[Richard Basey-Fisher]

well  its gone wrong again  my relay new shape sprung a big engine oil leak this morning and is up on the ramps again only had it 18 months and the list is endless  so as soon as its fixed its off.    

in 12 months i have had a new flywheel, clutch, coolant hose assembly, injection pipe, 4 new bearings , and endless other little things . bearing in mind the van is only 4 years old and done less than 70 k 

couldnt have happened at a worse time

oh well life is set to try us i guess

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Give you a grand for it Rich 

[Jim_77]

Pay me a grand I'll come take it off your hands!

Seriously, feel for you mate I don't know what I'd do if mine went off the road at this time of year, must be a nightmare

I'm not head over heels in love with my Transit, but at least they are reliable and don't let you down very much.  Transits just slowly decompose in front of your eyes!

Does anyone have a Fiat Ducato?  If so does it have the same galvanised body panels as they used to make the Scudo out of?  I really didn't realise how excellent that Scudo's bodywork was until I got my Transit.  12 years old and not a speck of rust on it, even with half the paint missing off the bonnet from stone chips!

Transit 5 years old, sills rotting away under the vinyl wrap which is only 2 yrs old

[JandS]

Peugeot Expert HDI of mine has galvanised body work
and like Jim says not a spot of rust.

John

[Richard Basey-Fisher]

i wouldnt sell it to anyone on here  i couldnt sleep  ,  jim be carefull ducato, boxer, and relay are all the same .  

well i am lucky as my oven cleaning has really taken off and have loads booked in so hoofed the tank out the van and is in my mates partner van so its ovens all week for me while its being fixed so at least i am working .  lost a fair bit of carpet work though .  

just really unsure what to get next   got 12 k to spend so budgets good   any suggestions

[TomCrowther]

If it's reliability you are looking for, look at Toyota Hiace. Apparently, nothing has ever gone wrong on any of them 

[AshWhite]

Jim, have you tried claiming on the anti-corrosion warranty? Not sure about Fords, but usually it's 6 years on commercials? As long as its rusting from inside out.

[craignozza]

I had a relay and never had so much trouble with a van in my life in the end it p***ed me off that much i just scrapped it . Before that i had a ford transit and it only ever let me down once ...you cant go wrong with a ford 

[Richard Basey-Fisher]

funny you should say that craig was on the phone to ford today   narrowed it down to a transit or a crafter atm

[craignozza]

Go with the transit mate they are built to last ..Thats what my next vans going to be 100%

[CARPET KNIGHTS]

Whatever you pick make sure the capacity is enough transit is about 200 or 300 kg less than the boxer

cheers Goron

[Mark Lawrence]

Transits may be reliable but they do rust - they always have (thats why they call them dagenham dustbins ). I know someone who has a 10yr old Trafic (galvanised bodywork), absolutely no rust and hardly anything ever gone wrong with it.

Mark

[Griffus]

See rusty newish Fords all over.

We have a Vivaro and a Dispatch, Vivaro best of the two but both been pretty good...............

Touching wood now!!

[andi wilson]

Mine has just thrown a wobbler today.. Replaced the engine at a cost of over £3k 2 months and 2 days ago, and tonight it started to rattle AGAIN!! F'in thing may well be going to the scrapyard depending on what the garage have to say tomorrow.. Mine is a Renault Master MWB..

Anyone else had problems with these?? Been really pleased with it until 2 months and 2 days ago..!!

[kerrpmiddleton]

i can highly recommened merc vito , they dont rust any more as all or most of the panels are plastic of some sort , they are the most economical van on the road for their size , £12000, will get you anearly new one , wuold you not be better getting  hp , think ipay £300. including VAT per mth

[Jamie Pearson]

We run a sprinter and a vito. Only ever costs us tyres and occasionally an exhaust in 100k. No rust on them ever in that time.

[Nick Attwood]

Sprinter or the Crafter every time!

[TonyBrowning]

Noticed that Hyundai are doing vans.

Called the iload.......5 Year Warranty/100,000 miles.

Surely you can't go wrong...looj OK to

[jasonl]

I have a transit with 202k on the clock ans 8 years old , very little rust ,buy I have looked after it , spend a couple of hours steam cleaning and rustproofing the sills, box sections and under floor every few months. I service it and make sure it is not overloaded or hammered up the motorway.  It just went through the MOT with only a couple of bulbs needed.

Transits actually come in lots of forms, different bodystyles, short, medium and long base, low medium and high roof , front or rear wheel drive ,and 4 engines , each with at least 5 different levels of tuning/power outputs,there are also several payload options too. It is worth putting in the time researching the right van in the range for your needs, it is not a simple range at all .

[Richard Basey-Fisher]

after a lot of searching around it looks like i am going for a lwb  crafter or merc sprinter can afford to get a 3 year old one with about 30-50 k on the clock .  because i am running two business s from one vehicle   tm carpet cleaning and oven cleaning i need a fair size van to make life easier . my mwb relay was only just big enough and for a mwb they were big enough . 

Dont get me wrong i like the transit and has stood the test of time but i just prefer the german vehicles .