Wanted....... A small van that looks/acts like a car.

[Dave7]

Situation is.........
My (single) grandson has started a new job that requires quite a lot of tools (supplied by the company).
His mini is not really adequate so he is thinking of a van. As a young, single guy I think he will miss having a car.
My knowledge of vans is virtually nil.
So......any ideas are welcome.
Budget (with help from the bank of Granddad) will be C £7-8K.
Thanks.

 

[fossyant]

Caddy, Transit Connect, Berlingo, small estate car or even the people carrier versions of the vans.

 

[king of the mole hills]

Little caddy would be perfect my one was very reliable and cheap to run

 

[Dave7]

Little caddy would be perfect my one was very reliable and cheap to run

Showing my ignorance......I assume "caddy" is the model type. What is the make ?

 

[fossyant]

Yes VW caddy.

 

[fossyant]

Millions of them - just finding a good one is the tricky bit.

 

[fossyant]

All the cool people have a van !

 

[Drago]

All the cool people have a van !

They do indeed!

 

[fossyant]

Just bear in mind insurance, young driver and business use on a van - it might be quite expensive. Also speed limit on commercial vans - 60.

 

[king of the mole hills]

Vans are the best
Tools during the week
Mattress at weekend
I miss my van

 

[MichaelW2]

I sometimes hire vans from the car club.
The old VW Caddy was useful.
Transits are quite big and have brutal braes, better suited to hauling heavy loads.
The Vauxhall Vivaro is inbetween Caddy and Transit in size and drives like a car. I liked it.

You also need to factor in how common, how much spares cost.

 

[MadMalx]

Lots of blue ex-British Gas Caddy's around, usually from around 2015.
Common problem is the injectors going around 70k miles, which are expensive to put right (400-700 each depending on who does it). Rescue services and two different garages have volunteered this after my breakdowns.
Various forum theories about dodgy batches from that era, but I'm not really convinced this is the issue.

 

[Alex321]

Just bear in mind insurance, young driver and business use on a van - it might be quite expensive. Also speed limit on commercial vans - 60.

Not on motorways, and not on dual carriageways if they are "car-derived vans".

Car derived vans are treated the same as cars for speed limts, and goods vehicles under 7.5 Tonnes MLW have a limity of 60 on dual carriageways, 70 on motorways.

Edited to add that if it is not a car-derived van, then the limit on single carriageways will be 50, rather than the car limit of 60.

 

[fossyant]

But the caddy isn't a car derived van unless it's a 'Life' model, so you've got to be careful. My Vivaro is classed as a car, causes so much confusion at the recycling centre until I pop the doors.

 

[derrick]

would not swap my van for any car, A workhorse in the week, and a bed for the weekends