Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 40 total)
  • VW Transporter £6-8k or alternatives
  • tacopowell
    Free Member

    I’ve got a feeling a few of you might have experience with the Transporter?

    I’m looking for a work panel van, there are very few vans that tick all the boxes,
    Toyota Hiace- ugly, reliable, rare to find a worthwhile vehicle,
    I almost had my hands on a decent ex mod Hiace but it was sold before I got to view it.

    Transit- plenty of them around, a little too big for my needs, rusty, cheap to run.

    Vito- uncertain about them, from what little information I can find, they’re not all that cheap to maintain?

    VW Transporter- plenty on the market, for my budget I’m either looking at high mileage or hidden issues?

    Can you lovely folk give some insight as to what I should be looking out for with Transporters of £6-8k

    Is 120k considered high mileage? obviously I should be looking out for one that’s been looked after.

    I’m reading mixed reviews on the 2003-2015 models.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Love hate relationship on here with them.

    Mostly trail rat who loves to hate them.

    They do attract a premium over other vans, whether it’s justified or not is debatable. I got my t5 for a really good price from a local seller and while it’s not been without some problems (as you’d expect on any 120k vehicle) it’s been great and I’m not going to sell it any time soon.

    mattbee
    Full Member

    Well, my 1.9 swb on an ’08 plate sold last spring for £8k. It had 180k miles on it. (Had new turbo, intercooler & cam belt at 140k).
    Sub 10k if I was buying just as a ‘van’ & not a lifestyle accessory I’d avoid VW. Too much scene tax.

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    welshfarmer
    Full Member

    For that money I would be looking at a Vivaro. SHould cover a sub 80K 12/13 model with Aircon and alloys if you look around. Hundreds of them out there and drive almost as well as the transporter.

    sbd16v
    Free Member

    Iv owned a 2010 t5 for the past 6 months, its half way though a camper conversion atm.

    My advice (as above) would be if your not wanting it for scene reasons then there are better vans out there cheaper with nicer specs imho.

    I personally wanted to start doing VW Shows as there unrivaled when it comes to family shows.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    it’s not been without some problems

    Anything major?

    Too much scene tax.

    Looking at the cost of between a Transporter and a Hiace of similar mileage and age, there might be an extra £500-£1000 in difference on some vans but generally there’s not much in it,
    I don’t mind spending the money if it’s going to be a good van.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    Vivaro

    I have a deep mistrust for French built vehicles but you’re correct I could get something rather high spec for the money,
    Would I end up paying that extra money in repair bills? Probably.

    redstripe
    Free Member

    I just sold my 09 t5 with 115k for £11k , was still going well, regularly serviced etc. If I was on a lesser budget and didnt need an auto I’d look for a late 2011/12 hiace 120bhp for sure, had several years back and they were always totally reliable. Never had one but more wary of psa built proace.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    proace

    Yup, expert/dispatch mk4, steering well clear.

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    Vivaro
    I have a deep mistrust for French built vehicles but you’re correct I could get something rather high spec for the money,

    You’ll be fine then – Vauxhall Vivaro’s are made in Luton.

    (advantage of them as a biking van is that they’re wider than the T5 so a bike will more easily go across the van)

    monkeyboyjc
    Full Member

    Nissan nv200 too small?

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    Size wise, sounds like a Hyundai iLoad is worth a look. They look pretty smart too.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    You’ll be fine then – Vauxhall Vivaro’s are made in Luton.

    Really? Still a PSA designed vehicle,
    My last van was a Vivaro, granted it was the first model that came out, 2001 and it caused me no end of problems,

    nv200 too small?

    Yes and no, bigger than the original Connect LWB I was looking at but as I’ve an increased budget and our first baby due in 5 weeks, I’m keen to get a three seater van for convenience.
    When you look from the outside it’s hard to see how the nv200 can provide the load space it claims.

    Hyundai iLoad

    Very few on the market, within reasonable distances, I’ve found one.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    Also not keen on their rear windows as a standard!

    Blazin-saddles
    Free Member

    You’ll be fine then – Vauxhall Vivaro’s are made in Luton.
    Really? Still a PSA designed vehicle,
    My last van was a Vivaro, granted it was the first model that came out, 2001 and it caused me no end of

    Thought Vivaro to be a Vaux/Renault/Nissan colab though? not PSA.

    simmy
    Free Member

    Like has been said, Vivaros are British built apart from the high tops as they wont go under the roof at Luton 🙄

    The Trafic is built in France along with the high top vivaros and I don’t know where the Primastar is built.

    Build quality panel wise is no where near a VW, panel gaps bigger etc and they are not without their problems, Timing chains and belts can snap, despite what you are told they DO need changing.

    Injectors can give up and they also just stuck in the head and need special equipment to get them out then need coding to the ECU. Brake discs all around about 80-90 k depending on the use.

    As an idea, I got a 2010 Vivaro base model, 150k for £4000 with a recon engine in it as the timing chain had snapped previously, all new injectors and an unlimited milage guarantee for 12 months on the engine.

    The engine is Nissan based and kicks out 115 bhp, but mines got a bit more power 😉

    simmy
    Free Member

    Thought Vivaro to be a Vaux/Renault/Nissan colab though? not PSA.

    Mines got parts on its with Renault on them other bits with Nissan on them and most have Vauxhall on them. But it could just be mine as I got it off a specialist so he could have just rebuilt it with whatever bits off other vans he had knocking about as he breaks Vivaro/Trafics/Primastar

    welshfarmer
    Full Member

    You know what. I am looking at the moment for vans similar to you (hence knowing what is about at what price). Like you, I find plenty of reasons (even silly little ones) for not buying anything that is not a transporter, and lots of great reasons for getting the VW. Which has led me to the conclusion that while there are plenty of great alternatives out there that probably represent better VFM, I think I will wait and get a VW when the right one comes along. Otherwise I can see I will only regret it later. As someone whose only current vehicle is a 34 year old Land Rover 110 I know all about ownership of “scene” vehicles based on the heart rather than the head. Go into it with eyes wide open and plenty of mechanical Nouse and you won’t go far wrong.

    petrieboy
    Full Member

    I bought a 61 plate T5 Caravelle 2 years ago with 160k on it. It’s now got 200k and in that time it’s had routine servicing and one shock absorber. YMMV

    Having said that it’ll probably burst into flames now!

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    Like you, I find plenty of reasons (even silly little ones) for not buying anything that is not a transporter, and lots of great reasons for getting the VW

    Not really, I’m almost dead set on a Toyota Hiace but it has to be the right one,
    Their reliability has me almost sold but I’m struggling to find one worth parting money with,
    There are plenty more VW Transporters in the market,
    They are obviously very good vans so I have to consider them,
    Have you considered a Transit?

    welshfarmer
    Full Member

    for about 2 seconds 🙂

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    Are they ‘good’ vans or have people just bought into the badge and the reputation? They were fantastic 20+ years ago when no-one else did things like it, but I’m not convinced that VWs are that ‘good’ nowadays compared to the competition.

    They aren’t bad, but they aren’t any better then the rest, so I’d suggest sticking to your budget and get something with lower mileage and fewer years for the same price.

    I don’t own a van – would like to but I think it would be more for the potential than the actual need. Saying that, I’ve driven many vans over the years…I’ve always found the Transit to be the comfiest for driving in, but there was never really any ‘one’ that ticked all the boxes so I appreciate it is a minefield out there due to the choices.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I have a deep mistrust for French built vehicles but you’re correct I could get something rather high spec for the money,
    Would I end up paying that extra money in repair bills? Probably.

    I’ve owned my Vivaro for four or five years now and I don’t think I’ve had any non-routine bills.

    Fair enough if you want a VW though.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    I’ve owned my Vivaro for four or five years now and I don’t think I’ve had any non-routine bills.

    The way I see it is Vivaro/Trafic vans tend to have a bad reputation, when you search for reviews what you’re finding is a small proportion of owners who have had bad experiences who feel the the need to warn others, if you were to ask all Vivaro owners most would have positive things to say,
    I understand this one of my mates drives a Vivaro, like you never had any major issues,
    However their is an obvious increase in bad vans,
    I’ve already had the misfortune of owning on of the few bad ones,
    I’m not really willing to go down the Vivaro path again, shame because I could get a great spec van.

    mactheknife
    Full Member

    taco, i too have read all the negative reviews about vivaros. I bought a 2007 plate just over 2 years ago and nearly straight away i found out it had the dreaded injector issues.

    Fast forward 2 years. Vauxhall replaced all of them FOC pretty much straight away and i have had not one single issue since then.

    Haters are going to say ” yep but you should never have had those problems from the start” and yep thats true but to say they are bad vans is just nonsense. All car / van buying is a lottery. Some good and some bad out there. But i also have 4 mates who own vans. 2 with transporters and 2 with vivaros. The transporters have not stopped being money pits. Its a constant joke but the vivaros have just got on with life.

    Thats just my 2p worth on a small group of van owners.

    Sundayjumper
    Full Member

    …and our first baby due in 5 weeks, I’m keen to get a three seater van for convenience.

    I can’t speak for other vans, but in our T4, two adults + a child seat in the front was quite a squeeze for the second adult. Child seats are quite wide.

    It wasn’t as convenient as you might think.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    It wasn’t as convenient as you might think.

    Still better than 2 seats

    mark90
    Free Member

    Had a 3 seater T6 (very nice 140 DSG) this week, with my 3yr old boy’s seat in the front there wasn’t a huge amount of room on the bench for my 10 yr old daughter, never mind the missus.

    When my daughter was younger we had an Iveco camper with a 2 seater bench up front, that was just about ok but not great with a child seat. The Transporter double seems a little smaller, and closer to the driver further reducing shoulder room.

    Also you may find the child seat needs to fit nearest the door, making access to the middle seat more awkward.

    Sundayjumper
    Full Member

    Still better than 2 seats

    It the same way that Polio is better than AIDS 🙂

    We only ever did one trip with all three of us up front. You will want some seats in the back (Combi or Caravelle).

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    One thing I have noted is that Within the £6-8 budget most vans still have their VAT,
    The Transporters generally already have the VAT paid, this cancels out the scene tax.

    marmottefarcie
    Free Member

    I have had my 2005 1.9tdi lwb T5 window van for about 4 years. Now up to 81000m. Use it to transport my bikes, children & lurchers. Its been to France and aside from general servicing its had a clutch.
    Its a pleasure to drive – always puts a smile on my face.
    Obviously its not fast but it will return 35mpg.
    I wouldn’t have one of the 2.5’s but I think that the 1.9 is great as long as you keep changing the oil as recommended and stick to cambelt/water pump change schedule.
    My last 4 vehicles have been 1.9tdi powered so either I am biased or they work well for us.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    Thoughts on this find?

    He’s checking when cambelt was last done and has admitted he may have undervalued the van.

    The clutch is apparently as good as new too.

    Local-ish, think I’ll take a look.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I’m not a VW hater or anything, but that seems very pricey for a nine-year-old van.

    Just had a quick look at Vivaros and this seems remarkably good value by comparison…
    2014 van, FSH, no VAT(?), 58k, but is Cat D

    Del
    Full Member

    IMO a lot of transporter/vivaro/transit size vans at 12k or below are rather over-priced with high mileage. you can get a new one for ~14-5k ( +VAT ). if you’re a business user you’d better off taking the finance on a newer van IMO, and turning it over every few years. it means tying some money up in one, but if you can afford that, it’ll be more economical in the long term i think.

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    I’m changing my user name to deathtovivaros
    😆

    I’m well aware that if I buy a low mileage Vivaro with my budget I’ll have a good chance of having few issues but I’ve got a better chance with a vw, plus the value will drop quicker with a Vivaro.

    I don’t trust them!

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    A better chance of having issues? I’d agree…but suspect that is due to the age more than being a vw…

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    Thoughts on this find?

    Guy was uncertain when his cambelt was changed, odd as he claims to be only owner, said nothing on paperwork, must have been done privately.

    😕 😕 😕

    Needless to say that van is no longer a consideration.

    Just had a quick look at Vivaros and this seems remarkably good value by comparison…
    2014 van, FSH, no VAT(?), 58k, but is Cat D

    Am I to harsh a critic of the Vivaro? I’ve had one terrible experience with one and reading various other reviews it would appear theres issues with them, but what percentage of Vivaros are bad?
    There are a few that rate them….

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Many many many more vivaros on road than vw and hiace.

    What your seeing here is the laws of statistics at work i feel.

    All vans have their issues if you get a lemon.

    The lad above saying for business use were you rely on the van to business lease talks sense imo and I’m pro bangernomics at the best of times but does not compute for business use.

    That vw doesn’t seem badly priced for a vw but it’s still a stiff tag for 120k on an old van but imo it’s priced to reflect it hasn’t had belts and pump done and has been running on borrowed time at its age for a long time.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Am I to harsh a critic of the Vivaro? I’ve had one terrible experience with one

    You might see it that you’re due better luck with the next one.

    I’d be tempted to go new and 0% finance, Vauxhall offer four years warranty and free servicing too..
    http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/offers-finance/van-offers/4x4x4x4_offer.html

    tacopowell
    Free Member

    if you’re a business user you’d better off taking the finance on a newer van IMO

    Yes business owner but it’s still early days yet, I’m almost certain things will work for me but I’m not 100% on taking a four lease just yet,
    Tempting as it is.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 40 total)

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