[Cuffbertt]

I bought my T4 last May with around 160k miles, seemed to be in good condition and worth the £4k it cost. Less than three months later the cambelt went (even though it was changed not long before!) and it cost me £1100 to have a new cylinder head. At the time I was pretty peed off about it, but not so much now. The car that I had before the T4 was depreciating about £1000 a year, so as long as the T4 doesn't need a new cylinder head every year it'll save me money in the long run LOL:

 

[TURK]

Just been reading about your exploits on your other thread Cuffbertt, you were doing so well .......... and then BANG !!! feel for you mate just goes to show, that what ever T4 people decide to buy, your first obligation is to get that cam belt and water pump checked and maybe replaced, even if the previous owner says it only recently got done. Way too many back street grease monkeys willing to give it a go !

A big investment at the time of taking ownership is an absolute must in my opinion, as I did. Cam-belt & water pump, and maybe brakes. Then you're good for another 80,000 miles or the next 4 years ( which ever comes first ).


Oh, btw ........ over here in France it's usually a custom to christen your vehicle with a female member' name in your family ( as vehicles are 'she's, like boats and ships ), be it your mother, gran, aunt ....... anyway, you get the drift I: Luckily for me my mothers name is 'Lucette', ........ so I named my baby 'Lulu' ! as the French tend to have shorted nicknames for members of their family.





TURK

 

[Teffers]

The newest vehicle I own was built in 1997. As was my T4.
I have another car of 1990 vintage.

Although none have aircon, a fact Mrs T reminded me of yesterday as we sweated back from Heathrow. She's simply been spoilt wafting round Canada in big modern rentals for 2 weeks. Aircon - pfft. One more thing to go wrong.

I'm a firm believer in investing in maintenance as opposed to losing in depreciation.

And don't get me started on the environmental cost of producing new vehicles!

 

[rudis_dad]

Couldn't agree more. I've vowed and declared that I'll never own a vehicle which was built after 2004. The newest one I've ever owned is my Golf which is a 2003 GTI. I find that most mass-produced modern cars have absolutely no soul, character or passion in them. Plus as you say, way too many gadgets and gubbins to go wrong.

 

[Cuffbertt]

Just been reading about your exploits on your other thread Cuffbertt, you were doing so well .......... and then BANG !!! feel for you mate just goes to show, that what ever T4 people decide to buy, your first obligation is to get that cam belt and water pump checked and maybe replaced, even if the previous owner says it only recently got done. Way too many back street grease monkeys willing to give it a go !

A big investment at the time of taking ownership is an absolute must in my opinion, as I did. Cam-belt & water pump, and maybe brakes. Then you're good for another 80,000 miles or the next 4 years ( which ever comes first ).


Oh, btw ........ over here in France it's usually a custom to christen your vehicle with a female member' name in your family ( as vehicles are 'she's, like boats and ships ), be it your mother, gran, aunt ....... anyway, you get the drift I: Luckily for me my mothers name is 'Lucette', ........ so I named my baby 'Lulu' ! as the French tend to have shorted nicknames for members of their family.
TURK

When I was looking for a van I looked out for one that had it's cambelt done recently, and the one I ended up buying actually had all the receipts from a garage showing it had been about 6 months before or so. After it blew up I was speaking to my mechanic who said that the garage who did it did a terrible job and didn't do something up properly (don't ask what though, as I have no idea!). The cambelt itself was fine but it just came off.

Ha I like the idea of naming it after a family member, but I'm not sure it would suit any of those names! I'm trying to think of female name that suits the van, so something that sounds like it can be a bit grumpy and give me some grief sometimes!

 

[Yellow Campervan]

You spend a bit more money on maintenance, keeping an old vehicle on the road, instead of losing money in depreciation, on a new vehicle.

But I do both as I have the T4 and a 2010 Honda Jazz. 1.4EX i-vtec

The Jazz never goes wrong so just has servicing, MOT, tax etc but is going down in value and the T4 needs a bit of TLC but is going up in value. (you need to buy the right T4 at the right price)

I would recommend either or both vehicles to anyone.

 

[scruffytoo]

One day I will add up all the receipts for my current T4; number four of the four I have owned, over a 25 year period. I have never done this, as the shock may kill me.

It's been 100% ABSOLUTE same VW Van Centre FULL service history for the 17 plus years I have owned it. The PDI, and first three services were carried out by VWUK where it was the UK re-launch vehicle way back in 1998; before I purchased it from them.

I feel the total would exceed what I paid for it; and buy a very special vehicle today .................. but who cares, certainly not me.

I have probably experienced just about every T4 fault there is, often more than once. If I felt there was something so much better than my Multivan, I would have bought it years ago ................... I was first on the list at my dealers for a Microbus back in 2001, but sadly that never happened, so 15 years later I still have a T4 LOLLOL:

 

[Rooster]

My 2.5 tdi long nose has completed 199000 miles as is still going strong. Apart from services tyres and exhaust it's been bril.

 

[poptop]

well I just sold my1999 t4 high top camper for £10300.00, after 2 years of owning her. Actually went to Ireland for her, [ 1.9d]. Lady who owned her lost her licence and was unable to drive until 2019....God know what she did? Paid £7k for her. hard bargaining...and drove her back. . you can make a profit.....
so I have now bought a 2.4d, high top 2001. Paid 14k , has air con fitted, [ bill for 2k for that] thankfully not me....46k on clock. top of the range spec, Shower, toilet heating hot and cold water. all mod cons......cam belt changed 6k miles ago, but 4 years, so booked in for next few weeks for this to be done.
Both slow but who cares when your in a camper....

 

[poptop]

1.9td not d

 

[24084]

well I just sold my1999 t4 high top camper for £10300.00, after 2 years of owning her. Actually went to Ireland for her, [ 1.9d]. Lady who owned her lost her licence and was unable to drive until 2019....God know what she did? Paid £7k for her. hard bargaining...and drove her back. . you can make a profit.....
so I have now bought a 2.4d, high top 2001. Paid 14k , has air con fitted, [ bill for 2k for that] thankfully not me....46k on clock. top of the range spec, Shower, toilet heating hot and cold water. all mod cons......cam belt changed 6k miles ago, but 4 years, so booked in for next few weeks for this to be done.
Both slow but who cares when your in a camper....

Did you not have to spend anything over your two years of ownership ?

 

[Followup]

Mine has been a money pit, but thats because the previous owner was a lying toad. £2k spent in last couple months on engine and brakes.

Plus side, mechanicals should be good for a while now so I can now spend too much money on pointless tat for it.

 

[BingleyLion]

Raking up an old thread but.
I paid £2300 for mine 7 years ago 2.5tdi 210k miles on an 02 plate. The guy who flogged it was a lying toad (Lancastrian I from Bolton.
I'd never owned a T4 so was ripe for not knowing the quirks & being ripped off. (read the forum before buying guys)
She had the belts done by a back street garage by the previous owner who obviously didn't know what they were doing.
1.5k miles down the road and the dreaded harmonic balancer slipped on the un-replaced washer.
He had an old beautiful 1.9td camper in his drive when I bought it. Which later I realised must have had my vans original gearbox in.
My gearbox code was from a 1996 1.9D. 3,000rpm at 55 MPH.
Luckily I've been involved in mechanics since 13 years old. So don't worry too much about things going wrong.
I've spent £2.5k including a chipwizards remap on her in 7 years & just about replaced everything mechanically.
I intend to do the bodywork myself this year to finish her (Christine after Steven King horror movie)
We have an agreement that if I treat her nice she won't kill me. (I thank her every time we've been on a long journey.)
When you consider my son pays that amount out annually for a little 1.1 golf she will have been quite a good investment.
Don't worry guys she has given her permission to speak about her so I should be OK. LOL:

 

[T4 james]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to buy a transporter but on a budget of about 5k. I am after a 5 seater so I can go on holiday with the family and a t4 seems to be all I can afford. As they are older vans now, are they expensive to own and run? I get the impression that it's a constant stream of little things that go wrong with them, meaning they are expensive to maintain as they need bits doing to them fairly often. Is this right or am I talking nonsense? Ideally I would get a t5 but they're ridiculously expensive unless they've travelled to the moon and back already.

Could anyone give me some advice please as I have no experience of transporters apart from really wanting one

Thanks

Noob

Ive just bougjt my first t4 its a 1995 vw t4 transporter 2.4l motorhome its got full service history fully kitted out from manufacturer evety thing works minimum rust on doors undersealed from new chassis is great i paid £5000 been away a few times love it it runs and pull s great i took a mechanic with me so i knew what i was buying just look for the right one you'll find it mate

 

[OStebbins]

T4s can be solid if well-maintained, but yeah, they do need regular upkeep. Rust is a big issue, especially around arches and sills. Parts are generally affordable, but labor can add up. If you find one with a solid service history, it could be a great buy. Is anyone else running a budget T4? For any of you starting your projects, web development for startups can be crucial to getting your business off the ground!

 

[steve_4679]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to buy a transporter but on a budget of about 5k. I am after a 5 seater so I can go on holiday with the family and a t4 seems to be all I can afford. As they are older vans now, are they expensive to own and run? I get the impression that it's a constant stream of little things that go wrong with them, meaning they are expensive to maintain as they need bits doing to them fairly often. Is this right or am I talking nonsense? Ideally I would get a t5 but they're ridiculously expensive unless they've travelled to the moon and back already.

Could anyone give me some advice please as I have no experience of transporters apart from really wanting one

Thanks

Noob

My dad has a 1.9 non turbo T4 and apart from the fuel gauge gremlin it has served him amazingly well 170K miles. It helps to have a local tame mechanic - simple jobs, inexpensive parts but better with a ramp or a full tool box

 

[Philshoz]

A couple more Steve 😉
Is that France or the UK?