I’m in the market for a new car and was thinking about an estate – focus, golf, passat, volvo or something.

However, after a weekend away in a friend’s van I think this would be very practical.

Transporters seem to be the van of choice but I am open to any comments with other recommendations or things to look out for when buying a Transporter (or other van).

I’m ideally looking for a good mix of economy (fuel, insurance, tax, servicing costs) and power but don’t need something blisteringly fast.

I’ve got a budget of around £5-6k and the ex-AA vehicles look like a good buy although they seem to have done many many miles.

Also, I assume my standard car license (obtained in 2003) is ok for vans of this size. I have also been warned that different speed limits apply to certain vans…do vans like Transporters fall into this category? I did say I was a complete van novice 😉

Try these guys

VWT4 version of STW

they also have classifieds so you can get an idea of what your looking for within your budget

MY T4 camper van annual costs:

Tax £180
Insurance £460 (annual unlimited European Cover for camper conversion so not necc same as for you)
Service £150 (no exceptionals, £110 timing belt, £50 water pump)
MOT £44

2.5 Tdi 88 bhp TW
85 l tank
cruising 40mpg
range max 700 miles
I’ve had the van up to 110mph
0-60, eventually

Very comfortable van to drive but there is some cabin noise in a commercial one. I bought an aftermarket carpet mat which has helped. Commercial trim finish is very very basic. The T5s look nice though….*dreams*

We love our van.

T4s and all but the smallest vans have lower speed limits. 50 in a 60 zone, 60 on dual carriageway. Anything commercial that can go over 2 tons total weight laden basically.

Ex AA T4 transporters are now all off the AA fleet so if you do want one you’ll have to act fast and get the last few that are at dealers. I’m told no more will be going through the auctions.
Try http://www.banwyvans.co.uk as many people seem to use them. For £5-6k you could get a new t5 type transporter pretty easily and they are more car like to drive, quieter etc. 1.9 85hp versions are dirt cheap, reckon I could find a 55 plate with that budget and some looking and these aren’t too slow.

Things to think about are do you need rear seats? 3 people anyway in a van and they do restrict the load lugging ability. I’ve had both types and in the 1 year I had crew cab vans it only made a difference on two occasions. the rest of the time we had enough people to need a car anyway (ie over 5) and so took the rear seats out of the van for more bike room.

Other vans to consider are renault trafic/vauxhall vivaro/nissan primastar. These are all made in the same plant with the same engines and only minor cosmetic differences. I’ve had a couple of these and they are nice vans. £6k would get you a 56 or 07 plate new shape and new engine version with no more than 40k and some warranty left.

hora will no doubt be along in a mo to reccomend toyota hiaces as well. So I’ll let him do that 🙂

I’ve been running vans for about 3 years now and have had 6 in that time (I change vehicles a lot) so can give you the pro/cons of vivaro (new and old), vito (new and old), transporter t5 and now vw lt35 although these are massive (makes a very nice camper though). If you’ve got any questions drop me an email (in profile) and I’ll get back to you at the weekend.

I have just bought an ex AA van with only 90,000 miles from Poulton Vans

It was the seats and windows in the rear for family duties along with the capacity to carry bikes in the back without any external carrier that attracted me.

I am planning to do a bit of soundproofing in the back and to fit a Gaz stove in the back for post ride brews 🙂

I don’t get the whole Transporter thing. I was looking at vans last year and bought a Vivaro. An equivalent transporter would have been up to four years older, an avearage of 60k more on the clock and generally a generation behind the vivaro in terms of engine etc.

It must be a “Clique” thing. 😉

…or a reliability/depreciation thing? 🙂

It’s a VW, they are the perfect size, what don’t you get? You may as well say I don’t get why people buy Golfs over Astra’s!

we love ours.

1.9td is a bit slow so a bigger engine would be better but that`ll be the next one if this one ever dies.

AA vans are good for conversion as they have the multivan chassis that a regular commercial will not. this means you can fit seatbelts safely in the back. (its a bit of a safety minefield to retrofit seats and belts in regular commercial vans)

we use ours as a camper so its got a seat/bed and cooker, electric hookup etc. so we have a bike rack for the back.

my mate has a T5 and it is lush.

As sonor said

There is nothing specvial about the rtransporter other than it has the VW of old status for some reason

For your budget you could get a 3 year old vivaro/trafic…a VW will be about 8-10 years old….

we too have a t4 1.9. slow engine but bombproof as there are no electrics to go wrong. It was a minibus now it’s a camper. a bed sink running water triple hob fridge, heating to works. It won’t rust like a transit and despite the lack of power it drives just like a tall car. Very happy with ours. Perhaps there is a bit of snobbery about the VW van over say the vauxhall ones, but if your doing it yourself there are more people with ideas and experience on t25 and t4’s than any vauxhall commercial vehicle. And Autosleeper didn’t choose to build campers with the Bedford Rascall did they?

No but they did make them with the Bedford CF!

The conversion point is a valid one there are many companies out there doing parts etc for converting T4’s probably more than any other van. Vito mk1 probably second on that list. T5, mk2 vito, Vivaro etc probably all similar in 3rd place. This is only an issue if you plan to convert it.

I forgot to say before that insurance for my van is about the same as my car. Try the national farmers union direct for a quote.

I have a T5 and have fallen foul of the dreaded mobile speed cameras – was doing 70 on a 60 A road and the buggers said (when I queried it) that as a van I should have been doing 50! Jings, good job they haven’t seen me on early morning dashes on same road at ???mph!!
All this in a van that goes and stops better than my wifes focus!

k reg t4 here,145.000 miles and drives lovely,just buy one there great,full service history is important though and make sure coolant changes are done with the proper vw stuff (over 100.000 miles)otherwise your going to get head gasket problems eventually.

The water pump and tensioner should have been done at the cam belt change,and the next expensive job is the clutch, so check this out on higher mileage vans.
😀

Sorry Sonor, you think you got a deal but just wait. That Vivaro will be just as much junk soon. How may old vauxhall vans do you see. VW all the way and have been for 20 years. But suit yourself there must be a reason the AA use them!

…sommink about the speed limit being 50mph in a single carriageway… (I didn’t keep up with that thread).

Vivaro gearboxes are shite

Not sure of SH prices, but i’ve got a Caddy, as long as you don’t need all the space in a Transporter then it’s an excellent alternative, and as it’s classed as a car based van then normal speed limits apply.Nice to drive, and 53mpg is def. possible, mine regularly turning in +48 in and around town.

i have an 04 t5, not much ooompf but does the job. use for work , bikes campin the works every day, no problems. had an 98 t4 for a while too, wouldnt have any other makes this size, also had a 1700 astravan, exellent van for what it did, nippy too. yip get the t5…………….

But suit yourself there must be a reason the AA use them!

That should be “used them.” Guess what the AA use now? Vivaros/Trafics.

Vivaro gearboxes are shite

The(transporter)water pump and tensioner should have been done at the cam belt change,and the next expensive job is the clutch, so check this out on higher mileage vans.

And?

Not seen a mention of the Toyota Hiace, so shall put it forward. Very similar to a T4. Admittedly not the same niche attraction, but will be less outlay (mine was about 2/3 of its T4 equivalent), so reliable you’ll forget what breakdowns are, far comfier seats (on a par with the old transit armchair)

My van is now over 185k and has only consumed the consumables, still feels tight and can still run with the newer vans on the road if they can keep up.

Less tarted up bins sold as well, there are some shocking T4 out there and the ex-AA vans certainly aren’t exempt from that – this coming from a friend in a VW specialist garage

aviemoron – unlucky, your the first person I’ve heard of to get caught out on the different speeds, old workplace had a big Iveco daily that cruised 3 figure numbers loaded but could haul up quicker than a lot of cars

Transit a possibility? Plenty of choice, a fair bit cheaper than the Transporters (no scene tax) and STILL the benchmark for panel vans what, 30, 40 years on?

My T5 2.5 has done 185K, had a few quid spent on it tho!
AA, and RAC still useing (new) T5s for patrol vehicles as well as euro stuff