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Looking at buying a mid size van , and wondering what others have found best , with my budget I could get a highter mileage vw transporter or a lot new other make are vw worth the extra cost . Any feedback be great thanks jack
In reply to jack01: Transit connect. Small enough to fit in height restricted car parks, cheap to run, cheap to buy, reliable and you wont mind scratching it or whatever. Did huge damage to a transporter today after a pulley melted!
I ended up with a VW Caddy. I've just been around Norway in her. I'm sure people will suggest other models, but you buy cheap ... you buy twice.
I also have a VW T4, but the price of fuel is making her too expensive to go long distances in :[
Both vans have never missed a beat!
I also have a VW T4, but the price of fuel is making her too expensive to go long distances in :[
Both vans have never missed a beat!
In reply to jack01:
I've got an 01 fiat scudo, cost me £850 with 85,000 miles and hasn't missed a beat in the 10,000 + miles i've done in it since and get around 40-42 mpg on long journeys. not sure of your budget (fully finished camper conversion including the van cost me less than £2k), but price doesn't necessarily mean quality...
I've got an 01 fiat scudo, cost me £850 with 85,000 miles and hasn't missed a beat in the 10,000 + miles i've done in it since and get around 40-42 mpg on long journeys. not sure of your budget (fully finished camper conversion including the van cost me less than £2k), but price doesn't necessarily mean quality...
Post edited at 23:07
In reply to jack01:
old vw rot just like anything else that's made out of metal, some real sheds out there with a bit of paint on going for top dollar still.
old vw rot just like anything else that's made out of metal, some real sheds out there with a bit of paint on going for top dollar still.
1
In reply to jack01:
thanks for replys , looking for something reliable as my car i chop in is being a pain at the moment so dont want to buy more problems . and being over 6 foot tall some thing i can lie down to sleep in.
thanks for replys , looking for something reliable as my car i chop in is being a pain at the moment so dont want to buy more problems . and being over 6 foot tall some thing i can lie down to sleep in.
In reply to jack01:
The ex AA vans are meant to be very good high milage so cheap but well maintained. they just respray them and sell them on.
The ex AA vans are meant to be very good high milage so cheap but well maintained. they just respray them and sell them on.
In reply to jack01:
Toyota Hiace. These are excellent vans. Almost exactly the same size as a VW transporter but without the heafty price tag. You'll be able to pick one up with far less mileage and at a cheaper price than a VW.
Need I mention that they are very reliable?
Toyota Hiace. These are excellent vans. Almost exactly the same size as a VW transporter but without the heafty price tag. You'll be able to pick one up with far less mileage and at a cheaper price than a VW.
Need I mention that they are very reliable?
In reply to jack01:
I've got a VWT5 Campervan with a REIMO Legacy conversion 4sale, email me through here for more info if you're interested...
I've got a VWT5 Campervan with a REIMO Legacy conversion 4sale, email me through here for more info if you're interested...
In reply to jack01: I've had Citroen Dispatch/Expert vans and they're an ideal size for sleeping in etc. Currently got a long-wheelbase Peugeot Partner (a bit rare) which is big enough to sleep in and takes a Moon Saturn pad perfectly, but achieves around 50mpg on trips. I've also got a VW California for longer trips and whilst they're expensive, they do hold their money well if you buy right.
In reply to jack01:
In case you hadn't noticed, the stock response to this question is to proudly sing the praises of whatever van the respondant owns, which might make the thread a little non-objective....
In case you hadn't noticed, the stock response to this question is to proudly sing the praises of whatever van the respondant owns, which might make the thread a little non-objective....
1
In reply to Jamie B:
that's the way it is tho, people aren't going say I've just spent 20 grand on this old booter and it's shit now are they?
that's the way it is tho, people aren't going say I've just spent 20 grand on this old booter and it's shit now are they?
In reply to jack01:
Depends what a mid size van is. Is it a MWB panel van, or a midi type van (car based). Fundamentally, is it aa van you will be spending non-sleeping time in, in which case something you can stand up in will be a very good idea. People will argue pros and cons of VW until their heads fall off. I've found they cost more, but then again they sell for more. Apparently spares/repairs are somewhat expensive, but then if the VW 'lifestyle' stuff is of importance to you, that's what you pay for.
We've just spent a few months looking at vans, and frankly it's possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to choose! It seems to come down to what you wil actually want from the van. One/two/more person van, weekend or weeks van etc. Ready made or convert yourself. And then there's the budget. Soooo many choices!
Good luck!
cheers
Graham
Depends what a mid size van is. Is it a MWB panel van, or a midi type van (car based). Fundamentally, is it aa van you will be spending non-sleeping time in, in which case something you can stand up in will be a very good idea. People will argue pros and cons of VW until their heads fall off. I've found they cost more, but then again they sell for more. Apparently spares/repairs are somewhat expensive, but then if the VW 'lifestyle' stuff is of importance to you, that's what you pay for.
We've just spent a few months looking at vans, and frankly it's possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to choose! It seems to come down to what you wil actually want from the van. One/two/more person van, weekend or weeks van etc. Ready made or convert yourself. And then there's the budget. Soooo many choices!
Good luck!
cheers
Graham
In reply to Tamati:
Thats what im after, or a daihatsu hijet. Pretty much same thing. Old 1.2 Model. Can even get an Awning for them.
Thats what im after, or a daihatsu hijet. Pretty much same thing. Old 1.2 Model. Can even get an Awning for them.
In reply to jack01:
I bought a VW LT35 109 LWB last year (same as a Sprinter, so not part of the VW 'cult' as such) and I have to say I am very pleased with it (reliable, relatively fuel efficient for size etc.)....although it could do with a 6th gear. I paid just shy of 3 grand for solid van with 11000 miles on the clock.
Since then I have spent about £2,000ish kitting it out, with full insulation, fridge, full gas cooker/oven combo (can do a full roast!), toilet, diesel heater, shower, fixed bed, running water etc. and I have to say having the extra space, facilities and the ability to stand up is a luxury not to be underestimated....especially with the tendencies of British weather...It also means, whilst travelling, you are pretty much self sufficient. This saved me and the gf a lot of money whilst poncing about France this year....
I suppose I am of this bias, as I live in my van pretty much full time...but it is definitely something to think about....
Also, I would advise against a Vito, they seem to be real rust magnets....
Renault traffic, Vauxhall vivaro, Pegeuot Partner etc...seemed like pretty good options when I was hunting out smaller vans last year....
I bought a VW LT35 109 LWB last year (same as a Sprinter, so not part of the VW 'cult' as such) and I have to say I am very pleased with it (reliable, relatively fuel efficient for size etc.)....although it could do with a 6th gear. I paid just shy of 3 grand for solid van with 11000 miles on the clock.
Since then I have spent about £2,000ish kitting it out, with full insulation, fridge, full gas cooker/oven combo (can do a full roast!), toilet, diesel heater, shower, fixed bed, running water etc. and I have to say having the extra space, facilities and the ability to stand up is a luxury not to be underestimated....especially with the tendencies of British weather...It also means, whilst travelling, you are pretty much self sufficient. This saved me and the gf a lot of money whilst poncing about France this year....
I suppose I am of this bias, as I live in my van pretty much full time...but it is definitely something to think about....
Also, I would advise against a Vito, they seem to be real rust magnets....
Renault traffic, Vauxhall vivaro, Pegeuot Partner etc...seemed like pretty good options when I was hunting out smaller vans last year....
In reply to jack01:
I had this dilemma. Was dead set on a Vito.
Then I went and spoke to the owner of the garage I use to see what he thought. We talked about the fleets of vans he works on for various companies. He told me not to touch the Vivaro or its citroen / nissan / peugeot clones as he has to work on all sorts of horror stories that tend to start around 3yrs old.
Same goes for the smaller ones that are like the vito body shape... 60k mikes and they start to fall apart. He said that vitos are terrible and expensive to fix. Transits are rust buckets.
He told me to think about a transporter if I had loads of cash for one with low mileage, or a Toyota hiace as a second choice. The transporters hold their value so it is worth paying more if I wanted to resell later on, but if not, save the cash and get a newer, lower mileage Hiace. Saying that he added that the transporter thing is all a bit of a fairy tale. He has one in the yard at the mo that needs a new engines at 140k miles. That's an expensive fix if you've bought a van that you thought would do 200k+ miles in its life...
So I would suggest that you think about your budget and how often you want to go and get it repaired, talk to your mechanic and see what he says and take it from there...
We could all tell you that our vans are the best but we have no idea how much money you have, how many miles you're going to do, or whether it needs to look the business too! !!
Happy hunting, its a long process but very exciting when you get there! Co:
I had this dilemma. Was dead set on a Vito.
Then I went and spoke to the owner of the garage I use to see what he thought. We talked about the fleets of vans he works on for various companies. He told me not to touch the Vivaro or its citroen / nissan / peugeot clones as he has to work on all sorts of horror stories that tend to start around 3yrs old.
Same goes for the smaller ones that are like the vito body shape... 60k mikes and they start to fall apart. He said that vitos are terrible and expensive to fix. Transits are rust buckets.
He told me to think about a transporter if I had loads of cash for one with low mileage, or a Toyota hiace as a second choice. The transporters hold their value so it is worth paying more if I wanted to resell later on, but if not, save the cash and get a newer, lower mileage Hiace. Saying that he added that the transporter thing is all a bit of a fairy tale. He has one in the yard at the mo that needs a new engines at 140k miles. That's an expensive fix if you've bought a van that you thought would do 200k+ miles in its life...
So I would suggest that you think about your budget and how often you want to go and get it repaired, talk to your mechanic and see what he says and take it from there...
We could all tell you that our vans are the best but we have no idea how much money you have, how many miles you're going to do, or whether it needs to look the business too! !!
Happy hunting, its a long process but very exciting when you get there! Co:
In reply to jack01:
I miss my LDV Pilot. It was half the price of the equivalent transit, and I never had any bother with it at all. The newer ones are a good price. Really simple to work on/convert and as I say, cheap to buy.
I'd have another one if I could afford the diesel again.
Happier with an average 55mpg out of my estate now!
I miss my LDV Pilot. It was half the price of the equivalent transit, and I never had any bother with it at all. The newer ones are a good price. Really simple to work on/convert and as I say, cheap to buy.
I'd have another one if I could afford the diesel again.
Happier with an average 55mpg out of my estate now!
In reply to jack01:
Vauxhall Vivaro convert for me, never lets me down, high top needed for getting changed though imo as my mate with VW Transporter and no high top always wished he had the high top like me.
Vauxhall Vivaro convert for me, never lets me down, high top needed for getting changed though imo as my mate with VW Transporter and no high top always wished he had the high top like me.
In reply to CarolineMc:
Good luck whatever u end up getting.
> (In reply to jack01)
>
> I had this dilemma. Was dead set on a Vito.
> He told me to think about a transporter if I had loads of cash for one with low mileage, or a Toyota hiace as a second choice. The transporters hold their value so it is worth paying more if I wanted to resell later on, but if not, save the cash and get a newer, lower mileage Hiace. Saying that he added that the transporter thing is all a bit of a fairy tale. He has one in the yard at the mo that needs a new engines at 140k miles. That's an expensive fix if you've bought a van that you thought would do 200k+ miles in its life...
>
Thats true of any van thats not been looked after but VW t4 and T5 have one of the best templates for conversions and conversion kit! I have a T5 and studied the market for a 1 year or 2 before deciding. The T5 is certainly a brilliant van for anything outdoor!>
> I had this dilemma. Was dead set on a Vito.
> He told me to think about a transporter if I had loads of cash for one with low mileage, or a Toyota hiace as a second choice. The transporters hold their value so it is worth paying more if I wanted to resell later on, but if not, save the cash and get a newer, lower mileage Hiace. Saying that he added that the transporter thing is all a bit of a fairy tale. He has one in the yard at the mo that needs a new engines at 140k miles. That's an expensive fix if you've bought a van that you thought would do 200k+ miles in its life...
>
Good luck whatever u end up getting.
In reply to jack01:
thanks for all your feedback , its very confusing area, just need it for weekends more than living in it long term . very useful information thanks
thanks for all your feedback , its very confusing area, just need it for weekends more than living in it long term . very useful information thanks
In reply to jack01:
This blog might interest you
http://throughother.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/van-life.html
This blog might interest you
http://throughother.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/van-life.html
In reply to jack01:
If it's just for the odd weekend, have you considered an estate car? I had a Laguna estate where the seats folded completely flat, even at over 6' I slept in it fine for up to a week at a time. Made a little curtain that clipped around the windows for privacy. Better mpg, insurance and tax than a van (generally) and usually much easier to drive.
If it's just for the odd weekend, have you considered an estate car? I had a Laguna estate where the seats folded completely flat, even at over 6' I slept in it fine for up to a week at a time. Made a little curtain that clipped around the windows for privacy. Better mpg, insurance and tax than a van (generally) and usually much easier to drive.
We use a long-wheelbase VW Caddy 2.0TDi with all the rear seats out which allows for a simple sleeping platform (on legs from IKEA). This is more than long enough and has plenty of room underneath for climbing gear, boxes of camping equipment etc. It has a railed curtain above the front seats and 'stick-on' insulated 'pieces' for the other windows. A super vehicle to drive and it just did 51 mpg Ancona, Italy to UK (sticking to a low-revs and lazy 70-75mph). If you need a fuel-friendly, easy-to-drive vehicle for general usage when not on road trips and if the road trips are somewhere where you mainly cook and live 'outdoors' (i.e. it's not a rainy British winter camper van), then the long-wheelbase Caddy is a viable alternative to the T5.
In reply to jack01:
Yer I have been looking at the caddy long wheelbase , they cheaper to buy than t5s , I will look into them further thanks
Yer I have been looking at the caddy long wheelbase , they cheaper to buy than t5s , I will look into them further thanks
In reply to jack01:
I have a 2004 VW T5 transporter; as others have said, it's not the most economical vehicle (but it's not too bad if you drive it sensibly).
The saving for me comes when I can take work away from home and live for free in the van. Same for holidays. Doubt it would be very good for a daily commute though...
It seems a very high quality machine, and parts last a long time, but when they eventually do go wrong/break they are correspondingly more expensive to repair.
My only issue is the lack of headroom, but you'll get this with all small vans unless you go for a hightop.
Have driven the similar size Nissan and Renault vans (Traffic and NV200 I think), and personally thought it was like skittering around the road in a go cart compared to the solid feel of the Transporter.
I have a 2004 VW T5 transporter; as others have said, it's not the most economical vehicle (but it's not too bad if you drive it sensibly).
The saving for me comes when I can take work away from home and live for free in the van. Same for holidays. Doubt it would be very good for a daily commute though...
It seems a very high quality machine, and parts last a long time, but when they eventually do go wrong/break they are correspondingly more expensive to repair.
My only issue is the lack of headroom, but you'll get this with all small vans unless you go for a hightop.
Have driven the similar size Nissan and Renault vans (Traffic and NV200 I think), and personally thought it was like skittering around the road in a go cart compared to the solid feel of the Transporter.
In reply to carl dawson:
And while I'm here, what sleeping platform do you have and which IKEA legs? I'm using a thermarest on the floor which is ok but a platform would be ideal.
And while I'm here, what sleeping platform do you have and which IKEA legs? I'm using a thermarest on the floor which is ok but a platform would be ideal.
Re: the Caddy Maxi long-wheel base
Curtains: I modified the two coat-hanger brackets above the front seats slightly to take the ends of an aluminium pole… the curtains just slide along this. (Curtains kindly made by the mother-in-law). The material for the insulated window back-outs you can get from camper van companies, along with suckers to attach.
The platform: In two pieces (for easy in and out). Made from plywood but with a few extra cross-struts to stop it flexing. Then IKEA legs. All of which tied down to the floor hooks. Then comfy 2-piece foam mattress.
Not intended to be v sophisticated. Just to be light and v quick and easy to take out when the van's needed for other purpose.
Photo will be in my profile here on UKC.
Curtains: I modified the two coat-hanger brackets above the front seats slightly to take the ends of an aluminium pole… the curtains just slide along this. (Curtains kindly made by the mother-in-law). The material for the insulated window back-outs you can get from camper van companies, along with suckers to attach.
The platform: In two pieces (for easy in and out). Made from plywood but with a few extra cross-struts to stop it flexing. Then IKEA legs. All of which tied down to the floor hooks. Then comfy 2-piece foam mattress.
Not intended to be v sophisticated. Just to be light and v quick and easy to take out when the van's needed for other purpose.
Photo will be in my profile here on UKC.
In reply to Choss:
Eerr no. The Hijet is a tiny Bedford Rascal type van.
The Toyota hiace is a large 2.5l van similar in size to a transporter.
Eerr no. The Hijet is a tiny Bedford Rascal type van.
The Toyota hiace is a large 2.5l van similar in size to a transporter.
In reply to jack01:
White transit van with 'free candy' written in red spray paint on the side.
White transit van with 'free candy' written in red spray paint on the side.
Post edited at 20:30
In reply to jack01:
Hey,
I too, am looking for a climbing van. My criteria are; something I can sleep in. Transport the family around in. That’s 4 kids and my partner and still be able to carry all the kit required for adventures.
I have gone for the Mercedes. They don’t have as much a cult status as VW or as nearly as much “pimp” kit but. As a user before said they are expensive and they are. You are paying for the badge and heritage. A good quality camper conversion can easily be £20,000
I’ve seen a lovely Merc for sale in Sheffield. Silver with 8 seats AMG edition. Not cheap. But good looking motor. No, it’s not my garage!!!
Good luck!!
Ebay has plenty of vans on it!!!!
Hey,
I too, am looking for a climbing van. My criteria are; something I can sleep in. Transport the family around in. That’s 4 kids and my partner and still be able to carry all the kit required for adventures.
I have gone for the Mercedes. They don’t have as much a cult status as VW or as nearly as much “pimp” kit but. As a user before said they are expensive and they are. You are paying for the badge and heritage. A good quality camper conversion can easily be £20,000
I’ve seen a lovely Merc for sale in Sheffield. Silver with 8 seats AMG edition. Not cheap. But good looking motor. No, it’s not my garage!!!
Good luck!!
Ebay has plenty of vans on it!!!!
In reply to fly or die:
how you rate the T5 after the Vito experience? +/-?
> (In reply to jack01)
>
> I'm using a Vw t5 after two Vito's
>
> I'm using a Vw t5 after two Vito's
how you rate the T5 after the Vito experience? +/-?
In reply to Nomics4sale:
Van X are good!
> (In reply to carl dawson)
>
> Where did you get your curtains from? I'm after some for my caddy.
>
> Where did you get your curtains from? I'm after some for my caddy.
Van X are good!
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