MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
A mate has offered me his 2003 connect van for £600, just been mot'd (no advisories) and whilst it has the odd knock and very slight rust patches is there anything i should be specifically looking for?.
It's been serviced regularly (122,000 miles) and he's a good mate who owes me a few favours so i doubt very much he'd sell me a dud, going to have a look/test drive later, for the price it seems a no brainer.
Being an (ex) mechanic i'd be happy enough to do all the necessary bits n' bobs to it as they arise.
Sills - check the slight rust patches really are slight. Helps if it's had mudflaps fitted
All the engines seem to have their little foibles, I gave up on my 1.8 TDDI when the fuel pump went for a second time (but it was a S/H one that was fitted after it went the first time)
I was happy enough with mine, high top means you can get full bike straight in, SWB are a little too short. I'd have another. Electric pack would be handy, winding windows seemed such a PIA especially if you wanted to open the passenger window to speak to somebody!
It's had new sills done by the local garage for the mot, i know the boys in there well so they'll be fitted n' prepped correctly and the window winder thing won't bother me as i have a 32yr old MK2 golf that is fully manual :D.
It doesn't have side doors but that's no issue for me as the bike will be wheeled into the back - It's got a surprising amount of space inside for a small van so it'll be handy for other stuff as well.
Cheers,
For that money go for it, tddi engines are better than tdci in terms of reliability as they're older tech with less to go wrong.
Can't go wrong for £600, my new bike n' dog transport
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Can't beat a little van for biking, but that roof rack must weigh a ton and be a wind drag...can you not remove it if you're not using it? Just a suggestion, not a judgement.
Yeah, the rack is coming off at the weekend, i doubt i'll ever have the need to carry 8x4 sheets.
There's only one thing that needs doing on it, It's only got a ford tape player/radio inside so i'll have to find a cheap double din dab car stereo for my 6music fix.
... or stick a rooftop tent on it. Van looks mint and very useful.
2004 LWB High top sailed through MOT today, great wee van. That's a great buy, well done sir. I'd like a DAB too, but dunno what coverage would be like in SW Scotland. At present I've got one of those tapes with a jack input lead, iPhone plugged in with Spotify or a podcast. Works fine.
We have the Ford 6000 (or whatever it's called) standard unit in our van at work, I doubt anyone would notice if it went missing...
Alternatively the bog standard CD head units are usually peoples first upgrades if they can get a better one, you should easily get an OEM one that will plug straight in. Talkford.com may be worth a look (for units and technical advice) as will eBay.
I had a lwb one - did 130k miles and traded it in. My wife hated parking it. No major bills, breakdowns / problems. I'd have another.
BUT - be aware that the ford locks from that era are worthless. You can buy a generic key from amazon to open any of this gen's ford's doors without the alarm going off. So add extra locks or NEVER leave anything worthwhile in the back.
I still have the double din converter and cabling somewhere if you want it for the cost of stamps....
I imagine I'll be fitting a shackle lock to the rear doors and a big chain will be used inside, probably through a locked storage box, I'll get something welded up n' powder coated at the weekend. Like you say the locks are so worn they're practically useless.
The insurance was cheap, only £121 fully comp/protected Ncb so I might treat myself with [url= http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/JVC_KW-V215DBT_DAB_Car_Radio_With_Bluetooth__.html ]this garish dab radio[/url] as you can take a feed from a rear view camera, my dads proper transit has one and it's handy when reversing