New van, which company?

prunudo

Hello,

I was hoping for a bit of help. I'm thinking about buying a new van, maybe 3-5 years old. I'm open to suggestions but was thinking along the lines of the Primastar style and size of van. My main question is what if any is the difference between it, the Traffic and Vivaro, ie. dealer back up and reliablity etc.

I was also thinking about the VW transporter but reckon it might be a bit pricey.

Thanks for all replies.

Slidey

My knowledge of them is mostly limited to what the fail on during the DoE test.

Track rod ends and tie rods are a very common fault with them. There is a bolt that can come loose, afair it is the front bolt in the bottom arm and it does a fair bit of damage to the subframe. (I have heard of this but not seen it so not 100%)

Gearboxes are notoriously weak in these and are supposed to be a bit of a bastard to take in and out. Be prepared for a hefty bill if the need arises.

As a self confessed Volkswagen fanboi, I still cannot bring myself to recommend the transporter. The older ones with the torsion bars are cumbersome and the newer model is said to be unreliable.

TBH, if I had to buy a small van around that size I would find a cheap transit, (preferably RWD) and put aside money for a stater and flywheel. After that they are not too bad, handy enough to work on so most indy's will work on them and parts are cheap. The achilles heel with them (apart from the dumb starter/flywheel issue) is rust. Buy a clean Irish one and body schultz it before it happens and it should last you a good while

Kristopherus

Mercedes Sprinter swb. Very reliable if a wee bit pricey.

prunudo

Slidey wrote: »

As a self confessed Volkswagen fanboi, I still cannot bring myself to recommend the transporter.

I'm fond of the vw vans as well, had a couple of caddy's in my time (old model) and they served me well.

Re sprinter, hadnt really taught about them, there tends to be mainly the larger ones out there and kinda wanted to keep the van small enough so that it can still double up as car to a certain extent.

Cheers for your help and suggestions

gofaster_s13

Hiace all the way, only problems are front anti roll bar link bushes(very cheap) and around the 100,000 mile mark the top ball joints on the top wishbones and the rear diff front mount bush, other than these parts the only thing you have to do with a Hiace is put Diesel in it. Volkswagens And Mercs are a much nicer and better finished van but give plenty of stupid problems as imo they are way too overcomplicated for a work vehicle also you have to deal with the worst dealer network who seem to think that you should feel privileged if they even answer the phone to you. As regards spare parts for VW/Mercs don't even think about going in on your own to buy them from the dealer;)

cormie

What will you be using the van for? This will surely effect what options are available to you?

prunudo

cormie wrote: »

What will you be using the van for? This will surely effect what options are available to you?

Generally, it will be for landscaping. Need it to be comfortable enough to drive around at weekend, big enough for mixer, wheelbarrow etc etc.
Thing the i've found in the past is that the bigger the van the more crap you end up carrying around.

Initally i was thinking 04/05 Caddy but then was thinking get the next size of van. As I said before i'm open to suggestions.

101sean

Avoid Renault (inc Opel Movano/Vivaro + Nissan Primestar - rebadged Renaults) or anything French, nothing to do with a recent match though. They tend to assemble things in an eccentric manner, fine for when new with good engines, try and maintain them later when out of warranty and you'll be cursing!

My Father's Trafic camper (admittedly an older model) is on it's 4th gearbox and putting new brake discs on involved stripping the front suspension and rebuilding the front hubs :eek:

If your in it long term buy something either Japanese (making sure it really is), something very common and well supported like a Transit or built like a tank (VW or Merc).

Spent 2 weeks back in UK recently driving a Merc Vito automatic, quite a pleasant drive, company I used to work for uses mostly Mercs.