Looking to buy VW Transporter (T5)

Enygma

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a VW Transporter T5, preferably the 130bhp model.
I reckon there must be a few good deals out there at the moment, anyone got any tips?

Cheers

lofloinn

Hi Enygma,
Well go have a few drives of a few that are for sale. Some people have had alot of problems with them and very expensive to get parts and repaired.
Al Hayes has a 2009 pre-registered for something like €22,000, a good price.
You should get a good 2004 for about €6k or €7k.
I have a 2004, it had 80k mls, bought it last year for €11k. It was a good price at the time, I thought! It has a few extras but it is a UK import, which should be a bit cheaper. The fella I bought it off hadn't a vat no. so that suited me fine, I'm not Vat registered either.
The van now has 100k mls on it, not worth selling now for me.
My van has a computer thing that calculates your MPG and it has recorded 52mpg driving into Galway from Conamara but, usaully I get about 43mpg, driving at about 50mph or 60mph. It also has Cruise Control which it better for MPG also.
Take care and take your time buying.
Liam.

Zonda999

lofloinn wrote: »

Hi Enygma,
Well go have a few drives of a few that are for sale. Some people have had alot of problems with them and very expensive to get parts and repaired.

I imagine so, and especially with a 130bhp model because i think they are a 2.5TDI rather than a 1.9TDI

Donnelly117

make sure you get the 2.5tdi and not the 1.9 as its ridiculously underpowered. i would go for the 2.5tdi at 174bhp

groupb

I have a 130 BHP 09' company , one and its running ok.
The 05' one that preceeded it blew a turbo and had the oil cooler and water pump replaced. The front suspension bushes also needed replacing. all this happened with less than 100,000kms on the clock.
They are a very dated design when compared to the likes of a transit or a trafic. The seat in mine is also very uncomfortable on a long journey.

lofloinn

I haven't driven the 1.9tdi, there are to power units in the 1.9, the 85bhp and the 104bhp, the 104bhp should be fine for light loads I'd imagine. MPG will all depend on how a person drives it but the 1.9tdi 104bhp should be good on diesel. The one disadvantage with the 1.9tdi I think is that you have to change the timing belt every 60k or 70k mls. If you have a good mechanic who is willing to do the job for you it shouldn't cost too much to get done but if you choose to go to VW garage, it could cost you a bomb.
The 2.5tdi 174bhp has massive power for pulling, overtaking but not necessary for our small irish roads. You just could not use the power. But the four wheel drive version (4-motion) would be quite usefull on our bad surfaced roads but it does steal some power from the overall output so the 174bhp 4motion would be the one to go for.
But buying a second-hand commercial van is tricky business. They are often abused. And especially when you consider what expence may be incurred in the repairs. My brother had to replace a differencial box for his 174bhp 4motion, he had to buy the gearbox also, it comes a one complete part. Cost over €5k. That allot of money.
The old Vw Transporter T4 with the 2.5tdi 102bhp is a great van. It's not as refined as the new one and the trouble again is to find one that has been taken care of.
I'd advise buy one maybe a year old 2.5tdi 130bhp, there are so many of them out there, low milage, light work done from a garage maybe if you want, you'd probably get as good a price from a garage as a private buy. I'm not sure of the prices now, maybe about €14k €15k, maybe even less. It's still alot of cash though.
Its up to the individual themselves really.
Adh mór, Good luck.

blue eyes 1974

I have a 2005 t5 with 270,000 on the clock can safely say its a great wagon its the 104bhp change t/b every 90,000 never any major problems with please god many more years motoring:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

zilog_jones

I drove a T5 kombi (8 seater) a bit, it was the 1.9 TDI 104 bhp. Wasn't too bad, though I don't drive many vans so can't compare with others. One downside was at 120 km/h in 5th gear it was going about 3k RPM so was quite noisy. I'm not sure how the ratios compare with the 2.5 models but if you're doing motorway driving you may be better off looking for one with a 6-speed box.

bugs_bus

I have a 2005 Transporter 2.5lt automatic crew cab. It's got captain seats so is really comfy on any journey. It does on average 32-34mpg. I am having some suspension problems at the moment which need fixing but for the previous post to say that the transit is a better van is to me not true. The transporter is a much quieter more comfortable van. Also without the bulk head the seats can go back further so there is more leg room if you are tall. If you are buying get a metallic colour, it looks better and will not date as quick as a non metallic colour. I have had friends whos transporter has had the flywheel break and his turbo went also, that said, his has 250k km on the clock. German engineering, you can't beat it.

Marlow

I'd second, that the 2.5 is the smallest engine to go for. Don't even consider the 1.9TDI.

I drive a T4 2.5 TDI myself with 360000 km on the clock and just going on and on and on. The brother has the 1.9 TDI T5 himself. The 1.9 is just working way too hard, which isn't good for the noise and also means, that the engine will give up/break more often.

Dated design or not doesn't really matter, but you should definatly see, that you get the right setup. Captains chairs make driving the van a lot more relaxed, so I consider it a must.

Some of the T5's have issues, like with the gearstick, the new engines etc, so I know a good few people that reverted back to T4. I'd take a T4 or T5 any day over a Ford Transit though and I've owned both T4's and Transits. The VW's are just build more solid and less "rattly".

/M

anronmor

I have a 1.9 T5 and it's given me nothing but trouble.
any garage man shakes his head when he hears it's a 1.9

That said, it's a great van. Will be buying a 2.5 next one.

vandriver

I drove a 05 2.5 T5 with about 60k miles on it and in one year it cost the company 7 grand in repairs.The DMF Clutch was €2000 on its own.Every repair seems to cost big bucks because the engine is hard to work on .

MXGuy25

WELL.... I love my Transporter T5 2.5 turbo, but.....................
It was an Australian Police van. I thought this would mean that it was well serviced etc as it was ourt money paying for the services... It had 160,000ks when I bought it and in the last 9 months I have paid $1900 for a 180,00k 'major service' which Klosters did not even replace the air filter or degrease the engine to see for oil leaks. I then have had a water pump fail, a starter motor and flywheel fail and an auto gearbox fail. Total cost on top of the purchase is up to $13,000. This is due to parts being so expensive. A starter motor cost $550 and the recoed gearbox was $6500!! That is not a new gearbox, but mine rebuilt!!! I can understand wear and tear but you are told by a very good VW certified mechanic that a new gearbox will last 100,000 at the very most!!! I love my van but find it very hard to justify it as a tool in my business. Bet no one can beat this story...

nmacc

Definitely can't beat that Aussie horror story! Mind you, everyone seems to be talking about large sums; I bought my 06 1.9 with 60,000 km for €6,000.

Basically it's been fine, but it has eaten 2 CV joints and that is a known problem on these (ask Otto). I believe the EGR valve can also be a problem, but I haven't suffered on that. Otherwise it's only had a droplink at 100,000.

Of course the 1.9 wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding and it makes the mileage very dependent on driving style and load on board. I have to run mine as empty as possible to get better than 33mpg.

The most irritating faults are the electrics. All of the door switches except the rear barn doors have failed and the front ones are a bugger to replace as they're integrated with the locks. Window switches are starting to give trouble and the stereo quit just after I got it. That's 3 Transporters and 3 factory-fitted Blaupunkts that died. All-in-all it's been reasonable, but I can sense some clutch wear & I'm terrified of the bill for the DMFW.

kincaid

would not buy the 174bhp model as mate has one and its very hard on diesel compared to the 130bhp so he says

Mycroft H

I've driven a 4motion transporter ambulance (174bhp model) and its wicked quick. Probably too fast for normal use but that comes in handy as an ambulance

galwaytt

anronmor wrote: »

That said, it's a great van. Will be buying a 2.5 next one.

No you won't : they stopped making them. You can thank the EU for that. All new ones only available in 2.0 Tdi.

If you want 2.5 now, you have to buy a Crafter.................so you're back to a 'normal' engine in 'normal' van, rather than a 'big' engine in a 'normal' van, which is what made the T5 2.5 so good.

We have an 06 1.9 Tdi and and 07 2.5 Tdi - the 2.5 is gorgeous - neither have given any trouble, and the 2.5 does a lot of fully laden + trailer.

Mind you, I've used the 1.9 with a low-loader w/car on it, and it was fine. Just don't expect to get there in a hurry is all.

BX 19 wrote: »

I've driven a 4motion transporter ambulance (174bhp model) and its wicked quick. Probably too fast for normal use but that comes in handy as an ambulance

We have some UK spec Sprinter Tiptronic's in the yard to build ambulance bodies on, and compared to 'Paddy Spec' ones they are fab.