What vehicle should I buy!

[dazmond]

Ive never ever had a problem with my DPF on my diesel connect in 7 years and I do around 3k a year stop/start all the time

 

[Ian Lennox]

Thanks for your reply. I've looked into getting it re-mapped, but it means the vehicle is not road legal and can cost £1000's in a fine. Whilst this has been suggested by numerous people, I'm not going to go down this road. Thanks for your comment though.

 

[Yogi1872]

Thanks for your reply. I've looked into getting it re-mapped, but it means the vehicle is not road legal and can cost £1000's in a fine. Whilst this has been suggested by numerous people, I'm not going to go down this road. Thanks for your comment though.

You won't have a sign on the side advertising it. Police don't do checks either.

 

[Ian Lennox]

You won't have a sign on the side advertising it. Police don't do checks either.

Police don't do checks? I would disagree based on the following:

Early this morning ( Thursday 13th June 2024) a pre-planned multi-agency traffic operation was taking place along Evesham Road, Spetchley, Worcester involving @westmerciapolice @dvsagovuk @TheGLAA officers focussing on coaches, minibuses, people carriers & any vehicles which transport workers to various local factories and fields within the Vale of Evesham.

The operation set out to identify any vehicles in a poor state of repair; any driving or vehicle offences & also identifying any workers who may be subject to labour exploitation and / or modern slavery.

RESULTS - 2 vehicles seized; 1 disqualified driver dealt with; several traffic offence reports issued for a variety of offences. DVSA restriction notices issued for non-roadworthy vehicles. As well as intelligence gathered from a number of those travelling in the vehicles stopped.

I know it's very popular to have vehicles re-mapped, but it's not for me. Thanks for your reply though.

 

[Yogi1872]

Police don't do checks? I would disagree based on the following:

Early this morning ( Thursday 13th June 2024) a pre-planned multi-agency traffic operation was taking place along Evesham Road, Spetchley, Worcester involving @westmerciapolice @dvsagovuk @TheGLAA officers focussing on coaches, minibuses, people carriers & any vehicles which transport workers to various local factories and fields within the Vale of Evesham.

The operation set out to identify any vehicles in a poor state of repair; any driving or vehicle offences & also identifying any workers who may be subject to labour exploitation and / or modern slavery.

RESULTS - 2 vehicles seized; 1 disqualified driver dealt with; several traffic offence reports issued for a variety of offences. DVSA restriction notices issued for non-roadworthy vehicles. As well as intelligence gathered from a number of those travelling in the vehicles stopped.

I know it's very popular to have vehicles re-mapped, but it's not for me. Thanks for your reply though.

Vosa do checks yes, usually for 3.5 ton upwards, even 3.5 vans don't really get pulled much. I've never seen vosa pull over a small van in my life. And don't know anyone with a small van who's been pulled either.

 

[Yogi1872]

You hardly do any miles too, vosa don't sit on roads around the town. They are near motorways

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

There’s not tons available but have you considered a petrol van? They got for a premium but might be worth it for you. No experience of them myself but you could check out. Here’s some examples:

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[tench0771]

I’ve got a 1.6 vivaro lwb no issues with dpf and before had 2.0 vivaro lwb no issues with dpf im quite compact as well 8k tops a year in both but mine gets a good run every 2 or 3 weeks usually 1.5 hour drive to Dorset or Bristol Channel or south hams never skipped a beat

 

[AW Services]

You could buy a modern diesel and get it mapped out.
2 of my mates have done this and it’s something that I’m considering.
No regens, no add blue, no vaporiser problems.
It does help if you’re friendly with an MOT place

I might tinker with my van over the weekend as I have a full diagnostics kit.

Police don't do checks? I would disagree based on the following:

Early this morning ( Thursday 13th June 2024) a pre-planned multi-agency traffic operation was taking place along Evesham Road, Spetchley, Worcester involving @westmerciapolice @dvsagovuk @TheGLAA officers focussing on coaches, minibuses, people carriers & any vehicles which transport workers to various local factories and fields within the Vale of Evesham.

The operation set out to identify any vehicles in a poor state of repair; any driving or vehicle offences & also identifying any workers who may be subject to labour exploitation and / or modern slavery.

RESULTS - 2 vehicles seized; 1 disqualified driver dealt with; several traffic offence reports issued for a variety of offences. DVSA restriction notices issued for non-roadworthy vehicles. As well as intelligence gathered from a number of those travelling in the vehicles stopped.

I know it's very popular to have vehicles re-mapped, but it's not for me. Thanks for your reply though.

Remaps aren't all about speed and power or how much boost you can create. You can map for efficiency, improved torque and multiple other useful & legal reasons

You're shared post has no connection to the aforementioned topic. You can't detect a remap on the roadside

 

[spruce]

Any MOT inspector will see immediately when the dpf has been removed. The exhaust will be sooty and the filter will have evidence of being tampered with.
I notice the MOT inspectors are getting more strict. It seems as though they are concerned about having an unannounced audit more than what they used to have.

 

[Ian Lennox]

I know remapping is very popular, and I've only heard about it within the last week so it's been a steep learning curve and I'm certainly no expert, but at the end of the day, the vehicle is not road legal, so I'm not doing it.

 

[spruce]

I know remapping is very popular, and I've only heard about it within the last week so it's been a steep learning curve and I'm certainly no expert, but at the end of the day, the vehicle is not road legal, so I'm not doing it.

Remapping in itself isn't illegal. Deleting dpf filters and egr valves is.
How do MOT testers pass a vehicle without a dpf filter with the smoke test part of the inspection? I thought it was linked to the dvla the same as the brake test is.

 

[Gadgetfox]

I wouldn't buy an electric for the reasons mentioned by AW Services.
I had a Berlingo (same as Peugeot Partner), which is a nice van with good payload, but I had constant dpf problem.
I now have a Transit Custom and wouldn't want anything else.
Definitely buy a diesel for the torque.
Definitely consider the payload seriously - 500 ltrs takes up a big chunk of it.

 

[Ian Lennox]

Remapping in itself isn't illegal. Deleting dpf filters and egr valves is.
How do MOT testers pass a vehicle without a dpf filter with the smoke test part of the inspection? I thought it was linked to the dvla the same as the brake test is.

From what I understand, and that's not much, is that remapping involves taking the dpf out. If the van is still within the emissions on an mot then it will pass. Although it's not illegal to take out the dpf, it is illegal to drive on the public road with the dpf removed. I'm happy to be corrected though.

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

From what I understand, and that's not much, is that remapping involves taking the dpf out. If the van is still within the emissions on a mot then it will pass. Although it's not illegal to take out the dpf, it is illegal to drive on the public road with the dpf removed. I'm happy to be corrected though.

You’ve got that the wrong way round mate.
Removing the DPF will require the ECU (brain of the vehicle) to be altered, if only to stop it throwing warning lights. This isn’t necessary remapping but it’s where you’ve gotten the term from.
A remap can be done on a vehicle regardless if it’s had its DPF removed. And like others have explained, for any number of reasons, from economy to power to fuel quality.

 

[Ian Lennox]

Yes, I realize that. The issue is the dpf clogging up, which if it was removed, then the ECU needs to be re-mapped. Its the removal of the dpf that renders the vehicle illegal for road use, not remapping in itself.
Please put me right if I've got this wrong.

 

[Yogi1872]

I wouldn't buy an electric for the reasons mentioned by AW Services.
I had a Berlingo (same as Peugeot Partner), which is a nice van with good payload, but I had constant dpf problem.
I now have a Transit Custom and wouldn't want anything else.
Definitely buy a diesel for the torque.
Definitely consider the payload seriously - 500 ltrs takes up a big chunk of it.

I got a partner and it was my mate who's a mechanic said there good vans, although they have dpf problems. Says its never cheap to fix when it's a problem through it. Was his suggestion to remove whatever it is they do so it doesn't become a problem.

 

[Delabrum]

Very interesting thread this one. Spruce - I’m surprised you haven’t had any DPF issues. I live practically next door to you in Marske. We also do about 3.5k miles a year and have had nothing but issues with my Peugeot Partner’s DPF in the last 6-9 months.

Van has just gone through its MOT but I have a lot of advisories. My mechanic reckons I’ll have a decision to make in the next 12-18 months as a lot of things are going to start going wrong. I too am seriously considering electric. There appears to be a lot of ‘nearly new’ electric vans on the market with just a few hundred miles that are obviously far cheaper than brand new. I’m guessing that tradesmen aren’t getting anywhere near the stated mileage and are thus returning them? But that’s not an issue for me doing 60-70 miles a week. Plus I have a decent sized driveway for charging.

I’m thinking this might be the way to go - a nearly new EV. Save myself a decent whack each month in fuel and zero road tax, write off the cost of the van - I’m barely any worse off long term. Am I missing any big downsides? E Berlingo M has a payload of 803 kg and is £16k ish nearly new.

Only thing I’m not sure about is fitting all the WFP gear. I use a pure freedom reel master, I don’t fancy bolting it to the van floor knowing there’s some rather explosive batteries hanging around the rear axle Anybody know if pure freedom etc have experience/offer electric van fitting?

 

[Johnboi]

These comments are just what I'm after! I thought I was very conscientious about maintenance of my van, until I read some of the above as to how to maintain a diesel when doing short journeys all the time - I hadn't thought of changing the oil twice as much as the recommendation from manufacturer.

Good to get comments from window cleaners who are actually using electric vans.

Johnboi - may I ask how long you've had your proace? Did you buy it new?

As for Tesla - if electric is so good, why has Elon musk slashed prices? Also, why are dealers finding it almost impossible to sell electric vehicles?

I'm also considering buying a really old euro 4 van, as they don't have dpf's, but is this a wrong move? Answers on a postcard - or on this forum!

My proace was a ex demo with 4k miles. Had it for 2 years as I said the 75kwh version is out now.


Tesla model y is best selling car in the world so he must be doing something right and I’m sure they make more margin on each vehicle than every other manufacturer even with the discounts.

 

[Ian Lennox]

Thanks for everyone's practical comments and experiences. I've decided to go for another diesel! - the Ford Transit Custom 340. I'll have to incorporate a regular trip down the motorway, keep the adblue topped up and change the oil fairly often. The newer Ford diesels have a 'Run to Clean' notification on the dashboard when a re-gen is due. The van attempts to automatically do 2 re-gens, if it doesn't do it successfully because the driver hasn't driven far enough and got the dpf hot enough then the 'Drive to Clean' light comes on. Very helpful I thought.

Does anyone want to but a Ford Connect 2012 with dpf issues? Haaaa!

 

[Bell Pallisey]

down my road i today see an 11 plate merc vito van for sale. it says £1695 looks good i dont know it but its there i can give you the phone number if u want the seats look like new