Van recommendation

[J.R.]

I need a van for a year or so, I am selling my UK property and will have to move all my stuff (very little) and the contents of my garage/workshop (loads and loads) to storage in France, I will register it in France and hope to make a profit at the end like I did with the Octavia 2 but that would simply be the cherry on the cake.

 

It needs to be something that was sold & homologated in France, ideally not a model that had a different spec or name in the UK to France like a Vauxhall being an Opel although that may be a red herring.

 

Voluminous with a side loading door, bulkhead although a trap for long stuff would be usefull, under 2m height for the péages & with a decent towbar as it will be towing an unbraked site hut type trailer (Roulotte de Chantier) which has no suspension. Diesel I presume unless I am missing something.

 

Given that I have VCDS and all the experience I have had for 20+ years has been VAG diesels startng with a 90hp Alhambra I think it should be from the VAG stable & the more it has in common with my past vehicles Octavia 1 & 2 the better.

 

So what would you folks recommend, I dont know what they sell for but if it was a car then I would be looking at £1000-1500 because a good one of those would sell for double in France, however second hand vans seem a fortune here for really beat up examples so possibly up to £3K, if those figures are stupid for something reliable then please say so, I only have experience in the economics of cars & not vans.

 

At the other end of the scale for a nearly new vehicle there is no big price differential as the list prices are probably similar, were I looking for something that new to keep for 20 years I would buy a LHD in France.

 

So what do you guys suggest, what has been your experiences?

[meta55b]

Personally I would stay away from the vw’s vans. Overrated and over valued. For the money you want to spend I’d stick with something from PSA OR Renault. Giving the fact it’s going to france and potentially being sold there and spares are not an issue.   

[UndertheRadar]

Firstly, Avoid the Vag stuff at that price. It'll break your heart and your wallet. They hold a ridiculous price for no apparent reason that i can fathom compared to other vans the same type.

If, and thats a big if, you can find an older Toyota Hiace thats still solid enough and in reasonable condition, id say thats your best best. After that i'd buy a transit thats just been PSV'd and hope to get the year out of it, seeing as its probably just been welded anyway. lol. Back arches around struts if your interested and want to check before a purchase!!

My brother has a merc vito, and its hard on parts and expensive for them to, and the gearbox is terrible. Its going early next year unless he throws the head up before that, for a newer 2018/19 transit.

[mac11irl]

its really annoying, but... yep. a transit is hard to beat most of the time. 1000s of them oit there so should be alright to get in whstever budget and spec you want.

it doesnt matter which size you go with they all feel pretty much the same to drive and have decent towing capacity.

and load space is really good.

 

[PetrolDave]

Given that you'll register it in France, why not a Peugeot/Citroen/Fiat (they're all made in the same factory, just different badges)?

[J.R.]

I did not explain regarding the resale as it wasn't relevant at the time but given the recommendations for PSA & Renault I should qualify that the market that I have uncovered in France where people pay (IMO) well over the odds for a RHD vehicle is to the ex-pat non French speaking Facebook generation, those that are unable to cope with buying a vehicle from a French person or garage or the bureacracy of importing and registering one and who cant cope with LHD.

 

From my limited exposure to these gift horses they have an aversion to French companies and their products especially vehicles although they probably have reason in that regard

 

RHD vehicles are worthless to a French person, as so they should be, if I tried to sell a RHD PSA/Renault van in France I would be stuck with it.

 

Van owners in my target group tend to drive Transits, Vitos, and the Vauxhall/Opel ones.

 

Interesting to learn that VAG are so overpriced, are they more reliable? My 90hp pre PD diesel Alhambra was bulletproof.

Edited 6 September, 2020 by J.R.

[UndertheRadar]

15 minutes ago, J.R. said:

I did not explain regarding the resale as it wasn't relevant at the time but given the recommendations for PSA & Renault I should qualify that the market that I have uncovered in France where people pay (IMO) well over the odds for a RHD vehicle is to the ex-pat non French speaking Facebook generation, those that are unable to cope with buying a vehicle from a French person or garage or the bureacracy of importing and registering one and who cant cope with LHD.

 

From my limited exposure to these gift horses they have an aversion to French companies and their products especially vehicles although they probably have reason in that regard

 

RHD vehicles are worthless to a French person, as so they should be, if I tried to sell a RHD PSA/Renault van in France I would be stuck with it.

 

Van owners in my target group tend to drive Transits, Vitos, and the Vauxhall/Opel ones.

 

Interesting to learn that VAG are so overpriced, are they more reliable? My 90hp pre PD diesel Alhambra was bulletproof.

In my experience the VAG stuff is no better than anything else that you are considering. Some people just like a certain product or manufacturer, and have this idea in their head thats its more impressive or better quality than the nest item or manufacturer etc. An example of which would be manufacturer reliability ratings. The top german stuff that everyone thinks is impressive and want to be seen in, is generally in the top ten most unreliable vehicles on the road. So most folks that buy them and pay through the nose for them, then don't like to admit that they break a lot. This gives a lot of people a false impression of superior quality and therefore keeps the price high when purchasing said vehicles. Its more about image and marketing these days. A transit that would cost around 10k-12k for instance would cost 17k-20k for the same age and mileage transporter (roughly). The Vauxhall vans give bother reasonably often and if you look at one make sure the gearbox is ok in all gears and electrics are all working (think engine sensor issues). Older transits gave bother with corrosion at the rear, injector seals leaking (you'll smell it) and pump sensors. VAG stuff gives bother with injectors, rings, shafts, window regulators to name a few off the top of my head, that I've fixed recently. You make your choice, you drive it and you fix it when it breaks. Just buy the best van you can find within budget thats recently PSV'd (no guarantee) and working properly and you'll be fine.