Van - Escort or Astra

[Mike]

The Escort Vans are, TBH, pap, BUT uber reliable downside is the "good" condition one's are hard to get.

Astra van's are cheap, the Isuzu D unit runs for ever and an XE slots straight in if the D unit goes kapoowie.

Ive looked into buying a brand spanker 08 reg Astra Van, but its more money for what? A new motor thats gonna get funked on site.

Experiences on both aforementioned vans please.

[mowgli]

an astra mk3 van is the strongest works van ever made. we have run them at our firm for 10 odd years, they have been ditched, off roaded, even set on fire & still keep going. the ford vans that my brother bought, 1 escort mk5 & 1 fiesta mk3 were hopelessly unreliable. the fiesta took 8 hrs for a cambelt swap, the heaters go wrong, the clutch tensioners are dangerous etc, stay with the gryphon

[Stuart]

get a current shape VGT transit and then give me a shout ;)

[Mike]

Nice nput Mowgli ;)

Stuart, a Transit is defo no no, there way to easy to break into ;)

Ive just been taking a look at a Nissan Terrano 2Dr Van, really liking them TBH.

[mowgli]

we have also had a clio diesel van that has been incredible, but it has a small loadspace, is the van needed for painting & decorating stuff????

[Jonny Martin]

I'd say get a Mk3 Astravan. But then again I'm a little biased..:roll:

[Mike]

we have also had a clio diesel van that has been incredible, but it has a small loadspace, is the van needed for painting & decorating stuff????

It is yeah, the Corsa I came to Billing in is kitted out inside as a van (Nova Van load liner/bulkhead) but as im taking on more & more work im rapidly out growing it :( the load space simply isnt big enough anymore :(

[General Baxter]

Ive just been taking a look at a Nissan Terrano 2Dr Van, really liking them TBH.

yeah then pimp it for 4x4 lol

[mowgli]

It is yeah, the Corsa I came to Billing in is kitted out inside as a van (Nova Van load liner/bulkhead) but as im taking on more & more work im rapidly out growing it :( the load space simply isnt big enough anymore :(

those fiat things (bit bigger than astras)seem quite good, there's 2 local blokes who are painters & they have been running them for years

or the corsa combo.....

nearly forgot, we have a vw caddy van which is huge & goes well

[Ash]

mk4 astra vans seem pretty smart and are fooking cheap :)

If you asked last week I could of sorted you out with a trade price Berlingo or Transporter T5

[Mike]

those fiat things (bit bigger than astras)seem quite good, there's 2 local blokes who are painters & they have been running them for years

or the corsa combo.....

nearly forgot, we have a vw caddy van which is huge & goes well

Fiat Ducato? Ive looked at a couple of them, but its FIAT and there rep TBH lol

Looked at Corsa Combo's aswell, not overly keen on them really as its just a Corsa in drag.

Those Caddys are good though, big inside (load space) and dont really sell for much either. Still really tempted by the Terrano's though lol

[burgo]

why ent you on msn mike

[mowgli]

http://www.direct-vehicle-leasing.net/images/car_images/fiat%20scudo%20van.jpg
one of these scudo??

[Mike]

^ a bloke i worked with used to have one of them, was no end of hassle :(

[Welsh Dan]

http://www.carandvan.com/uploads/images/apr_06/DTBD_1144069125_Transit_Connect_front.jpg

?

[General Baxter]

you have to remember its mike, his budget it £100, and he would get a 56 plate van for that lol

LDV convoy FTW :)

[Southie]

I am going to be selling my s reg combo c20xe in January if you don't find anything ;)

Edit: worth more than £200

[Mike]

you have to remember its mike, his budget it £100, and he would get a 56 plate van for that lol

LDV convoy FTW :)

EDIT: I only paid £200 IIRC for my S reg Corsa lol lol

lol i dont have a budget in mind, but i wont buy a brand new van as it'll get fcukd up TBH. I'd spent ITRO of £2.5k though. Might settle for an Astra 1.7TD for the next 12months then a Terrano (keep my overheads low for 12months as im only a Sole Trader at present)

[General Baxter]

Might settle for an Astra 1.7TD

well you will need the speed lol

[robertdevlin69]

citroen berlingo,i swear by them im on my second,dead slow but they go forever,i got 190k before it died

[Welsh Dan]

Why don't you lease hire? IIRC you can write that off against tax...

[Mike]

citroen berlingo,i swear by them im on my second,dead slow but they go forever,i got 190k before it died

Still no good to me though, ill be doing between 20k & 30k a year, so Its gotta be something nice to drive! Not some sheet slow POS (Ergo, Nova Van & Corsa 1.0 Van)

[Mike]

Why don't you lease hire? IIRC you can write that off against tax...

Ive looked into that too, and you can offset it against taxable income AFAIK, but its not something i want to do. Id rather own something outright as its one less bill to be paying.

[robertdevlin69]

best bet then is say 99-01 tdi caddy,had one for three days and did heavy milage,comfortable van with an acceptable bit of poke

[Stuart]

ewwww no no no NOT a PSA/Fiat van!!!! god no please dont. They are dire! (although, again I could help out if you got a 2.4FGT one ;) lol)

Tranny connect is a proper laugh of a van (I only drive vans on a "for fun" basis you see), M&M roulette being a great game to play as the shelf above the driver/passenger has holes in it when you drop the sun visor. So a packet of M&M's lobbed up there and see who wins what on roundabouts :D

[Welsh Dan]

I think you might be able to to it with outright purchases aswell. Someone I know gets a used transit connect every year or two that way.

[Mike]

Astra van it is. Looking at the price of the Mk4 vans it would be silly not to TBH.

[Sturge]

citroen berlingo,i swear by them im on my second,dead slow but they go forever,i got 190k before it died

my old mk3 astra is still going strong with over 300k on the clock :)

[nick_nova]

corsa combo ;) ive got 1 and carn't fault it.