What's the best small van/ estate for this price?

My mate has just opened a kite surfing business and needs something to kart his gear around.

He looked at an Escort 1.8 TDI van but it was on ebay and I advised against buying a banger without seeing it first.

Reckon a VAG 1.9 lump is in his price range?

He doesnt care about performance just needs decent room and reliability.

What's the best small van/ estate for this price?

My mate has just opened a kite surfing business and needs something to kart his gear around.

He looked at an Escort 1.8 TDI van but it was on ebay and I advised against buying a banger without seeing it first.

Reckon a VAG 1.9 lump is in his price range?

He doesnt care about performance just needs decent room and reliability.

Could prolly get an old school passat with a 1.9TDI for £1200

My aunt and uncle had an Astramax D that served them very well when they were doing up the cottage that they're retiring to. This of course had the bonus of being the only production vehicle the break the sound barrier ( ), and you could have your pick of its spiritual successor - the Astravan - for under a grand.

If you wanted to keep it VAG, there are plenty of 1.9 SDI Caddies / CubeVans out there, although knowing they have a certain 'surf-dude charm', you could get a Mk1 Golf-based Caddy 1.6 and have change to spare...

What's the best small van/ estate for this price?

My mate has just opened a kite surfing business and needs something to kart his gear around.

He looked at an Escort 1.8 TDI van but it was on ebay and I advised against buying a banger without seeing it first.

Reckon a VAG 1.9 lump is in his price range?

He doesnt care about performance just needs decent room and reliability.

Peugot 405/406 estate or Xantia estate with a 1.9 XUDt engine or 2.1XUDt engine.

Reliable (as long as the suspension is looked after), cheap to service, cheap to run and cheap to buy. Also great load luggers and the Xantia will take a huge amount of weight and still ride flat thanks to the funky suspension.

Thanks to depreciation you will get a much nicer one of these than any of the VAG stuff.

406 2.1 TD estate - £895

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PEUGEOT+406/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-51-55-240-4294967203-4294967204/advert.action?R=200910329880488&distance=88&postcode=PO91SA&channel=CARS&make=PEUGEOT&model=406&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1997&vehicleRegLetter=R

406 1.9TD estate - £595

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PEUGEOT+406/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-51-55-240-4294967203-4294967204/advert.action?R=200910330027638&distance=80&postcode=PO91SA&channel=CARS&make=PEUGEOT&model=406&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1997&vehicleRegLetter=R

405 1.9 GLXD estate £299

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PEUGEOT+405/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-51-55-240-4294964317-4294967204/advert.action?R=200909329602656&distance=65&postcode=PO91SA&channel=CARS&make=PEUGEOT&model=405&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1996&vehicleRegLetter=N

405 1.9 TD estate (with A/C) £800

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PEUGEOT+405/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-51-55-240-4294964317-4294967204/advert.action?R=200909329788405&distance=55&postcode=PO91SA&channel=CARS&make=PEUGEOT&model=405&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1995&vehicleRegLetter=N

Xantia 1.9 TD (with tow) £675

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/CITROEN+XANTIA/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-51-55-240-4294966420-4294967130/advert.action?R=200907328775905&distance=74&postcode=PO91SA&channel=CARS&make=CITROEN&model=XANTIA&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1996&vehicleRegLetter=P

Edited 6 March, 200917 yr by cheezemonkhai

Probs a bit out of your way Joel but on the A48 between Cross Hands and Carmarthen (eastbound side) theres a Texaco garage that has some vans for sale, all seem very cheap, no idea on condition of them though. Only know from driving past everyday.

i drove a 1.9 SDi Caddy (polo based) for 7 years at work without major problems until.... it kinda expired last october when i was on holiday (someone else driving at time).... but you can fit a lot in the back of 1 of these.....

We had three MK4 Astravans on 51 plates and they all had something different and expensive go wrong with them around 50 - 60 thousand miles in. So certainly not a vote for them!

There's a few MK1 Octavia Estates on the trader under a grand, one of them has 300,000 miles on!

He's found an Escort Van 1997 in white, he says its a diesel model and non-turbo (not a car buff). 113k on the badboy.

What sort of things (apart from the obvious rust, plumes of smoke from the exhaust, clutch problems, and consumables) should we look for?

He's looking to keep it for about 5 months, so just needs a runner.

what about an old style mondy hatch - plenty of room. im sure youde pick on of them up for that sort of range. mate of mine got a S reg vectra hatch for £750 couple months back - nothign wrong with that. this is the sort of climate to buy in - plenty of bargins to be had if u haggle/pay cash

Old Volvo 940?