[Closed] Van under 2k or bigger car?

You'll struggle to get a decent van for £2k.

I had the same problem a few years ago when my work van needed replacing, basically, I'd need £3k to get something half decent in small van size, yet cars of a similar age and in better condition were selling for £1k less. I bought a Renault Megane estate for £1.7k, and have been please with it. It wont be much use to sleep in though!

I agree with alanl. I have been looking for a while now thinking that a van would be perfect for setting out at the weekends. I have trawled ebay, Autotrader, the lot and cant find anything decent for less than £2000. You will be looking at something with easily over 120k on the clock, not much service history and most likely rust. You can find the Vauxhall Combo under budget at the likes of an 05 plate, but I have read up on reliability issues. I understand this won't be the case for all Combos! I would up your budget if a decent van is what your after. However, I have looked at buying something like an MPV, Specifically a Scenic (I don't really like the Citroen Xsara) for under £1000. You can get a Scenic 05-07 with 70k on the clock with FSH. The seats fold down flat and provide ample room in the rear for a bike minus the front wheel. I was even considering ply lining the flooring as well to prevent mess after wet and muddy rides. All this coupled with cheap tax, insurance and 45+ MPG seems good to me! I looked at older Mondeo's as well as I own a newer one and the boot space minus rear seats is vast. You can pick the estates up (02-06) for around £1000.

If you like your car could you not get away with a bike rack and roofbox?

Van under £2k will be a dead loss unless you’re very very lucky.  Get the reg number and check the DVLAs not history page - what you find out there often bears no relation to what the seller says in their ad!!

£2k for a van plus tax and insurance is probably coming in arounf 2.5, add in some repairs and service 3k?

That would get out 25 weekends hire of something brand new (it's what I'm doing at the moment) cheaper if you plan ahead,

Van at that price point will be heading towards the end of its life, there are some tidy ones, but not many you'd want to travel a long way in or sleep in. MPV or van derived car will be more pleasant.

For 2k you could have my van, assuming you would want a part converted 54 plate T5 with 190k on the clock.

Maybe I should think about replacing my car for something bigger then. Oh the choices!

I picked up a LWB high top Transit Connect for £1450 earlier in the year. 15 years old and 130k on the clock, but very tidy and (importantly) very easy to work on and super cheap parts.

There are good ones out there, but it will take a while to find them - also, as everyone has alluded to, don't expect too much from them - they will be 'end of life', but if you're decent on the spanners, you'll get loads more out of them. If you're a little shy on the tools - just get a newer, bigger car.

I was sort of in the same position with a BMW 1 series i was sick of squeazing stuff into - difference is I wasn't looking to replace it, just add another vehicle. Been so impressed with the baby Tranny that it gets used everyday now, and the Beemer sits on the drive!

The thing I'm finding with newer cars is the medium sized ones are slow. I'm not into very fast cars but don't want anything that takes more than 10 seconds 0-60. I know vans will be slow but I'd still have the car for fun. If I end up replacing the car I've no idea what to get. Something about the size of an Astra I think. But less boring.

You’ll struggle to get a decent van for £2k.

This, plus everyone selling a sub-2K van is a greedy ****er who thinks their galactic-miled rusting pile of shite is 'mint'. Yes, we've been stung recently...

We've ended up with a mk3 Galaxy which is big enough to get two 26ers in (wheels off) across the front seats and long enough (about 2m) in the back to sleep in with room for a couple of nights away's worth of stuff secreted about the place plus it costs half as much to insure, it's cheaper to feed than a van and it's nicer to drive etc... The rear seats fold right down to form a flat floor that's about 1.2m x 2m with about 1m between the 'floor' and the roof. If we're just off out for a day then both bikes go in the back with the front wheels out.

I just got an Astra estate. Loads of boot space, bike goes in easily with front wheel off and I'm sure you could fit a few in with careful loading. It's not fast but I think you might be asking too much for 2k, it's fine for cruising on the motorway.

At the risk of being told I'm trying too hard... My van is happy at 70 on the motorway and can do 700 miles on a tank of diesel. It's got space in the back (even when it had the sleeping platform in) for three bikes (26-ers mind) with the wheels on. If I was going away, I could take my bike in the back with the front wheel off and actually use the bed. I still had storage for three crates under the bed too.

It's comfy to drive and easy to work on. Yes, it is old, yes it has dents (and a bit of rust), but it works. Oddly, when I had a car as well, the van was the economical choice for both long and short journeys.

Picked up a good condition toyota hiace, high milage but its been looked after and no rust air con fitted too!

, currently undergoing a stealth conversion,its a  bit agricultural but simple and versatile were my priorities  nothing under 2K is going to be in good condition though, if you play the waiting game you may get lucky! 🙂

on a side note I have a Honda CRV for sale,very  roomy comfy and bikes on the roof if going mob handed

going for about £1.6k with new tires brakes battery and 12 months MOT, lovely car 😉

I've had an 1999 vw caddy for last 5yrs..sleep in the back of the van and have got a tow hitch bike rack on the back.

Just came back from Glen Affric on Saturday..cost of van £700

Sleeping in cars or vans which aren't significantly treated is shite compared to a tent.