Buying a used van

robredz

LandyAndy wrote: »

:rotfl:

You'll be fine as long as the site's website doesn't specifically exclude commercial tow vehicles.;)

I'll make sure just in case, then the haven't a leg to stand on

goldspanners

the vivaro is a good van, 6 speed box seems to be good for 120k miles then it causes problems,but it can be fixed relatively cheaply.

we got turned away from a campsite years ago at loch lomond, we had 2 company vans all sign written in a well known manufacturers livery with a speed boat being towed on one and a jet ski on the other but they refused us entry due to us having vans.
its really annoying as a van is the best vehicle to use for camping by far.

ZootHornRollo

our caravanning is generally for dog agility - in show grounds/ recreational parks that have been hired specifically for the event. tho we do occationally go to a site for a couple of days afterwards but almost always book ahead so can clear that up with the site when booking. (and we do not have one of those great big continetal vans often associated with the traditional transit & caravan outfit)

I am wondering if the 82HP output of the 1.9Di will be sufficient for towing. But as the furthest we tend to stray is only a few hours drive i am not so concerned. It's not like we're driving to the south of france every summer.

I could always get it remapped if it seems underpowered.

ZootHornRollo

Thomas_Crown wrote: »

If you are thinking about buying a second hand van than you could do worse than take a look at www.usedvanexpert.co.uk

If you register with them you get 10 free credits which can be used to read up about individual makes/models of van & find out about their weak spots & what to look out for when viewing & test driving your chosen vehicle.

i tried to sign up for this but i never received the confirmation email.

I try password retrieval, it says account doesn't exist. I try to sign up again, it say account already exists for email address! hmmm...

robredz

ZootHornRollo wrote: »

our caravanning is generally for dog agility - in show grounds/ recreational parks that have been hired specifically for the event. tho we do occationally go to a site for a couple of days afterwards but almost always book ahead so can clear that up with the site when booking. (and we do not have one of those great big continetal vans often associated with the traditional transit & caravan outfit)

I am wondering if the 82HP output of the 1.9Di will be sufficient for towing. But as the furthest we tend to stray is only a few hours drive i am not so concerned. It's not like we're driving to the south of france every summer.

I could always get it remapped if it seems underpowered.

It may be better to go for a 6 speeder then as it has 100 bhp, and, avoid the hassle of a remap, as for towing 5th gear is the same ratio on both.

ZootHornRollo

i'm fairly sold on the 5 speed unless someone can persuade me otherwise. I am really focused on reliability. The 5 speeds appears to be much more robust. I have had it confirmed there is a solid flywheel in this model so am delighted with that.

Our towing is limited to within 120 miles of home so am happy to slog it out for such short distances (plus the fact if i said i towed for 5% of my motoring mileage i'd be exaggerating)

I'll be taking it for a second test drive this weekend ad will make up my mind then.

robredz

ZootHornRollo wrote: »

i'm fairly sold on the 5 speed unless someone can persuade me otherwise. I am really focused on reliability. The 5 speeds appears to be much more robust. I have had it confirmed there is a solid flywheel in this model so am delighted with that.

Our towing is limited to within 120 miles of home so am happy to slog it out for such short distances (plus the fact if i said i towed for 5% of my motoring mileage i'd be exaggerating)

I'll be taking it for a second test drive this weekend ad will make up my mind then.

Vivaros drive well, and are quite comfortable, but it's your cash, and possibly a solid flywheel over a dual mass is a better option for peace of mind. I have used a 5 speed Vivaro on runs in North and Mid Wales, and the lack of bhp/torque was more of an issue than the lack of a 6th gear. 5th is 25 mph/1000 rpm anyway so it isn't undergeared in comparison to many competitors anyway, a motorway 70 being below 3000 rpm.