Advice about a van

alm721

Ok we are about to buy a new van. My hubbys been offered a Fiat Doblo 56 reg, 7000miles for £4500 also a Vauxhall combo 54 reg, 21000 miles for £4700.
Does anyone have any experience/opinion etc about which if any of these would be the best to go for. We want something that will be reasonably economical and reliable., and haven't really got a clue.
Many Thanks

Stephb1986_2

Hi I have a 53 plate fiat doblo to be honest we've only just got it all fixed had it for 2 years now the clutch went and the plate underneath it cant remember the name, the exhaust has gone twice, the electrics have gone mad and the windscreen wiper motor has been replaced and could do with being done again.

But it is a good deal, your best checking which parts would be cheaper to replace and then deciding because its the norm now to get rid of them when they are 3 years old.

We also have a P reg Ford Transit maybe look at a ford van? its never let us down once it was a ex telewest van before we got it.

Hope this helps

Stephb xx

Savvy_Sue

Have a look at Honest John site ...

HugoSP

After having had a Fiat, I would go for the Vauxhall. But that's just me.

If you are keeping the vehicle for a long time then depreciation will not be an issue, so your best option may be the Fiat, provided you ride out the risk of issues that go with these vehicles.

I found Fiat very unforgiving when I needed a new distibutor for my 4 year old Regata, they had decided to discontinue the part, and my only option was a car breaker. At this point I resolved not to get another Fiat.

In addition, fiat were tipped as the next (R)over......

motorguy

I'd strongly recommend either a Citroen Berlingo or a Peugeot Partner (pretty much the same van). Think of them being a modern day Peugeot 205 Van (which were as tough as old boots), and you wont be far away.

Lots about and easy resold. The Fiat and Vauxhall always seemed a bit flimsy to me.

motorguy

HugoSP wrote: »

In addition, fiat were tipped as the next (R)over......

Fiat make great cheap cars, not so good with something that needs to be rugged like a van.

Fiat are way over their financial difficulties, they've had a massive turnaround based on major successes like the new Panda, Punto and now the 500 - all fiat doing what they do best.

david69_2

I'd be looking at something like a new shape vw caddy or a transit connect you might pay a bit more for the caddy but they are a quality van .
I've got a vw transporter which is bigger than the caddy but I've had it for 3 years done 150k in it and it still drives like new, if you need anymore advice post some more questions .

ormus

get a sprinter or a transit.
the rest of em are rubbish. hired a fiat van last week, it was very fast but absolute carp.

david69_2

I think they are looking for a small van looking at what was mentioned in the thread , I've had a sprinter and i agree they are a good van but probably a bit big for what they want?

sidthesexist

Go for the Fiat every time, the doblo is a far better van than the Vauxhall, i had a doblo 1.9 jtd for 4 years doing courier work without any serious problem whilst in the past i have had problems with vauxhall's, and don't touch a ford with a barge pole their engines are gutless and general build quality is lousy. Whilst the old Fiat's used to have iffy build quality in the past (as some of the above posters have mentioned?) nowadays they are far better than they used to be and if you can find one with the 1.9 jtd engine you should be able to get around 50+ mpg if you take it steady, just make sure it had a good service history.

sidthesexist

uktyler wrote: »

For £3000 you could get a Citroen C15 van, ugly as sin, but very reliable and cheap to run. Most of the couriers I know used them until they stopped making them. I know one van with 350000 miles on the clock, still on the original engine and gearbox.

You could probably get them a lot cheaper than 3k? they have good engines and box's but the rest is quite lousy tbh and you would be better off inside a coke can in an accident