Vannies.. tell me about Vitos and VWs and stuff

[Vicko]

So I'm thinkin of getting a Vanny. It'll be handy to carry shit around in, primarily bikes. So what's the deal with them. I like the look of Vitos and have driven VW transporters to cart bikes around before and they seem to go ok.

Am probably looking at a 3 seater Vito turbo diesel I guess. Am I on the right track? After a quick look it looks like you can get a ~200,000k jobbie for around 15 grand which seems ok I guess.

And as much as I'd love an old VW Combi with some secret squirrel running gear.. they have the motor in the back dont they? So that'd fuck that idea right up.. I know naaaathing about combis other than those racey lowered ones with porsche donks in them look horn.

[Peter...]

I hear they are good to sell speakers out of.

PS wanna buy some home theatre speakers?

[Potsy]

So I'm thinkin of getting a Vanny. It'll be handy to carry shit around in, primarily bikes. So what's the deal with them. I like the look of Vitos and have driven VW transporters to cart bikes around before and they seem to go ok.

Am probably looking at a 3 seater Vito turbo diesel I guess. Am I on the right track? After a quick look it looks like you can get a ~200,000k jobbie for around 15 grand which seems ok I guess.

And as much as I'd love an old VW Combi with some secret squirrel running gear.. they have the motor in the back dont they? So that'd fuck that idea right up.. I know naaaathing about combis other than those racey lowered ones with porsche donks in them look horn.

Dont.
Buy a Hiace instead. Far more reliable with better resale.
Latest ones come in Turbo diesel and are quite nice to drive.
I own the previous shape petrol. Bulletproof.

[TonyJZX]

let me tell you this

there's a guy who comes around here with a white vito - i think it's a 2002 or something. It has painted bumpers.

CD112? it's a turbo diesel on 17" mercedes sedan rims and it looks pretty fucken sweet - it has 7 seats with the side windows BLACK with limo tint

interior looks corporate Mercedes (ie. similar to a C class)

i could go that as a family truckster - i fear the service bills could be up there

[Euroboost]

Avoid the Euro vans outside of warranty. The early Vitos are shit, FWD and made in Spain so quality was average. They also will spit CV joints while doing U turns. The VW is better but the Autos will shit themselves if you abuse them, and it's NOT a fun job to replace. The euro stuff also are generally more expensive to maintain, on the other hand they shit all over the Jap vans. My current van is a '06 Hiace and as much as I hate the thing, they make the most sense. Avoid KIA at all costs.

If you must look at a euro van, have a look at the Renault Trafic. Great van, had one when I worked for a printer.

[Potsy]

Anyone have/hear some reports on the new Hyundai I-Load vans?

[Vicko]

Dont.
Buy a Hiace instead. Far more reliable with better resale.
Latest ones come in Turbo diesel and are quite nice to drive.
I own the previous shape petrol. Bulletproof.

More reliable eh? What sort of problems do Vitos and Transporters have? I'm not sure resale is really going to be an issue given that I'm looking at the 15k bracket.

Not really interested in the latest ones tho (re them being avail in turbo diesel).. dont wanna spend that much.

[Crazy]

Sorry to add confusion to this thread, but I'm just speaking from personal experience here....

Go for the Vito.

I've had an older Hiace, which was a great van, very reliable, etc, etc, then I went to an early model petrol Vito (the 2 litre) - it was light years ahead of the Hiace. It fits two trail bikes in there with ease and you can never underestimate how handy it is to have doors on both sides. They're wider and lower than the Hiace and they handle much better (less body roll, quicker engine and just a better "feel").

Mine was the absolute first of the Vito's - 1998 with over 300,000 kms and it never missed a beat. I bought it for $10k, flogged the crap out of it for 2 years and sold it for $10k, ya have to be happy with that.

Not sure how the turbo diesels go, but I imagine they're pretty good.

The only reason I ended up selling my Vito is because I needed a good tow vehicle and it was time to update to something much newer. I now own a Hilux ute and it's no where near as handy as the Vito was for Trail bikes, but it is a pretty good tow car.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Vito.

Then again, I am

Crazy.

[Vicko]

Avoid the Euro vans outside of warranty. The early Vitos are shit, FWD and made in Spain so quality was average. They also will spit CV joints while doing U turns. The VW is better but the Autos will shit themselves if you abuse them, and it's NOT a fun job to replace. The euro stuff also are generally more expensive to maintain, on the other hand they shit all over the Jap vans. My current van is a '06 Hiace and as much as I hate the thing, they make the most sense. Avoid KIA at all costs.

If you must look at a euro van, have a look at the Renault Trafic. Great van, had one when I worked for a printer.

Hmmmm random thoughts.. Is it really a problem if its FWD? I mean.. its a van.. its not going to be put through its paces. I think I'd be opting for a manual anyway so no auto dramas. And no - its not a case of it *needing* to be a Euro van, but it will probably have some big arse sponsors logos on the side, so it needs to look a bit trick.

[Potsy]

Euroboost has some pretty common problems outlined already.
I know of only Turbo Diesel related problems and the massive $$$ needed to fix them.
Second thoughts, the Transporters all have Automatic Transmission problems.
Anything Euro is a lot of $$$ to repair.
Put it this way, what you save when purchasing you will more than make up for in repair costs.
Probably the most sense would be a pre 2004 Hiace LWB with low Kms and service history.
Just put in fuel and forget.

[morerevsm3]

I had a '98 VW transporter syncro (4wd) from new, gearbox self destructed at 90,000k's, and was supposed to cost 17K (plus labour) to fix, it was 15 months old at the time, autos also had a habit of shitting transmissions regularly, and were ~ 15k for parts to fix, even a wheel bearing was ~$650, traded that on a Merc sprinter 318cdi, that was a very good van (2005 model) 240,000ks with no issues to speak of, and averaged ~ 10l/100

[Vicko]

Sweet Jesus morerevs..! You can buy another one for that money!!
Phaaaark...

[Euroboost]

You want a flash looking van? The Renault Trafic attracts attention like no other van. Must be pretty reliable since the printer bought another one.

[Vicko]

Looks like the cheapest secondhand Renault Trafic is about twice my budget..

[Sturmovik]

WA Mitsu Express would be worth a look. They've been building that 2.4L for years so if anything goes wrong it shouldnt cost too much.

Funny thing is they feel newer to driver than the current SJ Express.