New member in Berkshire

[Lumbo]

Hi everyone.
Been lurking for a while.
Waiting patiently for my new van.
I'm as excited as a thousand kids at Christmas.... I've ordered a Candy White 2018 SWB that is having a conversion done right now by The Camper Van Factory in Tewkesbury. Pictures to follow once I have it!
The biggest decision right now is whether to keep my little Peugeot 108 or sell it for about 4k or so and use the money to pay for goodies on my van. Having read many threads in the forum and done some research I've decided on the Meta Trak S5 deadlock. So if I sell my car that would pay for the immobiliser/tracker, solar panel and other stuff. I work 3 days a week about 4 miles away. I do get up to 40-50 mph on the commute, so it's not crawling in a traffic jam, but still wondering if this would not be a good idea to use my van as the daily driver on a short journey. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Also I'm in Wokingham near Reading so any recommendations for specialists for servicing and other work in the area will be great.

I'm a pretty chilled out driver so no serious thoughts of remapping right now as long as the 102bhp/5 speed version will get me up and down the hills ok.

Other than that I'm very excited about joining the VW community and enjoying some adventures. Planning to take it to Spain next year for starters. And a festival or two. And Scotland.....

I'll try to remember to wave at everyone on the road and look forward to a beer or two at the summer forum get together!

 

[z1ts]

Firstly: welcome!

Secondly: if it was me, I'd sell the Peugeot, the dog, the kids, the wife etc. to fund the new found outlet for your cash that this forum and its members are!!!! (Just kidding - enjoy it when it comes!)

 

[tonys102]

Hi - I am not a million miles away from you. I had mine converted by OXCampers in Swindon. I have the 102, and it had no issues with either the French motorways, or the Italian/Swiss alps, so I'd say you're good to go. Haven't looked into the servicing side of things, but I always had my Navarra done at AVS on Mole Road, so may consider them again.

 

[t6blo]

Welcome. If you can afford to run the 108 as well it is handy to have a small car for occasions when the van will be too big/too nice to park somewhere.

We kept the wifes Toyota IQ when she got a new car for this very reason - free tax, 200 quid fully comp insurance and an annual MOT, 48mpg 1 litre petrol. Cheap enough to have sitting on the driveway for use approx once a week e.g. tip run or multi-storey etc.

 

[Dave A]

Welcome. If you can afford to run the 108 as well it is handy to have a small car for occasions when the van will be too big/too nice to park somewhere.

We kept the wifes Toyota IQ when she got a new car for this very reason - free tax, 200 quid fully comp insurance and an annual MOT, 48mpg 1 litre petrol. Cheap enough to have sitting on the driveway for use approx once a week e.g. tip run or multi-storey etc.

Same here with the Toyota IQ. Never worry about parking it.......it's off to down town Preston tonight......would never take the T6. Often think the IQ is the sort of thing that could easily be towed behind a motorhome.

 

[Pete C]

I wouldn’t use any modern diesel vehicle for that short commute. Keep the car.

Pete

 

[Lumbo]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Very helpful. The 108 is very similar to your IQ; 1 litre petrol, free tax, free MOT (dealership was throwing it in to help shift PX'd cars), 120 quid a year insurance, 50+ mpg....a service now and then. I think you've helped me make my mind up....
The only other issue was that we aren't blessed with much parking here, but the 108 can go out on the street! I have never spent so much on a vehicle as I am on my van so I would probably be really paranoid about taking it everywhere.....

 

[Pittsey]

Hello everyone. I'm a new member here and a prospective Caravelle or Transporter Shuttle buyer...

I wasn't always going to be looking for a 'van', however we have a little one who has just turned one and we've just found out we are expecting triplets early in January.... Therefore I need something that can accommodate 4 baby seats and has room for two double buggies. A 7 seater SUV just isn't practical so it comes down to a Caravelle, a shuttle or a Ford Tourneo. I seem to have really bad timing though as they seem to have gone up quite a bit relatively, since covid. So I'm here to learn to ensure I get something reliable and that ticks all of the boxes


Cheers

 

[T6_FunBus]

Welcome

 

[DTT6]

Hi @Pittsey, welcome! I have two large dogs and twins and chose the Caravelle. Very pleased with my choice as it’s so versatile.