Van

[Gerry]

Ok - am buying a van in April, not sure which one yet though !

Tempted by a Vauxhall Vivaro, nice size - good reviews - better looking than a Transit and by all accounts more reliable.

Dont like the baby Transits - Connect or whatever they are called - unreliable by all accounts and prob not big enough once I have had racking and work area and tools and stuff into it.

Pity there isnt anything between the 2 in size.

So - what you got and what do you recommend from the world of vans ?

UP to £4K inc vat

Gerry

[PureParty]

Pug Boxer is decent value for money, I almost went that way when I bought my van, but in the end went for a transit

[gunpowderplot]

transit all the way

[Arthur]

My employer has about 300 vans. The VWs (mostly LT35s) are solid workhorses and nice to drive but a bit heavy on fuel. The Citroens of the same size were all dead -falling apart- by 75000 but cheaper on fuel.

[smiths]

Do not buy the vivaro, clutch and gearbox problems along with the electrics, and heavy fuel consumption and how do i no this i have one! If you are tempted by one make sure the gearbox moves easily into all gears if it fails it is box out with new clutch and slave cylinder while you are at it, costs including box rebuild £800 to £1200 and these are very common probelms

[Signum]

Originally Posted by smiths

Do not buy the vivaro, clutch and gearbox problems along with the electrics, and heavy fuel consumption and how do i no this i have one! If you are tempted by one make sure the gearbox moves easily into all gears if it fails it is box out with new clutch and slave cylinder while you are at it, costs including box rebuild £800 to £1200 and these are very common probelms

This range of vans you talk of is a model built be GM (General Motors).

Vauxhall Vivaro
Nissan Primastar
Renault Traffic

Same chassis, body, fixtures, fittings etc etc, but.......but, the once difference is the cab (dash, seats) and the engine gear box - when looking for a van, transit is a FORD (Fix Or Repair Daily), and Smiths wouldn't be the first person to comment on the gear box that Vauxhall use. Got an uncle who has sold cars for 20 years, worked at most the dealerships in Essex, confirmed the same problem.

So far in Renault Trafic, i have done 65,000 miles, in 1 1/2 years, trouble free (touch wood), other than a broken wiper motor which was my fault...........lots of snow, the rest is history .

If you want a van in-between, the Peugeot Expert would be spot on. More cubic area than the connect, but smaller than say the transit etc. Yes its French, but they normally do good engines.

[Gerry]

Cheers guys - just been trawling some review sites for all of the above - owner reviews that is - and of course owner reviews all moan and say what crap their van is - whatever the make

[ambientskies]

Merc Sprinter - the best van on the roads & just they go-on for ever

[njmchase]

I was looking at the Peugeot Expert and the identical Citroen Dispatch. Neither are as large as a Transit or Vivaro - being able to stand up in these I think is always a plus and not possible on the Expert / Dispatch, but would cater for most shows upto £5K. They come with the steel bulkhead and there were some good deals to be had on the slightly older version with different engines and a variety of access doors etc.

As an example... gone now but was available last year..

Auto Trader UK - PEUGEOT EXPERT 900 HDI 1997cc

[PureParty]

would cater for most shows upto £5K.

must be tardis like