New Van, 10K to spend

cormie

It's also not a PRE 2004 model;) Hmmm.. I wonder should I. I might take it for a test drive anyway, try a good bit of haggling with them and see where I go from there.

No crew cab for my seat removal idea though:(

I see it's also a 2.3 which you were saying was better than the 2.8. And it says on the dealers site that it has a warranty:) I would ask why somebody would sell a perfectly good van after only 3 years and 50k miles though.

It says: a/b all elecs c/l cd diesel e/w fsh immob pas taxed warranty

is a/b=airbag? What's c/l? I'm guessing e/w is electric windows, don't have a clue what fsh is, or pas. Would this be Front wheel drive though so could have problems with larger loads?

peasant

It is front wheel drive ...but unless the Sally Gap is on your daily route, I wouldn't worry about it too much. (at 3.5 tons GVW your loads can't be THAT big anyway)

A/b is airbag, c/l is central locking, fsh is full service history and pas is power assisted steering or "power steering".

The reason why it's back on the market after three years is probaly because it was leased and not bought outright ...possibly even on a fleet management deal or something like that.

It is latest model ...the very latest has just come out ...should be alright issue wise and that 2.3 engine is getting great reviews.

DO test drive it and let us know what you think.

cormie

Tempting alright, I might test the water and offer my van plus 8K:cool:

Looks like a nice van to put some advertising on too.

Savman

IMHO yer getting worked up over nothing chief, as has been said on here many times before all vans are just boxes on wheels. They all do the same thing only for minor differences. With heavy loads you will always have power loss, simple physics really.
FWIW I've an Opel Vivaro, one friend of mine has VW Caddy and another has a Nissan Primastar, none of us any issues so far.

As peasant said, you can break anything all you need is one neglectful owner (which obviously your current transit had before you...)

cormie

Been thinking about this a bit more and if I'm happy with the test drive, I might just go for it, Peasant, God (or whoever you believe in) help you if it gives me trouble:D:D

Seriously though, does anyone know if you can fit a roof rack to Ducato's and where would I find one? Also, by the looks of things, it has no back windows, it's just a full door, but it looks like there is something removable where the windows could be, does anyone know anything about this model, and whether or not windows could be fitted instead? I have back windows on my transit, and I can see a lot more when I've nothing in the back compared to when my rear view is blocked, anything to improve safety I'd like:)

Also, how much would I have to pay to re-register this as a commercial if I added 4 removable seats to the back and a bulk head on hinges?

One more thing, what kind of ballpark figure would it be to ply line the back? My current one is ply lined, but I don't really see an advantage to lining the sides as well as the floor, can anyone thing of a good reason they always line the sides too?

cormie

Ducato Shares Van of The Year Award

Cool:)

peasant

Somehow I don't think your crewcab/bulkhead on hinges idea is going to wash with the powers to be ...best to get clarification on this.

rear windows: go to Fiat, order suitable window and seal, get jigsaw, cut hole, fit window

roof rack: have you had a look at how high that thing is?
How are you going to get stuff up there? Also consider the effect weight that high up is going to have on your driving dynamics. Other than that ...go to Fiat, order roofrack, pay through nose, fit roofrack

cormie

Yeah, I'm not too sure how much weight a roof rack could take, it would just be for long bits of timber, rather than having them sticking a mile out the back of the van, just put them on top. If I could get a ladder on the back it should be ok:) Wouldn't be travelling long distance with it anyway.

I'll have to talk to the powers that be about it alright, I'm kinda worried though, that van was last confirmed to be in stock on Tuesday, I hope it hasn't gone:(


Would the fiat be known for any issues that always seem to effect it? The same way certain rovers were known to have a dodgy head gasket. Is there anything in particular I should be aware of and pay extra attention to if I get it?

peasant

Some of the older gearboxes where known to be a bit sensitive to insufficient oil levels, as 5th gear was sort of annexed to the main box and could run dry if oil level was low. Don't know if that applies to an 04 one still.

But nothing that regular servicing shouldn't catch.


A roof rack is expensive and it affects fuel consumption. Plus you'd need a ladder on the back which doesn't come cheap either.
You'd be wanting to haul long bits of wood fairly often to make those items pay for themselves.


Oh ...and don't get yourself all hyped up now ...if that one's gone, there'll be other ones.

cormie

I'd hopefully get a 2nd hand roof rack somewhere. There's loads about for the Ford Transit in the buyandsell.

I suppose it would effect fuel consumption a bit, especially a big galvanised steel one. Maybe I could just get 2/3 roof bars instead.

I'm already hyped up I'm afraid, I'm desperate for a good van and really want this one providing the test drive goes ok.

What's usually an ok distance/time to test drive because I'd want to test it on the road I know my transit has trouble with.

cormie

Does anyone know what kind of MPG I could expect to get from the Ducato above? I get between 300 and 360 miles on I think 60/70 Litres of Diesel on my current transit. I got I think 445 miles on a full tank from a rental Transit I got, I'm not sure if that was 60 litres aswell though.

I've been told because it's a bigger van it's going to eat up a good bit more diesel

colm_mcm

I'm guessing fuel economy would be similar to new type transit. look up fiat.ie anf ford.co.uk and compare claimed mpg.

peasant

Going by what my camper colleagues say, driven with a reasonably light foot, you should get about 10 Liters per 100 Kilometers.
Fully loaded and at full whack that could rise up to 15L/100 km

(for mpg ...google a conversion calculator)

cormie

The Fiat websites only have the latest Ducato model information:(

colm_mcm

isnt the new one basically the same as the old one?

peasant

yepp ...just better looking (the old one)

cormie

I used this page and going by my transit calculations and those of your camper friends, I think I'll be getting pretty much the same MPG on the new Ducato as the old transit!

peasant

cormie wrote:

I used this page and going by my transit calculations and those of your camper friends, I think I'll be getting pretty much the same MPG on the new Ducato as the old transit!

That ....and twice as much power

cormie

Oh yeah:D now I wonder what the story is if I want to put in some seats in the back. How much would it cost to re-register as a commercial with seats in the back I wonder? I was told 30% of the value of the vehicle:eek: I should really just wait and see if it's still in stock tomorrow anyway:)

colm_mcm

What do you need the seats for? Maybe buy a small car as well?

cormie

ARghhhh, it was sold on Friday:mad: back to the drawing board again:(

Colm, want seats for transporting bands around with their equipment in the back:)

ballooba

colm_mcm wrote:

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=603392

how about this, an 04 Fiat Ducato 15 for 12 grand (expect a discount), looks good, and from main dealer.

Tell them how great Meath were in Croker on Sunday and you should be doing well. Owner's son was playing.

R.O.R

If you can get hold of a salesman as when you leave a message they never come back to you :-(

cormie

Was just up at Harris Motors in Rathcoole and I was looking at a crew-cab transit, big things they are but I was assured that you could drive them with a B license, that Jumbo 350's are ok with B, but 430's (or 450's?), you need a C for.

cormie

If you have a look at the attached pic you can see the page from the PDF, seems most Jumbo options are B license so:) I'm looking at the right weight thing, the very left one where it says 3,500KG? That means it's ok for B yeah?

cormie

Can anyone confirm that all but the 430 in the image above are drivable with a B license? I'm pretty sure I'm looking at the right weight section

peasant

No, cormie ...we've all conspired to leave you in suspension



(of course you can drive anything that says 3500 max weight)

cormie

Hehe, was about to type something different till I saw your white bit of text in the text below (didn't see it first on my laptop screen)

Ok coolios, at least it adds more options to my buying range. I was offered a 02 Jumbo with 90K miles for 10K+3 months warranty. Hmmm.

colm_mcm

Is this band stuff important enough to justify sacrificing your loadspace, fuel consumption and purchase price?

cormie

I'm not sure. I think for now I might just go with a LWB high roof without crew. I'm not even sure if I'd even need the full size of a Jumbo to justify it.

ballooba

What about a small crew cab and a medium sized van?

cormie

That's what I hope to do, only have the dosh for the one at the moment though:)

cormie

Ok, I've narrowed it down pretty good...

I want a Ford Transit 350 LWB, High Roof, Rear Wheel Drive not older than 2002 and not more expensive than 12,000 including vat with 12 month warranty or 10K with no warranty. Ideally with a roof rack with sides of around 8 inches and a ladder on the back door. Must be in pristine condition, either white or a dark grey colour:D

Either that or a Fiat Ducato 15:)

cormie

If only this was white:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=705099

How much are resprays these days?

Do-more

cormie wrote:

How much are resprays these days?

You could always do a large rectangle in white vinyl as a background for your signwriting...

cormie

Hmm I'm not sure, I've seen them done and they can look a bit dodgy. I was looking at prices of a respray and they are like 1,500 for a good job (for a car) so screw that:p

Does anyone know, if you buy a van with a UK reg in an Irish dealer, do they have to take care of all the registration stuff or do you just buy it as is and have to do all that yourself? Is it expensive to register it as an Irish vehicle?

Do-more

cormie wrote:

Does anyone know, if you buy a van with a UK reg in an Irish dealer, do they have to take care of all the registration stuff or do you just buy it as is and have to do all that yourself?

According to the law, they are not allowed to sell you the van on English plates unless you are a UK National. So they should take care of the VRT process.

cormie wrote:

Is it expensive to register it as an Irish vehicle?

€50.

cormie

That's good news, there's 2 vans I have my eye on, both with UK reg's. I'm guessing if I buy a van up the North that it's not the same scenario though? As in, if I buy one in Tyrone with a UK reg, they can sell it to me with a UK reg?

cormie

Here's what I've come up with so far anyway:

1) http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=644808
2) http://search.autotrader.ie/www/comm_advert?country=IE&make=&model=&keywords=350&min_pr=&max_pr=15000&min_year=2002&max_year=&source=&currency=EUR&county_list=&sort=1&SUBMIT.x=40&SUBMIT.y=12&id=200720185974010
3) http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=705099
4) http://search.autotrader.ie/www/comm_advert?country=IE&make=&model=&keywords=350&min_pr=&max_pr=15000&min_year=2002&max_year=&source=&currency=EUR&county_list=&sort=1&SUBMIT.x=40&SUBMIT.y=12&id=200723186156781
5) http://search.autotrader.ie/www/comm_search?country=IE&make=&model=&keywords=350&min_pr=&max_pr=15000&min_year=2002&max_year=&source=&currency=EUR&county_list=&sort=1&SUBMIT.x=40&SUBMIT.y=12&page=6

Do-more

What about this Merc Sprinter Crewcab for €12K!

or this really cheap 2001 Sprinter, would leave you plenty of money for something else aswell!

cormie

Thanks, I think I'll leave the crewcab idea for now though and just go with a normal van. And I think 160K for the other one is a bit too high. I can't be risking wear and tear break downs at the mo:o

Do-more

cormie wrote:

And I think 160K for the other one is a bit too high. I can't be risking wear and tear break downs at the mo:o

It's only just run-in at 160K! Sprinters will go to the moon and back (500K) no problem! Just give it a comprehensive service when you get it and you'll have no worries...

cormie

didn't notice it was only 2k!! lol

ballooba

cormie wrote:

If only this was white:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=705099

How much are resprays these days?

White sign-writing.

colm_mcm

Do-more wrote:

It's only just run-in at 160K! Sprinters will go to the moon and back (500K) no problem! Just give it a comprehensive service when you get it and you'll have no worries...

you are joking right? Sprinters aren't exactly reliable. Any ones I've had experience of required a lot of TLC, even new ones.

cormie

ballooba wrote:

White sign-writing.

Do you mean to cover the whole thing in white? I was thinking have a white background on the side panels and just have the logo and text there. I'm just not good enough at photoshop to give myself a better idea of how it would look:o

ballooba

cormie wrote:

Do you mean to cover the whole thing in white? I was thinking have a white background on the side panels and just have the logo and text there. I'm just not good enough at photoshop to give myself a better idea of how it would look:o

I actually meant white on blue background (like blueprints) i.e. the reverse of your current logo.

Now that you mention it, another option is to get a vinyl wrap done. They look cool but the graphics would probably cost more. The colour of the van is of no consequence if you are getting a vinyl wrap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdRj_FKbMW4

cormie

I think they can be pretty expensive, as in a few thousand as far as I know. Plus my logo signage will be quite simple so I think a full wrap would be a bit overkill? If I end up with a blue one, I think I'll just put a white background on the side and back panel bits.:)

RapidResprays

Best advice,


get a funky lookin mutha of a cular, get that ting proper whopper!

gizashou if u need sum customs.

Guy:Incognito

Wow , 2 year zombie thread and replying in gibberish. Kudos.