Advice please: potential 4Motion purchase
- Thread starter Philnanks
- Start date
2019 Indium grey Executive SWB , All options, bar full leather and night heater.
Money will be around £55k I would think. Its a VAT Qualifying vehicle which may help if a business purchase.
It also has 20" BBS SV alloys and Bilstein B14s
For sale thread is up for our other van
Money will be around £55k I would think. Its a VAT Qualifying vehicle which may help if a business purchase.
It also has 20" BBS SV alloys and Bilstein B14s
For sale thread is up for our other van
Hi everyone if possible some advice please.
I have been offered a 17 plate 204 4 motion dsg to purchase with my intension to convert to a camper.
I have been searching previously for the 150 fwd dsg but now this has turned up I am giving it serious thought.
it has covered 60k, just not sure if this overkill for what I need and also stronger bills going forward as intend to keep for some years to come.
Any opinions would be greatly received, thanks for your time.
I have been offered a 17 plate 204 4 motion dsg to purchase with my intension to convert to a camper.
I have been searching previously for the 150 fwd dsg but now this has turned up I am giving it serious thought.
it has covered 60k, just not sure if this overkill for what I need and also stronger bills going forward as intend to keep for some years to come.
Any opinions would be greatly received, thanks for your time.
As long as it’s been well serviced and haldex and DSG services are up to date, you should have no problems. It comes with stronger residuals.
Heavier on fuel round town and slightly of 2wd on the open road, but worth it for the positives.
Heavier on fuel round town and slightly of 2wd on the open road, but worth it for the positives.
4M's hold there value a little better and are a nice option to have... does it have the diff lock button on the dash..?
Does your planned conversion involve underslung gas tank..? If so you would most likely lose the spare wheel as there is less room under a 4M to fit everything... if you're happy on internal gas cylinder then that won't be an issue... but having had a recent blow out im glad I kept the spare..!
Does your planned conversion involve underslung gas tank..? If so you would most likely lose the spare wheel as there is less room under a 4M to fit everything... if you're happy on internal gas cylinder then that won't be an issue... but having had a recent blow out im glad I kept the spare..!
Is that on the service schedule as such? just buying a 4motion with 25k, should the Haldex have been done?
Our T5 4mo Caravelle had central Haldex unit failure. I discovered this when stuck in the snow in the Alps (no light on dash - much wheel spin), there was some disbelief that it had failed when I got it back at the UK Van Centre. The warranty covered it - however if I had not got stuck I would never have realised.
i have found it difficult to persuade VW dealers to service the Haldex (ie guaze replaced/cleaned) both on mr R32 Golfs, and 4mo Caravelles - they just don’t need get preventative maintenance. In fact I am just booking this at a specialist ‘motorsport’ centre rather than my very good Official van centre.
jasonW mentioned the diff lock (which was standard on T5, optional on T6) - from my experience the 4mo is not worth having without it. You may as well have the cheaper and simpler Front drive only and use M&S rated tyres if you haven’t find one with diff lock. This video is useful
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I’m looking to change our T6 Caravelle Exec 4mo and really want the LWB - which cant be had in 4mo. However the reality is that I have only once truly needed it in 8 years of 4mo ownership (in the Alps). If I had only had a 2WD I would have parked it more carefully and used more aggressive M&S/winter tyres and not had a problem.
It’s nice to have though - Ski resort Carparks (and any muddy field) are great fun with diff lock engaged...
i have found it difficult to persuade VW dealers to service the Haldex (ie guaze replaced/cleaned) both on mr R32 Golfs, and 4mo Caravelles - they just don’t need get preventative maintenance. In fact I am just booking this at a specialist ‘motorsport’ centre rather than my very good Official van centre.
jasonW mentioned the diff lock (which was standard on T5, optional on T6) - from my experience the 4mo is not worth having without it. You may as well have the cheaper and simpler Front drive only and use M&S rated tyres if you haven’t find one with diff lock. This video is useful
I’m looking to change our T6 Caravelle Exec 4mo and really want the LWB - which cant be had in 4mo. However the reality is that I have only once truly needed it in 8 years of 4mo ownership (in the Alps). If I had only had a 2WD I would have parked it more carefully and used more aggressive M&S/winter tyres and not had a problem.
It’s nice to have though - Ski resort Carparks (and any muddy field) are great fun with diff lock engaged...
A diff lock is extremely useful in certain specific circumstances, i.e. when one of the rear wheels has some traction while the other has none and spins the drive away, wasting the drive going to the rear. The video shows exactly those specific circumstances, there are other examples, one rear wheel on ice, the other on tarmac for example.
I would have liked a diff lock on mine, but to suggest that it's not worth having a 4Motion without a diff lock is not a view that makes any sense to me. I drive on muddy fields regularly, often with a few hundred Kg's in the back, where a 2wd T6 would be asking Mr John Deere for a tow.
A 4Motion with M+S tyres will go where a 2wd with the same tyres won't, diff lock or not.
No diff lock? No problem!
Dave D - I think if that is the most extreme 'off highway' use (especially with the zero gradient) then no diff lock would be ok - but I would still question the extra cost of the 4mo over a 2wd with decent tyres. In the alps the Transfer/Taxi firms all seem to use 2wd with winter tyres and don't get stuck...
And if you are buying new I think it would be a false economy to not be ticking that £750 option box...
It would be interesting to see if the used market prices in the absence or presence of difflock - bear in mind it was standard on the T5.
And if you are buying new I think it would be a false economy to not be ticking that £750 option box...
It would be interesting to see if the used market prices in the absence or presence of difflock - bear in mind it was standard on the T5.
I don't use my van for any extreme off roading, I can use tractors for that. In the Alps they can justify using proper winter tyres, I can't be arsed changing tyres twice a year, but a T6 4Motion with winter tyres all round will still go further in the snow than a 2WD with winter tyres.
If I was buying new I'd spec the diff lock, but I found it difficult to find the used van I wanted with a diff lock. I phoned several companies about vans and asked if a difflock was fitted and most replied, "Err, dunno", only the switched on ones realise it's a selling point and they make that clear in the advert! As it has turned out I've never come close to getting stuck or not being able to get where I want to go.
Lots of people buy a 4Motion for its on road advantages, so a diff lock isn't really relevant for them. I doubt many people use a T6 and go more off road than a wet camp site, of course there will be some exceptions, but not big numbers.
If I was buying new I'd spec the diff lock, but I found it difficult to find the used van I wanted with a diff lock. I phoned several companies about vans and asked if a difflock was fitted and most replied, "Err, dunno", only the switched on ones realise it's a selling point and they make that clear in the advert! As it has turned out I've never come close to getting stuck or not being able to get where I want to go.
Lots of people buy a 4Motion for its on road advantages, so a diff lock isn't really relevant for them. I doubt many people use a T6 and go more off road than a wet camp site, of course there will be some exceptions, but not big numbers.
Official interval is a fluid change only every 40k.loads of evidence out there now that 20k and remove the pump for cleaning is better.
I’ve recently bought a 2017 4motion Highline. I absolutely love it. Just started converting it.
If you like the van and the history is good then just think of it as a bonus. That’s how I figured it. Yeah it was more expensive, but I’ve been looking for ages and I think I’ll get a premium when/if I sell it because it’s a 4motion.
It doesn’t have the diff lock. Doesn’t bother me.
If you like the van and the history is good then just think of it as a bonus. That’s how I figured it. Yeah it was more expensive, but I’ve been looking for ages and I think I’ll get a premium when/if I sell it because it’s a 4motion.
It doesn’t have the diff lock. Doesn’t bother me.
Btw, mine is also the 204.
I wanted a 150 fwd lwb, but saw this and loved it. For a van it goes like stink. Drives nicely, a bit bouncy but the long term plan was always suspension mod anyway. I’m getting 30mpg running round but I live in hilly countryside. Get about 36 round town. Not even been on a run in it yet.
It’s replacing an S4 so anything over 18mpg is a bonus
