VW Caddy 1.9 TDi or Ford Transit Connect TDCi ???
02 September 2013, 06:18 PM
#2
Youd get an amazing brat for £5k! Loads better option! :-)
Serious note though, I know a few people with newish vw vans and theyve had rucks of egr system and electical problems. (Particularly immobiliser issues).
Id be looking more towards the ford personally.
Just my 2p.
Serious note though, I know a few people with newish vw vans and theyve had rucks of egr system and electical problems. (Particularly immobiliser issues).
Id be looking more towards the ford personally.
Just my 2p.
02 September 2013, 06:24 PM
#3
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I'd say ford dude. My caddy has been a nightmare since day 1. 13 months old and 45k miles. It's been in 3 times for mech repairs.
My previous company had all transits and the connects never had issues. If you can, stretch for a connect st
if I was to buy a van that's what I'd get.
My previous company had all transits and the connects never had issues. If you can, stretch for a connect st
if I was to buy a van that's what I'd get.
02 September 2013, 06:44 PM
#4
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Had one of the old shape Caddy's - a 1999 vintage and it was ****e.
Had two Connects - 51 plate and an 05 plate - both were great.
I'm now looking to get rid of my L200 and get one of the new shape Connects, I like them so much
Had two Connects - 51 plate and an 05 plate - both were great.
I'm now looking to get rid of my L200 and get one of the new shape Connects, I like them so much
02 September 2013, 07:48 PM
#5
We've got quite a few Connects at my work and they seem to be pretty reliable. We've had a few that have had electrical problems where they won't charge the battery. Think It's a resistor or capacitor in the wiring loom??
The Caddy's seem to be the IN van for the detailers unsure why except they look good lowered on a nice set of alloys
The Caddy's seem to be the IN van for the detailers unsure why except they look good lowered on a nice set of alloys
02 September 2013, 07:52 PM
#6
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I have had a 55 connect for the last 3 years, they are ****, wanted a caddy but couldnt afford one, but by the time I rectified the faults on the ford I spent as much as i would have buying a caddy. Would never get another ford, crap built, gutless pos
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02 September 2013, 08:10 PM
#8
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It leaked for starters, the wheel bearing collapsed, it only came with 75bhp, chassis started to rust so had to clean and waxoyl it, droplink snapped, throttle sensor decided to stop working and bottom of doors have started rusting. Also the interior fit is rubbish, there is big gaps between the panels.
02 September 2013, 08:15 PM
#9
Connects are ok until they start playing funny buggers. EGR, crank/cam, sensor. Broken wires in the engine loom. The engine electronics is enough to put me off these things for good. Pity as the rest of the van is solid. But if you get one with rogue engine gremlins, you will be wishing you had the Caddy.
The biggest bug bear I have with the Connect's electronics with the 1.8TDI and 1.8 TDCi is Fords engine ECU having the motor industry's worst on board diagnostics I have ever come across on a modern vehicle.... Its a common issue on this era of TDCi Fords (be it Focus, Transit, Mondeo, Jag X-type etc) is they will cut all engine power on detecting a non-specific fault whilst you are driving along. You may have the glowplug light flashing indicating a fault (but not always). The engine will not start once you coasted to a standstill, but may eventually restart (typically when the AA man arrives). Yet you plug in some diagnostics kit (even £5+K worth) to see what it thinks is wrong, and what does it say? "no DTCs stored". F**king useless.
To me its a pain in the **** and extra time and hence labour charged to the customer (who sometimes doesn't appreciate/understand the work involved) for a job due to diagnosing it the old fashioned way, extended road tests, data logging live data, scoping ECU outputs/inputs/sensors/actuators etc. What this means for a customer is a van that is unreliable or off the road for a lot longer than it should be for what is often a simple fault to fix (once found - but but always...pump rotor wear is not a cheap fix and is well documented because of this symptom), especially if its a intermittent fault. Experience does allows me to guess the "typical" causes, but seeing a plethora of issues cause the same symptom, swapping parts without proof or evidence of what is at fault isn't professional, plus its not what I do unless its a very last gasp effort and all other avenues of diagnosis have been exhausted.
For example, I've had one in at least 3 times now with a random once in a blue moon total loss of power. I've driven it the best part of 200miles without any fault, scoped various signals and data logged live data during to check for anomalies or issues, changed sensors, actuators, relays, filters, leak back tests, checked loom for shorts/continuity. And it still plays up....well not anymore...cam-belt broke on it (AA man's diagnosis was the flywheel had gone
). I suspect the driver purposely put it in 2nd gear at 80+mph, as its a lease van and he was getting pretty pissed off with it and wants another van (time will tell - we've not had the go ahead to strip it down yet - cambelts break for a reason, and this was nowhere near due for change interval, so something "made" it break. Be it debris, fluid contamination or a failed tensioner etc).
VAG's diagnostics are like Ronseal...they do exactly what they say in the tin, to me that means getting a fault accurately diagnosed and fixed first time. To the customer that means a van that doesn't spend ages off the road or being driven in fear for when it will randomly cut out.
Caddys have their own problems too; As they share parts and electronic systems with Golfs and Polos they inherit the same issues. But nothing that has left me in a situation where I'm having to dissect the wiring loom with acupuncture probes trying to root out a problem. But I will say this: if it has the PD engine, it MUST have a impeccable service history and proof of the correct 505.01 , 506.01 or 507.00 spec engine oil being used. I cannot stress this enough.
So my advice is neither are better than each other, but I prefer the Caddy as I can fix them quicker. Both are far better than Fiat Doblos and Pug Partner/Berlingos, those can be another world of trouble.
The biggest bug bear I have with the Connect's electronics with the 1.8TDI and 1.8 TDCi is Fords engine ECU having the motor industry's worst on board diagnostics I have ever come across on a modern vehicle.... Its a common issue on this era of TDCi Fords (be it Focus, Transit, Mondeo, Jag X-type etc) is they will cut all engine power on detecting a non-specific fault whilst you are driving along. You may have the glowplug light flashing indicating a fault (but not always). The engine will not start once you coasted to a standstill, but may eventually restart (typically when the AA man arrives). Yet you plug in some diagnostics kit (even £5+K worth) to see what it thinks is wrong, and what does it say? "no DTCs stored". F**king useless.
To me its a pain in the **** and extra time and hence labour charged to the customer (who sometimes doesn't appreciate/understand the work involved) for a job due to diagnosing it the old fashioned way, extended road tests, data logging live data, scoping ECU outputs/inputs/sensors/actuators etc. What this means for a customer is a van that is unreliable or off the road for a lot longer than it should be for what is often a simple fault to fix (once found - but but always...pump rotor wear is not a cheap fix and is well documented because of this symptom), especially if its a intermittent fault. Experience does allows me to guess the "typical" causes, but seeing a plethora of issues cause the same symptom, swapping parts without proof or evidence of what is at fault isn't professional, plus its not what I do unless its a very last gasp effort and all other avenues of diagnosis have been exhausted.
For example, I've had one in at least 3 times now with a random once in a blue moon total loss of power. I've driven it the best part of 200miles without any fault, scoped various signals and data logged live data during to check for anomalies or issues, changed sensors, actuators, relays, filters, leak back tests, checked loom for shorts/continuity. And it still plays up....well not anymore...cam-belt broke on it (AA man's diagnosis was the flywheel had gone
). I suspect the driver purposely put it in 2nd gear at 80+mph, as its a lease van and he was getting pretty pissed off with it and wants another van (time will tell - we've not had the go ahead to strip it down yet - cambelts break for a reason, and this was nowhere near due for change interval, so something "made" it break. Be it debris, fluid contamination or a failed tensioner etc).VAG's diagnostics are like Ronseal...they do exactly what they say in the tin, to me that means getting a fault accurately diagnosed and fixed first time. To the customer that means a van that doesn't spend ages off the road or being driven in fear for when it will randomly cut out.
Caddys have their own problems too; As they share parts and electronic systems with Golfs and Polos they inherit the same issues. But nothing that has left me in a situation where I'm having to dissect the wiring loom with acupuncture probes trying to root out a problem. But I will say this: if it has the PD engine, it MUST have a impeccable service history and proof of the correct 505.01 , 506.01 or 507.00 spec engine oil being used. I cannot stress this enough.
So my advice is neither are better than each other, but I prefer the Caddy as I can fix them quicker. Both are far better than Fiat Doblos and Pug Partner/Berlingos, those can be another world of trouble.
Last edited by ALi-B; 02 September 2013 at 08:23 PM.
05 September 2013, 06:35 PM
#12
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Caddys look better but i know a few people with newish ones that have been a real pain and gave lots of trouble with low miles.
Connects seem to be a great van but then again i do like a Transit anyway and always have done....if you dont like rust though dont get a Ford van of any kind lol, my 3 year old Transit work van is already rusting like a pig, chassis legs and everything, apparently Ford make them out of recycled metal (however true that is i dont know) but they seem to rust from inside out!!
Connects seem to be a great van but then again i do like a Transit anyway and always have done....if you dont like rust though dont get a Ford van of any kind lol, my 3 year old Transit work van is already rusting like a pig, chassis legs and everything, apparently Ford make them out of recycled metal (however true that is i dont know) but they seem to rust from inside out!!
05 September 2013, 07:19 PM
#13
Found a dealer close to me with a selection of ex British Gas Caddy's.
They are 3 years old with between 28 & 56k miles, full history and even got air con.
They're not the TDi version so I'm a bit concerned how underpowered they're going to feel. I'm off to look at them tomorrow
They are 3 years old with between 28 & 56k miles, full history and even got air con.
They're not the TDi version so I'm a bit concerned how underpowered they're going to feel. I'm off to look at them tomorrow
06 September 2013, 01:57 PM
#14
SDi 2.0 PD?
They are ok. But no turbo, so power delivery is somewhat flat meaning you have to rev them pretty hard if you need them to move quickly...as there is not much low end torque and no shove that you'd typically get from a turbo diesel. IIRC torque is almost half that of the TDi.
But if you like to potter about in the slow lane they are fine.
They are ok. But no turbo, so power delivery is somewhat flat meaning you have to rev them pretty hard if you need them to move quickly...as there is not much low end torque and no shove that you'd typically get from a turbo diesel. IIRC torque is almost half that of the TDi.
But if you like to potter about in the slow lane they are fine.
06 September 2013, 09:28 PM
#15
Drove one today Ali and it was sluggish at best. Limited to 80mph (which could be removed) and 0-60 in 22 seconds!!
Found a nice TDi version close to me on a 09 plate. Great spec. Sat nav air con rear parking sensors etc. Done 98k miles but with a comprehensive VW history including cambelt.
Going to see it tomorrow.
Found a nice TDi version close to me on a 09 plate. Great spec. Sat nav air con rear parking sensors etc. Done 98k miles but with a comprehensive VW history including cambelt.
Going to see it tomorrow.
07 September 2013, 01:37 PM
#16
My old job I used to drive a Connect tdci and a Touran (much the same as a caddy) 1.9tdi.
The vw had to have a new dmf, and esp module, both costing £1500 each, and both around the 60k mark.
The connect didn't really need anything much, and it was sold on with 230k on the clock. That was a couple of years ago, to a fella that worked opposite, and is still going now. I thought it was a great little van.
As with the ford diagnostics, a code reader won't read vw stuff either, a garage will need VAG COM diagnostics.
The vw had to have a new dmf, and esp module, both costing £1500 each, and both around the 60k mark.
The connect didn't really need anything much, and it was sold on with 230k on the clock. That was a couple of years ago, to a fella that worked opposite, and is still going now. I thought it was a great little van.
As with the ford diagnostics, a code reader won't read vw stuff either, a garage will need VAG COM diagnostics.
08 September 2013, 12:09 PM
#17
My old job I used to drive a Connect tdci and a Touran (much the same as a caddy) 1.9tdi.
The vw had to have a new dmf, and esp module, both costing £1500 each, and both around the 60k mark.
The connect didn't really need anything much, and it was sold on with 230k on the clock. That was a couple of years ago, to a fella that worked opposite, and is still going now. I thought it was a great little van.
As with the ford diagnostics, a code reader won't read vw stuff either, a garage will need VAG COM diagnostics.
Our workshop has well over £10K worth of plug-in diagnostics equipment to cover various range of cars and vans...None of them will report intermittent or "one-off" events with Ford. We've trialled others and had the same issues too. The problem isn't really with the equipment, its more with how Ford's ECUs handle the logging of non-permanent or intermittent fault events.
In contrast VCDS/VAG-COM costs a few hundred quid and it works perfectly with most VAG cars (although somewhat restricted on live data and coding if there is no label file for a particular model). In fact I'd be lost without it, its one the cheapest bits of kit we have and IMO its one of the best. Why pay £7K+ to get a Autologic VAG subscription when VAG-COM does most of it for under £500.
Dual mass flywheels are a issue of contention on most cars. Some last 200K and I've seen some last 50K. One factor is driving style/loading, the other factor is build quality. But parts have got cheaper; to put some perspective on it: Parts wise they are around £300 for the DM flywheel and about £200 for the clutch kit - all LUK branded (who is usually the original part manufacturer), plus the Labour and VAT. The bulk of labour will be the time it takes to drop the subframe and pull the gearbox off, which time-wise is not too different to the time taken to replace a clutch on a Connect.
Originally Posted by ALi-B
And it still plays up....well not anymore...cam-belt broke on it (AA man's diagnosis was the flywheel had gone ). I suspect the driver purposely put it in 2nd gear at 80+mph, as its a lease van and he was getting pretty pissed off with it and wants another van (time will tell - we've not had the go ahead to strip it down yet - cambelts break for a reason, and this was nowhere near due for change interval, so something "made" it break. Be it debris, fluid contamination or a failed tensioner etc).
). I suspect the driver purposely put it in 2nd gear at 80+mph, as its a lease van and he was getting pretty pissed off with it and wants another van (time will tell - we've not had the go ahead to strip it down yet - cambelts break for a reason, and this was nowhere near due for change interval, so something "made" it break. Be it debris, fluid contamination or a failed tensioner etc).
Last edited by ALi-B; 08 September 2013 at 12:11 PM.
08 September 2013, 12:51 PM
#18
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i have a caddy tdi and i cant fault it.
never let me down (unlike my transit or merc vito) drives great and has bags of power being the 104bhp.
i looked at alot of connects prior to teh caddy as they are much cheaper.
they felt terrible to drive imho.
get a caddy tdi and i dont think you will regret it
never let me down (unlike my transit or merc vito) drives great and has bags of power being the 104bhp.
i looked at alot of connects prior to teh caddy as they are much cheaper.
they felt terrible to drive imho.
get a caddy tdi and i dont think you will regret it
08 September 2013, 04:26 PM
#19
Caddy TDi on the drive.
2009
Reflex silver metallic
Factory colour screen sat nav
Air con
Rear parking sensors
Factory updated stereo with iPod input
I little mark on the paint apart from that immaculate.
Belonged to a film company and was a managers car. Never carried anything heavy or dirty.
Drove lovely. Nice torque and enough grunt to keep up with traffic.
Very happy with it
2009
Reflex silver metallic
Factory colour screen sat nav
Air con
Rear parking sensors
Factory updated stereo with iPod input
I little mark on the paint apart from that immaculate.
Belonged to a film company and was a managers car. Never carried anything heavy or dirty.
Drove lovely. Nice torque and enough grunt to keep up with traffic.
Very happy with it
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