Van buying advice please.

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MarkJunedd

Active Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
361
Location
Swansea
Car
98 CLK320 Sport
Bit of advice please gents if you can. Basically we are signing for a house tomorrow :bannana:but its old and needs a lot of work as there was an old woman living there and nothings been done to it for the last forty years (seriously !!) so the next few months is going to be knocking down walls, ripping out the kitchen, putting in a new bathroom etc etc and thats before i even think about the jungle in the back garden, so i'm looking for a van to use for the dirty stuff. I dont want anything as big as a sprinter or anything as small as a Vauxhall combo, but it needs to able to fit general stuff like plaster boards, timber etc in and to run to the dump to get rid of stuff, but also be decent enough to drive here and there to pick up stuff, Ebay is going to be my best friend for the next few months. Anybody recommend any good reliable vans up to the task ? budget about £1500 ish.
 
For your exact requirements I think you need to push your budget to nearer £2000 and I would recommend either a Vauxhall Vivaro or a Renault Trafic.

You could go the Transit route, but at that price they tend to be 'builders' vans if you know what I mean.

I buy and sell vans for a living so if there's anything else you need to know, just ask!
 
I'd get a SWB low roof Sprinter for that sort of money. And I'd get an older one, non CDI version, most of those will be 208 models. The 4 pot is a bit slow but perfectly adequate a 5 cylinder is nice.
 
For your exact requirements I think you need to push your budget to nearer £2000 and I would recommend either a Vauxhall Vivaro or a Renault Trafic.

You could go the Transit route, but at that price they tend to be 'builders' vans if you know what I mean.

I buy and sell vans for a living so if there's anything else you need to know, just ask!

Was thinking about a Traffic to be honest or a Vivaro but what are they like for reliability/ parts costs etc? Pushing the budget to 2k is out of the question i'm afraid, I've got to sell my Jag as it is to fund the van purchase .
 
Was thinking about a Traffic to be honest or a Vivaro but what are they like for reliability/ parts costs etc? Pushing the budget to 2k is out of the question i'm afraid, I've got to sell my Jag as it is to fund the van purchase .

I think for your £1500 budget you may need to alter your ambitions with regards what you expect from the van.

There is a massive difference between vans priced between £1000-2000, more so than any other price range.

On that basis, either a non-cdi SWB Sprinter or a SWB 2001ish Transit with the dura-torq engine if possible.
 
I picked up a Nissan Vanette for £460 including 5 spare wheels/tyres (4 alloys, 5 steelies). Needed an oil change, but after that did the whitehat rally without any issues. Yes, the panels aren't totally straight and the seats have a rip... but it drove well...

It's now sitting in my driveway waiting for the next infosec... as the overall rally winner it's won a place of honor...

I would look at the "not so popular" vans, they'll cost less and you'll be able to get something a little more pristine for your money.

M.
 
On that basis, either a non-cdi SWB Sprinter or a SWB 2001ish Transit with the dura-torq engine if possible.

If i go for a transit i'll def try to get the duratorq engined one as i know the banana engine is crap. SWB sprinter sounds good but are the non cdi's turbo ?
 
If i go for a transit i'll def try to get the duratorq engined one as i know the banana engine is crap. SWB sprinter sounds good but are the non cdi's turbo ?

Not on the 208/308 I don't think.

If you find one that isn't too rusty for £1500 you will get your money back when you come to sell it. Try and buy one private and then you get a better feel of the history as opposed to a trader.
 
I have 4 vans, Trafic, Transit, Master and a Kangoo. All were bought new and the oldest is the best. The Renault Master is a great workhorse and we've only had two problems ( Power steering belt and clutch) in 7 years. It has a good payload and nice to drive for a big van. The trtafic is only a year old so the jury's out on that one but we've had plenty of trouble with the Transit during the 4 years we've had it, mostly electrical which I believe is a common fault.

Have you considered buying a trailer instead and hiring a couple of big skips? Having done up a couple of properties myself I've always found having a skip outside far better than running back and forward to the dump which is very time consuming and tiring, especially after a hard days graft.

You do right getting a lot of stuff on Ebay especially the wall & floor tiles, excellent value

Remember DON'T DO IT CHEAP DO IT RIGHT!
 
On your budget i'd look at the VW T4 Transporter 1.9d or 1.9 td, ultra reliable and easy to work on.
 
Although a trailor would be good it's too 'open' really for what i need. Basically if i find a cheap (good quality) kitchen or bathroom or patio doors for example i want to be able to jump in the van and go and get it without worrying about losing half of it on the motorway or it getting ruined with rain. Same thing with timber and plaster boards really, if i buy a lot i'll have it delivered but if i find i need 1 plaster board for example then i can pop to b+q which is 3 miles down the road and get it.
 
If you are going to be carrying timber & plaster board etc, you may be better buying a MWB van because most come in 8' lengths, which you can't always fit in a SWB van.
 
Although a trailor would be good it's too 'open' really for what i need. Basically if i find a cheap (good quality) kitchen or bathroom or patio doors for example i want to be able to jump in the van and go and get it without worrying about losing half of it on the motorway or it getting ruined with rain. Same thing with timber and plaster boards really, if i buy a lot i'll have it delivered but if i find i need 1 plaster board for example then i can pop to b+q which is 3 miles down the road and get it.


Try and keep away from B & Q, poor quality, over priced and never never order anything in advance off them! Find a local builders merchants and tell them your doing another property refurb and negotiate a trade discount. The least you'll get is 10%. Shy kids get nowt.
 
Good advice there ,thanks a lot.:thumb:
 

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