Volkswagen Transporter and Mercedes Vito - opinions

[Bryan]

I am fed up with the Kangoo breaking down and it's time to upgrade to something a bit bigger.

Been thinking about a Volkswagen Transporter (the 1998 to 2004 shape). I had one of these before in 2.4D and had 170k on it and it was still running. I don't really want to buy one of the newer Transporters because I think they'll be in the modern electronics league of breaking down. I'm thinking along the lines of the older shape 1.9TD or 2.4D non turbo. Which engine would be best to go for? Are these really as reliable as they're made out to be?

The prices for these Transporter vans are quite high for the age of them - is it really worth paying the extra for something much older?? I also need a model with rear barn doors.

Also considering the Mercedes Vito but I don't know anything about them as I've never had one before - seen a lot of adverts with vans for sale with head gasket problems though.

 

[AMG]

Girlfriends dad has a Vito, seems to give bother with the electrics (central locking etc) as he has it down in Agnews a right bit!!

 

[Lyons]

Ive heard bad reports about the Transporters.

What about a Sprinter? We had one in work and it was great to drive.

 

[roverspeed]

We have T5 Transporters in work, all 1.9 tdi 110bhp I think.

I have done 37,000 miles in it in 2009 and never had a single engine problem.

The gear linkage broke, which would have been fairly cheap fix but some monkey in Agnews said from my description over the phone that the gearbox was toast and covered under warranty. So I drove home in 4th and cooked the clutch and flywheel.

As it was the gear linkage, it wasn't under warranty, so £1500+vat, whoops.

Our Transporters have 30k, 98k (mine) and about 140k on them. None have given electical problems or major engine problems - mine was the only one with some major to go wrong at it was the dealerships fault

Oh and I will add, the Transporter is by far the best driving van I have ever been in, comfy too. I drove Belfast - Dublin - Cork - Galway -Dublin - Belfast last thursday, and asides from being tired was pretty refreshed when I got out. Can out handle any other van too.

 

[Bryan]

Are the Transporters really worth the money or are they way over-rated?

 

[tahiblue]

We have had 4 VW T5 vans in work which were all 07-08. We had 3 130bhp and a 174bhp which is for sale at the min.

Never had real problems with any of them and the 174bhp has 93k on it at the min within about 2 years from new. Totally agree on the VW being really comfy to drive, could drive it all day long without a problem.

 

[Bryan]

What sort of money is it going for? Probably too fresh for us though.

 

[Bryan]

Looking for something like this:
Volkswagen Transporter 2.5 tdi 888 special van on eBay (end time 14-Jan-10 13:45:22 GMT)
(except I need barn doors)

Is it really worth £5k plus vat for a 7 year old van???

 

[tahiblue]

(except I need barn doors)

It's the lift lid boot so no use to you anyway but it's advertised for £15k inc vat as a guide for you (08' 174bhp with all the extras, electric sliding doors, bull bars, side steps and vw satnav.).

 

[MarkM]

I had 2 vitos for 4 years, never had an issue with them, great vans The only down side is the cost, I changed to 2 new Vivaro CDTIs and they're fantastic tbh, 115ps very nice to drive for a van

 

[56oval]

t4 transporter everytime, im on my 3rd.

the price of the 03 plate up the top is way off, 3.5k tops.

beware there is a gaylord scene tax added to these vans, as split screen bus prices went thru the roof baywindows then started to gain popularity, when they hit the roof t25 prices skyrocketed, now its the t4 as people are converteing them to day vans AVOID EBAY LIKE THE PLAGUE!!. Dont pay thru the nose, ive seen plenty here in n.i at very decent prices, youll pick up a 98-00 2.5tdi for around 1500- 2k no bother, like i said avoid vw related sites as the vendors will add the all important tax, ive seen t5's cheaper than t4's do the math

2.4's are soft, they are prone to cylinder head bother, 1.9td's are pretty much bullet proof but not gutsy.

blue"I" 2.5tdi's are 88bhp, the other is the 102bhp, the giveaway is the fmic glaring you in the face when you pop the bonnet.

cambelt/tensioners/idlers/waterpump service is a MUST.

regular oil changes and good service will see you big mileage out of a 2.5.
ive seen over 400k on quite a few, im currently on 233k.

 

[Bryan]

You seem like a man who knows what he's talking about.

If you come across a good silver T4 with barn doors drop me a line. I'd really be looking to buy two of them 98-00 but must either be silver or blue (would consider white if they were low enough miles and a good price).

 

[Bryan]

This bad boy would do the job but it's the 1.9TD...
Volkswagen Transporter 1.9 TD - €1,721 (1,538) - Used Commercial Vehicles on Autotrader.ie - New & Used Commercial Vehicles in Ireland

I wouldn't normally consider anything above 100k though regardless of price.

 

[grp4chevette]

hey bryan i had a new transporter back in 2004 got it new in jan and handed it back mid dec with 84 k on it also had 2 power steering racks and 3 gearbox's all done by agnews under vw. i was towing the rally car everytime the gearbox gave up mine was the 102 brake with a remap but other than that a real good van i would defo buy another one no bother but not to tow with lol

neill

 

[56oval]

thats a cheap enough hack, you will struggle to find anything that hasnt topped 100k, infact i bet you wont find anything sub 2.5 k thats not on its way to the moon.

heres a prime example of scene taxation.
93, just about the first batch off the production line lol.
Auto Trader UK - VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER 1200 LWB Van Diesel

why would you?????

when another 700 quid would get you a whole world of a better van!!!
Auto Trader UK - VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER 2.5 TDI 2000 X

silver ones are very hard to find btw.

 

[stevieturbo]

If buying a VW, stick with the 1.9, probably one of the most reliable engines around.


Most modern Mercedes of any kind are pure junk. And Vito's rust like **** apparently.


What about a Ford Transit ? When I was looking for a Van, although I ended up with a small van, when asking around about bigger ones, the Transit always seemed to get good reports. As a bonus, parts tend to be cheap too.

and didnt you also say your Fiat van was good ? What about a Fiat offering ?

 

[Bryan]

Fiat Doblo only lasted 3 weeks but it was a good wee van but I don't know what it would be like long term.

I have a Ducato that's just coming up on a year old with 28k on it and it hasn't missed a beat. Brilliant van.

Don't really want to go as big as a Transit - the Transporter to me is sort of in between the Kangoo and a Transit.

What kind of fuel economy does the Transporter do? Just to compare it to a SWB Transit for example.

 

[stevieturbo]

I'd have thought a small Transit isnt much bigger really ?

I wasnt referring to the Doblo lol

The only Transporters Ive driven were the old 2.4 straight diesels. God they were slow. Although I wouldnt have said they were mega thirsty. Drove a few in my last work, most of them old bangers. But from memory, they did still manage around 30mpg. Dont know how that fairs with others. Although I certainly wouldnt have been an abusive driver by any means.

 

[56oval]

the 102 i have will do juuust about 600 miles on a full tank last time i filled her it cost nearly 70 quid, ill let ya'll do the math, trannys are pretty decent vans too and you can pick up a clean one cheap enough. i wouldnt touch the 2.4 t4 with the preverbial bargepole, but thats just my personal opinion, the 1.9td is comparable in power ayway.
mine will sit at 80 if permitted all day long, i did a run from the mainland and a full pallet of plaster in the back (nearly 1.5 tonne) still pulled on like a train, needless to say i would recommend one all day long!!!

 

[j 328]

my da bought a 110cdi vito brand new back in 03 and he reckons its the worst van he's ever owned, it was forever given electric problems, wile sore on bushings, not that great to drive and it burnt a wile amount of oil but it was a fast wee van, he ended up rolling it in 05 with only 60k on the clock

i bought a wee 05 tdi caddy last week and so far its seems to be a great van, wile handy to run and great to drive, maybe a bit too small for what you need

if the transporter is anywhere near as good as the caddy i'd strongly recommend one

renault traffic is meant to be a good van and a fair bit cheaper than a transporter

 

[Bryan]

Renault Trafics are as useless as any other Renault. I've had a Renault Master which died at 106k and a Kangoo which died at 103k. Both needed new injectors and now the Kangoo has died again at 133k 6 months later. Trafics are also supposed to have awful gearbox problems.

 

[tbdevpaul]

Transporters are not worth the extra money over other vans IMO. We have traffics, boxers and berlingos in the firm and all spot on. Like most things out there everyones experience is different and I would take most vans as pot luck when you are buying them. The market will continue to fill with vans this year with the ammount of firms going tits up so we are looking to buy another 3 when we trade in some of the guys vans !!

VW crafter is a lovely wagon but too big for you and my mate gets around 23mpg from it on a daily basis but comfort in it is unreal. Thats another point I would always buy the bigger vans as they are fantastic, his mercedes sprinter was ****3 to look at cos the body work rusted with stone chips everywhere but mechanically it was perfect.

We thought smaller vans where always the way to go but the bigger vans like LWB transits, boxers, carvers etc are the way to go even if you dont think you will need the space the time will come when something wont fit in your transporter

 

[Bryan]

I get 28 mpg from my 3 litre 160BHP Ducato. If anyone else drives it they can get 31mpg. Quite impressive for the size of the thing if you ask me.

Problem is, though, I'm used to the fuel economy of the Kangoo's little 1.5 dci engine - 50mpg all day long. It'll be hard going to anything else - the Doblo we had which was 1.9 even noticed a difference in it's thirst.

 

[tbdevpaul]

We found with the smaller vans it was better to buy brand new and get the 3 year warranty than a vehicle out of waranty

 

[106lad]

What about a Sprinter? We had one in work and it was great to drive.

**** off!

We have a Sprinter in work, i hate it worst driving van ive ever been in,

Rather ride a donkey