vauxhall combo vans

[Alex J]

been on the hunt for a small van as im starting my on me own, vauxhall combo is what im thinking, 1700 cdti, any good? problems etc , discuss..

[mowgli]

not much different to all other gm stuff really, rusty arches etc, just pull the carpet up & if it is red, avoid it like the plague.. post office vans get wrecked.. our local postie's van has been on its roof twice & had its drivers door knocked off 5 times.. all when he's on holiday and temps drive them

[John]

Save a bit more and get a caddy. :)

[mowgli]

agreed.

[Mike]

Ive found Caddys to be pretty pricey?

Combo's have the same faults as all Corsa C derived Derv's. Recalled back in the day for the gearlinkage being pap, fuel ECU/EDU dies (£700+vat new or £50 eBay send away repair) alternators are pap & they leak water through the brake servo to bulkhead seal.

Other then that, dont get the 1.6 petrol engine one.

[John]

True Mike, but you only get what you pay for.

Don't forget the cdti won't have the fuel pump fault, but it will sound rougher than a bag of nails. Combos also suffer from premature rack wear too.

Don't think this is too bad?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2007-VW-VOLKSWAGEN-CADDY-WHITE2-0-SDI-DIESEL-84K-MILES-/180559301298?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item2a0a2c4ab2

[Alex J]

thanks for the replies, id love a caddy, bit out my price range at the moment, not going to get a post office van, as we all know they get driven like they stole it everywhere, 51 to 53 plate is in my range! will not get a peugeot partner as they blow up all the time, and the tranny connect is too dear aswell, i will take note of the points to look out for, and the hunt will begin when i wake up:cool:

[davidfox280585]

my combo was spot on ex royal mail too,i admit i had to replace the turbo and 4 wheel bearings other than that loved it!
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/davidfox280585/combo%20and%20corsavan/02062009009.jpg

[GroupB]

Escort vans are cheap these days, reliable diesels and economical to run but watch out for corrosion on the rear spring hangers.

I have had several of these in the past and parts are cheap and they are relatively bullit proof.

If your setting up a business you need to keep your costs down as much as you can in the beginning.

Anyway what are you going to do?
If you need any freindly advice just PM me I ran my own successful business for nearly 20 years..........:thumb:

[Balley]

I hate fords but I have to admit Escort vans are good, just extreamly slow and can rot in very strange places!

[GroupB]

Well if you feel the need for speed then i admit the escort 55 van isn't for you, the Escort 75 is a bit better on performance but not as reliable IMO.

I reckon that If Alex is going to start up on his own business he needs to keep his up front costs down as much as he can, every penny counts when you first start up and its alot better to have a £1000 as your cashflow than a £1000 tied up in a nice van, well thats what i think anyway.......:)

[John]

Maris, if you're on a budget i'd go for a combo b, mega reliable isuzu diesel engine and bulletproof.

[GroupB]

Maris, if you're on a budget i'd go for a combo b, mega reliable isuzu diesel engine and bulletproof.

Good suggestion John, they are good too and cheap.....:thumb:

[Mike]

Yeap, Corsa B's FTW lol ive seen a Corsa B Combo with just under 300k miles on & it still ran pukka.

[davidfox280585]

Yeap, Corsa B's FTW lol ive seen a Corsa B Combo with just under 300k miles on & it still ran pukka.
exactly why i drive a cav td:)

[Alex J]

Maris, if you're on a budget i'd go for a combo b, mega reliable isuzu diesel engine and bulletproof.they are cheap, but if i turn up to do a job in a rubbish looking van, they probley wouldnt use me ,combos look new, even thow they are a few years old, davids one looks spot on, old shape are a good work horse, but i need a bit of image aswell, going to look after a few mugs of tea:cool:

[Edd]

The corsa b combo I had had no power steering and was crap

Not sure if any came with power steering

The red combo c ^^^^ looks very nice

[davidfox280585]

they are cheap, but if i turn up to do a job in a rubbish looking van, they probley wouldnt use me ,combos look new, even thow they are a few years old, davids one looks spot on, old shape are a good work horse, but i need a bit of image aswell, going to look after a few mugs of tea:cool:
i gave £1150 for mine nearly 2 year ago so bargains were about and it was cheap at the time a grand should get a tidy one now though about a 52 reg
my mate got one for £250 cdti too previous owner put red in,he drained it and had a cheap van though crashed it shortly after

[Alex J]

i gave £1150 for mine nearly 2 year ago so bargains were about and it was cheap at the time a grand should get a tidy one now though about a 52 reg
my mate got one for £250 cdti too previous owner put red in,he drained it and had a cheap van though crashed it shortly afterwell after looking around at some right dogs of vans, i found this, the milage is high, but had the history to back it up including a recent gearbox, the guy had his own paint chip company, so body work is nice ad clean, tax and tested, and after looking around all day at some right old tat, brought it, even had half a tank of derv,at a grand, it will do!! didnt miss a beat on the 100 mile trip home!!, it will do for now till funds build up for a better one, at the end of the day, got to start somewhere:cool:
http://cdn.images.pistonheads.com/aimg/2079/2079159-1.jpg (http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/largepic.asp?i=2079159&noPics=3&make=VANS&model=CARDERIVED&imgsrv=1&current=2)

[Paul]

Does it have a towbar?

[Alex J]

Does it have a towbar?it dose mate, even has focused event stickers from track days in the back!!m someone who owned it in the past must have done a track day or two, so its nova trailer freindly;)

[Paul]

Good, save having to re-mortgage the house to fuel the Vectra everytime we go to a trackday.

[Will F]

How much was it?

**EDIT - just saw** not a bad price tbf - you dont see too many 51 plates actually! They mostly came out on 02, as the 'B' was still going strong! lol

[Paul]

£1k

[Alex J]

How much was it?

**EDIT - just saw** not a bad price tbf - you dont see too many 51 plates actually! They mostly came out on 02, as the 'B' was still going strong! lolits must be a late 51 plate because it was first reg in jan 4th 2002, think thats how it works , it had the best body work out of the lot id seen, even up to 55 plates with half the miles, i went to shooters hill to look at one before and it looked like a maris hammer axe attack had taken placelol

[gc_vaux]

http://www.mylocalvanhire.co.uk/vanblog/archives/212

500,000 mile combo van, worth a look. cant go wrong