[SA Chris]

Yeek. too many questions.

First, what do you want to use it for? Will it be purely personaly, or will it need to carry loads too?

We looked long and hard for a low mileage second hand one with a glassed tailgate and 2 seats up front instead of the bench, but they retain value so well we ended up buying new, as it made sense with warranties etc.

We have a T28 T5 Transporter with the 1.9 diesel Engine, which is farily economical, but will still do 80ish on motorways without too much work. From reading VW forums you can expect water pump to go on these at some point around the 80-100k miles mark. Otherwise there are no problems I know of, not to say there aren't any.

[Paul B]

you might as well get the water pump changed when you do the timing belt anyway for the extra cost. If its the same generic VAG engine (which I'm assuming it is?) then you can get a slightly uprated one at the first change that'll last you longer.

[chummer]

How do you find it on hills? Having had a van with little umph it would be nice to go up hills without slowing down to and to be able to overtake without a 500yd run up.
I am going to be putting a rock and roller in and units, etc, basically convert it for trips away.

[ChrisC]

How do you find it on hills? Having had a van with little umph it would be nice to go up hills without slowing down to and to be able to overtake without a 500yd run up.
I am going to be putting a rock and roller in and units, etc, basically convert it for trips away.

I have the 85hp version and have converted as you describe and it's not very good with hills to be honest, but will do the job.  I reckon the 108? version might be the right balance between economy and power.  Looking at the stats then its supposed to be more economical then the 85 anyway.

I think the engine is the same in the 1.9 versions so you can get them remapped eg 85-->110ish.

[chummer]

Blob on Chris, just the knowledge I'm seeking. Cheers for that.

Now I Know what engine to go for any advice on the rest of shizzle from anyone? Especially the lease v's HP
thing and any good dealerships and good finance deals that anyone has come across?

[ChrisC]

Should have also said that the 130hp one has a 6th gear, which if your doing lots of motorway driving I can imagine being quite nice.

As Chris said above, finding a 2nd hand 130hp, low mileage, single front seat, tailgate etc is far far easier said than done!  I came to the conclusion that you had to compromise, buy new or be very lucky else you would be waiting a long while to find the van.

[richieb]

Jon,
I always assumed that if you can get the money sorted first (ie bank loan), then you are in a much better position to haggle over the price of the van.
Also, you are then free to search the loan market for the best rate. The one time I got a car and took the finance deal from the dealer, he was obviously tied into a finance company and I obviously didn't get a very good rate. 


Fully agree about the 6 speed gear box, makes a big difference on motorway trips.


 

[account_inactive]

Should have also said that the 130hp one has a 6th gear, which if your doing lots of motorway driving I can imagine being quite nice.

As Chris said above, finding a 2nd hand 130hp, low mileage, single front seat, tailgate etc is far far easier said than done!  I came to the conclusion that you had to compromise, buy new or be very lucky else you would be waiting a long while to find the van.

I'm psyched by this 6th gear thing.  Just about to check VWT4 forum for details.  On the 130BHP theme I had mine done and it's been fantastic and was only £250, again a recomendation from people on the other forum

Realised that you were talking about the T5.  From what I gather the T4s are a better buy

[SA Chris]

How do you find it on hills? Having had a van with little umph it would be nice to go up hills without slowing down to and to be able to overtake without a 500yd run up.

Ours is the 108 BHP, and it takes on any hills that Scotland can offer without even breathing hard. If you find yourself underwhelmed by the power you can always get it rechipped. Go for a test drive at any van centre if you have any doubts.

We haggled very hard when we got ours, playing the dealerships off against each other, managed to get a fiar bit off list price. Then 9 months the arse fell out the economy, they reduced VAT and were just about giving cars away .

No idea about finance, we were fortunate enough to avoid it.

[chummer]

Good point Rich, seems the way to go especially now the banks are being encouraged to give loans to small businesses.

6 speed would be sweet for heading up the Scotland and into Europe but I presume you pay a big premium for the luxury of 130bhp. I wonder if the 130 in 6th gear is more economical than the 108 in 5th? Bearing in mind I'm going to be using it as an everyday ride

[chummer]

time to hit the VW T5 forum I guess....

[soapy]

chummer, 3 year lease is best, decide on mileage limit, oh and get yourself vat registered. the lease company will offer the van to you once the lease expires for a reasonable premium because it saves them taking it back, cleaning/repairing and then standing it n their yard.

you can get it insured, serviced and fuelled through your business. all fit-out costs are offsettable also. you may have to declare it on your tax return p11d and pay tax at iirc 20% on £3000 for private use plus 20% on £500 for fuel, making £700 per year deductions. however if you keep a car or two at home don't bother with the p11d as it's justifiable to state 'no personal use'.

cvd are ok for commercial insurance including tool / freight cover.

[richieb]

My van (peugeot expert) is 120bhp and 6 speed. I find that it is possible to get respectable mpg out of it (something like 40-45?) if you drive really steady, change up quickly and don't overtake anything.  Put your foot down and economy takes a nose dive, much more so than in a car.

I dont know if its the van or getting older, but I drive much slower these days anyway. Good thing really cos I only just realised after 3 years that the speed limits are 10mph lower for my van on national speed limit roads and dual carrigeways   

[SA Chris]

6 speed would be sweet for heading up the Scotland and into Europe but I presume you pay a big premium for the luxury of 130bhp. I wonder if the 130 in 6th gear is more economical than the 108 in 5th? Bearing in mind I'm going to be using it as an everyday ride

I would expect the 2.5l to be a lot more thirsty. i think another difference is the 2.5l has a chain drive on the cam shaft, so doesn't need replacing unlike the cam bely on the 19.l. If you are interested in the comsumpion specs they are all in the brochure you can download from the vw van website.

http://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/transporter-range/transporter-panelvan/specifications

I think.

[SA Chris]

I dont know if its the van or getting older, but I drive much slower these days anyway. Good thing really cos I only just realised after 3 years that the speed limits are 10mph lower for my van on national speed limit roads and dual carrigeways   

Really? ours had that limit originally, but we got registration changed from LGV to a Motor Caravan at the DVLA once we got it converted.

[richieb]

Mine is not a proper conversion Chris, so still registered as a goods vehicle. Not 'car derived' either.
All those times I've driven all the way up the A9 at bang on 60mph!

[ChrisC]

All those times I've driven all the way up the A9 at bang on 60mph!

That'll be how you get 40-45mpg!  I manage 33-37 from my fully converted T5 depending on the drive but always keeping below 80.

[SA Chris]

I usually manage to stay at about 80, thanks to this nagging voice in the car. And I don't mean satnav.

[butters]

The VW T5 forum will have most of the answers you will be looking for re: what to look for but the main things to check are the Dual Mass Flywheel and the off side drivers shaft issue on earlier models. The DMF is easy enough to check for just try reversing it up a hill and if it shudders badly then the DMF is on the way out which is not a cheap fix - circa £700 from memory. The OS drive shaft is a bit trickier to check for but anything after (I think) 2006 should be OK as VW finally realised that putting the shaft in dry was a foolish idea by that stage - it is worth making sure that it has been done as you don't want the drive shaft spines shearing off and taking the gearbox with it.

Engine size is a personal preference really but the 1.9 (104 bhp variant) has done well by me - it pulls fine and will turn out 40ish mpg on a good run (at 80mph) but any short runs will see that figure halved easily - the 2.5 130bhp has more power (obviously) but the mpg will suffer as a result. Also if you go for the 2.5 then be aware that the 2007 models onwards run the Diesel Particulate Filter on the exhaust which is roundly condemned by all as far as I can tell because it is uncompromisingly shit.

There are a few tricks to getting better performance out of them without chipping\tuning - the two I have done so far being the simple but very effective blocking of Engine Gas Recirculation which made a huge difference to general driveability - lower down grunt (pulls at 1500rpm instead of 2000) being the main benefit and swapping the air filter out which made a slight improvement as well. The other option is to de-cat the exhaust which is supposed to be effective as well.

Anyway best of luck finding the right van - it is likely to prove the hardest part of the exercise when all is said and done.

[Paul B]

I'm not sure I agree with you that the 2.5Tdi will offer worse economy than the 1.9Tdi 104. Especially with the added advantage of a sixth speed. It all depends on how you drive it. I just had the 104 engine in a caddy and it could have done with a 6th and was more thirsty than my t4 by a fair margin.

Decat exhausts are an obvious MOT fail on modern diesels.

[butters]

I'm not sure I agree with you that the 2.5Tdi will offer worse economy than the 1.9Tdi 104. Especially with the added advantage of a sixth speed. It all depends on how you drive it. I just had the 104 engine in a caddy and it could have done with a 6th and was more thirsty than my t4 by a fair margin.

Decat exhausts are an obvious MOT fail on modern diesels.

Pretty sure that the official figures state that the 1.9 turns out better economy if only by a small margin though as you point out obvious factors would be what sort of driving you are going to be doing - predominant M-way driving is probably going to level the playing field somewhat but I would still expect the 1.9 to out perform.

Diesels aren't subject to the same emission specs as a petrol so removing the decat makes next to no difference - it will still piss the MOT - 1000's of people wouldn't have taken the option of removing if it didn't.

[Paul B]

Diesels aren't subject to the same emission specs as a petrol so removing the decat makes next to no difference - it will still piss the MOT - 1000's of people wouldn't have taken the option of removing if it didn't.

Its not a matter of it pissing the emissions test, its a requirement to have one fitted after a certain date. It isn't legal to drive without and upon a visual inspection will be a fail (hopefully not a post crash insurance inspection).  Where's Sloper to point out Magie told us the evils of cat's and pushed for lean burn fuel tech eh? Maybe Andy B can step in to take his place?

With regards to official figures nobody I knew could get the same economy out of their 1.9 T4's as my beefy yellow t4 (did I mention the owner after me is currently selling, its a fantastic van if anyone is looking). There's a lot to be said about excess power and the correcrt gearing. I'm on the same 1.9 VAG engine in a different (much smaller) car and once again my economy has been supersized due to not using the excess power (most of the time).

[iain]

did I mention the owner after me is currently selling, its a fantastic van if anyone is looking

PM'd you

[ChrisC]

InsuranceChoice.co.uk will cover us for £1K with only £200 excess underwritten by Aviva.  Plus only £60 for EU brakedown cover also which isn't too bad.

I'll keep digging and if I find anything better I'll post it here in case its any use to anyone in the future.

Replying to myself, but this may be of use to someone in the future.

Just had a quote form sureterm.com for £318, Full European cover for 1 year, no strings. 5k personal effect cover, 2K gas + awnings, Glass, Courtesy Car etc...  And only an extra £42 for EU breakdown cover too.   

[SA Chris]

As an aside, the big 60 amp blade fuse in our van blew last week so no power to everything on the leisure battery. Not sure why, probably a short will have a look when I get a replacement. Can get a pack of 10 on Amazon for the price of one at halfrauds, and hopefully won't need all 10, so have a few to give away if anyone wants a spare one.

This should probably be on the freecycle thread, but they are a bit specific. Holler on a PM.