Wanted: cheap van

[Madmax1993]

Hi everyone, I'm not having much luck on gumtree or Facebook, so I thought I'd post on here, as the community is normally very helpful, and my 'want' is linked to biking.
I'm after a cheap van to use for mountain biking trips and other road trips. I appreciate that a cheap van will be rough and need work, but I'm on a shoestring budget and looking to spread the cost by fixing it up over time, but ideally needs to be a runner to begin with.
From my research I think I'd ideally be a after a vw transporter/caravelle, a Mercedes Vito or a Toyota hiace, but open to anything of a similar size that's going cheap.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Corblimeyguv]

Re:

Anything VW based is overated and overpriced imo.

Buy an estate and stay in B&B's

 

[Madmax1993]

Re:

I need the van for its shed-on-wheels properties. I am leaning towards a Vito, but as I said, open to other models, can't be too picky. I like that there are so many custom parts available for German vans though.

 

[swannymere]

In my experience Vito's rust and the turbo's eat themselves, what you need is a VW T4 transporter 1.9 Non turbo diesel (You will pay a premium because of the scene tax) around 94/95 or if you want a proper shed then an Iveco would be just the ticket.

 

[Madmax1993]

Re:

Yeah, can't afford the scene tax, and if I could it would be for a 2.4 non turbo or ideally a 2.5tdi, the 1.9 engines are laughably slow. The Vito's I've been looking at are non-turbo models but at least a bit bigger than the 1.9 VW's. I know every vw owner will defend a T4 to the hilt, but the fact of the matter is, they're all getting on a bit now (the vans, not necessarily the owners) and a lot have been ruined with home build camper interiors.

 

[swannymere]

Re: Re:

know every vw owner will defend a T4 to the hilt, but the fact of the matter is, they're all getting on a bit now (the vans, not necessarily the owners) and a lot have been ruined with home build camper interiors.

100% True

 

[Madmax1993]

Re:

I should also say that I am a hooligan biker (GSXR750), and after a 1.6tdi golf that didn't live up to the hype (should have got a 2.0tdi), I do intend to get a van with at least some poke, and would possibly even consider a remap further down the line. I looked up some hypothetical results on a 110cdi Vito engine without any hardware changes (stage 1) and the gains look reasonable. I also like that Vito's and T4s have a lot of choice of custom parts, as opposed to other vans. I don't know if the hiace has much of a custom culture surrounding it.

 

[MR OX]

Re:

Forget Vito's or Vw, Hi Ace is king of vans, however shagged examples still export at £800 so if your on a budget forget it.
Have you considered Mpv's?
I ran a £150 Xsara Piccasso 1.6 Hdi for two years as my Dgaf van vehicle.

 

[Corblimeyguv]

Re:

Xsara Picasso, they best choice in cheap-n-cheerful mpv's there is. What about the much-hated Nissan Serena?? Renault Scenic ?

 

[swannymere]

Re: Re:

Xsara Picasso, they best choice in cheap-n-cheerful mpv's there is. What about the much-hated Nissan Serena?? Renault Scenic ?

Only thing to watch with any 1.6Hdi engine is that the oil feed for the turbo is somewhere near the bottom of the sump and the sump is quite crushable if it hits anything harder then trifle.