I had a 02 Transit cheapish second hand from 2008ish for 4 years, bought it with 125k on the clock, sold it with 240k on the clock. It had a couple of issues like the big octopus coolant pipe dieing with a leak about once a year, but the rust was depressing, it rottted.
Eventually flogged it with a suspected failing head gasket and bought a 56 plate Trafic for similar money (4k ish). Electric windows, aircon (especially for driving to the Alps in the summertime). Its great, I reckon its about 6 inches smaller width, height and length wise which makes parking and country lanes easier, but still seems bigger inside than the T5s I’ve gotten changed in the back of. Does 38mpg, 6 speed box makes it much quieter on the motorway. If it dies I’ll be tempted to buy another, but at the moment I’m struggling to work out if it’s worth it, it has no rust on it at all, so in theory if I replace suspension and the engine when they get worn it will run forever?
Both of these vans are/where white, which I can see looking a bit chavvy if that is something you get worked up about (it has looked a big Big Fat Gypsy Wedding turning up at friends weddings with it when we have bikes and surfboards with us), but there are two big upsides: totally invisible to traffic wardens once you have engaged the cloaking device/hazard lights and white vans stay cooler in the sun, so I can leave food and things in the back in a race field and not have then cook themselves.