A Ford Transit Connect MK1 for £350!
Discussion
Hello!
I know this isn't a very PH car (well, van) at all, but, as per the title, Today, I picked up a 2007 Ford Transit Connect, with 71k miles, for £350, with a recent failed MOT, what could possibly go wrong?
It also had just under half a tank of diesel!
I wasn't sure whether I should commit to buying it, or not, so I spoke to the better half and not only did she persuade me, she said she'd fund it??!!
And the one of the "few" reasons for the MOT failure...
As soon as I collected it, I took it straight to my mechanic for a quote to fix the current issues. I must say, on the short drive I did, it actually felt "good" to drive. The engine, although a mere 75bhp, did what it is supposed to do and the gearbox was smooth.
The headlamp fails are down to having White bulbs, instead of standard, so they will be obviously replaced and the rest of the stuff sorted. Then it should pass the MOT, I'll then have to decide on what to do with it. Either sell it on, for hopefully a small profit, or to keep it. I don't have any reason to really own a van, but it would come in useful for tip runs, etc. If I do keep it, I'll tackle some of the smaller jobs, I.E, an EGR valve blank plate, the front spotlights, think of what to do with the orange light on top and the reverse lights, that I'll discuss shortly.
One of it's previous owners, I believe were York City Council, hence the orange light at the top and some LED white working lights at the back, unfortunately neither of these seem to work. Annoyingly too, it has two switches on top of the glove box. One for the orange light at the top and the other is for the reverse lights. When you engage reverse, you have to put the switch to "on", otherwise you have no reverse lights. Very strange and something I must look into, but I'm clueless about electrics, so we shall see!
The interior is actually in remarkable condition for a 15 year old van. (I'll be removing the stickers inside and out, when it gets back from the mechanic.)
The person who owned it before me had converted it to use as a camper, so it has under floor insulation, and the back is covered in sound deadening and thermowrap.
So, I will be updating this thread, mainly for me to keep track on expenditure (£350 so far, but will rise quite sharly quite soon, I suspect), as I'm not sure the interest a connect will get, but we shall see!
I know this isn't a very PH car (well, van) at all, but, as per the title, Today, I picked up a 2007 Ford Transit Connect, with 71k miles, for £350, with a recent failed MOT, what could possibly go wrong?
It also had just under half a tank of diesel! I wasn't sure whether I should commit to buying it, or not, so I spoke to the better half and not only did she persuade me, she said she'd fund it??!!
And the one of the "few" reasons for the MOT failure...
As soon as I collected it, I took it straight to my mechanic for a quote to fix the current issues. I must say, on the short drive I did, it actually felt "good" to drive. The engine, although a mere 75bhp, did what it is supposed to do and the gearbox was smooth.
The headlamp fails are down to having White bulbs, instead of standard, so they will be obviously replaced and the rest of the stuff sorted. Then it should pass the MOT, I'll then have to decide on what to do with it. Either sell it on, for hopefully a small profit, or to keep it. I don't have any reason to really own a van, but it would come in useful for tip runs, etc. If I do keep it, I'll tackle some of the smaller jobs, I.E, an EGR valve blank plate, the front spotlights, think of what to do with the orange light on top and the reverse lights, that I'll discuss shortly.
One of it's previous owners, I believe were York City Council, hence the orange light at the top and some LED white working lights at the back, unfortunately neither of these seem to work. Annoyingly too, it has two switches on top of the glove box. One for the orange light at the top and the other is for the reverse lights. When you engage reverse, you have to put the switch to "on", otherwise you have no reverse lights. Very strange and something I must look into, but I'm clueless about electrics, so we shall see!
The interior is actually in remarkable condition for a 15 year old van. (I'll be removing the stickers inside and out, when it gets back from the mechanic.)
The person who owned it before me had converted it to use as a camper, so it has under floor insulation, and the back is covered in sound deadening and thermowrap.
So, I will be updating this thread, mainly for me to keep track on expenditure (£350 so far, but will rise quite sharly quite soon, I suspect), as I'm not sure the interest a connect will get, but we shall see!
Edited by Trollied on Monday 25th July 20:30
darkyoung1000 said:
I'm in, I like a good resurrection thread!
Even with the welding, if your do decide to sell it on quickly, you'll do well from it given the price of camper conversions!
Thank you! My mechanic got back to me and is charging me £220 for the welding and underseal on sill and £45 for the stabiliser link, so total expenditure will be £615. Although I've asked him now to price up the NSF lower suspension arm ball joint dust cover. He could suggest changing the whole arm, but we shall see and an oil & filter change, as it's came with hardly / next to no service history. In reference to selling it on, it looks like a difficult thing to put a "sale price" on, so I'll have to research that a bit more.Even with the welding, if your do decide to sell it on quickly, you'll do well from it given the price of camper conversions!
darkyoung1000 said:
Any signs of the dreaded 'black death' around the injectors?
I haven't had a chance to look under the bonnet properly yet and to be honest, wasn't sure on what the 'black death' was. After a quick Google, I'll inspect them properly when the van is back and has an MOT. It does however have a receipt for "Renew injector leak off pipes" along with a wheel bearing in Jan, for £630 
, so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it?Edited by Trollied on Wednesday 27th July 12:06
ChrisCh86 said:
I drove one of these fairly regularly as a borrowed van from work back in 2009 and 10. Was quite a good steer and reasonably nice to drive.
Depending on the severity of the rust (and the bill to repair), this could be quite a bargain... That's quite a big if though!
Hoping the repairs will be done towards the end of this week, then get the MOT retest done, then give it a drive. It was actually a fairly good driving position and the size of the screen made visibility really good.Depending on the severity of the rust (and the bill to repair), this could be quite a bargain... That's quite a big if though!
Welding costs will be £220, so not as horrendous as I was expecting, so hopefully, it will be a bit of a bargain when the other work to get through the MOT is done.
I have one of these of the same vintage. I’ve had it as my work van for about 9 years which is 7 years more than my next longest owned car. Hugely reliable; I’m on 150k now so about 80k with me, I service it every couple of years, clean it once a year before the mot and get whatever work needs doing for it to pass the test (some welding, couple of gaiters) plus battery, glow plugs, service items and that’s it).
It’s never let me down and I don’t think I could be without a van going forward, they’re just a brilliant 2nd vehicle!
Good luck with the work. Hopefully it’ll give you plenty of service in the future!
It’s never let me down and I don’t think I could be without a van going forward, they’re just a brilliant 2nd vehicle!
Good luck with the work. Hopefully it’ll give you plenty of service in the future!
I have a 2006 TDDi. It was my team’s pool vehicle before it got swapped for a Nissan EV. I went to the auction and bought it. Seven years later it’s still going strong. It’s meant to be a third vehicle for tip runs and carrying muddy mountain bikes, but it gets used way more than that. It’s a brilliant little machine.
So, first real purchase arrived today in the post, for a grand sum of £4.68...
A new key fob (obviously). The old one is battered & the buttons are scrubbed off and hard to press. Will have to watch a couple of YouTube videos on how to program it along with the old one, so it will have two.
Mechanic got back to me today, to say he is now starting the work, including getting a garage around the corner to put a fresh MOT on it.
The breakdown of costs so far;
Van - £350
Welding - £220
Oil & filter change, drop link & a ball joint dust cover - £139.11
MOT - £45 (I could've gone back to where it was first MOT'd to do a retest, but to save the faff, was easier getting the mechanic to do it around the corner)
Key Fob - £4.68
Total - £758.79
So next small purchase will be a new badge at the front & rear, both are missing, so will have to get the sizes somewhere and get them ordered.
A new key fob (obviously). The old one is battered & the buttons are scrubbed off and hard to press. Will have to watch a couple of YouTube videos on how to program it along with the old one, so it will have two.
Mechanic got back to me today, to say he is now starting the work, including getting a garage around the corner to put a fresh MOT on it.
The breakdown of costs so far;
Van - £350
Welding - £220
Oil & filter change, drop link & a ball joint dust cover - £139.11
MOT - £45 (I could've gone back to where it was first MOT'd to do a retest, but to save the faff, was easier getting the mechanic to do it around the corner)
Key Fob - £4.68
Total - £758.79
So next small purchase will be a new badge at the front & rear, both are missing, so will have to get the sizes somewhere and get them ordered.
Sn1ckers said:
You’ve got remote locking?! That’s pure luxury is that. Mine is key only, no aircon and windows with those funny windy handles, plus my aerial is snapped so I can only pick up a limited number of radio stations 
I couldn't believe it when I was handed the keys and saw the remote key fob! This fools you in thinking it has Aircon, then you soon realise it doesn't. I probably won't bother looking into it, as I've already cancelled my gym membership, due to it having those arm strengthening windy handles you mentioned. 
On the plus side, my aerial is surprisingly intact, although I haven't tried the actual radio yet!I bought one just before lockdown 2007 lwb hightop, got it locally for an absolute bargain 1k cash with 12months mot. Absolutely love driving it and can't see me being without a van.
Only annoying thing is it's restricted but I guess that has kept the engine running so sweet.
Looking forward to your thread keep it updated
Only annoying thing is it's restricted but I guess that has kept the engine running so sweet.
Looking forward to your thread keep it updated
neal1980 said:
I bought one just before lockdown 2007 lwb hightop, got it locally for an absolute bargain 1k cash with 12months mot. Absolutely love driving it and can't see me being without a van.
Only annoying thing is it's restricted but I guess that has kept the engine running so sweet.
Looking forward to your thread keep it updated
The restricted thing I'd probably be fine with. I don't think I'd want to push pass 60 in this anyway! Only annoying thing is it's restricted but I guess that has kept the engine running so sweet.
Looking forward to your thread keep it updated
Looks like a clean one too, especially for the price you paid!
So, a few updates to add today, for mainly my enjoyment, but hopefully there are still some interested!
Last night I made my second purchase for the van. A set of wiper blades, for a bargain price of £7.97! I've never used cheap wiper blades before, so will be using the van as an experiment. It's not necessarily the fact I'm on a budget as such, but want to get it to a relatively good standard, for as little money, as I can, so we shall see! (I've got an E46 to boost that expenditure up.
)
I received a message from my mechanic yesterday evening with his progress on the welding, along with a few pictures..
Before.
During.
Finished!
I'll decide what work I should do, or if i should do anything to make it "blend", when I see the van in person, but as it is a van, I may just leave it.
He also sent me a message full of good news about an hour ago...
A full 12 month MOT!
Running total so far;
Van cost - £350
Welding - £220
Oil & filter change, ball joint dust cover, NSF drop link, MOT, headlight bulbs & Labour - £201.52
Wipers - £7.97
New Key Fob - £4.68
Total expenditure - £784.17
I'm collecting it Sunday. I know it's only a van and potentially just a van I'm going to be selling on, but I can't flipping wait!
Still a list of advisories to potentially sort out, but I'll drive it over the next week, speak with the wife and see how I feel, as to whether it's worth getting the tyres, brakes, etc sorted, or just list it for sale, as I really don't have space for it.
Next update I guess will be Sunday evening after I've picked it up. Maybe even a few more photos!
Oh and if anyone knows the badge sizes for the front and rear, that would be handy. The van is completely missing both, so can't measure them.
Last night I made my second purchase for the van. A set of wiper blades, for a bargain price of £7.97! I've never used cheap wiper blades before, so will be using the van as an experiment. It's not necessarily the fact I'm on a budget as such, but want to get it to a relatively good standard, for as little money, as I can, so we shall see! (I've got an E46 to boost that expenditure up.
)I received a message from my mechanic yesterday evening with his progress on the welding, along with a few pictures..
Before.
During.
Finished!
I'll decide what work I should do, or if i should do anything to make it "blend", when I see the van in person, but as it is a van, I may just leave it.
He also sent me a message full of good news about an hour ago...
A full 12 month MOT!
Running total so far;
Van cost - £350
Welding - £220
Oil & filter change, ball joint dust cover, NSF drop link, MOT, headlight bulbs & Labour - £201.52
Wipers - £7.97
New Key Fob - £4.68
Total expenditure - £784.17
I'm collecting it Sunday. I know it's only a van and potentially just a van I'm going to be selling on, but I can't flipping wait!
Still a list of advisories to potentially sort out, but I'll drive it over the next week, speak with the wife and see how I feel, as to whether it's worth getting the tyres, brakes, etc sorted, or just list it for sale, as I really don't have space for it.
Next update I guess will be Sunday evening after I've picked it up. Maybe even a few more photos!
Oh and if anyone knows the badge sizes for the front and rear, that would be handy. The van is completely missing both, so can't measure them.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff