Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000

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Mon 18 Dec 2023 16:50
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - Random

Asking for a friend. He has a budget of up to £7,000, mileage about 5,000 p/a, msostly short journeys. Currtently has a high mileage 2005 Transit Connect that's starting to cost him.

He'd like a newer Connect or Caddy Maxi, prefers this height of van for getting in and out of. Which is likely to be most reliable? He knows there are no guarantees over reliability, he can do basic maintenance himself. I'm out of touch for this era/type of vehicle, so turning to fellow backroomers for advice.

Thanks in advance.

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Mon 18 Dec 2023 17:37
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - badbusdriver

If he isn't bothered about performance, a Caddy 2.0 SDI (that is the non turbo) is a decent choice, but the youngest of these will be circa 2010. After then, that engine was replaced by lower powered versions of the 1.6 turbo diesel, which can be troublesome. As is often the case with supposedly troublesome engines, you'd have to assume they are not all bad, after all there are a huge amount of VAG vehicles on the road with that engine. But also worth bearing in mind that the 1.6 turbo diesel was the main engine at the centre of the "dieselgate" scandal

The Connect?, well at that budget you will be firmly into the 2nd gen, which uses the PSA 1.6 turbo diesel given the nickname. "diesel of doom"!. Having done some research, it does seem that the nickname is a little unfair and can be best applied to vans who's servicing hasn't been as rigorous as it should have. If the correct oil has been used and if the servicing has been carried out at shorter intervals than those recommended (20k I think?), they are generally pretty reliable. Trouble is, I'm not sure how likely it is for a service history to note the actual brand and grade/viscocity of the oil?.

Sadly, with the prices of used vans being as high as they are, and the very nature of why most vans of that sort of age/value end up for sale, your friend really is going to be relying on luck as much as anything else.

Does it really have to be a van?. I'm wondering if an MPV, something like a Ford Grand C-Max or example, would fit his requirements?.

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Mon 18 Dec 2023 22:16
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - Random

He does need a van for his gardening business. A C-max will be insufficient for a lawnmower, chainsaw, strimmer, hedge trimmer and all the associated tools.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 08:36
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - badbusdriver

Having had a quick look at Autotrader, it would appear the n/a 2.0 diesel wasn't actually offered in the Caddy Maxi as there are none for sale. But that same look highlighted the other part of the problem, your friend's budget. £7k is not an insignificant amount of money, but in the current used van market, it just won't go very far.

Within that price range there are 55 Caddy Maxi's on Autotrader nationwide. But, if you set the upper mileage limit to 100k, that number drops to 17. Set the mileage limit to 80k and there are 2!. Now granted there may be a few Maxi's lurking under "Caddy" (rather than "Caddy Maxi"), but it doesn't change the fact that for £7k, the pickings are very slim indeed.

With the Transit Connect (assuming LWB for equivalent load space to the Caddy Maxi), there are 27 nationwide (under 100k miles). And despite my assumption earlier that it would mainly be 2nd gen vans, 18 of those are first gen.

So if your friend has to have a van at that budget, he really needs to open up his choices to maximise the chances of finding something decent.

Three other options though.

First is to keep the current van and just spend the money as and when needed. Obviously this will depend on just what is starting to cause problems, but "better the devil you know" etc etc.

Second is to get a car and use a trailer. Plus points are that a car will generally have a much easier life than a van. And it will also be much easier to get a petrol engine which will be much better and more reliable for shorter journeys. Not ideal if he doesn't have a drive and would presumably need to be a covered or cage type trailer for security.

Third is to lease a new van.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 09:15
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - gordonbennet

The chap that does local parcel deliveries has an old shape Galaxy/Alhambra/Sharran, with the good old 1.9 Diesel lump one of the best Diesel engines of all time, he has a couple of spare engines sitting in his garage for if and when it gives up the ghost.

These are really roomy so might be big enough for your friends needs with the rear seats out and a frame of some sort behind the front seats for safety from flying implements, none of the troublesome faff affecting newer Diesels, need regular oil changes with the right oil spec.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 10:11
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - elekie&a/c doctor
These mk 1 connect vans are a very solid build . Any repairs needed are usually not very expensive. Any van made later from around 2012 is going to have all the latest emission equipment fitted , which can be very expensive to fix . I’m hanging on to my similar aged connect until it dies .
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Tue 19 Dec 2023 11:39
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - corax

Within that price range there are 55 Caddy Maxi's on Autotrader nationwide. But, if you set the upper mileage limit to 100k, that number drops to 17. Set the mileage limit to 80k and there are 2!. Now granted there may be a few Maxi's lurking under "Caddy" (rather than "Caddy Maxi"), but it doesn't change the fact that for £7k, the pickings are very slim indeed.

Caddy Maxi's are very sought after. The biking fraternity like them for transporting their steeds on holidays or weekend trips. They are a nice size for this without having to go to a transit sized van.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 09:38
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - Andrew-T

The Connect?, well at that budget you will be firmly into the 2nd gen, which uses the PSA 1.6 turbo diesel given the nickname. "diesel of doom"!. ... If the correct oil has been used and if the servicing has been carried out at shorter intervals than those recommended (20k I think?), they are generally pretty reliable. Trouble is, I'm not sure how likely it is for a service history to note the actual brand and grade/viscosity of the oil?..

The 20K service interval you quote is in kilometres, or 12.5K in miles. That distance may still be too much to fully prevent problems, as far as I can tell. Since getting my 207 rental car, which had its first dealer service at 13K, I have never waited longer than 8K (usually less) for an oil and filter change, and at 90K the engine seems as good as new. But it is a pre-DPF engine, so I suspect the grade of oil, usually 10/40, was not too important.

Of course most vans are expected to be everyday workhorses, so some owners cannot spare them for too much down-time, and buyers have to look for convincing proof of maintenance.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 09:18
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - SLO76
Has he a decent VW specialist nearby? The Caddy does suffer a few common issues, but a good specialist will know ways round much of it. I’ve a good VAG specialist nearby who maintains several friends cars, and these cars can be made to be robust. The 2.0 TDi is the better engine, it suffers fewer emissions related issues, but I wouldn’t walk by a nice well maintained 1.6 to get to a tatty 2.0. Price in a timing belt and water pump into any he looks at, as it’ll almost certainly be overdue.

Used vans are a total minefield though, no one gets rid of a van just because they fancy a change, they’re typically offloaded when they’re no longer reliable or economically viable. The exceptions to this rule are large fleets which offload at a certain date rather than waiting until they’re knackered. Ex NHS fleet and BT are good news, but well out of budget here.
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Tue 19 Dec 2023 11:05
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - Chris M

"The exceptions to this rule are large fleets which offload at a certain date rather than waiting until they’re knackered. Ex NHS fleet and BT are good news, but well out of budget here."

I'm wondering how true that still is. My son's former employer, a football club, lease a small fleet of Berlingo vans. His first one was a 2017 and was the highest mileage one on the fleet with less than 40k when it went back. Replaced in 2020 with a new fleet. Annually serviced at main dealer and had a easy life carrying a light load and generally remained dent free. A good used buy although over budget for the OP.

There must be a lot more low mileage, lightly used, ex lease vans out there now that fewer are bought outright?

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 11:14
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - gordonbennet

Used vans must be quite a minefield now in the age of home parcel delivery what with maybe hundreds of stops and starts with barely a suitable period for regen in the whole day, quite apart from the leathering and general abuse such vehicles suffer, can't think of a vehicle i'd wish to avoid more.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 13:09
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - Random

Thanks for all the feedback, he's very much set on a van for work duties.

Yes, he has a VW specialist nearby.

He's now also willing to consider a Transit Custom, Vauxhall Vivaro/Renault size van. What are these like for reliability?

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 13:17
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - elekie&a/c doctor
I would say that no current modern vans are particularly reliable.
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Tue 19 Dec 2023 13:37
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - Random

It's sheme there don't seem to be any petrol versions, IIRC.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 13:57
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - corax

It's sheme there don't seem to be any petrol versions, IIRC.

There are, but they are a lot more expensive. You can get the Berlingo, Partner, Combo with the puretech petrol engine, but it's a much more recent van, and jury's still out on how reliable they are long term.

The Ford transit connect was available with the 1.6 ecoboost engine which is now discontinued. Probably very rare.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 14:10
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - badbusdriver

It's sheme there don't seem to be any petrol versions, IIRC.

Petrol powered small vans are more common now that diesel has been vilified, but on a £7k budget they are few and far between. Even if your friend did find one, there are a few that should be avoided too. In a 2nd gen Transit Courier and Connect, it would be the 1.0 Ecoboost. In a 2nd gen Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner, it would be the 1.6 VTI Prince engine.

If a decent example could be found, a 1st gen Berlingo/Partner 1.4 petrol would be a good choice, if the load area big enough.

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Tue 19 Dec 2023 13:52
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - badbusdriver

Thanks for all the feedback, he's very much set on a van for work duties.

Yes, he has a VW specialist nearby.

He's now also willing to consider a Transit Custom, Vauxhall Vivaro/Renault size van. What are these like for reliability?

£7k is going to be sc***ing the bottom of the barrel for a Transit Custom as these are more desirable than a "standard" Transit. There are 7 sub 100k miles examples showing on Autotrader nationwide.

Re the Vauxhall Vivaro.Renault Traffic/Nissan Primastar (which then became the NH300), which are the same van barring badges, mixed bag. Common van, so quite a lot around, but reliability patchy. Gearbox problems fairly common on first gen (up to circa 2014) due, at least in part, to a design flaw. Apparently the filler for topping up gearbox oil is not high enough to do so properly(!). I've read in the past that there is a way round this, but it would need to be looked into.

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Sat 20 Jan 2024 13:54
Which van? Caddy Maxi or Transit Connect £7000 - Random

Thought folks would appreciate an update/outcome. Friend has put a deposit an a 2017 Renault Trafic, 96,000 miles. well cared for, service history and good make tyres. Vendor was selling because he had a new job not requiring a van.

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