NEW Van required
 

I have a 40k mile long whhen base 2009 Vauxhall Vivaro and I am sick of niggly things going wrong all the time. Touch wood it's not left me stranded but I am always worried it's going too. It seems the Vivaro's are ****e when talking to people as everyone seems to have problems with them.

I want something new/pre registered with a similiar size as the vivaro. I quite like the look of the sprinter's but they are expensive but are supposedly rock solid reliability wise. As I only do 8k miles per annum what do you think's best. Keep getting Vivaro's and changing them every 3-4 years be3fore they break and run out of warranty or £20-£24k for a sprinter and keep it for 7 years? I was also looking at the Long wheel base high roof Vito's. Any advice or any other suggestions?

Vivaros are ****e, had snapped tming chain, big ends, the works on mine, would NEVER own another one

That's why I am wanting to get rid. Everyone I talk to has had bad experiences with them and I know a few lads with 100k miles sprinters that are fine.

What are the new transit customs like?

Don't lie it was because the boys put petrol in their :D ;) :lol1:

Are you looking for a cash buy or to finance the van?

If cash deals I get some super duper deals on later vans I.e 58 onwards most of them now 60plates from ex fleet, some have mileage behind them but full dealer history etc.

If I can help at all plz feel free to drop me a pm :thumb:

Haha, I wish it was because of that. According to the **** garage we took it to, it just "happens"

It lasted a week between having timing chain and new head before spinning 1 big end. (Crap in the oil way is my diagnosis, otherwise all 4 would be in the same state)

You get what you pay for and all that, Im just really upset that Toyota have taken on the peugeot expert!

Very good indeed.
I picked my new 14 plate custom a few weeks ago in panther black, fantastic on fuel, 6-speed 125ps, pulls very well and is very smooth/car like to drive. All the gadgets, automatic bluetooth link up from stereo to phone, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors,heated mirrors and windscreen, ipod connection etc etc, and mine is the "Trend" model , (mid range) the next one up is a "Limited", the only differnce being air con/alloys and different seats from memory. I do a lot of work on farms and up back lanes and didint fancy alloys getting curbed and wrecked, as for the air con well ive got a window so dont need that either!
Theyve also made a compartment under the paseenger seat, to allow a 3meter length of copper/soil pipe (im a plumber) , so it saves me having to have a purpose jobby pipe rack on the roof.

So far so goid, no complaints from me just yet.

Thanks for the offer but I really want something as new as possible. I've been offered £5500 part ex for the Vivaro which isn't bad.

I have had our Transit Custom Ltd (long which equates to the old medium) for about 7 weeks and love it, added the sport seats, sat nav, 240v socket and led lighting for the rear (which is prob the best thing ever), the power mirrors are great for when parking up or tight spaces.

It was actually on Fifth Gear the other week and got fantastic reviews.

If you are looking at Sprinters...also look at VW Crafters...same van, just with a VW engine instead.

Both solid vans, but not as nice to drive as a Vivaro or a well specced Transit (more body roll, more chassis twist etc), Or a LWB vito at that.

Sprinters typically are much bigger vans, so beware of the 3.5ton limits.

IN defence of the Vivaro, and its frenchness; As with all modern engines, for god's sake don't skimp on servicing...Traffic/viavros can go for 2yrs/18K on basic semi-synth10w-40 oil as Renault oil specs (RN0700 IIRC) are not very strict, thats not good......so letting the garage use the cheaper stuff too often and it won't last long (the chain amognst other stuff). They burn oil and the oil guage lies too, which doesn't help.

5w-40 fully synth, every 12months/10K. Mercs have a stricter oil spec, as do VW, and Ford.


I darnt think what the rental companies stick in their vans...which often end up being sold on to small business owners. Probably some bulk fleet oil, it would explain alot.

Transporter with the high roof?
Nice to drive, good engines, some are reliable(ish).

Might have a look at the Transporter.

As I only do 8k miles per annum I think it might be cheaper to buy a new Vivaro for £15.5k and buy a new one every 3 - 4 years. The sprinters are around £11k more to buy. The vivaro would loose around £7.5k in 3 - 4 years but would have warranty. The lwb vivaro is perfect size for me and as mentioned above I didn't realise how big the sprinters are. Decisions decisons.

I ran a LWB Vito as my daily driver for over a year and couldn't fault it in the slightest, I'll be going for another Vito when the time comes.

Ideally I would prefer the Transporter but they are outwith my budget.

I do 60k a year in sprinters and I think they do everything really well. Current 63 plate on 29k nearly coming to its first service no issues what so ever, left the last one at 165k which by then had a replacement turbo at about 150k and a really notchy 5th gear we still use it now probably on about 175k.

We had a vw crafter and had endless problems with the engine with small niggles was still running at about 220k but did need a rebuild really as was very tappy. Hope that helps cheers Marc

Just had a new Transit custom delivered. We've had the limited spec 155bhp. Very nice van, load through bulkhead is great.
£96 it cost to fill from virtually empty (delivery amount of fuel), nearly on 600 miles done. Love it!