VW Caddy van dilemma

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Sat 25 Nov 2017 13:39
VW Caddy van dilemma - RobJP

The 1.6 TDi has been notorious for problems in VW cars. I'd not touch it with a bargepole.

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Sat 25 Nov 2017 14:18
VW Caddy van dilemma - SLO76
I ran a 57 plate 2.0 SDi for years and it was an excellent little van. Good on fuel, utterly reliable and reasonably comfortable. Yes it wasn’t fast but it was perfectly able to sit at limit busting speeds on motorways and although B road overtaking took a bit more planning than the 1.9 TDi it managed fine. The joy of the non-turbo SDi is obvious, no turbo, DPF or DMF issues to worry about and on a used van you want to keep it as simple as possible. The 1.9 TDI is a much better engine but it’s much harder to find and commands stronger money.

The pre 2015 1.6 TDI is prone to DPF and EGR issues post emissions “fix” so I’d avoid unless you can afford to buy post 2015. The 2.0 TDi is rare and quick but steer clear of the DSG auto which is ever rarer.

Used vans are a minefield, firms generally will only offload for two reasons. One, it’s leased and reached the end of term or two it’s not cost effective to keep it any longer. When buying an older van you have to ask yourself why the last owner has offloaded it. Vans aren’t like cars, people don’t upgrade because they just fancied a change, they do so because it was costing too much to keep it or they have a policy of leasing them.

The best way to buy a used van is ex lease, preferably ex NHS which is where my Caddy came from. It was three years old when I bought it, I paid £6,700 plus vat and got £3,500 plus vat back after over 4yrs of trouble free use which I’d say is great value. I could’ve sold it ten times over too with the phone ringing constantly.

If at all possible I’d up your budget and try to find a later model that was built after the emissions scam or try to find that rare privately owned gem like mine but those account for a tiny tiny fraction of used vans on the market.

Stay away from anything with the PSA 1.6 diesel or Fiats 1.3 diesel. Both are soft and trouble prone past 60,000 miles.

Let me know roughly where you are and I’ll take a look at what’s available near you that I’d look at.

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Sat 25 Nov 2017 22:01
VW Caddy van dilemma - mss1tw
. The best way to buy a used van is ex lease, preferably ex NHS which is where my Caddy came from. It was three years old when I bought it, I paid £6,700 plus vat and got £3,500 plus vat back after over 4yrs of trouble free use which I’d say is great value. I could’ve sold it ten times over too with the phone ringing constantly. If at all possible I’d up your budget and try to find a later model that was built after the emissions scam or try to find that rare privately owned gem like mine but those account for a tiny tiny fraction of used vans on the market.

I've worked on quite a few NHS sites where they get used like go-karts and also out on the road I generally see NHS vehicles getting the wossnames thrashed out of them, disability minibuses obviously excluded. Also maintenance can be hit and miss.

Otherwise your advise is as always spot on!

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Sat 25 Nov 2017 23:38
VW Caddy van dilemma - SLO76
"I've worked on quite a few NHS sites where they get used like go-karts and also out on the road I generally see NHS vehicles getting the wossnames thrashed out of them, disability minibuses obviously excluded. Also maintenance can be hit and miss."

Not surprised they'd be driven hard with some staff but as they're all on contract lease they'll be serviced on schedule or they'd be penalised, every example I've seen that has come from the NHS has a full service record. Plus they are offloaded at the end of term rather than when they're no longer economically viable.
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Sat 25 Nov 2017 14:52
VW Caddy van dilemma - Avant

Another source of Caddy vans is ex-British Gas. My elder son is a plumber and has had no trouble with his 59-reg Caddy SDI which I think BG sold off when it was about 3 years old.

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Sat 25 Nov 2017 20:29
VW Caddy van dilemma - badbusdriver

You don't say what your budget actually is, but an autotrader search of 2.0 caddy's aged from 2008-2011 (just to broaden the search base slightly) comes up with 50 vans. Of these, just 6 are tdi's, the rest are sdi's. Of the 6 tdi's, the cheapest is £5390 (2010 with 73k miles) and none have a tailgate. But, for long term reliability the sdi would be the best option, for reasons SLO has already pointed out, even though it is pretty slow with only 68bhp. Is there some specific reason for wanting a tailgate?, i don't really get the appeal myself. The only scenario where it would be an advantage over the usual vertically split rear doors would be if you spend a lot of time standing at the back of your van, in which case it would provide shelter in the rain.

And by the way, the 2.0 is 1968cc, the 1.9 is 1896cc, so the 2.0 definately is a 2.0. I think you may be getting confused by the number 20 on most caddy's, which actually refers to the GVW (gross vehicle weight) of 2 tons. So you can have a caddy badged "C20" with the 1.6tdi, 1.9tdi, 2.0sdi and 2.0tdi.. The 1.6tdi actually replaced the 1.9tdi, both of which have around the same power, 104bhp and 103bhp respectively, but i think most would agree the 1.9 is the stronger and more reliable of the two.

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Sun 26 Nov 2017 07:40
VW Caddy van dilemma - JEREMYH

I run a courier company and if you want comlete reliablity a late 1.9 Berlingo 08 09 10 60 will never let you down

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Sun 26 Nov 2017 14:50
VW Caddy van dilemma - focussed

I have a friend in the UK who is also a plumber, and he bought an ex British gas caddy van.

It's non-turbo, he says it's a bit of a slug, but goes forever on a tank of diesel and is just what he needs for local running around.

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Mon 27 Nov 2017 10:57
VW Caddy van dilemma - daveyK_UK

I would avoid a Caddy unless it was the SDI, so many probems with them - check out the forums especially the german forums that you can translate into english.

We decided against Caddys as a partner company had a fleet of them and found them to be money pits.

Also the parts for the Caddy in terms of VW list prices is far more expensive than rivals from FIat and Peugeot/Citroen

The best value van in the UK is the FIat Doblo be it new or used but the diesel engines have problems from 4-5 years old, athough can go to a high mileage if looked after (even the 1.3 diesel which drives fine). I have now seen a few high mileage 1.3 and 1.6 diesels still going strong without issues.

If you can find a Doblo with the 2.0 diesel engine, this is the one to get - it is reliable if serviced.

One tip for the 1.3 or 1.6 diesel to help its longevity, give it a engine flush with every service. This is meant to help considerably. .

The Peugeot Partner / Citroen Berlingo 1.6 diesel from 08 onwards gets alot of stick but again , whle I have always got rid of our vans at 4 years or 80,000 miles, I do know of people with 10 plate and 11 plate Berlingos with the 1.6 diesel approaching 150k miles with few issues.

The one common issue seems to be the gearbox syncros wear around 6 years old, although im sure it can go earlier or later depending on what type of traffic the van is driven in (aka changing gear alot).

It was only since the 16 plate that the Citroen Berlingo Multispace and Peugeot Partner Tepee where offered with the fantastic 1.2 puretech petrol engine, you wont find one for your money.

They did sell in small numbers a 1.6 petrol engine from 08 onwards but its neither quick nor eonomical, its only good if you doing short journeys.

There are plenty of ex motability Berlingo Multispaces and Partner Tepee's around, would you consider one of them and simply remove the wheel chair ramp? Might get a bargain.

I would avoid the Renault Kangoo, the build quality is not as good as the Citroen/Peugeot, VW, Ford or Fiat and they do have questionable component and suspension quality.

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