Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Russ Chadd on August 30, 2011, 09:25:48 am
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Hi fellas
I am looking to upgrade from my Vauxhall combo to a larger van the problem is there is so much choice out there and i was wondering which vans seem to be popular with other carpet cleaners.
Im looking for something compact, no larger than a VW transporter.
Cheers
Russ
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We run:
Transit Connect SWB (our 4th one)
Mercedes Vito SWB (Our 6th one)
Mercedes Sprinter SWB (our 8th one)
The above is based mainly on the fact that in the 100,000 miles we keep em for they have only ever needed tyres, exhaust and bulbs and the service we get from the dealers.
We have in the past run VW Caddy vans and still would but VW decided to pull the commercial status from our local dealer and tell us they cant service it.
The most popular vans customers of our have are Transit Connect and Peugeot Expert or its variants from other manufacturers.
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Short wheel base , medium roof transit, because it is big enough ,very reliable and does 40 mpg .
Cost me only £1500 to buy and is smart enough to look at and just needs a service every 6 months and tyres. it now has 193k miles on the clock and runs fine.
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Moved on from a Combo to a Nissan Primastar (Vivaro in disguise) 6 seater. I still get more gear in the back plus it doubles up as a good sized family vehicle....
The whole idea was to let the Landrover Discovery go, but my wife's far too attached to it.... :-\
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Been looking at the vivaro, however a good mate of mine who is a mechanic claims that he has a regular customer with one and its given him nothing but grief, the vauxhall is in fact a re badged Renault.
This is a shame because i think the van looks great and you can pick them up for a reasonable price.
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Google ANY van and you will get bad reviews about it.
Go for the van you like , and buy on condition and the demeanor of the person you are buying from , mileage is less important than condition in my opinion.
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If you are after a smallish proper size van then I like the Transporter. I also like the Vito but they are rust buckets as are Trannies.
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Jason's right, in fact Google almost anything
and you'll get bad reviews.
When looking what new mobile to get last month
everyone with a review on it got a lot of bad press.
John
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Although a reliable van, AVOID the Ford Transit like the plague. They start rusting immediately from brand new and it worsens rapidly. It doesn’t matter how much you under seal, waxoyl or clean, you'll still be left with a scabbed up pile of trash after 3 years.
Vauxhalls are great vans, very reliable and seem to hold off the rust.
We have found VW's to develop electrical senor and management faults that are regular and very expensive to put right. If you can put up with a dashboard of electrical fault lights, they are actually good vans.
Go for the Peugeot Expert. It looks modern and smart, not too big and is very reliable.
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I Run Citreon dispatch van and is a great van and medium size..
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Yes Clinton, top van, same as the Expert.
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Although a reliable van, AVOID the Ford Transit like the plague. They start rusting immediately from brand new and it worsens rapidly. It doesn’t matter how much you under seal, waxoyl or clean, you'll still be left with a scabbed up pile of trash after 3 years.
Vauxhalls are great vans, very reliable and seem to hold off the rust.
We have found VW's to develop electrical senor and management faults that are regular and very expensive to put right. If you can put up with a dashboard of electrical fault lights, they are actually good vans.
Go for the Peugeot Expert. It looks modern and smart, not too big and is very reliable.
Ford have no parking facilities at the Southampton plant so they take them to the docks 3 miles away where they have lots of parking , the vans stay there for up to a year, on the exposed dockside, next to the salty sea, and a pile of road salt 50 metres high. I regularly pass transporters full of new transits with brown rust marks seeping from the sills heading up the M3 .
Then once bought , most go to rental fleets or corpoates and get ragged around by multple drivers , caked in mud from sites , no wonder they rot fast .
There is nothing inherently wrong with the vans , just the way they are treated from the minute they leave the factory , even by the manufacturer! On the transit forum some people get them built special ordered, they never get left at the docks , and are properly washed from day one , these vans remain rust free.!
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Always wondered why they rust jason..my car has rust and thats a ford.. awainting a new one in a few days..
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I must add that my transit is a 2003 on a 52 plate and has rust from stone chips , no chassis or body rot. It has been treated from new with inhibitors used in shipping, and had all the oils and filters changed every 10k .
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Ford Transit on X plate, and it's in better condition than many 05/06/07 plates I see around. It's all about how you look after things.
It went through the last Mot without a single thing wrong. Previous year it was a couple of tyres. Year before that nothing.
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The vivaro or renault or primastar (theres loads and they are all basically renaults) are renowned for dodgy gearboxes
mine went after 45 .000 miles got a re con done for £1400.
other than that they are great,go for the long wheel base and high top
you can never have enough room!!!
Garybristowclean ::)
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Hey Gary
Yep they are renowned for gearbox failure and that's sadly why i have decided not to short list the Vivaro.
So the later transits... ? are they any good with carrying weight and what's the performance like and fuel consumption?
What would be a good model to look for which is fairly balanced performance / economy?
Cheers
Russ
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The problem is Ford do not dip the shell and chassis in liquid zinc prior to the under coats and top finishes.
Vauxhalls are stood outside at Elsmere port for months and don’t suffer the same issues as Fords. Vauxhalls, BMW, Merc, VW etc all do the zinc dip treatment prior to spraying.
The Transit has not been designed or engineered for long term ownership. They are disposable items that can be processed and recycled quick and easy.
Ford predict a typical Transit to be fleet leased for 2-4 years, after this period they predict it to be privately owned by small private enterprises, then recycled at a the vehicle age of 8.
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Just a couple of pics of my vivaro,might help
Gary Bristowclean
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Renault Master Luton Van - for moving furniture and house clearances
Fiat Ducato SWB - Carpet Cleaning Van
Fiat Ducato SWB - Window Cleaning Van
Renault Trafic LWB - Window Cleaning
Vauxhall Vivaro SWB - Window Cleaning
Citroen Berlingo van - Wheelie bin cleaning
Fiat Doblo - Office Cleaning
Citroen Berlingo MPV - Domestic Cleaning
Citroen Berlingo MPV - Run around for various jobs
Skoda Octavia Scout Estate - For when I get time off!!!
Out of the lot the Fiat's have been the least trouble, though I am now looking at changing the carpet cleaning van soon as it's close to 100,000 miles on it
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Just a couple of pics of my vivaro,might help
Gary Bristowclean
Thats a nice setup Gary! must of cost you a few bob!
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I run a tm out of my Toyota hiace, lovely van, great runner, similar size to the vw transporters
I'd love a bigger van but I do work for too many agents (student lets) and you can barely get my van down the side streets let alone anything bigger, in fact last week a painter in a peugeot boxer couldn't get down to a property I was working on as there wasn't the space.
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Andy, that van served me well, serviced every year and only ever needed tyres.
If Toyota made a decent sized van i would have nothing else.
Many years ago i had a salvage yard, when i sold up i had 15 toyota engines left over that i couldnt sell for 6 year. Sold ford engines every week.
I have a Merc Sprinter 311 lwb h/maxx 470 fitted
Peugeot 207 (08) managers van and run around
Peugeot Expert 3 seater for contract cleaners.
Toyota Hiace 3.0 (59)
On look out for a van to run nationally, so wight go for a crew van.
Andrew
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Mechanic was gutted when I took it for a service the other week, he was expecting the berlingo (aka money pit)
On top of the service all it needed was a pipe on the brakes, not essential but might as well keep up with it.
;)
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yes russ,its a prochem blazer tmount,i had a dry cleaning bus before carpet bus ,so i took off all the vinyl signage off of van ,redesigned it and had it re stickered,like having a new van,bloody heavy when fully loaded,it will do for a while
then hoping to get a sprinter ! need more space
gary bristowclean
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55 Reg Citroen Dispatch with 98k miles. In the past year its had a new alternator, clutch, number 1 fuel injector, sump and fuel pipes.
Sounds like loads but didn't cost much due to a decent mechanic with good contacts.
I actually really like the van.
Linds
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-transit-pikey-rust-bucket-/280732120091?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item415cf0341b#ht_1149wt_932
Just spotted this. :D :D :D :D
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-transit-pikey-rust-bucket-/280732120091?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item415cf0341b#ht_1149wt_932
Just spotted this. :D :D :D :D
Oh my god... that is so funny!! the guy must have a great sense of humour! :D :D :D ;D ;D
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Renault Master Luton Van - for moving furniture and house clearances
Fiat Ducato SWB - Carpet Cleaning Van
Fiat Ducato SWB - Window Cleaning Van
Renault Trafic LWB - Window Cleaning
Vauxhall Vivaro SWB - Window Cleaning
Citroen Berlingo van - Wheelie bin cleaning
Fiat Doblo - Office Cleaning
Citroen Berlingo MPV - Domestic Cleaning
Citroen Berlingo MPV - Run around for various jobs
Skoda Octavia Scout Estate - For when I get time off!!!
Out of the lot the Fiat's have been the least trouble, though I am now looking at changing the carpet cleaning van soon as it's close to 100,000 miles on it
Just shows , a regular poster on here has just had to pay out over 2k on his 2 month out of warranty Fiat ,I would class him as a careful driver who looks after his stuff... all vans a good , all vans have problems
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Been looking at the vivaro, however a good mate of mine who is a mechanic claims that he has a regular customer with one and its given him nothing but grief, the vauxhall is in fact a re badged Renault.
This is a shame because i think the van looks great and you can pick them up for a reasonable price.
hi
i have had a vivaro from new done 92000 without incident?
great van 3 seats, comfortable good drive for its size.
only downside is its a tad thirsty but anything this big is.
cheers
john
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I wonder if it was just the early vivaro's which had gearbox problems? I would love a transporter... poss one of the best vans on the road.
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Car valeting friend of mine has a VW Transporter Sport T30 174bhp, had nothing but problems with it since he bought it new two years ago!
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Ive got a Fiat Doblo and its the biggest heap of poop.. Stay clear of Fiats ....
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Never had any issues with the three we own :) and all are 5+ years old.
KISS OF DEATH ;D
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Think every range of vans has a set of problems which occur regularly just the luck of the draw if your is one of the majority thats ok. Looking through the net the Toyota Hiace always comes out as most reliable, expensive and looks dated.
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Car valeting friend of mine has a VW Transporter Sport T30 174bhp, had nothing but problems with it since he bought it new two years ago!
VW are a bunch of rip off merchants! Transporter was a good drive but too expensive when it came to their 'hidden costs'!!
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Its gonna be a VW for me i think.. yer they are expensive but wouldnt you rather pay more for something thats going to hold it money better and is less likely to break down?
Every day your van is off the road in the garage you are losing money, you find loads of them on eBay with loads of miles on the clock still selling for a pretty penny.
I looked at the Vito but are Mercs really all that good? they rot like mad unlike the VW, they do drive very well though so if i can find a good one then its a possibility
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Russ , check out the BCA auctions at Blackbushe near you , loads of transporters go through there , you will be spoilt for choice and pay well under retail. I have had a few vans from there , they are well described and graded so you can be sure what you are getting.