Recommended Vans

[Dave]

I bought a 2002 Citroen Dispatch 2 litre turbo for £800.

The engine has 150000 miles on the clock.

It carries 2 motocross bikes and kit no probs.

It pulls quick all the way to 90 unladen and all the way to 80 with two bikes in the back.

It will hold 80 no probs but it's most time and fuel efficient between 60&70

I did an MPG test recently which was quite surprising. I filled it to the brim, reset the trip meter and only used it when it had at least one bike (plus gear) in the back in a verity of conditions; from motorway to gridlock. I ran it until its fuel light came on and refilled to the brim again, recording the mileage on the clock and the number of litres which were pumped in.

780.4 miles driven
71.98 litres of fuel
49.3 MPG

To me I think this is pretty good. It drives like a car and is affordable so am happy to recommend to anyone if you find a good one.

Very tempted to get one of the newer ones in the future.

I have zero experience of owning other vans so if anyone else could chime in good vans that'd be cool.

Just don't get what Dave Plum has, it can barely get up a hill.

[Stewie]

Can I join your club , just picked one up off Fleabay, nice and clean, happy so far, but it's only day 2...

[kris]

how much is your insurance and tax dave ?

have this debate every month ..

buy van (cost/mot/insurance/tyres/road tax) vs hire van


to quote angry alan "a van is a luxury item" !

[Stewie]

I use mine as a track day van, and will fit this one with fold down bed on one side, ply line and carpet.
Get to the track bikes out, pop up gazebo or awning, job a good un'.
RFL is in the upper level the same as a big car, new euro5 are cheaper, and £188 fully comp to insure...
After I sold my last van, I went down the trailer route, never again...
I also do a bit of lawnmower racing, so helps there as well.

[Dave]

I'd go by Sewies insurance figures as mine won't be reliable. This is the 1st 4 wheeled transport I've had since I was 18, so 7 years.

Without doing any maths it seems to me that playing the game right a van won't work out as being expensive in any way. Using it to replace a car, yes.

But using it once a ride, saving the cost knobblies, oil, pads, petrol and chain from use on the roads getting places will add up over the year to cover the cost of tax, insurance and maybe even some of the diesel.

The sad part is the initial outlay on buying the van.

The happy part is having the van, especially in winter.

[Any Sunday]

Hi
I run a Renault traffic 03 plate for work and bike. Running costs around £1000 per year in parts and labour to keep
In good order. Newer vans and have injector problems and this is very expensive to
Repair. Older vans don't suffer as badly but slave and master cylinders will need doing at about100k as will gearbox . Other stuff is usual to any van. My garage recons they are all as bad as each other and not even the vw and mercs are any better. They advise an older van with all works done is better than a newish van with work still to do. Hope this helps

[Dave]

Yeah that's a good point. Mine has had a lot of work done to it, then was priced to sell.

Stewie how's your van coming along?

[Beerbelly]

I've had a couple of transits - normal short wheel base and a jumbo.

They suffer with diesel pump problems - but I've not had any issues to date with this. Been pretty reliable to be honest. Both 100k plus.

The swb paid £1k for it. The Lwb paid £2.8k for it. I use them for work mainly but come in bloody handy in the winter when you want to change after a wet ride out!

Use the trailer in the summer...

[Stewie]

Yeah that's a good point. Mine has had a lot of work done to it, then was priced to sell.

Stewie how's your van coming along?

Its got me in trouble with the other 'arf, as it so good at transporting bikes, I brought a track bike ( zx6 ) of to Brands next..

But yes very happy with it, will need to change the front discs, but that's normal wear and tear, have got the ply to line it out, and my fit a night heater. Just need some time to do it.