scoobynutta555

Was wondering what the running costs of transit van are, semi hi top, 4ish years old. Im not to clued up about the engines either. Anyone care to have a bash? Generally want to know insurance ball park, mpg,cost of anything major going wrong, servicing cost etc etc. TY

47 NAT

I've got a '98 short wheel/base, semi high roof and its cheaper to run than my Saab 9-3 There all 2.5 diesel and some are turbo'd. Theres also some rare ones knocking about with c/locking, heated mirrors and eleccy windows. Theres different bhp engines as well....If your not doing a lot of motorway miles then an 80 should be fine, but they can be sluggish (arent mot diesels?). Mpg varies on what weight I'm carrying (mobile valeting, so loaded with water at 45 gallons makes a difference), but it works out approx 110 mile per £10.

The only things that need doing are your normal servicable items filters and belts and thats every 10-12k miles or so. The only things to check for when looking at one apart from the usual hpi, mot's, mileage checks, etc are that there no loud knocks from the engine or prop. Also check the heater works on all three settings (mine only worked on full blast).

Insurance is pretty good although you'll need to do the usual shopping around (Crowthorne Insurance Services done me the best deal, saving over £600 from most other quotes).

Parts are cheap even from Fords. I looked at quite a few other makes and the Transit came out on top in all that I was looking for, by far!

Apart from that there pretty much bullet proof...

Hope this helps.

Nath

[Edited by 47 NAT - 11/17/2002 10:20:11 PM]

dazc2

agree with NAT........

i have worked on several hundred Transits

i run a 98 long wheel base semi high top with 160k on the clock now......have done 40k this year in it. The later (98 onwards) have 12.5k service intervals where as the earlier ones have a 10k interval.....also worth noting is the later has a cam belt interval of 60k miles where as the later has a 50 mile interval.......the reason being they had a problem with the belts snapping.....no major issue as a new set of push rods and a belt and away you go.....it was just annoying......this problem had now been rectified with a teflon coated belt and a new spring tensioner.....so make sure you get a cam belt kit from a Ford dealer and not a spurious supplier.

things to look for......rear main oil seals can leak.....gearboxes can fail if they have been abused (they should click nicely in and out of gear with out too much hassle)....clutches can judder but thats not a major issue.......any knocking on the front is likely to be either ball joints or shockers.....if the ball joints are worn its a major safety issue as all the weight is on them so if you hear knocking then get it checked out............as NAT said the heater can fail on 1 and 2 speed......this is usually a heater resistor fault and is nothing major....it is located next too the drivers head lamp for cooling purposes and usually corrodes....if it fails on 3rd speed it is usually the switch melted on the back....still easy to repair but fiddly.

engines are pretty bullet proof but can use a little oil with high mileage.....beware turbo versions with problems......they can be expensive.....but when there right they are very good on the motorway....had one over 100mph

a local company had an old E plate transit which they had to scrap as it was rotton......but 8 months prior to scrapping it it had recieved its million mile service (which was all on a wall chart in the service reception)!!!! it had had 2 engines 3 gear boxes and 2 axles only


if you need any advice i can help to a certain degree as i have had a lot of experience with these vehicles

Fuzz

recieved its million mile service...it had had 2 engines 3 gear boxes and 2 axles

Daz,
That's like saying Iv'e had the same broom for forty years
but it's had 6 new heads and two new handles

good vans tho
Andy.

dazc2

but Fuzz.......500,000 mile an engine aint bad really is it