Which Van is best for an electrical contractor?

[Big n Daft]

Steer clear of the 1.9 TDI Volkswagen engine. The block itself is bombproof, the turbo is a nightmare and will cause all sorts of problems WHEN it fails. The 2ltr is miles better.
A 2.5TDI T4 is fantastic, getting rare in good nick and expensive for its age. Get a good one and its well worth it.
A word on the Vivaro, get the 2.5 because the 1.9's eat gearboxes and fuel pumps. The 2.5 is an all together more mechaniclly robust van.

 

[Big n Daft]

"can't beat ford for commercials, there real work horses and don't cost the earth to repair"
Hmmm..............
everyone I speak to in the motor trade says the Transit is the easiest way to empty your bank account.

 

[Big n Daft]

Wouldnt buy a combo, its a corsa on steriods.

 

[Lofty]

Had a Berlingo at the last firm, it was a waste of space (what little space it had). Now in a LWB transit on a '56 plate with 34K on it. Only thing about this is parking it !!

Cheers,
Lofty.

 

[kathwilcox]

"can't beat ford for commercials, there real work horses and don't cost the earth to repair"
Hmmm..............
everyone I speak to in the motor trade says the Transit is the easiest way to empty your bank account.

well each to there own, i've done 60k in mine in the last 2 years and all its had is brakes and tires, and i don't drive like miss daisy, i drive it like i stole it,lol

 

[Big n Daft]

"i've done 60k in mine in the last 2 years"
Get rid, its about to cost money, if its a company van...........thrash it!

 

[Lofty]

Well Big n Daft has a point. Mine's had a DMF flywheel go ( apparently a common problem) , an EGR valve ( apparently a common problem) and the handle on the side door ( apparently a .......).

The DMF ( or Dual Mass Flywheel ) is not restricted to the Transit either as it's fitted to most of there diesel engines from the Fiesta up.

Having said, I still like it and it goes well.

Cheers,
Lofty.

 

[Big n Daft]

A Dual Mass Flywheel is a way of extracting more cash out of any van owner.
Crafty buggers these van makers, Ford happen to be a bit craftier than the rest:smiley2:

 

[Lofty]

True and they won't fit a 'standard' flywheel unless you sign away any warranty.
One good thing in their favour is that our main dealer (a) has the stock all the time and (b) does keep our 'down time' to a minimum. Not sure about other dealerships but our local Ford one runs a workshop overnight, so drop it off at 5pm (ish) and collect either later that night or at 7:30am.

 

[GalTom]

Toyota Previa, it use less gas and pretty cool. It may not suit plumbersimp: but it is great for electricians.:cool3:

 

[Rockingit]

Groan!! I'm also just in the middle of trying to decide what to get as next vehicle and now my thoughts are all over the place having read this thread!! Preferred choice is to a contract hire, and with a maintenance option (so no headaches) but does anyone have any experience of this?

 

[boberty]

All vans seem to come with some horror problem or other, was looking at getting vivaro then heard of the tales of fuel pumps dealers not been able to remove injector pipes and recomending owner buy new van!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! transits with rotting wheel arches. I keep looking on autotrader but just havent found that one that sticks out. Need somthing some as i feel im just running my mondao estate into the ground. And any resale value is going fast.

 

[laney06]

I am going for a peugeot expert, it's mid size and has the three seats up front and also twin sliding doors.

Pre 2008 models, don't bother locking it. No point. Takes about 4 seconds to prise the locks out with a small screwdriver. Got one. Found out the hard way....

 

[IrishSparks]

Anyone have any experience of the Citroen Dispatch or Peugeot Expert vans?

 

[Gylesr]

Hi, im looking for my first small van as im starting out! particularly like the vauxhall astra sportive CDTI as it looks smart and isnt a slug. bit worried about the practibility of them with no side door etc and how easy too rack out?.. has anybody had one? used one?
advice needed
cheers