VW Transporters what do I need to know?

and like all VW when they go wrong , parts cost a fortune. – but since you paid a premium and paid a fortune to fix it , you feel you can justify a ransom to sell it

Exactly 🙂

Although, with the T4 and T5’s being bought by a huge leisure community there are loads of cheap parts and online how to guides meaning a lot can be tackled yourself.

Hora

i paid £2500 for it about 4 years ago, but it was from a mate, and it was very scabby – i must have dug about 3 kilos of random screws and fixings out of the back, and it has a few dents. i put in a rear seat, using geniune fixings from a vw dealer which were terrifyingly expensive, and also side windows which were only 85 quid each, got a handy mate to fit them as i didnt have the nerve to cut the panels out!

it doesnt really use much oil. i do check it once a week. it does use a really really tiny little bit of water, worryingly, but in 40k+ miles it has never ever overheated, including an alps trip mid summer fully loaded and booting it up mountain passes etc. i think it is probably a tiny weep in one of the hoses, not a head gasket or anything.

Only just found the thread. Utterly love our 56 plate Caravelle. 5 or 7 seats, bags of room in the back in 5-seat mode – can get five bikes in easily with front wheels off. Took it camping last summer with all seven seats in (second week in villa with my parents) and there was bags of room with the bench seat folded flat, even with riding kit and a huge family tent.

A little disappointed with the fuel consumption, though it’s about the same around town as the Mazda 5 it replaced. To that end we’re having it re-mapped by Pendle Performance at the weekend as we should get around a 10% improvement in efficiency for those long French motorway trips…

The new transit looks nice but it wont be long before it becomes the new pikey van of choice! So you can rule that one out..

New transit custom does look great but that engine is heavy on fuel and supposedly only gets low 30s mpg if your lucky.

In hoping the T6 when it arrives will bring the kind of technological advances that has happened in the diesel car world which has led to powerful estates like BMWs etc get high 50s to early 60 mpg while still having plenty of pep.

A 140bhp T6 that did high 40s mpg on the motorway would be awesome!

We have 3 T5’s at work, had a lot of problems and trips to the garage, warranty repairs etc but that could be because they have several drivers who hammer them. I swapped to jap stuff like Toyota Hiace’s a few years ago for this sort of family, bikes, camping, tip, transport stuff. Never seem to go wrong. Usually ex disabled minibus ones that already have windows and removable seats – would not go back to VW’s now although of course kids/mrs all think T5’s are cooler looking but I refuse to be a sheep. A friend just got a Hyundai iload Kombi, pretty rare on the roads but long warranty and drives really nice.

I bought a T5 2.5 130 LWB Minibus to use as a bike bus and weekend cruiser… It’s currently sitting on 303000 miles and runs like a dream.. Ive removed the last row of seats and the single from the second row. Ive built a rack(from ikea !! ) that takes 5 bikes fully built. So thats 5 bikes, 5 people and enough space for stuff for a weekend..

not a bad purchase for £5000 🙂

” it’s a van, if you think I am driving a van you have another thing coming”

My wife’s daily driver

She uses it for everything with no problems and loves it!

HTH 🙂

I don’t think the new Transit Custom will become a pikey symbol…its only available for the lighter variants.

Crewcabs and tippers are still the older mk.7 model and I think the smaller Custom is going to stay as a separate line. Reckon Ford are aiming for those wealthy plumbers/builders that run about in chromed up 170bhp Sportlines! (and mtbers perhaps)

I get 37mpg from my new Transit Custom and I don’t drive it gently. Its been doing quite a lot of crappy little stop start journeys too. STW did have the smaller engine size, which may be the reason for the lower mileage possibly.

I’ve found it MUCH quieter and nicer to drive than the T5, really nice interior, well thought out with lots of bottle holders, under seat storage, and other useful things like side lights and a heated windscreen (which didn’t know Ford had the patent on that). Hands free thingy is ace too.

Cons: Looks pretty nice apart from one certain angle. No speakers or air vents in the back and only slanty open windows. Nice and powerful but needs high revs than I’m used to in vans in 2nd gear which is annoying (and embarrassing sometimes 😳 )

With the 6 seater and bulkhead, you can get a bike (29er full suss) in straight without taking any wheels off in the long wheel base.

As someone mentioned, you probably won’t have to pay list price.

singletracksurfer – any chance of a link to the one you have? Which engine and body style?

Glad to hear your getting 37mpg,i drive like an oap so hopefully I can get a little more!

The Mid engine (125?) Custom limited (the colour coded/matched one) with some optional extras, the ice (steering wheel with hundreds of buttons, cruise control, upgraded stereo, parking sensor, sat nav etc) pack.

I’m pretty sure they all have the same 2.2l engine but the Limited and Sport both have a higher output at 155bhp. The trend is about 110bhp and the eco one has stop start technology

Singletracksurfer, if it’s the Limited, it has 155.

A little disappointed with the fuel consumption, though it’s about the same around town as the Mazda 5 it replaced. To that end we’re having it re-mapped by Pendle Performance at the weekend as we should get around a 10% improvement in efficiency for those long French motorway trips…

You’ll still be disappointed in that case. I noticed my 130 lwb is about 2mpg better after a dpf delete and remap 4 years ago. Most of that is probably because you don’t HAVE to work it as hard, although for the 1st few drives after the map you WILL!

I still love my T5, had it from 1 year old and had a T4 before in 2.5l guise which had 185k miles on it when I traded up. had mine before they were so polar however and only paid 10k for it, less than a year old with 15k miles on it. that’s an ’08 plate 130 with cruise, aircon and full electrics. reckon I’d still see it back nearly 5 years and 60k later

Yeah they have the same engine size. I thought I’d got the ‘middle’ one. It’s not the lower one and it is the limited so may be the 155. Wondered why it was so pokey 😉

The Limited can be 125 or 155 according to the brochure.

Thought it was the 125.

I’d wanted the 155 but this one is plenty. I went for the short (which is actually a medium) wheel base (as I usually only have 1 or 2 bikes in it and wanted to use it around town) but would probably go for 155 with the long.

Forgot to mention the turning circle is great.

Aye just noticed it also comes in 125 also, just checked my paperwork and mines a 155 so mine will be able to achieve warp speed 8)

and better fuel consumption on the motorway.

IMO that looks every bit as good as a Transporter

thats the thing about opinions…. everyone elses is wrong unless I happen to agree with them. That transit is nasty. looks like a pouty mess.

You pikeys don’t know what engines in your vehicles???
🙂

You pikeys don’t know what engines in your vehicles???

It has an engine?!? 😯

I did / was right actually, so nah nah nah

Also I don’t really care as long as it goes fast enough and I’m also not too bothered about the fuel consumption either… ‘cos I nick it from those gert posh (unattended) T5’s

You’ll still be disappointed in that case. I noticed my 130 lwb is about 2mpg better after a dpf delete and remap 4 years ago. Most of that is probably because you don’t HAVE to work it as hard, although for the 1st few drives after the map you WILL!

Hmmm… ours is a 174BHP, so was hoping to get better than the ~32 we seem to get on the motorway (admittedly at around 75…). I’ve seen reports of more like 38 after a re-map.

thats the thing about opinions…. everyone elses is wrong unless I happen to agree with them. That transit is nasty. looks like a pouty mess.

i’ll take the transit, thanks.

i’ll take the transit, thanks

Of those two, I’d agree. But I’d take a T5 over either of them…

If you look at the trends in new van models, most marques seem to want to differentiate between light panel vans and larger vans. This means the lighter vans are getting smaller engines so more economy is on its way.

e.g. this

I think this might also mean that tarted-up vans like T5, new Transit Custom might become more popular with “leisure” punters.

That Vauxhall looks gash as well, looks like I’ll be sticking with mine for another 7 years.

I’d still have the vdub! Looks miles better! No faux Aston Martin grille for starters! No it’s not an Aston it’s a shit ford.

The VW looks like a 70s idea of the “future”

In fact it reminds me of a JohnyCab…

lol… Johnny cab looks literally nothing like that. Have you even seen total recall?

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On shape alone its actually closer to the transit… it looks a little japanese maybe, like a nissan cube, but then i think they’re ace too!

Well yesterday i was on the peth motormile on my way home so i had a look at a merc vito, a couple of used transits and a transit custom.

The merc is out barring the sport , the interior of the standard kombi is grim. Sport is very nice and i can get an auto box im the merc – i like the up and over tailgate

The used transits , interior better than the merc imo , position comfier , gear box aukward , very vanny – more so than the merc, a. Very crashy ride due to the weight it can take. – this is lwb combi

New transit custom l2 kombi the “limited” with 155bhp is just in a different league to both, far better to drive , interiors much more car like but retains the comfy upright van position. The l2 has enough space behind the seats for full bikes.

Personally i think the 155 is too much the peg down would be plenty i think. – but then im going from 69 bhp.

Lotta cash but has to be a better investment for what i do than a dacia….least value wont colapse

You.checked out the Nissan Elegrand?? Mate has one and it’s. A smooth moving load lugger.

Well well well, we might be back on. Following my rather negative discussion last week I took some advice from you lot and pitched it as a lifestyle opportunity. During a cpl of hour drive to herts today we passed a few T5’s and conversation started to go well. We are now have an agreement to look at some with the view to keeping for 6 months and selling if we don’t get on with it.

Now the hunt for a spec that suits starts.

Glad to hear it. Don’t fanny about though. Saw a few I liked, ummed and aahed a bit and then waited until it was convenient and…..gone. When mine came up I arranged a viewing straight away! 😆

This has the advantage of not giving SWMBO the chance to changer her mind!

Just started looking at those Nissan elgrand, lot cheaper and seem to be very well kitted out.

They are rather good. I’m impressed with my mates. He imported it himself and saved a lot of cash.