Vw Transporter Lovers

[Ali C]

I REALLLY want a VW Transporter. have been looking for one for a while now and found this on ebay

ebay

It pretty ticks all my boxes.

*Transporter

*1.9 (tdi I presume, emailed him)

*local

*within my budget

*tow bar

*good sound system

*alloys

*lowered

*tinted windows

*spoiler

*basicly pimped out ready for me to sticker up and cruise around the UK and Europe to compete.

I plan to make it into a camper style, just a simple bed system in the back to take 2-3 people. I was planning to buy a panel van and pimp it up, but thats more exspensive than buying this one.

The only bad points are thats its old and has reasonably high millage.

What are your thoughts?

[Will Arnold]

its beautiful ali!

looks like a decent price too for its pimp factor

as for reliability of those, i couldnt comment

[N.Wood]

Oh good God look at the stickers and tyres.

I'm afraid i know very little about them, an can only comment on looks which are swesome when spoiler/stickers are removed and the tyres painted black again.

Seems to tick all your boxes, as you say.

[Caleb]

i wouldnt be too keen on buying a car off someone who has previously installed neon washer jets and puts such huge pointless stickers etc on

[Token]

It's got very low mileage for a 16 year old van. But it is 16 years old, I think £2000 is quite alot seeing as my brother-in-law just got his '56 plate Transporter 2.5TDI for £6500.

If you were to buy it you'd have to take those stickers off though, and try an get rid of the Tipp-Ex on the tyres.

[Ali C]

seen a few transporters, average for a non bashed panel van seems to be 3-5k, this is the only one I have seen thats actually good looking for less than £3000.

also, I can afford £2000 ish for the car (budgeting insurance) but theres no way I can afford £6000 for a nicer one

[Fish-Finger-er]

erm...

although it ticks all your boxes coming to the pros and the pimp factor, it also ticks the following big con boxes

its a 16 year old van.

its got a towbar (meaning its been used for towing, i.e harder work, admittedly a motorbike trailer may have been all he towed, puttin very littl strain on the vehicle, but likewise he may of towed his mates car/van for several hundred miles when its broke down/towed a caravan)

its been modified (so some bits wont be to your taste/if you want to drive it legally, youve got a fairly hefty list of modications to scroll out to your insurance company)

its been modified (so theres a pretty good chance its been thrashed, although most vans have a hard life carrying heavy weights(which for the last few years this probably hasnt) you dont want somethings thats spent its life on the limiter))

its been modified (so theres a big chance of extra police interest, in this country and others (its not slightly modified, its very clearly modified)

as for the price unsure on what a 1991 transporter is worth. but i dont think its that much. i kind of dabble in van sales(well my boss sells vans as a second business, talking 2003-2007 vans though) but i sometimes buy the vans off the people who buy a new van off him(in a kind of part ex deal) and ive sold 3 96/97 transits, 2 with fold out canopies(imagine a fibreglass sheet on runners in the roof so takes up no space, slides out about 3 foot outside the back doors, and you zip sides on, so you got space to put your bike/sit under cover/shade without being in the van)

and 1 with a towbar(although towbars are peanuts to buy, like £50 or something, and a couple of bolts to fix) and for a 96/97 transit with 12 months mot. ive sold them for around £500-£650, and i dont sell stuff dirt cheap.

for similar money, you could get say a very late 95-2000 transit, in good nick with low mileage, say a w plater

or a 2000 series transit(not the very newest shape, but like up to 2006 shape) with like 100k on the clock or something, average condition, on like a y/51 plate)

in either SWB, LWB, low/medium/high top(dependant on your space needs) prices dont vary too much between them

just for an idea of lifespan of a transit engine, we still maintain some 95 series transits at work, with the 2.4 di engines, which are 4 tonne armoured transit vans, so are heavy, and have computers, no dropping windows, so aircon constanly on, and some of them are on 400,000 km.

got no idea what the prices of the ones with windows in the back are, as have nothing to do with them at all but....

transit van

wouldnt take much at all to kit that out ready for travelling, take the back seats out if your going solo, stick a bed in there(possibly keep the seperate sections , sleeping section in the back, bike, tools, etc in the front bit) and your done really. for £1000 more your getting so much more van.

[Ali C]

cool, given me a lot to think about.

I still want a vw as I think they make cars really well and they tend to last (unlike my crappy peugeot electrics).

I'll have a look into some transits, but I dont want anything bigger than a transporter, got lots of tight roads around here and I recken I would scratch it pretty quickly.

[Fish-Finger-er]

I'll have a look into some transits, but I dont want anything bigger than a transporter, got lots of tight roads around here and I recken I would scratch it pretty quickly.

yea, i know what your saying, but.. suggest you go drive a few vans in varying sizes, one thing i was shown/told/drilled into me when i was doing my hgv driving.

i was stuck in me big truck, felt stupid wide. and thought theres no way this is going to fit anywhere. he asked me if it felt big. i answered yes

he then went and sat me in a transit van. goes " you drive one of these things all the time right" i answered yes.

he then asked. when driving, how many times do i drive over the drains on the side of the road in normal driving. answered never

then he asked, how often does me wing mirror hang over the middle of the road in normal driving, i answered never.

he grabbed a measuring tape, and went from window to window off the transit, then did the same on the truck, was something like 7.5 inches difference.

"when your next driving your transit along the road, i want you to stick your left wheels up against the kurb, and hang your d*ck out of the driver side window. if it doesnt hit oncoming traffic, dont tell me that truck wont f**kin fit, if it hits oncoming traffic, i suggest you go and compare with ron jeremy" where his next words.

there will probably be only 3 inches between a transporter and a transit's width, and when your next in your car down the lanes, take a mirror check on each side and see how far your wheels are from the verge. youll most likely be pleasantly suprised at how much room there is.

if you want a transporter sized vehicle, get a transporter, or a vito, you wont do no better.

should imagine youve already looked at all the transporters on ebay. so ill give you another choice to look at

vito minibus.

again a hell of a lot of vehicle for your money(although slightly less than the transit, but it is a mercedes benz). benefits of this vehicle is , it wont have had a hard life, wont ever of been used for carrying heavy/dirty loads. its all windowed out(ideal for a camper) and the seats just slide out(and are probably sellable to boot)

[Tomm]

there will probably be only 3 inches between a transporter and a transit's width, and when your next in your car down the lanes, take a mirror check on each side and see how far your wheels are from the verge. youll most likely be pleasantly suprised at how much room there is.

It's the wheelbase and length that is also as important though (found that out the hard way ). The Transporters are quite a bit smaller than Transits/LDVs etc - which is probably a good thing.

I really want one of the ex-AA VW Transporters. Unless you get a 3rd-hand one, they're probably out of your price range though - they normally go for around £5k+. But they are ideal - fairly new and well-maintained, reasonably-priced and a nice shape. 6 seats with 2 panels of windows, so it's a road-trip machine. Dunno about sleeping IN it though (that applies to any van IMO). But perfect for taking people/bikes places.

[Tony Harrison]

Sorry - I'd never spend even close to £2k on a 16 year old van, regardless of what it looks like. When the engine fails or the chassis rots in a years' time, those bumpers and alloys won't be much help to you. Talking of which, I'd never have alloys like that on a big van...

For £2k you could buy a really tidy, unabused, low-mileage standard van in good condition. That'd be your best bet if you ask me.

[MadManMike]

Removable I know, but Neon washers, stickers and gash seat covers are not good!

Blatantly go for an older VW Camper! Gonna be over 2k for a decent one though

[Tom Booth]

Might be a little small for what you want Ali, But look at Vauxhall Combo vans! My dads buisness has 2, there non stop 9-5. The main work horse has done 190k and is a 53 reg! Only thing that its needed is a new se of filters and tyres every 30kish. It's an absolute beast.

If you go to auctions, you can pick up an ex royal mail van cheap, and they have all the gadgets and gizmo's, Twin side loading doors, electric wondows all round, cd/radio, aircon. Quite cheap too! Both of them we have are 1.9tdi's and do about 50 mpg, and then the astra van we have does about 60, but thats not as much of a whale.

Models with the back seats that fold, are eassily big enough to sleep 3. I've kipped in ours before with the missus when I've been camping and it was to foul to put the tent up. Plent of room, fold the seat down and an air bed fits perfect, Not a dedicated camper then! Quite like a crsa to drive, 'cept a looooad more body roll etc, but what can you expect, its a van

Edited December 19, 2007 by Fat Knacker Tom

[JonMack]

transit van

AND YOU GET A SWEET FLASHING LIGHT, w00t!!!

[Will Arnold]

AND YOU GET A SWEET FLASHING LIGHT, w00t!!!

watch out, ali's coming

[Fish-Finger-er]

Might be a little small for what you want Ali, But look at Vauxhall Combo vans! My dads buisness has 2, there non stop 9-5. The main work horse has done 190k and is a 53 reg! Only thing that its needed is a new se of filters and tyres every 30kish. It's an absolute beast.

If you go to auctions, you can pick up an ex royal mail van cheap, and they have all the gadgets and gizmo's, Twin side loading doors, electric wondows all round, cd/radio, aircon. Quite cheap too! Both of them we have are 1.9tdi's and do about 50 mpg, and then the astra van we have does about 60, but thats not as much of a whale.

Models with the back seats that fold, are eassily big enough to sleep 3. I've kipped in ours before with the missus when I've been camping and it was to foul to put the tent up. Plent of room, fold the seat down and an air bed fits perfect, Not a dedicated camper then! Quite like a crsa to drive, 'cept a looooad more body roll etc, but what can you expect, its a van

see im not sure if its just the later combos, but we have a very large selection of combos(1.7 and 1.3 cdti's) which are all 05 onwards. and there a total pile of toss. would never pay to own one. there pretty substandard imo, they handle nice and the brakes are amazing, but build quality is pretty bad- they rattle like theres no tomorrow, road noise it terrible. theyre unreliable, eat front tyres(although thats down to the performance/stupid good front brakes your on about - but one bloke gets through a set of front tyres ever 4,500 or so, and there is plenty of more sensible drivers getting through tyres in 10-12k)

[Ali C]

update!

Bought one!! cost £2150, looks pretty sweet! This is my first time buying a car without seeing it first, and its the most I have spent on one, feels a little weird!

anyway, here it is

ebay

I plan to pimp it out over time, maybe spray it black and get some tartybikes logos on it.

I will get some nicer seats, carpet the inside (lino the floor for dirty bikes), put some sort of folding bed system in, maybe lower it 30-45mm, tint the windows, get a minimal spoiler, some nice alloys ect. I will add a turbo and get it tuned, maybe 170 bhp in the end.

Any thoughts?

[Mike W]

Bloody nice, and by the sounds of it its going to look even nicer.

Lowering and the tarty logos would be a nice touch.

Also bed would be pretty cool.

[Heatsink]

Nice looking van! The standard wheels look much better that the other one I reckon.

It does look to have loads of potential for tweaking to be the perfect bike transportation / sleep over / cruising machine!

Big van / bus vehicles rule I really love our 1999 Galaxy. I especially like the way the front seats swivel around 180 degrees in it. Makes for nice in-car picnics!

Can't resist a photo repost :

There's no way I'd be allowed to cover it in huge decals unfortunately. Make sure you go big with yours!

Steve

[AdamAllen]

Clear indicators.

[Tomm]

Looks nice Ali! Should be sweet. How much is insurance and tax and all the other stuff? MPG?

[Ali C]

insurance I think is around £1000, I wont be getting that untill march though, so no driving it until then (get my 3 years no claims)

Tax, not sure

mpg, not sure, heard 35-40 for a turbo and more for a standard one. I will get it re mapped to get the most out of it.