Hi,
I'm currently thinking of getting a small van,. something along the lines of a vauxhall combo or renault kangoo. To be used for commuting in the weeking, mountain biking and sailing at the weekends and occasionally crashing in the back of it.
I've got about 2-2.5k to spend, what do you guys recommend?
Cheers
Dave
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A Berlingo would get my vote.
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As I've said before I really don't like the combo as a vehicle so would advocate that you have a really good test drive before you buy one. It might well suit you but I've certainly not been impressed with it I'm afraid.
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I work for a local motor factors and we have had over the years a huge numbers of small vans for local deliveries. The worst were Citroen C15s which were frankly terrible. But we've now moved onto a selection of newer models- Berlingos, Kangoos, Combos, Transit Connects and the new VW Caddys. The fave with the drivers is by far the Combo, with the Berlingos at the bottom- basically they're the 1.9 non turbo and are dog slow, closely followed by the Kangoos. They're the 1.5 dci models and on 3 we've had to have new alternators as the bearings went on the pulley, ones had a new gearbox, on another warning lights flash at random and we've had 1 turbo go.
We've only 1 Transit Connect which has now developed a missfire under acceleration but so far the Combos and the Caddys seem well upto the task. If it was my money I'd definitely have a Combo.
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Are you not able to use an estate car?
More to choose from & you'll avoid the VAT element, of cost.
VB
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Escort van.
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Combo is the best value for money ,and you often get remaining Vauxhall warranty
Ive driven all the different vans mentioned here ,what about a Focus Estate (even the police use these as dog vans!!)
The Escort is too old and too slow ,you will also struggle to find an unrotten one !!
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Problem with using an estate as a van is I end up using it as a van and wet sails/muddy bikes etc. all over the back seats isn't ideal.
The difference between the things like the combo and say astra vans seams to be the height, are the load lengths similar?
There seams to a lot of ex Postie vans around, I know our seams to drive his pretty roughly, are they maintained well or just to a bare minimium?
Thanks for all the help guys
Dave
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>>are they maintained well or just to a bare minimium?>>
How long is a piece of string?
It probably all depends on which part of the country you live in.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Ex Royal Mail vans, were once my bread & butter!
Sold hundreds - literally, enough to keep 3 paintshops running full time! But other than routine pre-sales service, it was rare to have any surprises.
Unfortunatly, things did change, a bit - if you get accountantants telling the RM workshops, their maintainence budget has aslo to cover accident damage, too!! Work that one out!!
Depending on the area, low mileages can be worked arder than higher - think of stop start, every few roads - or a long run from one farm, to the next.
A couple of the more obscure mileages, were the Escort covered hardly 100 miles & was 6 yers old - it was actually a GENUINE Royal Mail owned van, loaned to the Eastenders film set & spent it's life at Elstrre.
Then the immaculate, not even a year old, 170,000 miles coverd. It was delivering ROYAL mail, for Her Majesty, to Scotland most nights!
Their car sized vans have a life cycle of 3 years, more or less regardless of mileages, usually.
Combo currently being de-fleeted, was largest single Vauxhall van order placed - think BT are now on their way to Vauxhall, too now.
Not so many escorts left, so prices up a bit.
& your Q on load length, www.whatvan.co.uk might help
VB
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Look slike its going to a combo then, thanks very much for all your very knowledgable help everyone.
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There seams to a lot of ex Postie vans around, I know our seams to drive his pretty roughly, >>
I thought that was the only requirement on the application form for Royal Mail van driver jobs.
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Problem with using an estate as a van is I end up using it as a van and wet sails/muddy bikes etc. all over the back seats isn't ideal.
Assuming you only need two seats,as you would have with a van,you can keep the rear seats of an estate down.Mine is in this state so I use it as a van but with the advantage of being able to put the rear seats up on the odd occassion they are needed.It willeasilt take a three seat sofa,fridge freezer or a couple of mountain bikes.
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Hi Canoeist!
I run a 1.7DTi combo and think its a great van. My wife also uses it for her business and really likes driving it. It is nippy for all its 75bhp and rides well. The load length is longer than the opposition. There is a version with a folding passenger seat and guard for the driver and passenger which hinges to allow longer loads to be carried. Very economical - 50 mpg easily but if you do a lot of exceeding the legal limit it will probably return 45mpg (and poss less with a canoe on top. The gear linkage ball joint can come apart, but the new spec one is metal, not plastic and should be ok if its been changed.
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I thought i'd mention, to identify an ex-royal mail Vauxhall Combo the reg plate are for example: Ex 51 xxx they registered at a dealer in Essex i do believe. Not to mention they're all red of course :-)
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Not sure where the Essex registerd idea, comes from, other than there is a trader that reconditions RM vans & re-enters them in auction, with new number plates, from that area.
Direct entries from RM will be non-branded on the plates, other than occassionally with Roayal Mail set into the perspex.
All the vehicles are registerd at Local VRO as normal.
VB
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We run a 1.8td Fiesta van, goes like stink, fun handling, nearly 200k miles and no squeaks or rattles though perhaps not big enough for you.
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Royal Mail vans are registered in dagenham at a special centre that liveries them up hence the essex reg number
Most or nearly all of these start with E*52/03 ***
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I ran a Combo as part of a mixed fleet, and it was the worst for breakdowns by quite a long way!! We may have just had a Friday afternoon one, but we kept it less then a year before handing it back to the lease company and getting a Ford as a replacement.
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I run a LDV Pilot as my main vehicle. Its very good. Not exactly small as a Berlingo or Peugeot Partner but its very narrow. My wife has a 405 and the Pilot is slightly narrower!
The LDV has a 1.9 Peugeot diesel engine and does about 35-40 mpg.
Mine is a crew cab so you can get 6 people and 6 bikes in it with no problems.
You can get a R/S/T plater for about £1500-£2000.
The only downside is the grip on icy roads! but then that affects all larger vans I guess.
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