TIFF

Looking to get a new van for my business....

Now i have always been someone who likes to buy a van/car ect outright so i know its mine...

But alot of the 2nd hand vans out there are nails...so was thinking of getting one on the drip...

What vans have you got and what are they costing you ect????

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

Stay away from the utterly bollocks vivaro/trafic and you can't go wrong!

caprizetec170

transit your only man. As above avoid opel/renault/nissan yokes with there crap gearbox. transporter not much better

r06ert

i have a 98 escort van, 1.8d
tax 205, ins was 180, they are looking for 270 this year - no change in my details
good for a run around

R4N SS

iTrader: (6)

get a sprinter - my cousin trades van and can ask him if he has anythign coming in soon - i know he is all sold out at the mo all except one van which he has literally just bought

TIFF

I have an 02 plate Transit at the minute and must admit, been looking at Vivario's, Traffics and transporters ONLY as i wanted a change......

BUT.....Looks like i will stick to a tranny...

I have thought about a Sprinter but never even been in one.......they just pass me at Mach 5 on the M40....they are fast!!!

Rs(555)

iTrader: (8)

just sold my 53 plate transporter / fantastic van but only had 33k on it when i got it
sold it 3 years later with 55 k on it so low mileage .... clutch collapsed when i first got it duel mass fly wheel shite ..cost me a grand to put right
turbo boost hose clamp broke and cost me 50 quid to replace
think i was really unlucky with the clutch !!

now got a new shape sprinter 07 plate lwb 2.2 cdi
massive van and so far so good ,its got 82k on it
try finding a good clean van with low miles on ..flipping hard

i got sick of looking for vans in the end
luckily this is a 1 owner vehicle ,but needed ,minor paint

good luck in your search

i like yourself dont like lease etc
but its up to you

TIFF

What sort of money was the Merc out of interest????

dingla rs

iTrader: (2)

i got a vivaro nowt but trouble ,gear box rebuild and clutch loads other things
wasn't my best buy

Steve the Plumber

iTrader: (11)

Im on my second Trafic now, my 1st one was great, done 123k miles, no probs at all, 2nd seems good so far but have only done 10k in it so far,

Both vans cost me 14K + vat each and I buy them outright too.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

Lease deals are good, Ł215 a month for 3 years for our motors which are reridgerated ain't bad when you consider a sprinter was costing twice as much per month

cossytonyt

iTrader: (4)

ive had transits for years, probably had 15 in total had no bother at all apart from the odd new clutch but even the clutch kits are only around Ł140 now

D16PJM

i had a vivaro, sold that after only a few weeks of ownership, then bought a toyota hiace, very good build quality had no problems but can be a bit heavey on diesel depending how you drive, i didn't go for a transit due to there being so many with rust after only 3 or 4 years, don't vey often see a rotten toyota.

Pete

Rs(555)

iTrader: (8)

think i got it at right money mate 75 +vat

i am vat registered so can claim vat back

Gazzonator

iTrader: (9)

I use a Vivaro for work everyday and it has been totally reliable so far and is quite comfy for a van too!

A lot of people say the that the gearboxes are rubbish etc but so far I've done over 50k in mine and with it being an AA van has towed cars all over the place so hasn't had an easy life!!

IMO if the Vivaros and Trafics were as bad as everyone makes out, the AA wouldn't use them for their fleet!

cosevo

As a courier (not a recovery driver as it looks ) I cover approx 70k miles a year, my other half does exactly the same, and the Transits just keep going, done 40k in this one since March this year and other than tyres/pads/service worst thing to happen was a snapped coil spring, fixed in 2 hours and back on the road the same day

Retro Al

iTrader: (1)

Are they transit sport alloys or copys?

charlie luciano

iTrader: (3)

I've recently bought a 55 plate transit connect 1.8 td great little van economical as fook


Luciano

gouch1

toyota hi ace good price but hold money well and bulit proof van
if not toyota then transit

dojj

iTrader: (3)

we are getting lumbar supports for every driver who has a vivaro in our fleet, so just goes to show how bad they are for your backs

plus all the gearboxes have got rubber selectors and everyones missing gears, with none of the vans yet having reached their first service intervals, i can see them going in for ages to get fixed

DazC

iTrader: (1)

Tiff,

Having been in the motor trade for years my advice would be this. If I was you I'd look into a 3 year lease with maintenance and replacement van hire included.

Reasons:

You pay 1 monthly fee that never changes.
You only have to pay for damage you cause to the van so as long as you look after it you'll be fine.
Your maintenance is taken care of by the lease company. You ring them, they book in with their local authorised repairer at your convenience.
They give you a replacement van if yours is off the road for any period.
You know that your van is going to cost you X amount a month and you'll never have a big bill. All you have to do is insure and fuel it and make sure your business covers that cost.
They will ply line it for you also if required.

You can also change your van every 3 years If you want to. Just make sure you negociate a good deal which INCLUDES maintenance AND replacement vehicle hire in the event of a major fault.

I'd stick with either a Transit, Merc Sprinter or a Crafter. The Transit drives the best out of the 3 and they all have their own little problems but are the best 3 out of the lot. Personally I'd love to get a 200ps Transit.

I do have to say though, the comments about the Renault/Vauxhall abortions are pretty accurate but as an owner driver, they aren't too bad as you'll tend to treat it a bit more carefully that a fleet van will. As a fleet van they are utter utter garbage. 6 grand in 9 months on average we have been spending on a every van on the fleet to keep a pile of 4 year old Movanos and Masters on the road.

andyc83

the only thing with this is in 3 years youll have spent prob Ł10k in payments and own nothing?
surely its better to borrow some money and buy ,least your left with somthing when its payed off?

orionmojo

iTrader: (1)

I've got an 07 astravan 1.3td

probably abit small for what your after but i like mine its a cracking ride, great stereo and heater and excellent mpg on a cruise. it is quite noisy though on the motorway i will say that.

but its not gone wrong yet.. at all. 97,000 miles

1.9 xr2 on 40's

whats the business?

if you can, run a connect, such good vans

i recently passed down my 57 tranny for a 10 plate and they are very good, watch the irv as they soot up and it gors slow and linkages lock up but otherwise we have maybe 50 in our cio and tey are good- we ditched the vivaros a long time ago, still have a few (all 05/06) but only for the guys who dont hassle about a new van

my co buys em outright and top specs too, top spec does rock

in teh past i had 05 connect excellent
07 connect also great altho it had been in a big smash and bodged back together
03 transit swb it was great and fwd they are great in the snow
03 transit jumbo covered 120k and was still great, was beaten as hell and i jumped a bridge every day i went to work and every day i came home
2 05 plate ivecos dailys thay ate up the miles well but did eat turbos and diffs and drove like a lorry
ive driven vivaros and they do suck bad, horrible to drive and interior is like a reno5


im thinking of goin alone and im looking for a older tranny connect as they all look moden so it could easy be new from a company face point fo view, parts are pennies and ill pay under 2k for 1 with reasonable miles of about 100k, i'd love a new un but cant see why its worth it when they still look the part and you are paying for the reg really



ll depends on your business as to what you need tho

1.9 xr2 on 40's

also my old man has vw transporters and they are very agricultural for a modern van remind me of a 97 trany, he never drives it so he dont give a fuck horrible tho and its really thursty for juice

Cragrat

iTrader: (4)

Got an 06 pepper red transit den for sale atm

One of my lads has emigrated so am down sizing atm
23k on the clock
Exec pack e/w,e/m,a/c,heated screen etc etc

No idea of value tho

yellowsierra

Here's my Van
MWB LT 35
Good daily workhorse, just makesure that the belts etc are up to date and all will be fine

furny

i bought a transit 280 mwb 100bhp 3 1/2 yrs ago, with 80k on the clock now.its been great but if buying a tranny make sure the dealer stamps your paint inspections cos when you come to claim to get the cills repainted after 3 yrs ford will refuse to do them under warrantee,even complaining to ford direct didnt do me any good

andyt

iTrader: (1)

Tiff get a transit mate

boy-racer-1

stay well clear of a fekin transit just got back after 6 hours of waiting for the rac to come sort out the transit i broike down in, out of all the vans ive driven the transit by far is the least reliable but the quickest, wishbones go after 1000 miles, electrics fuck up easily, need servicing loads, injector always goes in em, i could go all day listing the faults but its easier for me to just say dont get one, best van ive ever driven was a renault kangoo, small nippy handles good and very comfy seats

vans ive driven are

9 x 07 plate transits long wheel base and short wheel base
4 x 10 plate transits
2 x renault kangoos
2 x renault traffics
some new peugeot small van duno what its called was crap and elecs fuked up
08 pugeot expert from new, good on diesel but very slow
07 some small fiat van very unconfortable and crap handling

so its not as though i havent had some idea with vans, been driving all these different vans over the last 4 years plus others but they were all old and reliable not worth even mentioning like a 1994 ford fiesta courier van

but for a small van all i can suggest is a renault kangoo, havent come across a biger van thats decent enough to recommend other then maybe the peugeot expert

DazC

iTrader: (1)

Depends on how you percieve running your business.

What you will save on is maintenance, tax, and being without the vehicle if it ever breaks. You know your van will be costing for example 350 a month plus 200 in fuel and 100 in insurance. You know that your monthly vehicle costs are 650. You have a figure you know that you have to clear every month before you make money.

If you own your van and have finance on it and it suddenly breaks, you have the issue of replacement van hire while it's off the road, the cost of the repair if it's not under warranty and the finance payments to still repay, as well as the insurance, tax, MOT and fuel. As long as this repair is under warranty, it's not too bad but you will still be without the van. There would however be an asset to sell on at a later date providing it's still worth something when you come to sell it. Assuming the business is to continue, a new replacement vehicle would be required and usually it means re-financing again.

There are bonuses to doing it both ways as long as you cut the right deal. A termination agreement for the lease is always worth having incase you do decide you want out of it early too.

DazC

iTrader: (1)

Our Transits have been totally bomb proof. However I have a fleet of Kangoos that I wouldn't piss on it they were on fire! Had major major problems with them.

Cragrat

iTrader: (4)

Think u had some proper bad luck with transits chap
Had em since early 90s and never had much of a problem
All that springs to mind are 2 leaky windscreens and Ford sorted very quick

Tbh they are cuprinol vans imo.

Cosworth Lad

They are good vans got one at work its small but never let us down ever well 7 drivers and 6 years thats good going bulit proof tayota.Not very fast though.

Cosworth Lad

Hi mate depends how new what you want to spend.Id buy a merc sprinter 310 312 if you can find a good one that is ive got a 310 had it 10 years now and done 250k in it still has got 10 years left in it brilliant same engine/gearbox/axel and there fast they have got more torque due to there 2.9 engine.

DazC

iTrader: (1)

The later Sprinters are a 2.1 litre engine from 2000 onwards but still perform pretty well. The 2007 onwards model became a bit limp and flat though. You need a 315 to feel like you have any power now.

POPEYE

My brother has the Vito 120 cdi tiff, V6 twin turbo diesel. The cosworth of the van world,lol

Cosworth Lad

Mate be carefull iv got one its a 56 plate new shape with 100k on the clock.1 day i parked wentinside came out it wouldent start went to mercs becouse only they could fix it.It cost 1500 quid to fix it was the lock/steering shaft.few othere bits.Before this i had a 313CDI y reg had it from new with 80k only some bastard pinched it.The police came out and said that night 5 vans went missing.1 year now no news.

Cosworth Lad

Well weve got 310/412/416/and a 311 but i love the 310/412/they have far more torque the more you load them the more they give you a buzz.Were as the cdi is far more faster in accelaration but when loaded the 2.9 engine is far more POWERFULL AND RELIABLE.

DazC

iTrader: (1)

The older ones are torquey. The CDI engine was the engine out of the cars so they perform pretty well when unloaded or only carrying a small to medium sized load. They just rev well compared to the older 5 cylinder.