What van man!

[terrycoe1]

Hi I'm currently looking for the best cheapest reliable van to run ! And storage wise for all your tiling needs what vans can any one reccomend

 

[swanman]

Yes
you can't go wrong with the fiat doblo
they are cheap to buy but a brilliant van
i bought one last year on a 11 plate and never looked back
the one I have is the 16 v multijet

 

[swanman]

By the way I used to live in wickford essex
i moved to cornwall in 2009

 

[terrycoe1]

Ah sweet I have been looking at the fiats and Renault kangoos !ah wickford not far from me Chelmsford Cornwall lovely place been there a couple times on a summer break

 

[swanman]

Yes not a bad place
look at vospers
they are a fiat dealer
renault vans are very good as well
it was a toss up between the two

 

[Chalker]

It comes done to budget and how much mileage that you will do.

If you don't do much mileage, buy the lower cost vans, like fiats,Renault, Nissan etc. cheaper to buy, but don't seem to hold their values.
if you do big mileage, go for a ford at the lower end then Volkswagen and Mercedes.
the merc and Volkswagen are built to do 300,000+ miles , but if they go wrong can be expensive. The fords will still do high mileage, but far cheaper on parts.
hope this helps.

 

[Andy Allen]

I bought a renault trafic ....not impressed to be honest they don't seem very reliable. ...I had a transit before and wish I had gone for another one..

 

[Fliselege]

I had a Doblo as a company van for a year, firm leased about 10 of them, never had an issue apart from the Fix It Again Tomorrow leg pulling from mates and a blow out in middle of a tunnel in Oslo but that was down to potholes not van. Went back to my old firm and now use Transit & Hiace and although great workhorses, Doblo nippier, easier to park, and handled better.

 

[lizzardtong]

im thinking about swb ducato with 2.2 ford engine in it. they got issues with egr valves apart from that they are decent. if you are after smaller go for doblo 1.9 without turbo.

 

[Dave]

Transit or connect .

 

[White Room]

im thinking about swb ducato with 2.2 ford engine in it. they got issues with egr valves apart from that they are decent. if you are after smaller go for doblo 1.9 without turbo.

What does that do....heard of a few vans having problems with it.

 

[lizzardtong]

egr valve is responsible for "adding" fumes to inlet manifold so engines are a bit greener. if they are stuck due to residue ecu goes crazy and air to fuel ratio is not good and it hurts fuel economy and performance of an engine.

 

[Andy Allen]

Just had egr valve go in my trafic cost £160 to put right. .

 

[lizzardtong]

Just had egr valve go in my trafic cost £160 to put right. .

hope you replaced it for oem quality. btw. you can always block it of.

 

[poynton phil]

I got a Vivaro, an just love it

 

[White Room]

Just had egr valve go in my trafic cost £160 to put right. .

Was it running badly or just doing alot of juice that made you get it done....

 

[Andy Allen]

Was it running badly or just doing alot of juice that made you get it done....

I had no power below 2800 revs.
This normaly means mas sensor or egr valve.
Garage I use plugged there lap top into the ecu and it came back with egr valve when they took it out it was a cheap make and was stuck open so it was replaced with a quality part and works fine now.
You can rotate it 180 decrease to block it off but as mine was a cheapy I decided to replace it.

 

[andy8758]

My van is my most important tool. It's stocked to deal with anything I expect to face on the job. It often carries all my materials to a job (addy and tiles can quickly add up to half a ton load). It's big enough to carry over boarding sheets and an overhead cutter when necessary. Sometimes it has to carry the lot.

The cab is my office and rest room. It's big enough to sit my dogs in (admittedly not a necessity for every tiler). The load area serves as a cloakroom and work space when necessary.

But all this is unimportant when compared to reliability. My first van was a Transit just 3 years old. It broke down 5 times in the next 2 years. It cost over £2500 in repairs. When I finally came to trade it in it was suffering from a rotted sub frame - the only people who would give me anything for it was webuyanyvan.

I personally prefer a Transit sized van, but a lot of tilers use the smaller vans and get all their supplies delivered.

Since the the transit episode I only buy VW Transporters. Never let me down. Fuel consumption currently 38mpg. The Transporters are not without their problems, some owners have suffered d gearbox troubles, but all mine are great. They are more expensive to buy, but much cheaper to run. Ford charge more for spare parts than the equivalent BMW costs - God help anyone who has to replace clutch flywheels on their Transit. Then when you come to sell you discover how much value the Transporter keeps - my last one lost just45% over 3years and it was classed as "poor" condition- that's due to 3 years of abuse! And all Transporters are built with galvanised bodies - rust free bodywork.

vehicles are very much about personal taste. Some people love individuality of Fiat, Citroen, and Vauxhall vans. Some only ever feel comfortable in Fords - there is a reason why there are so many Transits on the road, it's probably the most successful van ever made. My advice is buy what you personally like - if you have the bad luck to get a duff van, get rid of it and get another.

 

[widler]

Ive had , Vauxhalls, renaults, fords, peogeuts,fiats, Mitsubishi and now got a vito .
Worst by far vauxhall ( it was in 88) next was transit (about 1990) both broke down most months.
The rest have been good vans.
Spend a bit more and get a vito or transporter, its your livelihood you always need a van.by a long way the best vans on the market .
Id buy 2nd hand , get a vito or vw with 100000on it its like buying a tranny with 20000 on, or so my mechanic told me [emoji15]

 

[Andy Allen]

Imo when looking for a 2 nd hand van try and find one with a good service history and 1 owner or as least owners as poss..

 

[mike1979]

I've got a transit connect high top lwb and it can carry 850 kg it's a great van

 

[Ken Bruty]

I just got myself a VW Transporter T4, I had a Transit before and it just dissolved, it was reliable for 3 years, but the bodywork just disappeared in front of my eyes, and then the fuel pump went, steering pump and water pump all within a couple of months, cost me a fortune in repairs last year, I just lost heart with it in the end. The Transporter is so economical it's unbelievable, it's a 2.5 litre 5 cyl turbo and sooo nice to drive and not many miles on the clock, it's worth trying to find the extra money for one if you can you won't be disappointed

 

[terrycoe1]

So what would you class as decent mileage on a second hand van !?? I'm looking at vans£2500 budget most have 90 - 100 thousand on the clock is this classed as low mileage for a van !?

 

[mike1979]

Have a good look around and take your time I bought my transit connect lwb high top for £2600 on 50k with one owner it's on a 04 plate had it now for 3 months

 

[andy8758]

It's not about how much you spend upfront with a van. It's about what you can afford each month. I have to earn £400 Each month to pay for my van. That's the first 6 hours I work each week. I reckon that's a fair cost to bear, but you gotta decide what works for you. I never will own a van this way, but I will always have a reliable van..... Bargain.