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Replacement Van Required
My Renault Trafic van was severely damaged in an accident yesterday. I’m expecting it to be written off as the front end and entire side has been badly damaged. I’ve had the van from new but wouldn’t get the same van again due to reliability issues that seem to be common place with these vans once they get a few years old.
I was thinking of SWB Transit, Mercedes Vito or Volkswagon Transporter. I want to get the best I can afford (perhaps new or nearly new) as I intend to keep it for a long time, but want something that has a reputation for reliability and durability that was lacking in the Renault.
Any recommendations/suggestions?
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46 Replies
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looked into a lot of vans recently,
vito’s have rust issues, still. as do sprinters. even as soon as 5yr old,
transporters, electrical probs and very expensive,
transit, sounds like a box of spanners clattering around in the engine bay, usual ford issues i’m told,
vivaro/trafic/primastar gearbox prob around 80k miles on a good few of them, cambelts and service religiously and they’re supposed to be fine.
i was looking at 3-4yr old vans but as the budget was reduced, so was the newness of the vehicle but, i eventually got a LWB vivaro in black for about 2.5k on a late 03 plate, a few little knocks but not a speck of rust anywhere, 125k miles and i need to spend about £350 to make it 100% tip top again, not bad in my book!
fwiw, i couldn’t find a single vito of that age for similar money, unless it had been to moon and back and, bar a few which had ben sprayed, they were all rusting!
i don’t think you’ll go much wrong with the vivaro trafic shape. three manufacturers can’t all be wrong!
oh, noticed the other day that my previous employer has stayed with transits for the third lease period in a row, they had sprinters in 98-01, then transits since, they do about 160k in three years so i guess that says something good about them.
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I have had a FWD transit lwb from new…….over 8 years old and has done a huge mileage.
Still on it’s original clutch, exhaust system and the cam cover has never been off. It gets a service by me every year and other than brake pads/discs/drums and a set of wheel brearings it has been trouble free.I know some don’t like Fords but my experience has been good.
Hope no one was hurt in the bump?
John
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I have a mk6 lwb Tranny. Been good as gold other than needing a fuel pump recon! 🙁
If you go the transit route make sure there’s no diesel leaks around the pump… can work out a trifle expensive!
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I’m interested to hear these comments as I have been thinking of down grading my van to a Transporter or similar. I currently have a Transit MWB Medium Roof, 06 plate and only done 30k miles, just went for full service and only issue was worn door roller and tighter something on the steering column so still strong.
My issue is it is too big for my village and parking is an absolute nightmare as I can’t get in to any of the under cover parkings and there are so few open parking spaces and can end up taking over 30min just to park 😕
So was looking for similar to what Phill is so reading with interest.
cheers
Warren
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sod the replacement van Phill
are you alright?
can not help with the van recommendation have not had one for two years, sub all my fitting/need for van out these days.
Paul
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can’t recommend a van Phill, I hope neither you or Alison were hurt
Lynn
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Thanks for the answers and the concern.
It was Alison that was in the van alone when it happened. She’s okay apart from a few bruises and a sore hand and chin caused by the airbag going off. She stayed at home today and has been very upset about the whole thing. I’m just glad she was driving the van and not the car as I feel she was better protected by being in the van (it was hit by another van that lost control and veered over the road crashing into her).
The last couple of years have been unusual in that both my daughter and son have been involved in traffic accidents recently.
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Good to hear there is no permanent damage, vans can be replaced they are only bits of tin and plastic.
pass our regards to Alison and wish her a speedy return to health.
Paul
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Glad to hear no serious injuries, hope Allison recovers quickly.
Vans, transits still rule the roost.
but you need to buy something that meets your needs, regarding what you will carry in it. What size of sheet, how much weight and even towing capacity could be relevant.Peter
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I’m going to replace a courtesy vehicle for another business I have, and I’ll be going VW T5. Admittedly it’ll be a mini-bus, but it’s still the same thing. I personally like the drive of transits, but as much as they’re a nice van they do lack style. The old Vito really was pretty nasty, the new one is better, but it doesn’t lend itself to being written as well as some do. The Vivaro and like, nice drive, nasty gearbox problems, and awkward to get to oil leaks as well.
I know the Volkswagen is a a fair bit dearer, but if you’re buying and not leasing, it’ll save you money in the long run. If you bought a nearly new van, and kept it 5yrs, the Vivaro/Transit etc will become virtually worthless, few grand at best. The T5 will still make proper money, while setting a good image all the time you have it. Just a thought, Toyota Hiace is a fair bit of kit, and they’re value for money. You can as we all know have problems with any make, but it’s nice to hedge your bets a bit. My best suggestion is get yourself a BMW X5 and block the windows in, then just hope you have an understanding accountant. 😀 -
quote Bob Clarkson:personally like the drive of transits, but as much as they’re a nice van they do lack style. 😀
Thats because style and practicality are 2 different things, a van needs to utilize the available space to carry as much volume and weight as possible. and also be reliable and as economical as possible.
style should be the last thing you look at when buying a van,
If you cant get an 8×4 sheet in it, then its not a van 😀Peter
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I agree with Peter. I’m not interested in anything "stylish" I want something practical, durable and reliable that can do what I need it to do.
My old Traffic was bought and loaded up with goodies such as air con, electric windows and abs brakes all as extras… apart from the abs brakes I’m not convinced the other extras were worthwhile. 😕
I’ve been considering the Nissan NV200 which is a brand new van (so no history regarding reliability), but it has great economy and great carrying capacity for it’s size – just not convinced it is big enough (load space 2.04M x 1.2M between wheelarches) but then again I was thinking a roof rack system that would accept an 8×4 sheet laid out flat would solve this?
The Tranny is the ideal solution – but I suspect it will be difficult to find a good one unless I buy new.
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I agree things have to be practical, and there is obviously no point in buying a van that can’t do the job. I only gave my opinion, that being Volkswagen, if it were my own money. I obviously sent the wrong impression with style, perhaps I should have mentioned build quality, reliability etc.
Also when a VW is 10yrs old it’ll still make 5k+ even if it’s been really well used, a 10yr old Transit or Vauxhall is getting close to worthless.
I also thought I could be a little helpful and informative as my friend has in excess of 100 commercial on their site, and any warranty work that needs doing has to be authorised by them, this I think gives a fair picture of what is and what is not so likely to give you heaps of trouble. -
I’m also desperately looking for a bigger van! Sick of looking at crap, think its going to be a transit or a vivaro but as others have said the gearbox issues are very worrying! Ideally I want a lwb vito but can’t find any around my price range. Mwb transit with a screaming engine it will most likely be then 🙁 noisy bloody things. As long as it gets an 8 x 4 sheet in and my motorbike that’s will do
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Glad to here Alison is OK.
If you go the transit route if it’s FWD have the gearbox selector checked – there is a bolt in the side that can come loose and drops in the box. It hits the crown wheel and holes the box. Takes about an hour to check and threadlock it. Better than a grand for a new box as you can’t exchange the other if it’s holed. -
quote Bob Clarkson:I know the Volkswagen is a a fair bit dearer, but if you’re buying and not leasing, it’ll save you money in the long run. If you bought a nearly new van, and kept it 5yrs, the Vivaro/Transit etc will become virtually worthless, few grand at best. The T5 will still make proper money, while setting a good image all the time you have it. 😀I just bought a vw T5 100k and 105ps enigine march 05 for £2500.00, couldn’t get a Vivaro / Transit anywhere near that money
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Hi Phill, glad Alison is OK although a bit shook up.
As for vans, I love my SWB Transit.
I bought it 6 months old with 6500 on the clock and saved many £’s on the list price.
Very comfortable ride and great panels for your signs/lettering to go onto.
Also, and very important in my choosing was that I can get an 8×4 straight in
perfectly. I have a rack on the one side and signs go in and are clamped to this very easily for transport to site. -
Phill, hope Alison is ok, it’s always a shock having a big accident like that.
quote Ian Johnston:quote Bob Clarkson:I know the Volkswagen is a a fair bit dearer, but if you’re buying and not leasing, it’ll save you money in the long run. If you bought a nearly new van, and kept it 5yrs, the Vivaro/Transit etc will become virtually worthless, few grand at best. The T5 will still make proper money, while setting a good image all the time you have it. 😀I just bought a vw T5 100k and 105ps enigine march 05 for £2500.00, couldn’t get a Vivaro / Transit anywhere near that money
that’s a bargain dude!
Bob,
I agree that the VW’s are well built but, they not without their problems, regarding prices…. it’s all relative, I spent a long time trying to decide whether to buy new or 3yr, in the end a change of personal circumstances, including a house move, forced my hand and drastically reduced my budget so I spent a long time looking through all the options available!from memory, a new, fully loaded vivaro lwb crew cab will set you back about £23k, a fully loaded lwb transporter crew cab will set you back around £34k (this is from me ticking all the extras boxes to see what prices came up).
assuming you keep the vivaro (2.5L, crew, alloys and all the toys) until it’s 5yr old, it’ll still see about £6-7k on a private sale, cost of around £3k per year. the equivalent transporter will make about £8-9k, thats a drop of £4.5 – 5k per year. obviously the lesser loaded models will be worth less and will have cost less but, that for me was a deciding factor against the vw.
I personally think the vw’s used prices are artificially bolstered by the surfing fraternity, they pay ridiculous money for these vans. that said, many are turning away and looking to different makes as the prices have got so mad! i’m not gonna even start to haggle on a transporter when i’m up against a mad keen spotty oik in his first set of bermuda shorts who’s got no clue on value, a fresh bank loan and some new ribbons in his dreadlocks!
re the vivaro trans probs, yes, they’re well known for it but it’s not every van and, they’ve no more problems than any other van really. we had new transits in 2000, they all at some point went back for new pumps, alternators and other ‘not insignificant’ parts. a pal has had three transporters from new (he’s a surfer too!) and, lucky for him he’s an auto electrician, now a few years old but almost from day one he had one prob here, another there etc, despite being under warranty it was cheaper to fix himself rather than take days out.
anyways, swings and roundabout with all of them,
Hugh 😀
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Ian, if you can buy T5’s for £2500 on 05 plates, keep doing it and sell them on, reckon there’s more money in that than making signs.
Hugh, you’re spot on in my opinion, I didn’t realise T5’s were that much dearer than Vivaros though. So ok, if it’s new it’ll hurt, but 5yrs old I’d pay the extra and get the T5. The whole surf bus thing is a massive contribution to the price, but the quality is still there either way.
There really isn’t an obvious choice, and everything has the potential to give lots of problems. Transits have pretty much as many gearbox problems as Vivaros, new Vitos have yet to prove themselves after the rubbish the last model was. The thing is paying over 20k for something that is basically nasty has to be a bitter pill to swallow. The whole logic of the car buying world often puzzles me, I know someome who’s paid over 30k for a Mondeo, ok it’s top of the range, but it’s a Mondeo, you can buy a proper car for that sort of money.
I don’t travel any distance for my customers, if they are over five miles away they come to me or it simply doesn’t happen, my days of wasting time chasing jobs has long gone.
My own signmaking vehicle of choice is my 16yr old LWB Vauxhall Frontera, that I paid £160 for 2yrs ago. It’ll take an 8×4, I can use it as a work bench, and I can deliver a sign to a customer who’s struggling with his business and it doesn’t look like I’m making a fortune. This won’t work in many environments, but it works for me. I would never even think of using my personal car to go and see a customer. -
quote Bob Clarkson:Ian, if you can buy T5’s for £2500 on 05 plates, keep doing it and sell them on, reckon there’s more money in that than making signs.
Hugh, you’re spot on in my opinion, I didn’t realise T5’s were that much dearer than Vivaros though. So ok, if it’s new it’ll hurt, but 5yrs old I’d pay the extra and get the T5. The whole surf bus thing is a massive contribution to the price, but the quality is still there either way.
There really isn’t an obvious choice, and everything has the potential to give lots of problems. Transits have pretty much as many gearbox problems as Vivaros, new Vitos have yet to prove themselves after the rubbish the last model was. The thing is paying over 20k for something that is basically nasty has to be a bitter pill to swallow. The whole logic of the car buying world often puzzles me, I know someome who’s paid over 30k for a Mondeo, ok it’s top of the range, but it’s a Mondeo, you can buy a proper car for that sort of money.
I don’t travel any distance for my customers, if they are over five miles away they come to me or it simply doesn’t happen, my days of wasting time chasing jobs has long gone.
My own signmaking vehicle of choice is my 16yr old LWB Vauxhall Frontera, that I paid £160 for 2yrs ago. It’ll take an 8×4, I can use it as a work bench, and I can deliver a sign to a customer who’s struggling with his business and it doesn’t look like I’m making a fortune. This won’t work in many environments, but it works for me. I would never even think of using my personal car to go and see a customer.fair points!
my personal car (merc estates, people carriers etc) have always been my work vehicles, never really justified the existence of a seperate van for the amount of hours i’m able to work in a day. even now, the van i’ve bought has extra removable seating so i can sell the car, it’s actually alot better on fuel than the car too! just a bit of a pig to park, have to remind myself about it all the time where there are barriers etc!
anyways, must get on!
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Have a look at the Citroen Dispatch, I’ve had 2 both from new. 1 I had for 11 years and this last one is just a year old and the newer shape. 2 side sliding doors and 3 seats as standard and they are competitively priced.
Alan D -
MWB MR Transit for me. Can take an 8×4 stood upright with ease & a 10×5 will fit in fine at an angle. Because it’s front wheel drive, the floor is lower so even at 6’3" I can pretty much stand up in it.
Reliability over 10 years has been fab, but the only downside is fuel economy as it’s the older non common rail engine. I’ve heard the newer ones are much better on fuel though. Proper workhorse of a van.
IMO T5’s are the ultimate van if you spend an awful lot of time in it, but by God do you pay a premium for it.
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My thoughts are veering off to consider a smaller van fitted with a roof rack capable of carrying an 8×4 flat. Anyone use a system like this and what are the drawbacks?
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Time strapping everything down….my old van use to drive mew nuts loading and unloading at times.
Do you put the ladder on the rack then the panel – the panel then the ladder 😕
Get your clobber in the back and there is no clear space to drill that odd bit of ally out of the rain lashing down.
Having run a small van for about 6 years I see more negatives than positives.
It all depends on what you intend the van for Phil. If she has to be an all rounder then I wouldn’t go to smaller than a SWB.
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We always found it a nightmare loading, tricky to get the sheets fully secure, but there would be big cost savings so I guess it depends how often you are out fitting and how often what you are fitting would need to go on the roof?
G
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two thoughts as Im in the market for a new van, roof racks ok for carrying 8 x 4 wood but not composite panel which damages more easily without lots of packaging 😕
secondly a lot has been said of vivaro gearbox problems – I believe from mechanic friends these and braking issues have been cleared up post 07 models
John
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Just had a glance on the net, you can get a new transit for £12000+vat. If you paid that, set it against tax and towed it to the scrap yard in 10yrs it’s sub £15 a week, if you’re not too bothered about driving something old, which it would become, it does make a bit of sense.
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Phill
have you thought about frails,
like they have on glazing vans,
you could still have a roof rack for laddere etc, and an easy way of transporting panels with a smaller van?Peter
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Also for transporting sheets, I bought one of these
easytrailer.com.au
The bed is 8×4. So your sheets fit between the wheel arches and I have a ratchet strap that goes from the front to the back. My sheets won’t be going anywhere. We hardly transport sheets so found this the best method. Handy for transporting our scaffolding tower as well.
Trailer folds up and doesn’t take up a lot of space.
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I use to have a SWB low roof transit with a good rack on the roof. I ended up with the roof loaded with tower all the time, inside full of tools. could fit sheets of 8×4 in the back. I bought it to park in underground car parks but as soon as I put the roof rack on it I could not get it in car parks, so I got sick of loading the roof and bought a LWB Citroen relay for £5000 with 28000miles. I have roof rack bars and ladder on back door but only need to get on the roof if I need to carry 5M banner other wise it all goes in the back. I have been told it is against health and safety to go on the roof of a van now. Only thing I dont like about second hand vans is most of them are ex fleet driven by people who could not care less about the van so you get lots of small niggles that take 15min to fix. Next time I will buy a brand new van but this will last me along time yet.
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Toyota Hiace LWB
8 X 4 Fits in the back no probs.
No wider than a large car and fits under most
height restriction barriers, so far anyway 😀 -
Dont buy a small van,if you haven’t got a big one for carrying loads. it’s a pain in the ass.
AIn
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I very much realise I’m in the minority here, but I honestly think style is pretty much on par with usability with regards to our vehicles. As I said, I use and old LWB Frontera, that has a scrap value only. But if I were using it to promote my business it’d be a very different story. In my mind, as a signmaker, it is my job to make somethig look and advertise the best it can, this I interpret as professional, style and class. An ugly van with racks nailed to it is far from a good starting point. If there is no option, such as glazing van, do the best you can, but don’t buy the problem if you don’t have to.
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quote Bob Clarkson:I very much realise I’m in the minority here, but I honestly think style is pretty much on par with usability with regards to our vehicles. As I said, I use and old LWB Frontera, that has a scrap value only. But if I were using it to promote my business it’d be a very different story. In my mind, as a signmaker, it is my job to make somethig look and advertise the best it can, this I interpret as professional, style and class. An ugly van with racks nailed to it is far from a good starting point. If there is no option, such as glazing van, do the best you can, but don’t buy the problem if you don’t have to.
Bob, bit of a contradiction in terms,
you drive a frontera when visiting clients,yet sing the praises of a VW, surely you are using the frontera to promote your business, if you visit your clients in it?
as you say the frontera is scrap value only, nothing works for it, no style, no economy, no reliability. so how do you justify turning up in it?
my opinion is that if you turn up in an old wreck, that is how you are perceived.
which is why I cant get my head around your argument
😀
Peter -
I get what he’s saying Peter, but know what you mean.
I’ve hated using estate cars, 4×4’s and people carriers for work but had little choice until recently, just because one uses something, does not mean they don’t want to / wouldn’t ideally be using something else.
I would put money on it (had i got enough to spare!) that my having used cars has cost me money… in as much as my ‘business image’ was right there with a transit van and a magnetic sign from vistaprint, regardless of signing it. it probably even attracted some customers that i didn’t want and would ordinarily avoid,
now i’ve got my van, with enough seats -or soon will have-, and conveniently decked out in a way which is useful to me, i’ll sign it and hopefully never go back to ‘having to make do’, ok, it’s not a new van but, working the hours i’m restricted to, it’s good for me and portrays a much more serious / professional image for the business.
Hugh
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The reason my opinion may seem odd and a contradiction, is the fact I personally don’t want anymore work than I already have. Consequently I will not spend a penny more than I need to on a work vehicle, I only have to save spoiling my own car. Yes Frontera is worthless, but it is reliable, economy doesn’t matter as it doesn’t do a lot of miles, but it will an 8×4. If it were unreliable, I’d simply dump it.
Most of my customers have used me for years, and really couldn’t care less what I drive, it aften actually gets a laugh. They in turn recommend me to enough people for my business to tick along nicely. My professionalism and image is being driven about by my customers now.
It wasn’t always the case, I have had nice vans and written them up, with the sole objective to get work. But having worked in a small town for over 25yrs, there’s not a lot of point now, most people know who I am.
To put perspective on this, what I’m saying is, if you’re going to get a van to enhance your business, get a nice one and write it well. If you need image, you must get it absolutely right, don’t try and fail.
If I’m paying decent money for something, as I do with my personal cars, I certainly don’t buy Vauxhall, I buy quality built makes. The same would apply if I were to buy a van for decent money, hence praising VW, Toyota etc. This is why my first post on here, was what’s the very best cutter and software, as I’ll pay top money for top products. but pay the minimum possible for poorly build budget items.
In my opinion Hugh, you’ve got the best balance you can, considering what you’ve just said. -
quote Peter Normington:Phill
have you thought about frails,
like they have on glazing vans,
you could still have a roof rack for laddere etc, and an easy way of transporting panels with a smaller van?Peter
I thought that was the ideal solution Peter but on further investigation I realise that the frail would have to extend beyond the passenger door (preventing access) to fit an 8×4 whereas this wouldn’t be a problem with a roor carrier.
Bob has a good point that I also agree with. And I honestly do believe that van signs are a great way to advertise. But If the van is a bit dilapidated it doesn’t create a good impression.
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I have an Peugeot expert with an 8×4 roof rack, I also use a light weight 8×4 trailer, oh and a Burgman 125 scooter for nipping around, but towing the trailer behind the scooter gets a few funny looks , regards Graham.
PS sorry to hear about the accident. -
Well I ended up with a Nissan NV200.
It’s smaller than the old van but has a 2M loadspace which extends to 3M (with the bulkhead removed).
We decided on this vehicle after analysing what the van is most used for and decided this would meet our needs while being more economical and easier to drive and park.
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nick the alloys off the red car behind would look fab on the van.
you have done something i would not. ( about to be shot down in flames)
i would have angled the logo to read upwards on both sides 😮looks good nice van
enjoy and pleased its sorted
chris
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Phill Having read through the thread as it progressed I would have been put off the smaller van because of the problems fitting everything on the roofrack, unless I went down the route that Peter suggested with the side rails.
Do you do much in the way of shop facias or did you go down this route because you don’t do a lot of that sort of work.Chris, I will be shot down in flames with you because I would have done it the same as you, probably a personal preference but I always think it looks better done that way. 😉
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quote Chris Wool:you have done something i would not. ( about to be shot down in flames)
i would have angled the logo to read upwards on both sides 😮I have to agree – we wanted it to slant bottom left to top right on both sides but decided not to in order to keep the space clear for the tel. no. and website on the passenger side of the van.
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Ok, as much as it is traditionally considered a no, with regards to writing downwards, in this instance it really doesn’t seem to matter. It’s probably because of how nice the word SIGNS looks in that size, style and colour. It also looks a nice little van, a good working package all round in honesty.
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Well it’s now nearly two months since the van was written off and I’m still having problems settling with my insurance company and trying to re-claim my road tax.
At the time of the accident (whilst Alison was lying injured in the ambulance) I had the presence of mind to remove the road tax disc from the van 😕 and sent this off to the DVLA requesting a refund.
Anyways – I received a letter from the DVLA yesterday telling me my claim for a refund on my road tax had been declined. I called their "helpline" today to be told no one had notified the DVLA that the vehicle had been written off (I assumed the insurance did this). The way around it was for me to fill in a SORN declaration.
But – then I was told there was another problem, my name was spelled wrong on one of the documents. The registration document had me down has "Phil" (spelled with one "L") where as my claim form spelled my name correctly as "Phill" (with two "L’s".
Can you beleive it? My name was miss-spelt on a form so they were declining my claim for a refund of road tax.
I hung up in disgust and exasperation
:headbang2:
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I guess Phill or Phillip is not on ur birth certificate 😉
I would be livid at that point… i mean I call myself Dave 99% of the time but I am David.
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quote Phill Fenton:Can you beleive it? My name was miss-spelt on a form so they were declining my claim for a refund of road tax.
I hung up in disgust and exasperation
:headbang2:
Bet if you had NO road tax they would have fined you whether your name was spelled wrong or not 🙄
john
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