In the van pursuit a Vito looks a good option – what are the pitfalls of it?

Expenive to service and can’t fit 8’x4′ in the back.

Is it for bike or work duties?

bike and sleeping (not conversion as such)

What to look out for on the old (original shape) Vito? – Everything!

They rust, supposedly very unreliable and the manual Merc gearbox in the one we tried was a joke (2 hands required to get it in reverse). Going slightly smaller 4 cu metre Scudo / Dispatch / Expert is good provided it is the turbo engine (ours was excellent for 9 years / 132,000 miles until a wayward BMW totalled it). Spares also cheap and plentiful.

is that a fiat scudo, citroen dispatch/pug expert?

I would second a pug expert/cit/fiat scudo. We ran them at work and they are excellent. Good engines and loads of space. I am trying to buy one at the moment.

will that also be white

Depends on mileage of the Merc; if the injectors go then you’re looking at a hefty repair bill, tyres often wear unevenly on the front so don’t expect more than 10,000 miles out of a set if you’ve got a heavy right foot, gearbox can get a bit notchy and vague after 100k miles, panels can start to rust if not kept in check – then again most of this can be said about most 2nd hand vans.
I’ve ordered Vito’s for my engineers for the past 6-7 years with no major problems, even got one in the yard for anyone to run about in that’s done over 250,000 miles and still going strong!
Also run a 4WD (4motion) VW transporter which i can highly recommend

What about the red one on here? Does that look ok price wise?

rust rust rust and more rust
We have one at work and we keep trying to kill it it but it won’t die. Gearbox can get a bit difficult but our 2000 model is still on it’s original clutch which isn’t bad for a van which carries a lot of heavy av equipment around. I don’t know the mileage as that has reset itself on a couple of occasions but it does do a lot of short journeys which is pretty hard on any vehicle. If it wasn’t for the rust I’d say it was a great van, drives well can be parked in most car parks and has a 1000kg payload. Ours is a real shabby mess these days, all it needs is a pile of yellowing copies of the Sun on the dashboard and it could pass as a cowboy builders van. Still keeps going though with only the very minimum of looking after.

FFS Rob only a matter of time before you ask
“Robin Reliant – will it go round corners on one wheel with a prophet strapped on the back?”

You got the right answer last week – TOYOTA HIACE

lol

I’m just about to put my citroen dispatch up for sale.

If your interested its a 55 plate model 1.9d Enterprise with only 21K on the clock. Immaculate condition looking for offers around the £4k mark no vat.

Its only been used to carry light items like stock for a toy shop and my bike.

I’m only wanting to sell as i need more seats than the 3 it has and its blue not white 🙂

Even German friends of mine advised me not to buy a Merc Vito. The T4 or T5 from VW beats it hands down in just about everything.

HIACE is on the radar

T5 and Vito are, I believe made in the same plant. As is Sprinter and Crafter. Development and production costs are so huge that hey have to be shared. See Citroen/Peugeot collaboration etc etc. VW outsells Merc 5:1 so says my Daimler commercial manager friends in the UK and Germany.

We have VW T4’s in the fleet with 200k miles, a bit rusty on the wheel arches but still as strong as ever. Hard as nails… reliable as a Swiss railway train. We did have Peugeot Experts but killed them quite quickly.

VW is part of our branding and as such, they do us proud.

If it helps I’ve had the same dilemma as you a few months back. Been getting fed of of using my car as a bike carrier, folding seats down getting it muddy and i wanted a van i could semi convert and use for mtb events and weekends. (looked at vito and t4)

Ended up searching ebay, autotrader, pistonheads and ended up buying this

from a guy off the t4 forum. It’s got 52k on the clock and the guy is kitting it out for me now.

I keep looking at getting a van, when I do it will probably be an Ex AA VW T4, can fit a bunch of people in it and still have the load space.

What are the VW caddy vans like ? Big enough or should I go for a bigger one – general bike carrying/camping etc

If I was looking for a van to sleep in then I would buy a high-roof model.

I have a year 2000 White diesel Vito Auto.There are very slight rust issues above the sliding side doors. Easily sorted with a can of white spray paint(blends easy)

I have had it for three years now. I live in the Alpes Maritimes so whenever I go anywhere it has to to go up and down gert big hills.It seats 6 (with removable QR back seats) and and easly fits 4/5 bikes and kit.(W/O removing seats)

The Auto box is superb and the van is quite economical. It’s well made and more comfortable than most cars.

I never spend anything on it except fluids and it just keeps on going.

elma, where in the country are you?

as above, TOYOTA HIACE.

vito`s are cheaper than T4s for a reason. they are shabby and less reliable.

we looked at both before accepting that it would be better to shell out more on a T4.

Ex AA T4 here. Best buy I’ve done, I think. It can carry 5 bikes and 5 people in a quite comfort. I think you should be able to get them cheaper now than I did. I would just prefer the LWB one. 😆

Merc vito Y reg onwards – what to look out for?

i think you’re getting the drift, but in case not ‘something else’ 😀
T4, but they are pricey.

T4 all day, better built more reliable and very few rust issues. You get what you pay for.
Plenty of converted vans on http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk

Vitos generally have solid mechanicals but dubious electrics. There are many problems with failing sensors. dashboards etc but the engines tend to keep going. A friend has one he bought with 140k on 3 years ago and it turned out to have been clocked so it’s well over 200 and still going.

Ex AA t4’s re nice but you won’t get any more off the aa fleet as they’ve all finished now. There are various dealers still clearing stocks though. Prices of these have dropped a lot in the last few months. Look at http://www.banwyvans.co.uk to get an idea of prices.

I can’t see the vito on the website you linked but a y reg should be no more than £2k unless it’s immaculate. Engine wise try and get a 110 or 112 as the 108 (last 2 digits of each are bhp 08=80, 10=100 etc) are a bit underpowered.

steveh, did your mate get any comeback over the clocking?

#
Anthony – Member

If I was looking for a van to sleep in then I would buy a high-roof model.
Posted 4 hours ago # Report-Post

do you sleep like a bat?

Vivaro/Primastar/Trafic…….no question….

Went through the same decision processes last Easter….

We’ve got a SWB 06 Primastar 1.9 tdci….it’s got 115 bhp, does about 48 average and sits at 90 with hardly any engine/road noise!!

More importantly – due to it’s boxy shape…the load carrying is really impressive for the wheelbase…

I’ve been meaning to post some images for a while….but, I found a guy in Swansea (genius)….who converted it beyond expectation!!

We’ve got a bulkhead in the back which allows 3 bikes to be stored horizontally….with overhead lockers for helmets etc etc…in front of that there’s a bench, sink, burner, flatscreen TV, 240V fridge, playstation, amp, speakers……..and the marine ply bed folds out over the top of everything at night!!!

As I say, genius…….and…….gob smackingly cheap!!

In a word no. Clocked, fake mot and various other stuff. I can’t remember why now but he just kept the van in the end. Fairly sure he tried tho.

sigmaf unless your van has been remapped/modded in some way as 1.9 it’d be 100bhp. If it’s the newer 2.0 engine it’d be 115bhp. Newer engine came out on 56 plate vans to my knowledge though.

Hiace? If going to be lightly loaded (camping and bike gear) why on earth would you want a rear wheel drive van?

Low roof (2m max) and something no longer than a SWB VW so you can fit in regular car parks are a must if it will be your everyday vehicle.

Don’t forget that anything registered as a panel van / window van and plated GVW over 2 tonnes is subject to lower speed limits. (Berlingo / Partner / Vauxhall Combo are biggest vans that are regular car speed limit).

Think the Vito is made in spain not VWs Hannover van plant.

T5 and Vito are, I believe made in the same plant.
I very much doubt it. The Vito is made in Spain IIRC and the T5 in Poland (I know because I own a T5 and that’s where the order went to).

Oops didn’t read the post above properly. But just to clarify the T5 is made in Poland and they fit it out in Hanover.

…..indeed, ours in the 100 bhp….the 115 was rolled out with the slight bumper/facelift…!!

goes well enough though and does handle quite car-like…..body roll is pretty minimal and seating position can be dropped pretty low!!

It would be good to see more people move from the T4/T5 over-priced and actually pretty unreliable (T5 – in relative terms) cult…to this platform…..they’re just simply better value and offer a better driving experience/more space!!

had a lwb sprinter(demo motor) to do a house move for my daughter a couple of weeks ago. Got “escorted” to the vospa way bridge and slapped with prohibition notice…I was 1/2 ton over wieght!!!!! Got away with it due to not being used for commercial gain and only travelling to a destination within sight of wiegh bridge!!! Caught again & I get fined, which is very unlikely.

Trekster that’s beause the sprinter is designed to meet the 3.5ton weight limit for light commercials. It could carry more (and does in the twin rear wheel guise) but as people who passed tests after 98ish can only drive up to 3.5ton on a standard car licsence they kept the limit low. Simiar sized iveco vans go up to 6ton from memory.

Simgaf – that makes more sense. Your right they are great vans, I’ve had 2 now. The second one just sold as I’ve got an lt35 race truck/camper off a mate. Nice to drive and pretty reliable – the only major issue is gearboxes on 1.9’s but this is supposed to have been fixed on the newer ones.

Vito and t5 definitely made in different places. Sprinters and lt35’s/crafters now are made in the same place and have the majority of the same major bits but engines are different. t5/vito have entirely different parts throughout unlike lt/sprinter.

Oh and my name is steve and I’m a bit of a van geek. Thank you. Although seriously RR if you want any help with anything let me know adn I’ll do what i can.