New Van or Old

scholar88

Hey, a family member has asked me to look on the internet to see if I can find a VW van for his construction business. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for me or anything? At a quick glance there isnt much on donedeal and the sites for garages selling this type of vehicle are quite overpriced. I was told to look around the 2010 model. Any help greatly appreciated!

Kenny Logins

VW T5s are in demand as they are candidates for surf/camper conversions. I'd look for another marque.

Bpmull

scholar88 wrote: »

Hey, a family member has asked me to look on the internet to see if I can find a VW van for his construction business. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for me or anything? At a quick glance there isnt much on donedeal and the sites for garages selling this type of vehicle are quite overpriced. I was told to look around the 2010 model. Any help greatly appreciated!

Does it have to be a vw and what model was he looking at the crafter,transporter or caddy? Without a doubt you Will pay more for a vw commerical than most other brands.

JohnBoy26

scholar88 wrote: »

Hey, a family member has asked me to look on the internet to see if I can find a VW van for his construction business. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for me or anything? At a quick glance there isnt much on donedeal and the sites for garages selling this type of vehicle are quite overpriced. I was told to look around the 2010 model. Any help greatly appreciated!

What model is he looking for? Caddy Transporter or Crafter?

Pottler

I'm currently driving an LT35, and it's a big, big, yawn. It's like driving a grey box. Flys on the motorway, but god, it's dull.. I'd rather a Hiace, and that's saying a lot. Not a big VW fan, tbh.

scholar88

Well a 00' Hiace is what he had! The VW vans from 2010 seem to be in and around 12-14K which is quite expensive. It the transporter model he is after. They do seem to be quite expensive in general. Any other suggestions? Maybe a renault or a 4 wheel drive mite be more economical!

JohnBoy26

scholar88 wrote: »

Well a 00' Hiace is what he had! The VW vans from 2010 seem to be in and around 12-14K which is quite expensive. It the transporter model he is after. They do seem to be quite expensive in general. Any other suggestions? Maybe a renault or a 4 wheel drive mite be more economical!

Good god no avoid Renault.

repsol

scholar88 wrote: »

Hey, a family member has asked me to look on the internet to see if I can find a VW van for his construction business. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for me or anything? At a quick glance there isnt much on donedeal and the sites for garages selling this type of vehicle are quite overpriced. I was told to look around the 2010 model. Any help greatly appreciated!

You cannot beat a Ford Transit.They are great for taking abuse and cheap to maintain.Make sure you get one with a steel bulkhead as it is safer when carrying stuff and makes the cab easier to heat.They are available in 3 roof heights and 3 wheelbases and either fwd or rwd. Hiaces are heavy on diesel and small.I wouldn't touch a Crafter or Sprinter secondhand personally as they can be problematic and expensive to fix if out of warranty plus most on sale are LWB ex courier vans and might be too large for a builder

JohnBoy26

repsol wrote: »

You cannot beat a Ford Transit.They are great for taking abuse and cheap to maintain.Make sure you get one with a steel bulkhead as it is safer when carrying stuff and makes the cab easier to heat.They are available in 3 roof heights and 3 wheelbases and either fwd or rwd. Hiaces are heavy on diesel and small.I wouldn't touch a Crafter or Sprinter secondhand personally as they can be problematic and expensive to fix if out of warranty plus most on sale are LWB ex courier vans and might be too large for a builder

Production of the last truly reliable Transit ended back in 2000. The model launched afterwards was a terrible van. Can't comment on a 2010 model though.

repsol

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Production of the last truly reliable Transit ended back in 2000. The model launched afterwards was a terrible van. Can't comment on a 2010 model though.

I can as I own 3 and have had 9 altogether since 2003.(4 Old Model and 5 New Model).They have hardly missed a beat and have done big mileages.One broken leaf spring, a dud battery and an EGR valve during all that time is great imo. All vans were bought 2nd hand and none were serviced by main dealers.What was so terrible about the 2001 to 2006 model?

JohnBoy26

repsol wrote: »

I can as I own 3 and have had 9 altogether since 2003.(4 Old Model and 5 New Model).They have hardly missed a beat and have done big mileages.One broken leaf spring, a dud battery and an EGR valve during all that time is great imo. All vans were bought 2nd hand and none were serviced by main dealers.What was so terrible about the 2001 to 2006 model?

Troublesome engines. Diff problems on rear wheel drive models. Dual mass fly wheel and clutch problems. The rear hubs seize in them and in extream cases have to be cut off just to change brake shoes. They are real step back from the model they replaced.

repsol

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Troublesome engines. Diff problems on rear wheel drive models. Dual mass fly wheel and clutch problems. The rear hubs seize in them and in extream cases have to be cut off just to change brake shoes. They are real step back from the model they replaced.

I haven't personally had any issues you describe.The last 350 I bought had a noise in the flywheel and the dealer replaced it prior to purchase.What van would you consider better than a transit?

JohnBoy26

repsol wrote: »

I haven't personally had any issues you describe.The last 350 I bought had a noise in the flywheel and the dealer replaced it prior to purchase.What van would you consider better than a transit?

A Hiace (though smaller and not as nice to drive) is a much better van. A Hyundai H-1 is also a much better van. A Transporter is also a better van despite giving a few niggly issues.

repsol

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

A Hiace (though smaller and not as nice to drive) is a much better van. A Hyundai H-1 is also a much better van. A Transporter is also a better van despite giving a few niggly issues.

I couldn't consider any of those as they are too small.My vans are Jumbos so the only rivals are Iveco(dirt) Renault Master(NOOOO!) Crafter (lots of costly to fix issues particularly if used on short runs all the time) and Sprinter(rust,engines,injectors,Egr valves,locks etc)I'll stick with Ford thanks

JohnBoy26

repsol wrote: »

I couldn't consider any of those as they are too small.My vans are Jumbos so the only rivals are Iveco(dirt) Renault Master(NOOOO!) Crafter (lots of costly to fix issues particularly if used on short runs all the time) and Sprinter(rust,engines,injectors,Egr valves,locks etc)I'll stick with Ford thanks

Almost everything you list that's a problem on the sprinter is also a problem on the fords specifically rust. I know someone who bought a 07 transit brand new and within a month there was rust appearing above the drivers door.

Tbh a transit is no jumbo van. All the vans you listed are bigger than it.

repsol

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Almost everything you list that's a problem on the sprinter is also a problem on the fords specifically rust. I know someone who bought a 07 transit brand new and within a month there was rust appearing above the drivers door.

Tbh a transit is no jumbo van. All the vans you listed are bigger than it.

They do one called a "jumbo" 2'6" longer than LWB and its 4 metres long back doors to bulkhead which is as big as all vans except XLWB Crafters and Sprinters which are as rare as rocking horse ****.You still haven't suggested any van you rate.Are you basing your opinions on any experience of operating vans or just picking random stuff off the net?Your comments on the size of the transit suggests limited knowledge of the business.

Bpmull

repsol wrote: »

I couldn't consider any of those as they are too small.My vans are Jumbos so the only rivals are Iveco(dirt) Renault Master(NOOOO!) Crafter (lots of costly to fix issues particularly if used on short runs all the time) and Sprinter(rust,engines,injectors,Egr valves,locks etc)I'll stick with Ford thanks

We have a 2006 Renault master van from new and it is the most reliable van we have ever had nearly 220k km on it and the only thing we have ever done with it is one wheel bearing and that's it nothing else whatsoever. It was inspected by a Renault mechanic 2 months ago and he said the ball joints aren't even worn. So from January 2006 other than servicing and tyres it has had a few sets of pads still on original brake disks 2 timming belts brake cable tightened and one wheel bearing. So I don't know what your going on about with Renault master noooo!. We have had 10 Renault commericals in the last few years and the master was the most reliable not that there was a whole lot wrong with the rest of them. Maybe if lads( not talking about you just general statement) didn't dog and abuse their vans they would be more reliable.

repsol

Bpmull wrote: »

We have a 2006 Renault master van from new and it is the most reliable van we have ever had nearly 220k km on it and the only thing we have ever done with it is one wheel bearing and that's it nothing else whatsoever. It was inspected by a Renault mechanic 2 months ago and he said the ball joints aren't even worn. So from January 2006 other than servicing and tyres it has had a few sets of pads still on original brake disks 2 timming belts brake cable tightened and one wheel bearing. So I don't know what your going on about with Renault master noooo!. We have had 10 Renault commericals in the last few years and the master was the most reliable not that there was a whole lot wrong with the rest of them. Maybe if lads( not talking about you just general statement) didn't dog and abuse their vans they would be more reliable.

To be fair the OP was talking about a 2nd hand van for CONSTRUCTION. Dogging and abuse is almost guaranteed.

Bpmull

repsol wrote: »

To be fair the OP was talking about a 2nd hand van for CONSTRUCTION. Dogging and abuse is almost guaranteed.

The master we have is used in construction but I do get your point are one got a certain amount of abuse as it was often loaded to the eyeballs with 1.5t plus and we sometimes pulled a trailer which would wiegh 2.2 ton with materials. But I do realise that if you buy a rough secondhand one its going to cause trouble but surly that's the case with all vans.

JohnBoy26

repsol wrote: »

They do one called a "jumbo" 2'6" longer than LWB and its 4 metres long back doors to bulkhead which is as big as all vans except XLWB Crafters and Sprinters which are as rare as rocking horse ****.

My point exactly. These are true Jumbo vans and are in a comletely diffrent class to the Transit.

repsol wrote: »

You still haven't suggested any van you rate.

I have.

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

A Hiace (though smaller and not as nice to drive) is a much better van. A Hyundai H-1 is also a much better van.

repsol wrote: »

Are you basing your opinions on any experience of operating vans or just picking random stuff off the net?

None of the above. I know someone who works on vans day in day out and I have worked with him before so i seen with my own eyes what's good and what's bad.

repsol wrote: »

Your comments on the size of the transit suggests limited knowledge of the business.

How? I stated the Transit was no Jumbo Van and it isn't in comparison to others. You even said yourself that the ''XLWB Crafters and Sprinters'' are bigger. :rolleyes:

repsol

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

My point exactly. These are true Jumbo vans and are in a comletely diffrent class to the Transit.

There are probably about 20 in the whole country.They are not in a "different class" they are in the same class and can carry no extra weight above the more common LWB sprinters and jumbo transit.They are only used for transporting bulky,light items hence rarity.

I have.

A Hiace. Yes a Diesel guzzling tiny van that would fit in the back of the other vans mentioned


None of the above. I know someone who works on vans day in day out and I have worked with him before so i seen with my own eyes what's good and what's bad.
I know someone who fixes planes for Aer Lingus so I am an expert on planes am I ?


How? I stated the Transit was no Jumbo Van and it isn't in comparison to others. You even said yourself that the ''XLWB Crafters and Sprinters'' are bigger. :rolleyes:

You obviously don't understand the difference between LWB and XLWB.

You stick to anecdotes you hear from your mate in the pub and I will stick to my ownership experience.You came on to a thread started by a person looking for advice on van purchase and you don't even have a van yourself.