before 07 version ). seems like a nice van, but be aware that wind noise gets excessive >60mph as the side doors aren’t that snug a fit. fixed that on mine by strapping them together if i’m doing any distance. has made it quite a quiet and civilised place to be. quite nippy too, and does ok on mpg i think. seats 3, is long enough to sleep in, and will probably take 6 or 7 bikes fully built if required.
the connect is a better looking vehicle though. 😀

oh yeah EGR valve **** up too

the water washer bottle perminantly freezes in winter as its down infront of the front wheel – because of this it eats skoosher pumps as you ALWAYS forget its frozen.

I had the same dilema a while ago (although I didnt want a white van)
Looked at connects …very disapointed with the value for money ,as Trail rat says they do have their problems .bit thursty for a diesel too.
VW as ever the fanboys favorite so that pushes the price up for what you get.

I ended up getting a nice ,met grey 08 berlingo 1.6hdi with less than 20,000 miles on the clock for the same price as high milage (100,000 plus) of the same year or older connect…………..as for vw caddy……couldn’t even get close to my budget for a tdi with mega miles…

Get yourself a nice Berlingo 🙂