which small van for 8000,9000ish

[michaelopolis]

My old 02 Partner has served me well but getting long in tooth now at 14 years old. driven 150,000 miles on it so far.
Its given little trouble to be honest except for the usual stuff, bearings, exhaust , once a fuel pump.

Been looking at Caddys, partners/berlingos for sale and spoken to a few mechanics ,dealers and friends and I'm still a bit confused.

Some guys swear by the caddy but a dealer i know and a mechanic say your really only paying extra for the badge with a VW.

I tend to hold on to cars for a long time so reliability is the most important factor to me.

Wonder should i hold out and save a few more quid for a new or nearly new partner (they do good scrappage deals) or is a caddy really so much better ?

Also has anyone any experience with buying from Vanmonster ? great prices there but only 3 months warranty.

Any help much appreciated.

[Patch1875]

You can probably get a new Berlingo for not much more.

[interstellar]

Have you looked at leasing. There are some very cheap deals out there at the moment.

Worth a look.

[michaelopolis]

Yeah thats what i thinking, Is the Berlingo really the same as the Partner ? same engine ,transmission etc ?

[michaelopolis]

interstellar said:

Have you looked at leasing. There are some very cheap deals out there at the moment.

Worth a look.

Really, what kind of money you talking for a 3 year lease ?

[interstellar]

michaelopolis said:

Really, what kind of money you talking for a 3 year lease ?

don't know how it all compares but this deal is £119 per month for anew belingo. Seems cheap to me to keep someone in business

http://www.vanarama.co.uk/citroen-van-leasing/berl...

Not sure how it compares or whether they are any good. Just did a quick search.

[flatso]

Late model Previa!
Or Mazda 5

[Dr Interceptor]

Combo Van.... I've run them at work for a long time now. Frugal, reliable, hold their value remarkably well, and actually aren't all that bad to steer.

[michaelopolis]

flatso said:

Late model Previa!
Or Mazda 5

I like the look of those previa but dont need all the seatage.

[wack]

I've got a doblo, bought it at 12 months old with 20k on, it's now 3.5 years old with 83k on , nothing to report, starts stops and goes

[andy43]

We've been looking at used Caddys in that price range - need a wheelchair accessible 5+1 seater - and from the point of view of reliability, leasing is the safest option. The bxe and bls 1.9 engines throw rods without warning, and the newer 1.6 have dpf and egr problems - the egr valve is buried somewhere deep and takes hours to replace.
We've ended up going through motability for a new vehicle, for all intents and purposes the same as leasing it, purely down to the potential for crazy repair costs on a used one.
Modern diesels

[flatso]

michaelopolis said:

I like the look of those previa but dont need all the seatage.

Seats can be removed! They are not so wide so they can fit into parking spots easily and have a great use of space! Reliable as well! Can also be used as campers for the weekend!
Possibly one of the best deals around in the category

[Robin Hood]

michaelopolis said:

Yeah thats what i thinking, Is the Berlingo really the same as the Partner ? same engine ,transmission etc ?

Yes, same production line, we bought a new Berlingo which had Citroen wheel caps on one side and Peugeot caps the other side, much to the embarrasment of the dealer!