Another car thread.. Anyone with a Mercedes Vito? Other van-cars?

[vanhelgan]

We need to be able to seat 6 people and still have room for a large dog and all of our stuff. We've had a Seat Alhambra since just before DC4 arrived (a year now) but have not been happy with it. We've spent a LOT of money on problems which I think are more down to the individual car rather than the model etc. so are thinking of changing car now.

TBH even if it were fully reliable it has always felt like a compromise anyway as there is simply not enough space. As a result we've started to think that a Merc Vito, VW transporter/caravelle etc may be a better bet for us. However, in our budget these vehicles tend to have done pretty high mileages (100k plus) so I wanted to ask the advice of those who've had similar.

1. What are experiences like re reliability?
   
2. Running costs?
   
3. Hidden costs? I've thought about things like tax, but are they priced higher on toll roads/bridges/ferries etc? Is this prohibitive?
   
4. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Looked at a Renault traffic yesterday but thought it's probably too big?
   

Thanks in advance!

[harrygracejessica]

We have a tourneo or as I call if a transit with windows :-) we needed 7 seats and a double buggy etc. we had the Alhambra too but not enough space and having had the tourneo 3 months we wouldn't go smaller now!!

No hidden costs as far as I'm aware.

[vanhelgan]

Thanks! That sounds promising. I know you've not had it long but has the tourneo been reliable so far if you didn't buy new?

[NAR4]

Would highly recommend the Hyundai Trajet. We have one and it has 7 full size seats and enough boot space for a double in line pushchair. We have looked at loads of other people carriers but they are all either too small or have no boot at all. Would love a big 9 seater, but worked out it would cost a lot more to run once you take into account the increased road tax, car insurance and fuel costs.

Gear box tends to start crunchching at about 80,000 miles, so either get one with low mileage or one that has had the gearbox replaced.

[3monkeys3]

Interesting thread! We have a sharan at the moment and only 3dc, with a 4th not ruled out, and I sometimes think we could do with a bigger car. I like the surfiness of the transporter.

[NAR4]

If we could afford to, I would def get the Hyundai i800. It looks fantastic, with 9 seats and a decent size boot. They are still quite a new car though, so no cheap 2nd hand ones on the market yet.

[harrygracejessica]

The tourneo has been fab so far :-) only downside it cost £100 to fill up but then it's pretty good on the fuel.

The i800 is my favourite car but it only has 8 seats not 9 and we have 2 sets of twins so with a 9 seater the older set can bring a friend each :-)

[Oodthunkit]

Am v interested in this. Currently pg with dc4. Have a scenic at the moment but £££ to repair so planning a change.
Dh wants to go van like as we can't find a mpv to look at.
We were looking at the alhambra, galaxy, Sharon.

[vanhelgan]

We looked at the Hyundai last year but yes, they're still pretty new really. Also prefer the flexibility of being able to change the seating configurations in some of the others which i don;t think you can do in the i800. Thanks for suggestion of Trajet - may take a look at one of those.

We went to look at a Citroen Dispatch Combi and a Vito yesterday. Much prefered the Vito but it had done a much higher mileage. Still looking. I think we've found a local Tourneo and VW transporter we may go and look at this week.

Harrygracejessica - how does your annual insurance cost compare with the Alhambra you had?

Thanks again for the input. Looks like the MPV manufacturers really are missing a trick by making vehicles with a bit more boot space.

[dottyaboutstripes]

We have a Viano and love it but it was v expensive and I suppose it's a lot of money to run, but we are lucky as dh gets a car allowance (he could have had a company car but this worked out better for us)
I don't drive so can't comment personally on that but dh loves it though it took a while to get used to parking as its so big. We looked at a lot of other cars/vans but tbh, dh needed something which looked the part iykwim, the idea of the car allowance/company car allowance was partly to get a vehicle which looked good/luxurious, to reflect well on the company.
The i800 was a bit of a disappointment when we tried it and the Transporter was really uncomfortable. Depends though if you are after practicality and maybe not doing long journeys?

[harrygracejessica]

I don't deal with the insurance as the car is his domain lol. Will ask him but if I remember rightly it was about the sane amount but you need to ring your insurance for a quote as you can't get them online - everywhere presumes you want it as a taxi!

[vanhelgan]

Thought I'd update this thread in case anyone else is thinking of similar..thanks for all of your comments which were very helpful.

Bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago and bought a long wheelbase Mercedes Vito Traveliner 8 seater. So far the insurance has been less than the Seat Alhambra but the tax more. It uses more fuel but not by a huge margin. Spent more than I had initially budgeted to get a newer/lower mileage car but figure (hopefully) the extra cost will be offset by longevity/reliability. I'll update again in the future wrt reliability....

I have to say I LOVE having a bigger vehicle. It's great having room for stuff as well as people. I always felt that the regular MPV size for 6 was like a family of 4-5 driving a mini in terms of space. Really surprised by how manoeuvrable the vito is too.

Thanks again!

[Avuncular]

Too late !

Our FIAT Multipla will turn 10 years old in March, and recently turned 100,000 miles. Funny looks, 3 in the front, 3 in the back but we loved it and still do, though on holiday there are just 2 of us. Both sets of seats would fully fold down, giving twin beds (occasionally used).

With 6-up we added a trailer when necessary and/or roof rack

Great for ferrying our children and their kids now.

Japanese design, Italian build. Basically a luxury van.

Worth peanuts now, but still worth keeping, so long as we allow for (unpredictable, as with all old vehicles) bills.

But as to user satisfaction - have you ever tried to find a used one for sale?
Not easy.

[Iconic]

My wife and I have a Tourneo, and have had it about 3 years. Bought it as our family grew from 4 to 5... It was 2nd hand, about 6 yrs old, with 20k on the clock, one company owner using it as a directors shuttle, then parking it one of their garages for a couple of years.

As to reliability, it's been pretty good. It's now done 60K, and going well. As previous poster says, £90 to fill up is steep, but that does about 400 miles. Reliability has been OK. I blew up the turbocharger one winter (About £800 to fix), and it needed a new clutch last year (another £600 including new starter motor), and also a new set of wheel hubs (another £600). It's now getting to the stage where more work might need to be done, so we will keep an eye on things in that department. Tax is ok, at about £290 a year, and Insurance is the problem. For the first two years, we had to go through a specialist (Minibus Club), who charged 700-800 per year. LAst year I managed to convince Co-op to take us, and that dropped to about £550 a year.

Our other car is a VW Sharan, again 2nd hand, and that is normally used for the school run etc, but will become a challenge when number 6 arrives later this year.

Would I buy another Tourneo - Yes!
I would love a VW Transporter but they are too expensive :-(

[Reaa]

We are looking for a vito (i think) need 9 seats and space for a dog.

[harrygracejessica]

Having had our tourneo even longer now I love it even more. We have recently had all the back windows limousine tinted as one of mine is epileptic and even that didn't cost too much. We will upgrade to a newer one When the finance on this has finished :-)

[secretlyahippy]

We have a renault traffic which has 6 seats. I absolutely love it. I thought it may be a bit big initially but after 2 days of driving it I decided I will never get a car ever again.

There is soooo much room, we go away lots of weekends and we can shove buggys, scooters, bikes, bedding, toys etc in the back and there is still loads of room.

I have never collapsed my buggy as I dont need too - I just tilt it in.

I think its economical in fuel.

I love being higher up - driving a car seems so strange now - it feels like I am sitting on the floor!

It needs to be replaced now so am looking at buying either a hyundi iload, a VW or one I do really like - ford transit.

[Oodhousekeeping]

We are currently looking to replace our scenic cos it's crap and are trying to compare sharan/Alhambra/galaxy with van-cars. Dh favours a bongo at the moment but I'm reluctant to get an automatic.
Other issue is it will be used as a work car a couple if days a week and I need to get it in quite tight parking. Are car-vans low enough to go under barriers?

[vanhelgan]

I've not come across any height issues yet so I'm not sure if the vito would have a problem in height restricted parking. It's just over 1.9m high though if that helps. Generally I've been amazed how easy it is to park though for the size of it, and the sliding doors mean I actually need less side space than I did in the Alhambra to get the littler DCs in an out of car seats.

Like other posters above I think we'd be very reluctant to go back to a standard MPV.

[Oodhousekeeping]

Floor space wise they aren't much bigger are they ( so parking wise), think car barriers are usually 2m ( have to go and get dh to find one now!)

[vanhelgan]

Width is fine in a normal parking space but it hangs over a little in length - not to a point of being a problem, at least so far.