2005 VW Transporter. Maybe changing it? | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Fri 26 Jan 2018 08:36

2005 VW Transporter. Maybe changing it? - Jetsam1

Hello.

Partly thinking aloud about this one. I am a beekeeper in Hungary (though British) and the current work vehicle is a 2005 VW Transporter 1.9 TDI with the lower power rating. It is also a LWB version with 5 sets and separate load area. It's issues are that the central locking is slowly failing, the rear window is gradually falling out and the AC doesn't really work even after a service. It has around 270,000 KM on the clock (around 160,000 miles or so). Oh this morning looks like the rear lock is failing too.....

As a vehicle it is ok, but, our business needs are changing as we are running stationary hives and it is also big, heavy and not great on fuel. If we do need to go on the motorway it gets really noisy and is a bit slow....... Also the diesel side of things worry me as it is currently doing lots of stop start and short trips and this is only going to get worse in the coming years as even the longest trip will probably be half an hour each way. So as it is already struggling with unmade roads and dirt tracks and we may be in a position to change vehicles soon am just thinking....

I would want a petrol, reasonably large but we will be using a trailer much of the time so not so much of an issue. Cars we have been looking at include Dacia Lodgy (MPV), Dacia Dokker (A Berlingo alike) and the Duster. These are inexpensive new (want the maximum length of service as the car will have a hard life!!) also the Berlingo or Tepee themselves. Also of interest is the Suzuki Vitara. There are 10 year od Subarus but they already have quite a bit of miles on them so maybe would only have a 3-4 year lifespan left on them?

Obviously cheap is good. All do a na 1.6 petrol with 100 to 120 hp which should be enough? I am not sure whether AWD is really worth the extra cost as I will hve winter tyres etc. A note about used cars here. There is no nearly new market, the newest cars generally are 4 yeas old and there isn't enough difference in cost to justify not going new. Also 5 to 10 year old cars are expensive.

Outside of the Dacias everything available in the UK is available here with the wildcard being the Lada 4x4 which even comes with air conditioning!!

I am not sure about spending a lot of money getting all the little jobs needing doing on the VW done or swapping it out. Not been so impressed with VW build quality.

Edited by Jetsam1 on 26/01/2018 at 09:00

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Fri 26 Jan 2018 09:30

2005 VW Transporter. Maybe changing it? - badbusdriver

I would say either of the 2 dacia's would be your best option as long as they don't struggle with your trailer. Same for the berlingo/partner and any other similar cars such as the fiat doblo, renault kangoo (mechanicaly identical to the dacia's) vauxhall (opel?) combo. None of these, with a petrol engine, should give much problems. But given what you say about the dacia's being cheap to buy new, that would be my 1st choice.

You don't say what age of vitara you are thinking of, is it the current one, or the previous (grand vitara, which is slightly bigger)?.

Regarding the subaru option, they are amongst the most reliable cars you can buy. As long as they have been serviced regularly, i would have no problem taking on a 10 year old and would suggest it could easily last another 10-20 years!. They are not that great on fuel though, and parts are expensive.

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Fri 26 Jan 2018 11:18

2005 VW Transporter. Maybe changing it? - badbusdriver

Just re reading your post, i realised that i hadn't mentioned the lada.

I will be honest here and come right out with, "i would love one"!. I have often found myself going on to a German or Polish used car website and looking at used niva's. For me it woud have to be a bog standard version in white with the steel wheels.

But, regardless of my personal opinion, for your needs the lada niva would not be a great choice.

1, you say you need something fairly large, and while i realise you can get a lwb 5 door niva, by far the most common are the 3 door, and they would provide no more interior space than a 3 door golf sized car, probably slightly less.

2, you mention the transporter being slow, the niva will be too. With 80bhp on offer from its 1.7l engine, it is not going to be very fast at all.

3, you mention the poor fuel economy of the transporter, well the niva is unlikely to any more than 30mpg (9.4l/100km).

The niva certainly has its place, and that place is off road, not on, where they are, with the right tyres (not the rubbish Soviet ones it comes with) brilliant in the rough. Because of its ground clearance, approach/departure angles, wheelbase and rear axle articulation, they really will go a long long way off road!. But for your needs, a dacia lodgy or dokker would be a far more suitable choice.

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