[Jon T.C.]

Yup, it was a bag of poop.
Still if it had been a Fiat it wouldn't even have been on the road after 10 years abuse from a builder.

My Missus had a 2001 Fiat Punto with 35,000 miles on it, and I had a 110,000 mile Rover 400.

Rover?: Just put fuel in.
Punto?: Dash lights, external lights,  ECU, wiper motor, heater matrix, exhaust, shockers, leaks, thermostat...etc...

Nightmare, and her parent's 2005 Stilo was the same.
Put together by drunken Italians.

Ferrari are owned by Fiat.
They only use FORD electrics.

Why's that do you think...? :

You do talk some b**lox at times  :

[qwert]

Hi guys,

Needless to say i had no intention of ending up unable to work, so i've gone out and bought myself a brand spanking new Fiat Doblo.

I chose the Doblo because of all the raving reviews on this forum and after the test drive i really liked the little beast. Hope it cracks up to all it's supposed to be though guys or i shall be after a few scalps. 

Lance

I'm thinking of buying the Doblo.  Cab you tell me where you got yours from.  I presume you looked for the best deal so it may save me some research time !!

Thanks

[Sir Squeaky]

Yup, it was a bag of poop.
Still if it had been a Fiat it wouldn't even have been on the road after 10 years abuse from a builder.

My Missus had a 2001 Fiat Punto with 35,000 miles on it, and I had a 110,000 mile Rover 400.

Rover?: Just put fuel in.
Punto?: Dash lights, external lights,  ECU, wiper motor, heater matrix, exhaust, shockers, leaks, thermostat...etc...

Nightmare, and her parent's 2005 Stilo was the same.
Put together by drunken Italians.

Ferrari are owned by Fiat.
They only use FORD electrics.

Why's that do you think...? :

You do talk some b**lox at times  :

You tell me which bit was wrong Jon, and I'll set you straight.

[Jon T.C.]

Squeaks,

None of your  examples refer to commercial vehicles, to which the original post was about.Fiat commercial are also in partnership with Peugeot and Citroen. So use the strong points of each manufacturer, unless you think that both of those manufacturers are crap as well.

"Everyone I've ever known with a Fiat (and that's quite a few) have had non-stop problems" eg Your Missus and her Parents

That's quite a statement  :

[macmac]

The fiat doblo is an excellent choice, perfect for a 400ltr set up. too many people get suckered in to thinking they need a bigger van, or will do if they "expand". If you do expand to the point you need a bigger van then its simple, buy one at that time, when you actually need it, at this point you'll easily be able to afford a bigger van with all your extra work. So why pay for a bigger van when you dont need one & maybe will never need one

Excellent Choice, IMO, for that catagory of van, Unbeatable! 

tony

[NWH]

Yeah sell the small van and lose 4 grand,upgrade to a bigger van layout another 5-7 grand pay for it to be speedlined £6-700 have all your equipment re-fitted into new van say another £300 if someone tells you with experience that you`ll need a bigger van cos in no time your run out of room what would you do,in no time at all your be piercing your passengers ear with your pole from lack of room.If you can afford it buy a bigger van.

[macmac]

Yeah sell the small van and lose 4 grand,upgrade to a bigger van layout another 5-7 grand pay for it to be speedlined £6-700 have all your equipment re-fitted into new van say another £300 if someone tells you with experience that you`ll need a bigger van cos in no time your run out of room what would you do,in no time at all your be piercing your passengers ear with your pole from lack of room.If you can afford it buy a bigger van.

Load o' sh*te

[Ian Rochester]

We run two Fiat Ducatos, an 06 plate and an 05 plate, in a month or so's time I will probably be getting an 07 plate, just had an offer though the post:

07 Fiat Ducato £9,999 +vat.

I intend to run these vans for 4 years, then change them for new.

The beauty of Fiats is nobody likes the badge, but that means they retail for 15-20% less that the competition (Peugeot and Citroen) and to all intents they are the same van.

We also have a Berlingo (Y plate) and it will probably be changed for a Fiat Scudo or Doblo at some point soon as well.

[Sir Squeaky]

None of your  examples refer to commercial vehicles, to which the original post was about.Fiat commercial are also in partnership with Peugeot and Citroen. So use the strong points of each manufacturer, unless you think that both of those manufacturers are crap as well.

It's well known that the French make the worlds most unreliable vehicles, so that's not much comfort!

The only reason I've got a Renault is because it's a joint build with Nissan and Vauxhall.
There's a lot of GM parts under the bonnet.

Wouldn't have touched it otherwise. 

[marc]

so why didnt you just buy a nissan or vauxhall then squeaky

[Sir Squeaky]

Doh! They're the same van!

Except you pay slightly more for the Vauxhall badged one.

[Jon T.C.]

None of your  examples refer to commercial vehicles, to which the original post was about.Fiat commercial are also in partnership with Peugeot and Citroen. So use the strong points of each manufacturer, unless you think that both of those manufacturers are crap as well.

It's well known that the French make the worlds most unreliable vehicles, so that's not much comfort!

The only reason I've got a Renault is because it's a joint build with Nissan and Vauxhall.
There's a lot of GM parts under the bonnet.

Wouldn't have touched it otherwise. 

  :

[Spruce]

We run two Fiat Ducatos, an 06 plate and an 05 plate, in a month or so's time I will probably be getting an 07 plate, just had an offer though the post:

07 Fiat Ducato £9,999 +vat.

I intend to run these vans for 4 years, then change them for new.

The beauty of Fiats is nobody likes the badge, but that means they retail for 15-20% less that the competition (Peugeot and Citroen) and to all intents they are the same van.

We also have a Berlingo (Y plate) and it will probably be changed for a Fiat Scudo or Doblo at some point soon as well.

The Doblo is a separate identity on its own on has nothing to do with the Fiat Citroen Peugeot partnership on the bigger vans. The marked difference between the bigger vans of this partnership ie Scudo, Dispatch and Expert, Ducato Relay and Boxer is the commonrail diesel used in each of them. Fiat use their JTD engines and PSA (Citreon & Peugeot) use the HDI engines. My preference would be for the HDi engine every time.

[Paul Coleman]

None of your  examples refer to commercial vehicles, to which the original post was about.Fiat commercial are also in partnership with Peugeot and Citroen. So use the strong points of each manufacturer, unless you think that both of those manufacturers are crap as well.

It's well known that the French make the worlds most unreliable vehicles, so that's not much comfort!

The only reason I've got a Renault is because it's a joint build with Nissan and Vauxhall.
There's a lot of GM parts under the bonnet.

Wouldn't have touched it otherwise. 

I can just see it now at the local showroom.
Our vans are not made with GM parts.  We only have organic parts.

[Sir Squeaky]

I was waiting for someone to pick up on the "GM" bit.

[sunshine windows]

I had a feeling this one would cause a bit of a debate. 

The main reasons i went for the Doblo is that it's got a decent payload and a reasonable load capacity.

In answer to your question Qwert, I got it from my local Fiat Fish Brothers dealership in Swindon.

The cheapest i could find the model i've got on the net was £7290 and i ended up getting mine for £7300. So for the sake of a tenner i've got peace of mind at being able to call up the Head honcho there who's a friend of my Dad's, should anything go wrong with it.

If you'd like his number just ask.

Regards,
Lance

[AuRavelling79]

Sunshine - my experience is limited but I've had a new Doblo 1.3SX (van of the year 2006) since Nov '06.

I run a 400L tank plus microbore and a backpack and it's just me on board and I love it - I get 43/44mpg in stop-start window cleaning work. (I've only done 3600 miles in six months - we have an old Rover diesel car too.)

As its MVW is 2000kg (payload 736kg) you can legally drive at car speeds on dual carriageways/single carriageways. It's tax is low at £120 now I think.

I was also thinking of a Scudo (3 seats) especially as there were some offers at the end of the old model run but I am very happy with my choice.

If I was two up then I would have gone Scudo or Citroen/Peugeot equivilent to run a 650 tank and larger payload.

Being new with 3yrs wty gives some peace of mind too.

I know I've only had it 6 months but it does all I could have hoped for.

Take advice from those on here who have had some experience of running vans - not someone who now pontificates about things they have only just started doing - (new to vans and new to wfp).

[Sir Squeaky]

So French and Italian makes aren't crap then?

You don't have to experience actual vans yourself to know what's good.

I bet you've never owned a 1980 Skoda Estelle, but I'm sure you know they're crap.
I've never owned an AlfaSud, but I know I wouldn't want to.

[qwert]

IIn answer to your question Qwert, I got it from my local Fiat Fish Brothers dealership in Swindon.

The cheapest i could find the model i've got on the net was £7290 and i ended up getting mine for £7300. So for the sake of a tenner i've got peace of mind at being able to call up the Head honcho there who's a friend of my Dad's, should anything go wrong with it.

If you'd like his number just ask.

Regards,
Lance

Thanks Lance.  I may well do nearer the time.  May I ask if he did 0% finance as I'm looking to put 4K to 5K deposit and pay balance over 3 yrs 0%.

[Lakes and Pennine]

old fords never die. At least you can tie the back doors together with bailer string