downside of vw t4 vans?

fancy a t4 van for camper/surf van use and bike transport etc
most people rave about them but whats the downsides…

the price hike due to the “cool” status over other vans.

As above the prices for them are ridiculous. Depending on your budget you can get a t5 transporter from around £5k (nearer £4k sometimes) and they are much nicer places to be.

what about the vito then? they all seem to rust…

but whats the downsides…

Its not a T5 ? 😉

Vito’s have a bit of a reputation for being a bit “vanny” and are rot boxes, allegedly.

Mind you the T5’s are not without their little problems though.

Head over to http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk for all you need to know and also some folk sell their T4’s there too.

the price hike due to the “cool” status over other vans.

Add another 50% if you live in North Devon.

what about the vito then?

I had an original Vito, compared to vans now, or even 5 years ago, it was a bit crap but for 10 years ago it was great.

A mate has one of the newer style and it seems to be loads better. They are (comparatively) rare as LWB which is a shame.

Haven’t found any yet 🙂

T4 forum is full of tips / support and get a service + parts discount at a main dealer.

Mine is insulated, carpet lined, seats up to 6 plus bikes, and has removable folding bed.

Would have a T5 if I had the money of course.

i have a new vito – no problems with it, theyve had galvanised bodies since 2007. Mine is the 208bhp one – shifts, 8secs 0-60 6 seats, can take 5 bikes and people without taking bikes apart. Only bought it for biking duties.

im sure the new vito and t5 are nice…but not on a budget of about three grand tops!

As Others have said over priced and to be honest over-rated there are vans just as good out there for less money
1.9= dog slow,rust around arches/windscreen

1.9td= pretty reliable.rust around arches/windscreen

2.4 na =dog slow , head problems ,fuel pump problems,brake servo pump problems,rust around arches /windscreen.

2.5tdi= Faster ,lots of engine sensor problems,turbo problems, gearbox problems.brake servo pump problems,fuel pump problems ,head problems.
and have rust around arches .

as with everything there are good ones but lots dodgy high milage junk as well

Got a t5 and its pretty good. will finish sneaky camper conversion this weekend. Well when i say finish i obviously mean until i think of other silliness to add.

All have downside, I really like the look of the older vito but they have a reputation as a rust bucket. Not sure where singlecrack is coming from. I checked out loads of vans and the one which felt best was the t5, not the cheapest but just good. At the moment mine is, according to his definition, probably dodgy high mileage junk, but i know the engine has probably another 40k miles in it (until a rebuild or refurbed unit is needed) possibly more and that’ll do me for now.

Obviously t5 is a step up from t4 and there is a premium to be paid for the badge. But the internal space is what makes it, that’s why you buy it. they’re just a bit more useable. IMNSHO

The price is less a reflection of them being somehow massively superior to other vans and more a reflection of there being not many buyers of new VW vans, so people who want to buy them secondhand don’t have many to fight over.

If transporters are as good as those secondhand buyers would like to think, and accordingly the residuals are so high (and they are so cool) – why do so few people buy them new?

VW only has about a 10% share of the van market at present, and it was less than 8% when the T4s were being made. And of that share most of those sales would have been the bigger (and more useful) Crafters / T35s, hardly anyone buys new transporters.

My comment’s were for T4’s. Though T5’s have their fair share of problems Dmf/gearbox/driveshafts

Sorry if I upset the VW fans but this is only in my experience Having owned and driven a fair few and spent a fortune on them

3k? Forget vw, how about a vauxhall vivaro. they are nice to drive and don’t look too bad. I like transits, but the mk.6 has a dated interior compared to rivals, and I dont think your budget would stretch to the mk.7.

saying that.. I bought a 2.0 petrol t4 off a guy from vwt4forum. It had 52k on the clock, 1 owner from new (he was a retied gas engineer doing 4k miles a year) and in very good condition. Cost me £90 to get the cambelt done (as opposed to £500 for a diesel) and the servicing is very cheap.. it hasn’t let me down in 2 years of ownership

no turbo to go wrong. Essentially the same engine as the gti.

Lots of people getting them LPG’d which is around half the price of petrol at the moment.

Had T25, T4s and now a T5.

T4 great; avoid the 1.9, however. Look for rust on the welds on the A pillar.

My T5 is going strong after 5 years still. Nicer cabin. Had issues with door locks (fixed DIY) and CCM wiring needing TLC (quick solder under drivers seat).

My T25 was a shed!

For the money a t4/t5 is probably not on. And if it is there’s a reason why. And that’ll not be a generous owner.

I was looking at t4s on a budget of 3-4,000 and ended up with a Toyota Hi-Ace. Much better value and reputation for being reliable. Having said that, if you want to convert to day-van/camper/surf-bus type of thing then there’s loads of kit/advice/etc for VW; more so than any other van.

lol 3k on a transporter – and 3k for the bits it will need i suspect

you might get lucky …….

i looked at them before i got a partner – 3 grand got me a rusty 200k 1.9 t4 special – that same 3k got me a 1.9 partner on a 56 plate with a couple of dents on the roof and 52k on the clock … smaller van but cheaper to fix , cheaper to run , going to run longer ! – second looking at the vivaro option.

3.5 grand got me a 2000plate 90K 1.9td t4 panel van. spent a bit on windows and seats etc.

loverly. mechanically i`ve only changed usual things

daily driver for 4/5 yrs and a fair few miles on its been great. not even that rusty yet.