Reclined driving position in vans

londonTiger

I used zipvan for business and want to buy a 2004 era van. Really confused about which van to get because vw transporter has serious clutch issues. Ford transit have rust issues, and the renault/vauxhall/nissan (all based on same platform) have leaky windscreen gutter which pours water directly on top of the head and rusts it out.

Seems like vans have more teething problems than your normal passenger cars.

Anyway I guess I'll have to get a thorough inspection from a friendly mechanic and address the problems before it happens.

The issue I had with driving a zipvan vw transporter (2012 models) is that they have a very upright driving position. You cannot recline the seats because the separation (I think it's called bulkhead) is too far in front.

I was curious as to whether the seperation is customisable and if I could move them back a bit?

Final question, what's the most confortable van (2004-2006 era, or £5000 bracket) van for long distance driving?

Looking at a SWB model or a caddy maxi type.

Spicy_McHaggis

Don't you think an eleven year old van will be past its best?

londonTiger

They're pricey aren't they. £5000 will buy a 2004 era van. With 100K-120K mileage which is reasonable isn't it? Plenty of cars that age run fine. Does age affect vans more than cars?

londonTiger

actually, sorry £5000 for transporters, vauxhalls are half that price. I can buy 2007-2008 era vauxhall for £5000. Or a 2004 transporter for the same price.

AdrianC

People have actual work for vans to do, earning them money, right up until the point that the van is absolutely knackered. They don't depreciate half as steeply as cars do, because "fashionability", for want of a better term, is so much less of an issue.

As they age, they go through the same lack of maintenance and general decreptitude, though. And that highlights inherent problems far more - a 10yo £1000 car would not have so many issues apparent with injectors rusting into the head, because relatively few people would bother to change the injectors - they'd just scrap it when the symptoms started.

Divisions between front and back of vans are usually removable - or were optional when new.

Spicy_McHaggis

Why do you suddenly need a van, to make the lack of wearing a seatbelt harder to spot?

patman99

What about LDV, peugeot, Citreon, Fiat or Iveco van ?.
Anyway, Transits built after 2001 don't have as many issues with rust as the older models.

AdrianC

LDV? Rot like !!!!!!y, terrible quality and parts supply issues.
Iveco? Way too large, if he's looking at Transporters. (~2.5t, Iveco start above 3.5t)

Pug/Cit/Fiat are all the same thing.
Merc Vito? Again, rot problems.

Reece_

As much as Ford in general are notorious for rust, if you take your time there's plenty of transits that are still rust free, mines an 07 and not a spot on it.

patman99

Well, I have a 1997 Convoy that is as solid as a rock with no rot in chassis or body panels.
In fact, when looking for a cheap van 7 years back, I looked at several Convoys, Transits, Dailys and Sprinters and was surprised at just how much rust the Transits and Sprinters had on them when they were newer than the Convoys and Dailys.

Still, I guess it all boils down to how well they are looked-after by their previous owners.

Transits tend to be the builders favourite and as such, only ever get sent to the garage when they either breake-down or need an MOT.
Sprinters tend to be the tool of cparcel delivery firms, so get ragged to hell on a daily basis and fixed only when bits break.

londonTiger

I expect vans to be knackered because they're usually company vehicles. Perhaps if I go through the vehicle history and look to buy vans that previously belonged to self employed trademan rather than fleet vehicles.

Or look for vans that are non conventional colouring (e.g. not white), that is more likely to be a van that belonged to an individual, thus looked after more.