Is £3k enough for a van

Fancy a van to use every day for work (24 miles round trip) and also for weekends biking. Is £3k enough for such a van?
Must be able to transport bikes and kit plus possible camper type conversion (on a basic level)
If so what do you recommend? and where is best to look?

I’m looking at spending that kind of money on a VW/Vito. I’ve been keeping an eye out for the last 3 months, and for 3 grand I reckon you’d get a 00/01 VW transporter with about 120K-160K miles on it. Higher mileage if you wanted a caravelle/kombi type van, lower if you were happy with a straightforward panel van. Vitos are a bit cheaper.

That’s based on ebay/and autotrader.

3k is low for a van big enough for camper conversion ie vito/transporter/master that hasn’t been ragged stupid by workmen. we just got £1250 for our vauxhall combo with 110k on the clock and in good nick

Thought about an ex AA van? Theres a garage in Mid Wales which sells them on. Co-worker just bought one for windsurfing and camping and loves it. They should be well looked after, having come from the AA too.

http://www.banwygarage.co.uk/stock_banwy_vans.htm

watch out for rear shocks on AA vans, the ones fitted with towing gear way out over the back axle can get a bit tired

are you thinking proper white van man style,
or more like vw camper/caravelle proportions,

if so then mazda bongo???
definitely find a decent one for 3k,
with lowish mileage, 50k on a diesel, which is nothing,
and a load of conversions available

Bongos look good and more like a car to drive I hear. Not the biggest camper on the market but probably usable as a car etc and easier to store/park

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Try this

You’ll get more bang for your buck with a Ducato/Boxer rather than a VW/Vito. I have a High Roof LWB Ducato with a part conversion – seats/bed, side windows and bunkbeds in the back.

At that sort of price I’d stay clear of vito/transporter as they both hold their value to well (transporter especially). Have a look at renault trafic, vauxhall vivaro, nissan primastar (all the same van) similar size to the others but much cheaper. I’ve had a couple in the past. The only major problem known with them is gearboxes so walk if it feels at all notchy.

I saw an 05 with 100k go for 2800 on ebay the other week.

If you want one to use everyday I’d stay away from ducato/boxer as they’re a bit bigger and not that nice to drive.

Two words; Toyota HiAce

One more word – stuck.

Hiace are rear wheel drive and always the first things i see stuck in race fields.

Rob – my neighbor is looking to sell a Hi Ace in absolutely fantastic condition (55 plate diesel)he bought it as he finished as a builder, its been used mainly for shipping family around in, washed and polished weekly etc etc – its his pride and joy – he wants / needs a people carrier, he was bemoaning he was only offered £3k trade in…

Shall I enquire?

If you fancy something classic, you can have my 1972 VW Panel Van for 3K. Full MOT, Tax exempt, mildy lowered, rag top roof, fold out bed in back.

Mail in profile should you be interested…..

Rich

matt_outandabout I’d love that if I still had my two-seater 🙁

Stuck in a race field? How many times a year does the average mtb-Joe race?

Transporters- yes great but I do think they are abit over-rated for what you can get for the money/mileage etc. After all they all do the samething. However its abit inverted-snobbery must-have a camperVW compared to a camperToyota….

Is it abit like a Howies-Cliche? 😉

I think you’re asking too much for your budget – for that money you could pick up a decent vw caddy. Drives like a car, engine good for 300K if you look after it and an easy daily driver to live with.

My advice would be forget the camper aspect.

I can recommend the VW Transporters I have a K reg one thats done 140000 miles with no problems,You want a full service history though,and if its a private seller make sure the cam belt/tensioner and waterpump have all recently been changed.

The first generation t5s had a few gremlins,but most should be sorted now,I am vw biased but service history is key when buying dealer or not.

The early vitos can give trouble with Injectors and fuel pumps but the newer ones are better.

I would avoid anything Fiat/ducato/renault related there cheap to buy, but all have poor engines imo.

Transits are cheap and cheerfull but can be expensive if things go wrong,some transits can give no trouble at all,its a bit of a lottery out there.

I agree with Hora on this – the VWs *are* good, but there is a certain snobbery/fashionista/overating going on with them – I have a few mates with them, one is upto 220k in his, but he paid a lot for it….

He could have had a van half the age and miles, built by Toyota or Ford or Mercedes…

I paid 2500 for a lwb med high transit (2001) although it’s only got the 75bhp engine it goes ok and does 32mpg. got a bed loads of space. Did 2 weeks in alps with it as a live in camper bike transport and drive 60 mile round rip to work in it. Just spent £350 on power stearing pump but I count that as wear and tear

The Vito and VW are very overated vans, they are popular with fashionistas.

You can get 2008 plate vivaro/traffic/ducato from the auctions for under 5k at the moment as the market has completely dropped.

I laugh when I see the amounts people will pay for a VW with 200k + on the clock!!

ello mate, a lad who i went to uni with went down the car auctions and got an astra van 1.7tdci for £2200. worth a try maybe?

Whilst all the van / camper people are gathered – can I test the water? (we aren’t in a position to put this on the classifieds yet)

My wife’s uncle has recently died leaving a Transit van in amazing condition. Can’t sell it yet until probate etc sorted and re-registerd to her mum.

Basically a swb low roof transit. 05 plate, 125BHP engine, 2.8 tonne, front wheel drive. Nice dark metallic green with a few factory extras (headlamp washers so guess it has winter pack with heated screen and mirrors etc). Tow bar, ply lined, rubber floor, full bulkhead (unbolts if camper converting), no windows in rear (good for stealth camper / secure bike storage but generally a blank canvas if you wanted to fit windows). Rubber floor covering.

But here is the amazing bit – he already had a company vehicle so has hardly EVER been used. 3500 miles on the clock in 3 years! Absolutely like it just left the showroom inside and out. I guess inlaws are looking for something near top book price (but that would normally buy something with 30,000 in the clock and ravaged on a company / hire fleet). Guess the VAT has also already been paid.

Anyone interested in a month or two?

Where have my tags gone? 🙁

Whatever you do, dont buy a black or dark grey van…. 🙄

i’m looking for a van too, where is the best place to buy them? where can you find out about auctions and that kind of thing.
I live in aberdeen, and there are very few vans of any type anywhere near me on autotrader.
so any tips would be greatly recieved.
i want something reliable, as i’ll be doing lots of long distance driving to events all over the UK.

bdunx assuming you’re a private buyer then auctions don’t generally work out well as 95%+ of the stuff that goes through will be plus VAT. It’s not too bad if you want smaller car derived vans (vauxhall combo, transit connect etc) as these go for a lot less so the vat amount doesn’t hurt so much. Try british car auctions online for some info, you can look at the auction catalogue online free too. If your interested in a van (or just to gauge prices) find somethng you like, ring up with the reg and ask for an idea of sale price, then add vat and the auction fee (ask the office how much usually a couple of hundred ish, more the more you spend) and you can compare this with the private ads you see around.

My vans mainly come from ebay and sometimes autotrader. I’ve bought my last 2 from ebay and managed to make a profit on selling them (first 6 months 20k later, 20% more than i paid, second 3 months 4k 50% more than i paid). It’ll mean travelling a bit but from Aberdeen that’s a bit of a given.

If you want any more help drop me an email and i’ll do what i can.
hardcastlesteve(at)hotmail(dot)com

Mate is selling his X reg VW Transporter SWB – 1.9 TD

– White with 140k on the clock if I remember correctly?
– Nice tidy van

Wants £2k for it. Chichester, West Sussex.

Ph Justin on

07921
855117