It's come to that time when my old Maxus needs replacing. I've discussed this with my local peer group and many are warning me not to go the autobox route. I do under 20K miles per year, 50% london and 50% A-roads / motorway. MPG isn't important as the van is always fully loaded ~ 3499kg Gross. I won't buy French on principle and fell out of love with Ford when I sold my smiley faced transit. The van will be modified for AirCon installation/ service (under floor storage, awning, motorcycle transport system/ramp, custom refrigerant storage racks, ventilation, secure copper / tool storage/racks, compressor, tracker, Cat 1 remote signalling alarm, 6 channel CCTV, deadlocks, gas cooker, beer fridge, microwave, inverter, leisure battery, solar panel charger, DVB receiver etc). Base van is £35K +vat delivered. Any words of wisdom? I'm I mad to go the autobox route? Any other quality vans I may be missing?
I had a 2004 Sprinter with the semi-Auto box option a while back...a fantastic van,I should have kept it
I'll sell you my priceless Ford Escort van if you wish. 150k, blown head gasket, smokes a bit on start up, 10 months mot and I'll even sweep the rubbish out of the back! One careful owner - not sure which but I'm sure one has been out the cast of many.
I've got a brand new Ford Courier van. It's a lovely thing to drive, quiet and comfortable, but the fit and finish of the panels is bloody awful. And the back of the van is mostly taken up by the slanting bulkhead; I'd be tempted to take it out but I've a suspicion it's the only thing holding the van together. It's a nice looking van and a lovely thing to drive, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend one.
OK...test driven the manual MY2013 316 MWB HR cdi. Great motor, easily went in the gate into the yard (it's tight, then an even tighter right hand) and a bargain at £30K+VAT....but I'm so tempted by the V6 3000cc with the auto box.....and only £5K more!
my first work van...........you know you need it.....900cc of pure fury. or pure furry. just bought a new t5 vw transporter......niceeeeee.
MY2013 316cdi MWB HR manual ordered... Delivery Monday 2nd March.... Now the fun and games start. £1000 on physical security, double that on electronic. Awning, racking and new internal lighting.
Safety recall via DVLA!! Did they know I was a Ducati rider? SRV1500 Possible oil leak from timing chain tensioner, risk to following traffic and risk of fire. Nice note from DVLA By not promptly acting on a safety recall letter ....you may. Commit an offence of using a defective vehicle, particularly in the event of an accident or other traffic offence. Put your operators license at risk. Affect any claims made to your vehicle insurer. And it goes on!
I bought a 2013 LWB Daily with 56k miles on the clock last month...clean and tidy but not mint,still got 18 months factory warranty on it....t'was an ebay auction but I bowled down to view and negotiated an extremely good deal...in fact so good I was offered £2500 more than I paid for it within hours of putting it on the road. The only real downside is the fag smell in the cab,it's awful,truly,truly awful...so bad I'm considering replacing all of the interior trim...headlining/seats etc,to get rid of the stink...
I got a 58 plate Vito Sport, V6 3.0 L that is auto, done 70k miles, RWD, no issues, goes like stink, always at least 50% loaded, have actually had 2 ton in it to just drive up my gravel drive, just goes and not misses a beat.
