Which 9 Seater?

The Dench

Hi All,

Newbie here (long term lurker - first time poster.)

I'm looking to buy a private nine seater which will be used only on school runs in Dublin.

I've narrowed it down to either a 2014 Ford Transit Custom -ex rental car - (doesn't bother me.) or a low mileage 2013 Citroen Dispatch Combi L2 version.

The Transit can be seen on Done Deal and the Dispatch can be seen on Autotrader UK - Cargiant. Sorry I can't post links to the two vehicles - I haven't done enough posts to be allowed to.

The Transit will cost approx. €28.5k and I can land the Dispatch, VRT paid for a smidgeon over € 20k (I've imported twice before from the UK, so I know what I'm doing)

My question to you boardies is, which one do I get?

I don't care about how it looks or about features or comfort levels - all it will be used for is to transport children to and from school. Reliability and safety are my two big issues. Is it worth paying the extra € 8.5k for the known quantity that is the Transit.

Thanks for your thoughts........

Atlantic Dawn

I'd go with the Transit myself, going on looks and potential resale. Make sure you check with your insurer and with VRT office prior to purchase to see that the vehicle exists on their systems, if it's a one of version no officially available from Ford it might not be possible to VRT or insure it here.

The Dench

Thanks Atlantic Dawn,

Sorry about the confusion, I'd only be importing the Citroen. The Transit is for sale in Ireland. A main Ford Dealer in Munster has links to a car hire company and sell their Transits that come off hire. I've seen about 8/10 for sale so far this year and have to take the plunge before schools are back in September.

SmartinMartin

The citroen of course. Great diesel engines and 8.5 grand cheaper?

colm_mcm

Those tourneo customs aren't a great yoke by all accounts. Friend drives one, door came off, hinges broke few weeks old. Had other problems too,

Vito/v class and transporter/caravelle should be looked at too.

The Dench

colm_mcm wrote: »

Vito/v class and transporter/caravelle should be looked at too.

I've looked at both of these options (at home and in the UK)

They are massive money. I reckon there is a difference of between €7/8k for same year models of the above and the Transit.

colm_mcm

they are nice though

id rather a big pile of money I suppose.

The Dench

colm_mcm wrote: »

they are nice though

id rather a big pile of money I suppose.

The big pile of money currently belongs to the bank. Fortunately I have convinced them to give me a little off the top of the pile to purchase a motorised vehicle!!

Seriously though, on the back of your post I spent a bit of time relooking at both of these models and may be about to take the plunge on a 2012 Vito from the UK. Sourced from Autotrader from a Mercedes Benz (commercial vehicles) dealership, it's a nine seater no frills with low mileage which I can have landed in Ireland with VRT paid for just under € 26k. (Add on about € 300 for flying over and ferry back.)

Only issue, and I'm not too concerned about it, is the fact that the 6 month warranty that they would normally offer does not carry over to Ireland. They have offered me a decent discount off the list price because of this and have suggested that I could purchase an extended warranty from the likes of Mapfre or CarProtect.

They have assured me that the car will be serviced and undergo any work that needs to be done before I would collect it.

Thoughts?