Which van to go for

kincaid

Hi
im looking to buy a van year 2004 -2006 ..
i like the vw transporter tdi but they seem to be pricey, dont like the transits, trafics, vivaros etc at all but mercedes vito looks good but someone says they not very reliable but whats van the best to go for?...

thanks

wiger toods

I wanted a vito too, because they do look the business, but your right, people dont often seem to have nice things to say about them.
The new look transporter is pretty cool looking also, but stay away from the renault traffic, nissan/renault primaster, and opel/renault vivaro!
I got a caddy in the end. It has a few niggles in it, but good all the same.

ID like to risk the vito someday for the craic! surely by the time i can afford one, mercedes will have sorted out the rust, electrical problems, etc. etc.:pac:

_Conrad_

wiger toods wrote: »

ID like to risk the vito someday for the craic! surely by the time i can afford one, mercedes will have sorted out the rust, electrical problems, etc. etc.:pac:

Not a hope i'd say! They'll continue churning out overpriced badly finished crap like they've done with their vans since the mid 90s. The vitos do look fairly fancy compared to others but is it really worth the extra hassle that they're well known to give, just for better looks when it's a van after all, meant to work not look pretty

kincaid

I need a bigger van than a caddy hence why i was going for a transporter or similar..so the vito is as bad as what they say...
So the transporter would be the van to go for then?

_Conrad_

kincaid wrote: »

I need a bigger van than a caddy hence why i was going for a transporter or similar..so the vito is as bad as what they say...
So the transporter would be the van to go for then?

I don't know if it's as bad as everything everyone says, but they're as bad to me as i say they are. Most encounters i've had with them have been frustrating or expensive or in some other way negative. And nobody who i know personally who has owned or driven one or even people i've just randomly spoken to have ever been able to report trouble/hassle/frustration free motoring from a vito or sprinter.

While transporters are not faultless either there are far more cases of happy trouble free transporter ownership

Slidey

Ah now, I don;t think it is fair to compare a Vito to a sprinter.

If you can find a SWB old model Sprinter and have it checked before you get it you could have a good van.

I have an 02 one (it is a LWB b4.6t) that I bought with a known issue and it has given me no bother

colm_mcm

The hyundai h1 is worth looking out for if you were thinking transporter or vito

Standard:
170hp
RWD (with esp)
Twin sliders
Glazed bulkhead
Twin rear doors



Know a few lads with them and all are happy.
Think you could buy them new with vat for €15k at one stage in 09

They're called the iLoad now I think

broro22

Hiace. Theres a reason they have barely changed in 15 years(they actually work)

colm_mcm

broro22 wrote: »

Hiace. Theres a reason they have barely changed in 15 years

That and Toyota never got it together to homolgomate a van for the European market (much the same way as they never replaced the Avensis Verso or Previa in Europe)

Hiace is basic, limited in roof height, double sliders and swing doors are all cost options, safety equipment is minimal and driver comfort is well off the pace. I sold them for years, there are reasons to buy them alright but it doesn't make them a class leader or default option.

kincaid

don't the sprinter cdi give injector problems ??
The hyundai is way out of my budget and the hiace i had a 2001 model which i found to be very hard on diesel.

broro22

I think the only van you haven't ruled out is the transporter so you've kind of answered your own question.

kincaid

OK So the transporter would be the pick of them then?

Solnskaya

And Transporters are reliable since when? They are not even guaranteed to make it home from the dealers when you go to collect it new(mates '10 reg narked its 'box on the way home! Dealer apologised and said"drop it in and we will have a look at it!!" Dealer didn't seem hugely surprised either. Nor, more worringly, embarrassed. My last one ate its turbo in double quick time, and what a muff fest getting that fixed was. Like the look, not so sure about the metaly stuff.

broro22

kincaid wrote: »

OK So the transporter would be the pick of them then?

Not in my opinion. rwd transit would be my pick (have 2 of them didn't say this earlier because they'd been ruled out in the first post) there are a few issues with them but they're all well known and easily fixed, parts are dirt cheap and half of the van drivers in the country cant all be wrong.

Or the hiace like i said already if you want something smaller they might be hard on diesel but by the time the vw is finished chewing up flywheels clutches drives and gearboxes it'll leave the extra drop diesel cheap (vw parts are expensive) and before im pulled up on it so are toyota but you dont need to buy as many.

Slidey

Flywheels, starters, excess end float in the half shafts, stupid stupid fcukin bonnet set up and let's not forget rust. There is no other van on the market that can rust like a transit. I have come across 02 ones with rotten cross members already

broro22

Wheel bearings, back door hinges, crank dampers, washer bottle pumps, ball joints, wishbone bushes, sliding door handles, drivers door seals......

Still wouldn't have anything else.