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Hi folks. I've got the chance to buy the above to carry my bikes in. Just wondering if anyone has/had one and could tell me what bad points to look out for? I know there are probably better vehicles out there to carry bikes in but I'm getting this for next to nothing..
Had many many doblos on hire.
Edinburgh to fochabers back to edinburgh to dumfries back to edinburgh on one tank.
Dunno about long term reliability etc but would definitely consider one
We've had a 56reg 1.9 multijet from new, it's had a radiator and a clutch a couple of years ago which weren't expensive and apart from that it's been fine, get the tailgat version not the split rear door, and with winter tyres and the high ground clearance it's unstoppable in snow,
Eats bikes whole as well which is nice..
Cheers folks. Yes it is the tailgate version.. I realise that the electrics are poo on them, just wasn't sure about anything g else.. its the petrol version so hopefully not as heavy on clutch's as the diesel.. cheers folks.
I've had mine 9 years and it's now 12 years old. I've had to replace the cat and bits of the exhaust but that is it other than an annual service as far as I can recall. I'd buy another for sure.
Tracking can go out easily and they can be a pain for the garage to adjust sometimes so keep an eye on tyre wear.
mate has a diesel one, and they seem to require a new egr valve every 5 years or so.
apart from that pretty good, except they are quite hard on tyres. His eats teh inside edge of rear tyres, and the fronts get chewed too. It has been tracked and geo checked many times, and been pry barred around like crazy and everything is in spec, but still does it.
despite that I think its a cracking wee van
We've got an 05 plate windowed version and it is great. It's the 1.3 multijet diesel. I'd never describe it as fast, but it's not as depressingly slow to drive as you might imagine.
Ours is invaluable with nearly 2 year old twins. It eats bike and camping kit without worrying about what you are taking. It's basically a box, so no space is wasted with needless curvy styling. Despite it's shape, it's remarkably efficient as it will return 50+ mpg as long as you don't rag it over 70 on the motorway.
We've had a few classic italian car niggles with bits and pieces wearing out, and the odd WTF moment with some electrics, but nothing terminal and nothing expensive to sort out.
Buy one!
My father in law is Italian (so clearly has bias for fiat and Alfa 🙂 but he uses them for his business and they've been solid purchases for him
Had mine for 6 years, 1.3 Multijet, bought at 20,000, now at 75,000.
Full main dealer service history.
Brilliant in use, surprisingly fun to drive, but needed new injectors (over £600) recently and now needs a new cat too.
Has had brakes and suspension/wishbones, but it's led a hard life - lots of short journeys and rough tracks.
Everything rattles like hell, Mrs S refers to it as 'The Bike Shed'.
🙂
I'm dreading the egr valve or turbo going, which will probably be the final straw.
Conversely, SiL has an older 1.9 that's done 180,00 without issue and feels new.
It's a brilliant design and I'd have another one, probably petrol next time though.
I wish the Japanese did something similar at a reasonable price.
If they could make it last longer, it'd be perfect.
It's a 1.4i I'm getting the chance off.. so no dpf, dmf etc.. I read online about several of the electrical woes and I'm expecting parts of the plastic trim to fall off.. :D.. right, thanks for all the info folks. Think I'll go for it.
MsD has one, as a general purpose runabout-bike carrier-camping kit carrier its brilliant.
We bought motability modified version, has been converted into a wheelchair carrier so had rear seats removed and a loading ramp put in.
No good if you have kids to shift, but crucially it was £3.5K cheaper than equivalent year regular model versions. May be worth looking at those places that sell on motability vehicles.
I have owned a 1.9 jtd for 2 years now with no problems at all (just reached 90k). Front tyres do wear out quickly but that could be my driving. 50 mpg normal and 40 mpg towing our small caravan. I have taken the rear seats out and use it as a van, makes a great bike carrier. With the larger engine it goes really well and corners like on rails. Ignore the looks it's much better than you would think.
HI any one comment on the sort of mileage they get from a 1.4 petrol?
the odd WTF moment with some electrics, but nothing [b]terminal[/b]
That would be the problem I guess 😆
We've had a 1.9 JTD for coming up to a year now and it's great. We can get two FS bikes easily in with the rear seats removed and a motorcycle in diagonally with the front wheel sitting on a block in the left side passenger footwell. It's long enough to sleep in as well. Awesome things! I'd have another one if/when this one dies. Ours has the lift up tailgate which is brill as a shelter. It had had a new clutch fitted by the seller (dealer) and we did the timing belt as soon as we could get it booked in. I think it ended up costing us about £1000 or so to get a reliable (nothing has fallen off yet!), practical car/van 😀 It's ridiculously frugal on diesel as well.