Our son was thinking of buying a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but emission, servicing, cost of 4x4 and depreciation has made him investigate the vaux viario avd fords transit, swb models - wth new being available at approx 0600 - he felt he would get the high eat position - three seas, masses of torge avd parked where he like iv car parks with little fear of others peoples doors dentivg his car - he drives approx 3k a year ((commutes by train to BoE/work)and if he kept t for 3, he reckons he will get about 6/k privately - he ill not use van to haul goods/building material etc adn it should be A1 nick and very, very low miles
Avy advice please!
BTW, va reg or swb types, similar to cars based on emissions?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 05/09/2009 at 21:01
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do van come with 3yr warranty? the advertiser all seem to be a bit secretive re prices/warranty/etc
Edited by paul2007 on 05/09/2009 at 20:41
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I'd have thought vans would suffer worse depreciation than cars, so this could be used to his advantage by buying a 3 year old for buttons and if it goes wrong bin it.
VED wise, the vehicle will be taxed as light goods unless someone has registered it as private, and the ved will be £190...just renewed pick up, thats the same.
You mention safety, do you mean crash safety?
If so i seem to recall downloading that Swedish insurance database that one of our lot here kindly linked to in another thread about Ncap 5 star cars, i seem to remember seeing that the Toyota Hiace is regarded as a safe vehicle.
Also likely to be reliable long term, and has a good engine..the old 2.5 landcruiser engine if my informant tells me true.
There is one downside to owning cmmercial vehicle though, his insurance will probably not cover him for driving other cars on third party cover.
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Has he tried driving a van for any serious length of time?
Big vans like a Transit are fine vehicles, and there days they usually have wonderfully flexible diesel engines ... but they aren't just big cheap cars.
* gearchanges are much heavier than on a car (clunkier gearboxes, heavier clutches)
* noise and vibration are much higher than in a car
* a van's high flat sides makes it much more susceptible to crosswinds
* those vans are significantly wider than a car, making them more difficult to park (harder to fit in a standard space, more obstructive if parked beside a road)
Maybe he's fine with all those things, and I can understand the attraction of a Transit ... but has he really checked what he'd be getting into?
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Have a look at the VW Transporter, you'll get 3 years warranty with those.
Toyota Hiace is and always has been an ace of a van.
If he only does about 3k per annum, has it serviced by a pain dealer and keeps it in good nick, he will get a good price for it if sold privately.
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check insurance first.
it's going to be about 200 quid MORE than my 2 litre petrol mondeo to insure a transit.
i've never liked the renault traffic/vauxhall vivaro. naff gearchange and uncomfortable seats.
not tried a new vw t5 yet. had a t4 (old shape) and it was quite good.
best of the bunch (i think) is the transit.
it's a shame the CBC here doesn't list the pre 2006 transit.
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Thank you all, v helpful, will re-read later and digest properly.
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Not to mention the lower speed limits that are applicable to Transit vans on single and dual carriageways.
The whole thing makes no sense at all when you think it through. Surely any old cheap car would be better-no depreciation, car park dents don't matter anyway, faster and better handling than a van, cheaper insurance. In fact unless a van load space is required the idea just becomes more and more insane the longer you think about it.
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Ok so you lose the high driving position with my suggestion. But fancies a Jeep but costs too much but a brand new van is in his price range-the high driving position in a van is about the only similarity with the Jeep...why not by a second hand Jeep or similar?
Edited by component part on 06/09/2009 at 11:31
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than you all again - we picked up our son and was talking about this on the way back from the venue we attended - arrived back 10 mins ago - update, our son did not fancy the idea avd you guys opened up my eyes as well - cheers again
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Toyota Hiace is and always has been an ace of a van.
My camper is a Hiace, and I'm thrilled with it. It is indeed "an ace of a van" ... especially if you get a 4WD automatic one like mine!
But ... it's still a van, not a car. It's noisy at mway speeds, gets blown around in crosswinds, cannot be hurried on bad roads, and it is much harder than to park than a car would be.
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Did you say 4x4 ??? !
No. I said 4WD :)
I have never needed it on a car, but on the camper it's brilliant. I can park up on deserted beaches, down muddy lanes, and all the other places your average FWD campervan doesn't dare go -- they even get stuck on wet grass.
And afore anyone accuses me of changing my mind on the subject of 4WD, do check my earlier posts. I have always acknowledged that does have sensible uses ... I just think it's daft for a suburban car to be built to cross the Sahara.
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I wasn't going to but it had been noted in an earlier post some months ago by another mischievous member who shall remain nameless - not mentioning any names just follow my eyes !
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