[dazmond]

another guy today(landscape gardener).has a vivaro and before that a renault trafic.both vans have had gearboxes go and injectors TWICE ON BOTH VANS!!

also a mechanic friend of mine says stay well clear of them as weak gearboxes,injectors go all the time.he said its bad design.

BUT this gardener said he,d have another one as they look professional and comfy to drive.

my kangoo is 14 YEARS OLD with 141,000 ON THE CLOCK and still going and ive hardly spent much money on it really in 4 years but i need a bigger van.

i average about 3000 miles a year so not much mileage.another friend of mine says he d put a recon gearbox in for £500 if gearbox goes if i get a vivaro.

ive never had a gearbox go on any van or car ive ever had and all my vehicles have been at least 10 years old!!

im looking at vivaros about 7 or 8 years old.ill have around 4 or 5 grand but im not sure if i want to shell out that much if im gonna have constant problems with reliability.

thoughts?alternatives?


cheers guys


dazmond

[Dave Willis]

Toyota Hiace of course.

[Clever Forum Name]

Would never drop 5k on a vivaro.

Wayyyyyyy to many horror stories.

5k will get you a dog anyway.

[deeege]

You won't hear many stories of post 2006 vivaros having the gearbox or injector problems.

[Dave Willis]

This was my first van - lovely!

[DaveG]

Paid 2k for my  04 Trafic 2 years ago and it's been good as gold (apart from having to change MAF sensor last month.

Mind you the last owner ( a member from here) changed the gearbox at 70k.

It's done around 108k now and still pulls like a train fully loaded.


Daz,

On a side note, how much you be selling your Kangoo for? Looking for a small van later this year fro my son..

Cheers

[Simon Mess]

Toyota Hiace of course.

+1!

As for vivaro's, i remember reading through owners reviews on a website, and one (bearing in mind most were going on about gearbox problems) said that there is a design flaw in that the designated filling point for gearbox oil was situated too low, with the result that the gearbox is always low on oil, even from the factory. He also went on to say that there was another ('unofficial') point in the gearbox, higher up, through which you can get more oil in. No idea if this is actually the case or not though!. He also went on to say that most gearbox problems with the vivaro were caused by a combination of the above, and bad drivers. Thrashing it, trying to rush the gears (especially when cold) that sort of thing.

[Dave Willis]

and its replacement.

The Citroen was possibly the better van - more power and double sliding doors - loads more cubby holes too.

[mufcglen]

as an ex grease monkey pal,ive always said theres two main vans for me transits the main one always has been the all round best van although the last few years they've had a few niggles then theres the sprinter which is a pretty solid van but when they go wrong they cost you in bits.
at the end of the day pal every single van has niggles from injectors to dmf's to gearboxes failing out!
me personally i would go transit all day long if i had the choice,easy to work on,easy to fix and dont cost a lot in parts too and youve got your pick of them as theyre the most popular wagon on the road.

[PoleKing]

as an ex grease monkey pal,ive always said theres two main vans for me transits the main one always has been the all round best van although the last few years they've had a few niggles then theres the sprinter which is a pretty solid van but when they go wrong they cost you in bits.
at the end of the day pal every single van has niggles from injectors to dmf's to gearboxes failing out!
me personally i would go transit all day long if i had the choice,easy to work on,easy to fix and dont cost a lot in parts too and youve got your pick of them as theyre the most popular wagon on the road.

Not questioning you (but I am-if you know what I mean) Are transits the most popular van on the road?
I see more Vivaro/Trafic/Primastars round my way. Perhaps single brand there's more transits?
My BIL fancies a transit but he's probably gonna settle on another vivaro.

[Simon Mess]

Looking on autotrader is a good indication of van numbers. There are well over twice as many transits than vivaros, trafics, and primastars put together!

[dazmond]

i dont like transits!they look basic!but they are cheaper than vivaros.

you spend your money and take your chance i suppose.

i need a van that will take a 500L tank,heater and gas bottle etc and not be overweight first thing in the morning with room for poles,trad stuff and not feel too cramped.

im a sole trader but a 500L tank would be ideal for me esp on big domestic/commercial days.

if i want to squeeze another hour or so in a day in the summer months i simply run out of water with a 350L tank.

[Clever Forum Name]

day I would 110% get a new shape Citroen
Dispatch/ pug expert.

1188kg payload and a sleek mid sized
Van.

Transits are more expensive than vivaros btw.

[mufcglen]

as an ex grease monkey pal,ive always said theres two main vans for me transits the main one always has been the all round best van although the last few years they've had a few niggles then theres the sprinter which is a pretty solid van but when they go wrong they cost you in bits.
at the end of the day pal every single van has niggles from injectors to dmf's to gearboxes failing out!
me personally i would go transit all day long if i had the choice,easy to work on,easy to fix and dont cost a lot in parts too and youve got your pick of them as theyre the most popular wagon on the road.

Not questioning you (but I am-if you know what I mean) Are transits the most popular van on the road?
I see more Vivaro/Trafic/Primastars round my way. Perhaps single brand there's more transits?
My BIL fancies a transit but he's probably gonna settle on another vivaro.

i agree fella theres many more of the vans you mentioned with the pugs/citroens thrown in etc but the way i see it is they all have theyre own for's and against's and these days theres not much between them all anymore, maybe thats why theres more brands than mainly transits nowadays.
transits all day for me, vauxhall and the rest are always trying to be the transit if you know what i mean.
its a plus for me as i know them in and out too but as i said before the parts are cheap as chips if you know where to go, not sure how much you got dazmond but you can get some right nice end of the line vans fully loaded with all the extras from the factory at good prices.
i remember my old peugeot dealer got a load of the last peugeot 406's fully loaded with every extra you can get from the factory for peanuts as they was one of the last made!

[PoleKing]

I'm on my 2nd tragic Daz.
1st one didn't miss a beat until 90k.
Ag after that tbh.

Injectors/gearbox going on your mates-perhaps it's more to do with his driving?
They may be weak but if you drive sensibly then they should last.
Thought I read that vans 07 & later had a lot of issues ironed out.

I think you'd do well to save a few extra pennies and go for a 50k 07>
£6,500ish...

[Perfect Windows]

If you're ever in the passenger seat of a Transit, remember that our third franchisee fitted the seatbelt holding you in (only applies to Transits made in the past 23 years, to be fair).

And the dashboard was put in by our second franchisee.

Any problems with either of those bits, give me a call.

Vin

[Neil Jones]

I've had two vivaros and one traffic (I know they are the same van). Found the traffic horrible for bits falling off, had that new to three years old, had a vivaro new after that for 4-5 year, had a clutch go around 50,000. Currently have an 08 vivaro, not a problem yet. I can't really fault them, I pull close to maximum weight as well so they get a lot of hammer. My 08 vivaro is coming up to 70,000.

[capn sparkle]

I'd be very interested in what you get Dazmond - I'm looking for exactly the same and same sort of money

[mufcglen]

to be fair ive heard later vivaro's and the other rebadged lot have ironed a lot of the problems out.
if i was you pal,listen to your mechanic if he's the one who's gonna fix it, i hate it when my family ask me what car they should buy them go and buy a piece of crap and then come crying to me when they want it fixing and im the mug who's got to fix these back to front cars

[DaveG]

Daz, how much for the Kangoo?