Need advice on new van

[desmoto]

Keen to buy a new van for work/ bikes.Narrowed it down to new Transit Cargo, VW Crafter or Merc Sprinter.Anyone got any experience with any of these?

[jim.cox]

Keen to buy a new van for work/ bikes.Narrowed it down to new Transit Cargo, VW Crafter or Merc Sprinter.Anyone got any experience with any of these?

No real experience - but the 4wd version of the VW looks good to me

The Transit is ugly, and Mercedes are boring vehicles for boring old farts

Just my $0.02

[sidecar bob]

Had a transit, unreliable pile of crap that rusted in odd places but handled very well & felt planted.
Now have a Merc sprinter extra long wheelbase hi roof. Its very quick & economical, Tauranga to Christchurch on one tank, but if you push it too hard into a corner it kind of tucks the outside front wheel & can feel a tad unnerving, but probably trying to go a bit quick for the size of it in reality.
It rides great & has the optional cab divider complete with safety glass internal window, I carpeted the divider that was in bare metal (read, got some boot mats from cars at the wreckers) & fitted floor mats & it is very quiet & having such a small cabin, the heater & aircond are very effective quite quickly.
It's quite tall geared, can't use 5th at 50k, but the ratios are fairly well stacked.
On a long climb it's usually only nesacary to drop it down to 4th & 100kmh can easily be maintained loaded.
Everything is available on ebay, & they are called a freightliner sprinter in the USA if you want parts from there.
It holds 9 litres of quite expensive oil, but you can do an oil change on the ground without spilling a drop due to the clever filter design.
I'm extremely satisfied with it, if that makes me a boring old fart I can live with that.

[Shaun Harris]

Had a transit, unreliable pile of crap that rusted in odd places but handled very well & felt planted.
Now have a Merc sprinter extra long wheelbase hi roof. Its very quick & economical, Tauranga to Christchurch on one tank, but if you push it too hard into a corner it kind of tucks the outside front wheel & can feel a tad unnerving, but probably trying to go a bit quick for the size of it in reality.
It rides great & has the optional cab divider complete with safety glass internal window, I carpeted the divider that was in bare metal (read, got some boot mats from cars at the wreckers) & fitted floor mats & it is very quiet & having such a small cabin, the heater & aircond are very effective quite quickly.
It's quite tall geared, can't use 5th at 50k, but the ratios are fairly well stacked.
On a long climb it's usually only nesacary to drop it down to 4th & 100kmh can easily be maintained loaded.
Everything is available on ebay, & they are called a freightliner sprinter in the USA if you want parts from there.
It holds 9 litres of quite expensive oil, but you can do an oil change on the ground without spilling a drop due to the clever filter design.
I'm extremely satisfied with it, if that makes me a boring old fart I can live with that.

They are readily availlable out of the UK for a real good price also. A mate uses the same one I believe for his bikes over there, and they are bloody impressive

[Voltaire]

Got a 2001 VW T4 2500 TD!, ex Courier van, just coming up 300 000kms.
Changed the cam belt and water pump at 160 000 when I got it and last year.
Set of discs and that's about it.
I gather main dealer service costs are high.

[buggerit]

Keen to buy a new van for work/ bikes.Narrowed it down to new Transit Cargo, VW Crafter or Merc Sprinter.Anyone got any experience with any of these?

Set up a 1998 Transit for a mate in a wheelchair, then he had it repowered to cope with the extra weight.
Supercharged 351, 395kw, 780nm, seems about right

[Kickaha]

, then he had it repowered to cope with the extra weight.
Supercharged 351, 395kw, 780nm, seems about right

I think I need to do that to mine

[F5 Dave]

A mate used to drive for dhl and they ran mercs. Good to drive but fuck the stories with much work missed. Go speak to a few. It wasn't the best advertisement.

[Edbear]

My son -in-law has switched to solely VW T5's for work vans in his plumbing business. Has a VW Caddy and a couple of Golf's too.

They are grunty as all get out, very comfortable and after 300,000km+, finally upgraded the original T4 to a new T5. I was skeptical about the price but surprised at just how competitive VWNZ has been for him.

I didn't like the Sprinter driving position myself, I found the accelerator pedal awkwardly positioned. Liked the power though.

[sidecar bob]

A mate used to drive for dhl and they ran mercs. Good to drive but fuck the stories with much work missed. Go speak to a few. It wasn't the best advertisement.

To be fair, courier work & courier drivers are a cruel combination to subject a vehicle to. I'd never own a used courier van, go for a tradies one everytime. Shuttle buses are invariably just worn out from long mileage by the time they come on the market.

[F5 Dave]

Still, doors shouldn't fall off near new vans.

[nodrog:Me]

A mate used to drive for dhl and they ran mercs. Good to drive but fuck the stories with much work missed. Go speak to a few. It wasn't the best advertisement.

better work stories

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=888125495