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Russ Chadd

  • Posts: 1261
What van do you own and why?
« on: August 30, 2011, 09:25:48 am »
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

Jamie Pearson

  • Posts: 3407
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2011, 11:26:39 am »
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.

jasonl

  • Posts: 3183
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2011, 12:20:34 pm »
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. 
I clean carpets
I dry Buildings

Colin Day

Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2011, 01:11:36 pm »
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.... :-\

Russ Chadd

  • Posts: 1261
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2011, 02:01:11 pm »
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.
 

jasonl

  • Posts: 3183
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2011, 02:31:46 pm »
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.
I clean carpets
I dry Buildings

wynne jones

  • Posts: 2918
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2011, 04:02:08 pm »
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.
It's not expensive, you just can't afford it.

JandS

  • Posts: 4327
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2011, 04:24:54 pm »
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
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

Matt Lindus

Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #8 on: August 30, 2011, 05:14:35 pm »
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.

clinton

Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #9 on: August 30, 2011, 05:16:09 pm »
I Run  Citreon dispatch van and is a great van and medium size..


Matt Lindus

Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #10 on: August 30, 2011, 05:20:03 pm »
Yes Clinton, top van, same as the Expert.

jasonl

  • Posts: 3183
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #11 on: August 30, 2011, 05:46:24 pm »
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.!
I clean carpets
I dry Buildings

clinton

Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #12 on: August 30, 2011, 05:49:44 pm »
Always wondered why they rust jason..my car has rust and thats a ford.. awainting a new one in a few days..

jasonl

  • Posts: 3183
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #13 on: August 30, 2011, 05:57:06 pm »
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 .
I clean carpets
I dry Buildings

Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #14 on: August 30, 2011, 06:48:23 pm »
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.

garybristow

  • Posts: 485
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #15 on: August 30, 2011, 07:31:51 pm »
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 ::)

Russ Chadd

  • Posts: 1261
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #16 on: August 30, 2011, 07:37:17 pm »
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   

Matt Lindus

Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #17 on: August 30, 2011, 07:39:40 pm »
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.

 

garybristow

  • Posts: 485
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #18 on: August 30, 2011, 07:58:48 pm »
Just a couple of pics of my vivaro,might help
Gary Bristowclean

Ian Rochester

  • Posts: 2588
Re: What van do you own and why?
« Reply #19 on: August 30, 2011, 08:15:22 pm »
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