Internal Cabin Build Quality

[Scot]

Had my 150ps Highline in for a recall today so spent the morning running around Edinburgh with my Plumber mate.
He has just taken delivery of a 17 Plate Vauxhall Vivaro. What a peice of crap.
The dash is made up of 2 different colours and looks so bloody cheap. Compared to the VW it looks years behind. I was so glad to be behind the wheel of my own van.
Ok, so it is cheaper to buy, but cheaper for a reason.
In my opinion, the Renault and Peugeot Boxer are aslo built to a cost and look crap inside.
The Transit has all the toys but don't think it's built to last. A guy in the street has a new Transit and he is no better than most of us in MPG, his doing 31 at best.
I feel the VW comes out on top with looks and build quality. Glad I paid the extra bucks for the better van.

 

[andys]

I think the Renault/Vauxhall/Nissan vans are all the same vans, just rebadged. Not sure who actually makes them but I always think they look cheap and ugly, never been tempted to drive one

 

[HootingOwl]

At least the Vivaro was on the road and not in dock for remedials...

As a work vehicle, the Vivaro and Trafic are excellent value. They cost 30 to 40% less than the vw as lots of pre reg deals are around. The load space is better planned and your plumber mate can get 3m lengths of pipe in the back of his viv.

The vw rules as a leisure vehicle but pricing, equipment and quality have reached a tipping point

 

[andys]

At least the Vivaro was on the road and not in dock for remedials...

As a work vehicle, the Vivaro and Trafic are excellent value. They cost 30 to 40% less than the vw as lots of pre reg deals are around. The load space is better planned and your plumber mate can get 3m lengths of pipe in the back of his viv.

The vw rules as a leisure vehicle but pricing, equipment and quality have reached a tipping point

Absolutely, if my van was a just a tool of the trade I'd have to think long and hard before stumping up what VW want , but as you say, as a leisure vehicle not much else comes close

 

[PukkaT6]

If it was just a tool then you would not buy a VW, its as simple as that.

The fact is they look cool as hell and thats all that matters to us ha

 

[Scot]

At least the Vivaro was on the road and not in dock for remedials...

It's brand new.
My van is a year old.
We will see what the Vivaro needs after 1 year

 

[CRD]

Our works Vivaro 1.6ttdi has been worked hard over 60000 miles and 2 years. Other than a burst radiator (warranty) it has been faultless. Easily averages over 40mpg and drives arguably better than the T6 imo so no complaints from me about it so far.

 

[PukkaT6]

Im actually surprised at how many issues such a small cross section of owners have had on here.

 

[Blu-Tack]

I've has 2 Vivaro's . The first, a 2006, was a fantastic van to drive, and apart from a new clutch and a broken gear linkage (which I fixed with a large zip tie) i had no problems for 245K miles.

The second, a 2010, was the most awful piece of S**T ever conceived. An atrocity of human ingenuity, fantastically vile, malevolent in the extreme. It had the heaviest clutch known to man, taking 9 million newtons of force to depress. Lots of mechanical issues, the windows wound the wrong way, back doors seemed to be on the wrong side so the latch dented the opposing door everytime you closed the wrong one first, more rattles than a bankers baby...........the list goes on, terrible just terrible.

I've used old Transits - very reliable and practical but not very comfortable. I've tried Iveco's - Not good at all, although it could pull a small moon. The one i used had lots of electrical demons. At night, if you went over a bump of sufficient magnitude, all of the lights would go out, all of them, dash, headlights and cab lights for about 4 seconds. Scary stuff on a road with no street lights. Spent an eternity at the garage being exorcised.

I have a Transit Custom now - its a great van, nice inside, nippy, good toys, looks nice. But........i isn't so good that it stopped me ordering a T6!

 

[T6 Dave's Dad]

So @Blu-Tack I have the impression that, based upon the second (2010) version, you would not be prepared to recommend a Vivaro . I guess the manufacturer has a deal of work to do if you are to be convinced to try a third . What a rubbish time you had with that one, especially after a satisfactory 245k miles with the first

 

[Blu-Tack]

So @Blu-Tack I have the impression that, based upon the second (2010) version, you would not be prepared to recommend a Vivaro .

I'd sooner recommend Ebola!

 

[davmil]

Mine is a work van. I spend a tidy shilling on purchasing something decent and then run it into the ground, (approx 9 or 10 years) thats the most cost effective way of me doing it rather than changing my van every few years!
I have always maintained that if you use your van every day for work then you need to leave the house every morning looking forward to getting behind the wheel of your van and not having one that becomes a chore to drive!

 

[Blu-Tack]

I agree davemil, the amount of miles covered in vans is high so why not be comfortable? Its taken a while but I think manufacturers are realising that people want comfort in their vans.

 

[former member]

While our T6 California Ocean dash looks way better than our T5.1 California SE did, they definitely aren't as robust. That piano black plastic scratches very easily indeed.

Which is a bit annoying.

 

[rhinoman]

My previous van's were a 2007 Renault Trafic which I bought secondhand to convince myself I needed a van, spent 4k on it and 3k keeping it on the road over the 2.5 years. Then got a 2016 Trafic, new shape on a short 18 month lease, £185+vat a month and I spent nothing else on it except fuel.

I looked at purchasing one, roughly 15k+vat for a Sport, worth about £5k after 5 years. Bought my van as sig, £29.5k+vat after haggling, expect to be worth around 19/20k after 5 years, roughly the same cost in depreciation and a much nicer place to be.

 

[Scot]

Mine is a work van. I spend a tidy shilling on purchasing something decent and then run it into the ground, (approx 9 or 10 years) thats the most cost effective way of me doing it rather than changing my van every few years!
I have always maintained that if you use your van every day for work then you need to leave the house every morning looking forward to getting behind the wheel of your van and not having one that becomes a chore to drive!

One of the best replies I have read.
Good for you bud.

 

[Scruffy]

They are all crap. The only thing the VW has going for it is the resale value, and that is artificially held up by the "scene". All the current crop of vans have good and bad points, the only difference I see is the way the dealership handles the innevitable problems.

 

[Blu-Tack]

artificially held up by the "scene".

Its not artificial if its actually happening!

 

[HootingOwl]

My experience of vw dealers is that they couldn't give a tinkers toss about you or your van. As for resale values....well the dealer offered me 12k for my heavily speccd 2.5 y/old 140 lwb 4mo h/line- van on 29k miles and perfect condition...a 35k van when new. 23k depreciation in less than 3 years. I am going to hold on to it for jow and convert it.

My new works bus is due in a few weeks....i will post some pics of it if and when it arrives.

 

[Californiaman]

I had a new company trafic on a 52 plate (so a long time ago), the gearbox went inside a year. They're not quite as long inside as the Transporter so not as good for carpet fitters, and still nobody does a folding passenger bench seat other than VW which I find incredible in this day and age.
I notice that Nissan no longer do their version of it but that there is now a Fiat version if anyone is interested. It's more than just a different badge, they have their own dash, engines and gearboxes etc.
I'm hoping to pretty much get my money back on my T6 when I put it up for sale in a few weeks.