Ford Transit

thejazzpianoma, Jan 18, 12:43pm
A Euro van for furnature moving is a fantastic idea and far better than those horrible little Japanese trucks (take some for a drive and see for yourself).

However. the Transit is the one lemon in the bunch. Go for a Mercedes Sprinter, VW Crafter or Fiat Ducato.

Forget about worrying about the turbo. ALL common rail diesels have a turbo and they are very reliable units. Avoiding common rail diesel would also be incredibly stupid given that's what pretty much the whole light commercial diesel market uses nowadays and the advantages are huge.

You won't believe the fuel economy, power, reliability and low maintenance requirements of these engines.

BTW. if I had to pick one of the above vans, it would be the Mercedes, but all three are pretty good.
gedo1, Jan 18, 12:47pm
Whew, Jazz! Hadn't seen you on here for a while and thought something drastic may have happened. But keeping the burgers from burning and parking the Punto would have taken your time so welcome back. Hope you have been having good times.
chook90, Jan 18, 2:38pm
Avoid the transit at all costs. Transmission failures are well documented and frankly there is bugger all good that can be said about them.

I agree with the comments suggesting turbos are not an issue. I can point you at several extremely high mileage transits with no turbo issues recorded - sadly pretty much everything else on them has failed though.

I do not agree that they are underpowered - frankly they go bloody well but reliable and value for money they are not.
tub4, Jan 18, 2:58pm
Theres a lot of folk here saying don't touch the Transit I if I were you maybe I'd give them a miss but with 12 in our fleet I can't say we've a lot of trouble.
Iveco is one of the worst we've ever run followed by Fiat, we now have a few Mercedes and they seem OK but early days for them yet (oldest is just over two years) but the older ones we had cost heaps to keep on the road.
If I were in your shoes I'd talk to those driving the vans and to fleet managers as those guys will tell you if the van they're paying for is good or crap
xenabuffy, Jan 16, 8:16pm
Who has one or had one, any good, we are looking at getting one later on or a small truck to move furniture, always been worried about getting a turbo which most of these vans seem to be, but I've had that mind set from the 80s when it cost so much to fix compared to non turbo's. so what you think of the van?
sheena32, Jan 16, 8:21pm
absoult rubbish u will regret it .
franc123, Jan 16, 8:23pm
Your 1980's perceptions are still correct, remember the Transit is a Euro van and in their tradition has an overstressed engine that is too small for the vehicle which they try to compensate for with unreliable electronics and fuel systems. How much are you looking at spending?
intrade, Jan 16, 8:25pm
well transit have a bit a similar reputation as mizubishis. the thing is correct servicing is required and loads of shops have not even got remotly a clue of what correct service means for new diesel.
So next question is what year did you think to buy?
xenabuffy, Jan 16, 9:06pm
About 20 grand but will go too 30 if we get a small truck, I've had a Isuzu fargo van for 12 years and been great but rust might be a problem in next few years so I either get someone newer or spend on fixing the odd problem, it's a 98 so I have done good with it.
xenabuffy, Jan 16, 9:08pm
no older than 04-05 was thinking.
johotech, Jan 16, 9:16pm
So do you want a truck or a van?

If you want something bigger/better than what you had, you would be looking at box body 2T trucks right?

Anything other than a Transit would be a good start. Unless you are looking at a brand new van.
tub4, Jan 16, 9:38pm
We run a few Jumbo Transits in our fleet and tend to get rid of them between 3 & 4 years at around 300,000 mark. Don't have much down time at all but they're all pretty much one driver vehicles so get well looked after.
xenabuffy, Jan 16, 10:34pm
certainly looking at a small truck with box body, 30 grand seems to be the average price, only have car licence, our current van works well but need something with height so beds and tall dressers just go in and we're off.
franc123, Jan 17, 12:44am
Something that doesn't have wheelarches intruding into the load area would be an asset surely doing that type of work? I'd go for a wee Isuzu or Nissan truck or something similar.
mad_signtist, Aug 4, 12:05pm
Transits have a lot of rust issues in the hinge areas. This was the previous models 2011ish. My brother is the painter and they are always fixing the rust in them. New models have a 5 year corrosion warrenty