[Closed] If you had between £2000-3000 to spend on a van, what would you get?

Interested to see what comes off this....

I reckon a Transit is a good call. Loads of parts, servicable anywhere, and a bit wider in the back....

A Hiace will never break down. Ever!!

vw caddy long wheel base. would have to have a good luck to get a decent one

Ive sort of had the same dilemma,and a budget of 3k gets you a lot more Vivaro than it does Transporter,although respective residual values are relative too-The Transporter will keep its value as they always do, whilst anything else will depreciate as expected.I have access to a medium Transit through work and its fine size-wise for bikes,sleeping and accessories and parking wise its similar to a car anyway so a perfect compromise.
The Vivaro`s do seem to come with the inherent Vauxhall electrical problems though,and the 6 speed gearbox is a lot more desirable then the 5 speed box.
We have ran vehicles from most manufacturers,and if you buy wisely with good mileage and history they`ll all be suitable,avoid the Mercedes Vito though.

New transits are nice, older ones are awful

Hiace are reliable, but have a sit in one first as I found the seats soft and quite low

The Hiace is a good call! I could not remember Toyota's van offering. I have seen them around and do like the look of them. They don't look as big as the Transits and vivaros. I will investigate!

Caddy Max is a good call rumple,fairly rare but a fraction of the price of a similar Transporter,only 2 seats in the front and not quite so wide,they tend to start at about 5k for a nice one 2008-ish though.

I paid £1300 for my 2001 Vito just over 3 years ago and it's not missed a beat. It's a bit rough around the edges and it's showing it's age in some places, but the engine is sound.

It's been to the alps every year I've owned it and this year the mrs and I lived in it for 10 days while over there.

Not as flash as most of my mates' vans, but I love it.

Vivaro or traffic.

You have to crouch a bit in the back though.

Hiace every time for that money

ps - the seat in mine was comfy and could move up and down

Hi ace. Or a even a pug expert

The price you have and the size you want to do as you want

Iveco daily.

Iveco Daily, price is right but it really is a workhorse and better suited to those wanting a big van or lugging silly heavy trailers.

Love mine, but its noisy, bumpy, thirsty and crucially, wide but not quite as wide as a Ducato (6ft sideways bed in one of those!)

Its rare to find one less than 6 metres long and very rare not to be a high top.

Ducato, Vivaro, Transit, in that order. On the other hand, you do get lots of Iveco Daily for your cash 🙂

Vivaro will be a bit more refined than most of the other options.

Not perfect but a really nice vehicle and essay to live with.

I'd get an Expert at that budget.

I had that budget for mine. Transporters and Hiaces in that price are really old high milers which put me off a bit, although apparently reliable.
After a lot of searching I got an 8yr old Transit with 79k miles, ex-BT for £2,300. Perfect.
Most stuff in that price range will be knackered ex-builders vans, you will see a lot of rubbish before you come across anything decent.
Transits are great, mechanically indestructable and quite pleasent to drive, but watch for rust, there will be lots!
Second choice would be Vivano/Primastar/Traffic but the SWB version is a lot smaller than my SWB Transit so would have to be an LWB version for me.
Also, used van salesmen make used car salesmen look good!

Old shape turbo expert.
Don't tend to rust easy on parts
I've got the non turbo version and it's rather slow

I can and do sleep in it , three seats in the front
Older transits rust badly often
Vivaro 6 speed gearboxs can fail from about 120k ish but many you see may well have had one replaced already

Vitos in the price range have a tendancy towards rust, but I'd be considering a Vivaro/Traffic/Primastar to be honest.

I just bought an 06 caddy with 100,000 on the clock for £3,200. Been fine for the past 6000 miles.

Are the Citroen Dispatch and Peugeot Expert pretty much the same size as the Transit connect? I think I could easily get away with something Connect size as a full bike can easily fit into one of them right?

I continued my search and a few lower mileage examples popped up for decent money.

If you get a Hiace, people might mistake you for a market trader. Good for going stealth and lugging around expensive bikes etc.

rhid I have a LWB connect and can fit my small 650b bike in fine, you may struggle to fit a bigger bike in lengthways, but will be fine if you can use the diagonal. I have kitted mine out as a camper, see other thread, it has a bed which folds flat to the wall so I can use the van as a van, or it can sit as a bench/single bed and pulls out as a double. Depending on the bed configuration I can fit me & one bike, or the bench & 2 bikes, or 5 bikes with the bed folded away. The back of the LWB is 6ft, so if you're taller than me at 5' 6" you may have issues with the bed.

I love mine, looking forward to getting back out in it this year! 😀

Are you dead set on being able to stand up in it ? That means a high-top and not being able to get into a lot of car parks !

Iveco daily is a BIG van 😯

It's out of budget but I feel like mentioning that I have been lusting after a 4x4 twin wheel Sprinter.

Standing up in it is not really an issue. Something I can get changed in the back of is what I meant! Kind of settled on the Scudo / Expert / Dispatch size van....

Vivaros drive nicely, I'm happy with mine (even after spending best part of £1000 on maintenance over the year, should be cheaper for the foreseeable future). Upwards of 40mpg, tandems fit in the back and plenty of room for sleeping when I want to try it out.