vampire Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 So this weekend started with a fine of £30 in the post,for driving in a bus lane whilst in Colchester after following sat nav This morning took the freelander to have its mot,failed on a rubber gaitor,bad but not massive.Next took the van for same,now it is old and I have had it for years,always starts never gone wrong,owes me nothing,10 years of loyal service,till this morning the guy filled the page with failures and had to start on second sheet,with full sheet of advisories. Failed on welding to cill,brake hoses,rear brakes discs and pads,rear spring broken,hand brake,gaitor and advisory,more welding,tyre,gaitor and a load of trivial stuff. So am going to be lashing out on a new van,was thinking used Vauxhall vivaro,anything I should look for on these vans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegleg31 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Injectors go, gear boxes, clutches. Mines got a fault with the diesel pump at the minute. One minute it'll start fine the next it starts and then cuts and and you have to turn it over a few times until the pressure builds up. Other than that they're not bad vans for their money Plus depending on what you do, consider a long wheel base as a plaster board just goes in laid down and a sheet of ply has to go in diagonal in a swb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Buy a t5 . I've had 4 Vw transporters over 15 years and never had a problem Edited January 24, 2015 by team tractor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil82 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 vivaro is the same as the Nissan and Renault van, built on same production line just different badges, google the faults they have, everything from rusted solid injectors to blow up gear boxes, stick to ford or vw, or if your budget stretches to it, merc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 I had a Vivaro and it was the most reliable van i've had. When it had covered 120,000 miles it needed top & bottom ball joints and new discs/pads,but that was it. Comfortable van to drive and quick to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 done nearly 200k since 03 in them and no problems to report, They do however feel worn at relatively low miles and while I would buy a new in in a flash I would be wary of a used one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 VW Transporter or Merc Vito. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingo15 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Turbo if a diesel one, know of 2 fellow heating engineers have had the gear box fall out. Sensors galore on them.alarm. All were brand new owners all seemed to go wrong after 2 years of owning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safc1973 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 VW Transporter or Merc Vito. +1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Got a T5 now, very nice,Very expensive and riddled with problems just like all the rest, the only thing more annoying than a 15k van letting you down is a 31k van doing it,Does drive lovely and hopefully the residuals will be there for me in two years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 NOT an over rated, overly expensive, unreliable piece of poop T5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Injectors go, gear boxes, clutches. Mines got a fault with the diesel pump at the minute. One minute it'll start fine the next it starts and then cuts and and you have to turn it over a few times until the pressure builds up. Other than that they're not bad vans for their money Plus depending on what you do, consider a long wheel base as a plaster board just goes in laid down and a sheet of ply has to go in diagonal in a swb Would have to be long wheel base for reasons you stated. VW Transporter or Merc Vito. Its a merc vito 110 that I have at the moment,been brilliant.Next will need to be longer,see above and have some modern essentials like e/w,c/l and air con. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millrace Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 well here my take on vivaro,,, 04/08 clutch turbo and gear box problems due to using laguna parts,,,,up to 11 the injectors are the main problem sensors everywhere trust me when you plug the computer in just wipe them faults as most dont exist lol...... now dont get me wrong ive got a 10 plate needing an engine at moment due to crank movement 110k time to change..... but ive just bought a late 12 plate traffic same vehicle and will be gettn a late 13 shortly.... they are comfortable to drive quick if you need to be easy to run that 10 plate does 42mpg on a decent journey full of tools there are the best mpg available,,, reason for buying more is this,, t5 loads of faults after warrenty and just to expensive for a builder transit rear axle problems and every day it rains the rust mites are eating away they will disappear below your feet literely and just to boxy outa date lookin for me to give you a price guide was watchin" manheim auctions" the other day,, 12 plate traffics ex enterprise stock so warrent miles they were in good nick 50kish miles ,,sat nav parking sensorel windows mirrrors bluetooth radio no air con going for 6.5 to 7k well worth the money with bit of manufacture warrenty left to get them checked out dont get the swb cant get sheets in no matter what ppl say its either flat or at angle which is just a pain(ive always got lwb) ive been running these since 07 and as much as they can be a pain there is nothing better out there...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I have a new one, it's ok, the 1.9 engine likes to be kept around 2k rpm or above as the turbo lag is atrocious, the heated screen is just a button, it doesn't actually do anything, there's a lack of available cubby holes to keep stuff in the van, glove box is tiny, pockets in the door cards are slim, only one cup holder either side that won't take anything bigger than a half litre bottle. and only one slot in the dash which has room for 1 a4 folder. I've never gotten 42mpg from it, a full tank lasts me about a month or 500 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royboy Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I wouldn't have a Vivaro given me, if I had to have a similar size van it would be a tranny I think, they may have there faults but a lot easier to fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted January 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Have now looked at thousands of vans on line.The scudo/fiat citreon dispatch thingy etc etc all seem small with tiny little engines ! Am looking at 10 plate vivaro/vito/transits,ideally with ply lined, roof rack, pipe tube, bulk housing,under 70 k,full history. Have a short list and am now registered with Colchester auctions,who have some nice transits 10/11 plate 30k miles I hired a lwb transit twice in the summer both trips where into London and back and it surprised me how comfy, responsive and quiet it was compared to my old merc vito. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny tim Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 I have a Toyota hiace ,very pleased with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLuke Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Have a Primastar which is same as Vivaro and (touch wood) no issues. Go for the 115 brake engine and it's a comfy ride, quick enough, and good value The Transporters I have encountered are nothing but expensive, to buy, fix, run.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 something I heard might make you want to consider a Mercedes, is not all garages can fix them, something to do with the codes not being compatible with anything other than Mercedes readers. my father ran a small fleet of merc vans, they all had to go back to the dealer for any fault reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Injectors go, gear boxes, clutches. Mines got a fault with the diesel pump at the minute. One minute it'll start fine the next it starts and then cuts and and you have to turn it over a few times until the pressure builds up. Other than that they're not bad vans for their money Plus depending on what you do, consider a long wheel base as a plaster board just goes in laid down and a sheet of ply has to go in diagonal in a swb Turn the ignition on until the coil light goes out 3 times and it should be ok Had one loved to drive it but bought a transit and never looked back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawntredder Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) vivaro are quite good on fuel and 6 speed but low to the floor so be warned if going up tracks when shooting.....I've have been driving vans for 15yrs as I am a courier and the best by a country mile for me is the one I drive now a new shape citroen berlingo enterprise really good space for ya kit and high fiftys mpg had sixty two when motorway driving out of the 1598cc hdi engine....cracking motor Edited January 30, 2015 by Robbie Forster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted February 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) Have now got the van situation sorted,after viewing loads and loads managed to reduce it to transits and have test driven one today which we bought and traded the vito in. So I am now officially a white van man. Thanks for all your input Edited February 7, 2015 by vampire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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