[claor]

hey guys and girls,
im Jason, i live in australia and currently drive a subaru impreza.

I am currently on the hunt for a VW transporter, However i have no experience with VW's what so ever, and am asking you people to give me the low down

I am after a panel van transporter, or one with NO bolt holes for rear seats,
The van will be used as a promotional audio car, aswell as being my daily driver.
The audio equipment will end up weighing in at about 500kg (possibly more), so i am after a 2.4 or 2.5L.

Will someone give me a few tips on what i should look for/avoid ???

for example, i heard the RWD versions are just trouble.
Also that i should go for a manual as if the auto breaks, it also costs to much to repair.

so what year models should i look for? what should i avoid ?

I have about $10,000AU, that might not mean much to you guys, but it will generally get me a 1995 - 2000 model transporter
All i really want is for it to be mechanically reliable.

Please reply people

thanks

jason

 

[Jim Doodle]

welcome to the forum, I am not sure what versions are available downunder, but they didn't actually do a RWD, they did a syncro 4x4, but i believe that can be a little un-economical.

They are all pretty reliable, the 2.5 tdi is a little more to service, but returns better performance and better economy than the 1.9tdi. I hear the 2.4 diesel is a little under powered.

The 2.0 petrol is a little under powered, the 2.5 petrol is a little thirsty, and the VR6 petrol is a nice engine but only comes in an auto which you are correct is saying are less reliable than the manual.

10,000 AUD is about £5000 which can get you most T4 panel vans here in the UK, but i expect aussie prices will be a fair bit higher.

Have you seen any yet?

 

[claor]

hey mate, thanks for the quick reply!
Apparently there is RWD version in australia.

I have seen a couple, though because of my strict criteria ( 2.4-2.5L, FWD, manual, no rear seats, SWB etc) it hard to come by a clean example for my budget,

this is probably one of the best i have seen
http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Autom...ans/AdNumber=D1329100019304?BackToResult=true

but its auto

there are some other nice looking transporters, but a few of them have up around 300,000km's on them.
which raises the next question, how many km's are they good for, on average??

any other tips are welcome,
suggestions of year models would be great to,

thanks people

takecare
jason

 

[Jim Doodle]

Avoid the auto, more trouble than they are worth.

what are the difference in fuel costs over there, the petrol 2.5's are a great engine, much quicker than most of the 2.5 tdi with a lot less maintenance costs as they don't have any fangled turbos to do wrong, also makes servicing cheaper when it comes to the vital cambelt change. You then have the option if you want to go duel fuel LPG, then they are just as cheap on the fuel as well.

tidy looking petrol manuals

http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Autom...l-Vans/AdNumber=TP002710735?BackToResult=true

 

[claor]

Thanks again mate^^
Iv been looking at that van for a while, perfect, but its just to far away from where i am roughly
1500KM.

Il definatly avoid the autos then, iv heard the same thing from a few sources now.

Appreciate the help, if anyone has anymore pointers, im all ears

Il keep searching

thanks
jason

 

[StephenTazz]

Welcome to the Forum, Claor...

I think the rwd version that you're refering to is the T3 or T25 - the wasserboxer suffers from broken head studs where they sit in the water jacket, but most would have been fixed by now - with case savers and corrosion resistent studs. But folks have long memories, don't they, and the third generation Transporter was an expensive buy back in it's day when import duties were so extreme...

But, then you're Scooby (if that's what you call your Imprezas over there) engine will sit quite nicely in an old Wedge (that's what we call the old Brick over here).

Petrol headed Ozzies didn't get the 1.9TD T4, but they do have the 1.9 T5 Cityvan. The VR6 is a very rare find - and then only in the Caravelle...

TDI's were introduced over there fairly late in the day, so they are also a rare breed - and highly prized...

Best bet I reckon is a 2.5 petrol, with lpg T: ...

Good luck with your search - whereabouts are you in Australia? I know from my back packing days how vast a country it is (and us poms winge about goin' up norf, or dan sowf, which is where I'm from)

Perhaps we can put our Aussie - and Canadian - friends on the map, hey Jim?

 

[T4 VIRGIN-1]

welcome,we do have a couple of australian members who may be better placed to offer you advice,baytown is a regular visitor to the site from north queensland,not so long ago he done a 2000km trip to collect a motorbike

you can contact him here

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/member.php?u=6644

 

[golfgtioz]

hey mate, thanks for the quick reply!
Apparently there is RWD version in australia.

I have seen a couple, though because of my strict criteria ( 2.4-2.5L, FWD, manual, no rear seats, SWB etc) it hard to come by a clean example for my budget,

this is probably one of the best i have seen
http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Autom...ans/AdNumber=D1329100019304?BackToResult=true

but its auto

there are some other nice looking transporters, but a few of them have up around 300,000km's on them.
which raises the next question, how many km's are they good for, on average??

any other tips are welcome,
suggestions of year models would be great to,

thanks people

takecare
jason

ahh the trading post that takes me back , bought many a van out of that when i was travelling to sell to british backpackers at kings cross , where are you based ? i always found the best bargains were to be had around the Sydney area well thats where all the mitsy L300's were I:

as tazz said i would be looking at getting a 2.5 petrol as fuel cost are / were way cheaper than over there

 

[StephenTazz]

"as tazz said i would be looking at getting a 2.5 petrol as fuel cost are / were way cheaper than over her"

Different horses for different courses...

 

[claor]

Thanks for All the info guys!

Im in NSW on the coast about 4-5 hours drive north of sydney

Il give "baytown" a PM,

i too have found the best deals around the sydney area.

I appreciate all the help people

thanks

jason

 

[scruffyherbert]

Welcome mate T:

You could give Rawdyn a try. He's responsible for the calendar in the link (and a T4 one is planned for the future). He may be able to point you in the right direction.
I think he's based in NSW :ILU:

www.splitty.com.au

 

[claor]

thanks mate! ^^

 

[claor]

Hey guys!
i got a nice looking 97 t4.

2.5L petrol
fwd
manual
no rear seats, its perfect

only bad thing is its got 260,000km on the clock but it has been serviced by volkswagen every 15,000km its whole life, and just from the eye you can tlel its been looked after
i just hope it does what i want it to do .

il post some pics soon,

jason

 

[T4 VIRGIN-1]

well done T:,let the good times begin T:

 

[MINICHARLI]

Congrats on the new purchase and a belated welcome from me T:

 

[claor]

Thanks guys!!
im thinking about getting it serviced every 5000km ? or at the very most 10,000km
is that overkill?

jason

 

[StephenTazz]

Thanks guys!!
im thinking about getting it serviced every 5000km ? or at the very most 10,000km
is that overkill?

jason

15,000km = 9,300 miles would be okay if you stick with decent oil, or every year if you don't do the miles (or clicks)...

Let the good times begin - any chance of some pics?

 

[claor]

ok kool thanks .

what oil would you reccomend, (sorry im completly new to volkswagens )

at this point i only have one pic and it was off my phone so it looks really bad.



thanks guys

jason

 

[claor]

Sorry about that stupid add next the the image^^^ if i could edit i would, it came with the picture when i uploaded it.

 

[T4 VIRGIN-1]

looks good T: are you going to lower it