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Cheap as possible van options!

Diwrnach

Well-known member
Messages
3,309
OK going to bite the bullet and get a van, but also keeping the pick up so want something to run along side it, thinking as cheap as possible really, if it lasts a year I will be happy kind of cheap, a grand would be good, couple of grand fine as well, but prefer cheaper rather than more expensive, I do have a friend who runs a body shop so can make it look pretty if needed cheaply.

What I am after is one of those old tanks that just runs forever and never breaks.

Thinking Toyota Hiace? though a SWB transit also seems a good option but they always seem to be covered in rust.

Needs to be big enough to hold at least a 350l tank and associated gubbins for WFP and pressure washer with rotary etc.

Was thinking of a small transit connect and that kind of thing, but really don't think it would be big enough? though anyone that has a van of that size please feel free to correct me, would like to get away with a small connect or something if at all possible.

Thinking @Eviestevie might be a font of knowledge on this subject, I know literally nothing about vans other than my mates not that old transporter rounded off the cam lobes in less than 80k miles.

 
The good old hiace

They are bombproof

Most reliable can I would say on the market but there not to everyone's taste and basic but if you want a strong engine this van is the one

A customer of mine has one in red absolutely showroom condition only 52,000 from new every time I clean is Windows I offer to buy it lol

Said he has never spent a penny apart from tyres and service

 
Be careful with vivaro/traffic/primastar with over 100k miles, just spent nearly £1200 having four siezed injectors removed and replaced!!!

 
I have a Trafic with 171000 on the clock and just today spent £12 letting the lads at the car wash clean it /emoticons/sad.png
Much bother green up to that mileage? I've 124 on mine and I'm just expecting the gear box or injectors to go

 
The good old hiaceThey are bombproof

Most reliable can I would say on the market but there not to everyone's taste and basic but if you want a strong engine this van is the one

A customer of mine has one in red absolutely showroom condition only 52,000 from new every time I clean is Windows I offer to buy it lol

Said he has never spent a penny apart from tyres and service
I am just reading the Australian motor car website of some description, there are people with them up to 800k km on them and never done anything but service them!

I couldn't care less about style, old fashioned etc etc, if I can spend between 1-2k and it last a year or two it will have paid for itself, but if I can get one that keeps going will be more than happy.

 
I have a Trafic with 171000 on the clock and just today spent £12 letting the lads at the car wash clean it /emoticons/sad.png
Will a traffic fit a 350l tank and pressure washer mate? I have looked at those but they don't look very big.

 
Sorry, was thinking of a small van with the traffic, its quite big lol, like I say my knowledge on vans is pretty much zero.

 
hiace, reminds me back in 2005 i was a mechanic a local builder came in with one overheating turned out the head was cracked. Anyhow he went and bought a fresh complete engine from a breakers yard and had me fit it in for him . i will always remember him saying "youre joking" because on start up it overheated and it turned out hed bought an engine with a cracked head

 
Bloody hell, that's a bit of a ******* two cracked heads!

So any other options for tank like vans?

Like I say I only want a years work out of it really, I figure I will just spend a grand a year on a new van lol, though if I can get one to last long will be a bonus.

 
theres a guy on the forum has a post his 03 partner van for sale 1800 quid. spent 3k on it in a year surely that one must be bombproof now hes pumped a fortune into it

 
I have a Trafic with 171000 on the clock and just today spent £12 letting the lads at the car wash clean it /emoticons/sad.png
Much bother green up to that mileage? I've 124 on mine and I'm just expecting the gear box or injectors to go
Mine started about 6 weeks ago with a little hiccup occasionally whilst on the motorway which fairly quickly turned into what feels like a misfire but you take your foot off and it goes away. Had a friend with a snapon code reader check it and it came up "number 3 injector circuit" so I googled it and found all the horror stories about injectors on these engines... have a look on youtube, m9r injector removal!!!

By the time I got it booked in I couldn't get more than 20mph out of it and it had a really bad diesel knock, sounded like all the bottom end bearings had fallen out.

Took it to a garage that does only diesel work who found two completely failed injectors and then broke a very expensive German tool removing them in about 100 pieces!!!

Upside is before the work i was averaging 26mpg (19mpg the last two weeks) thats now gone upto 38mpg...soothes the pain a little.

 
Every cheap traffic on ebay seems to have a "it cuts out, it has problems with injector" etc wrong with it. Looking on google it seems very common and not cheap either.

 
theres a guy on the forum has a post his 03 partner van for sale 1800 quid. spent 3k on it in a year surely that one must be bombproof now hes pumped a fortune into it
That scares me as I am sure some vehicles come off the line on a Friday afternoon or something and are bad before they are even on a forecourt. Some vehicles just seem to be bad uns.

 
Much bother green up to that mileage? I've 124 on mine and I'm just expecting the gear box or injectors to go
None at all, but I am a bit different, even though she is a 57 plate I treat her well, service regularly and don't drive like a total ****. I did have to do the tensioner pulley last week as the bearings in it went and that was £80 but the only money outside of service I have spent on it since new tires last summer.

Will a traffic fit a 350l tank and pressure washer mate? I have looked at those but they don't look very big.
My traffic has a 500L tank and room for a carpet cleaner and pressure washer as well.

 
That scares me as I am sure some vehicles come off the line on a Friday afternoon or something and are bad before they are even on a forecourt. Some vehicles just seem to be bad uns.
im on my fourth partner van in 8 yrs . that says summat . having said that all were well under a grand on purchase . so say 4 grand in 8yrs its only 500 a year

or ten quid a week, who can possibly begrudge that. quite comfey seats too, iv never had backache in 8 yrs thats a plus

 
im on my fourth partner van in 8 yrs . that says summat . having said that all were well under a grand on purchase . so say 4 grand in 8yrs its only 500 a year

or ten quid a week, who can possibly begrudge that. quite comfey seats too, iv never had backache in 8 yrs thats a plus
Would it fit a good sized tank plus pressure washer though? I would love a small van, but don't think everything is going to fit in one.

 
Would it fit a good sized tank plus pressure washer though? I would love a small van, but don't think everything is going to fit in one.
i wouldnt know ,me being trad. mines a crewvan and with it loaded 4 of us blokes in it makes no real diffrence to how its ride level is- nor has its belly ever scraped along the road.

 
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