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Advice on buying a mk7 transit please

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Advice on buying a mk7 transit please

Postby handymanmak » Sun Jul 02, 2017 8:57 pm

Hi all, new to this site, joined as I'm looking to buy a transit to use as a handyman van, I'm looking at the MK 7 price wise so looking for some advice on what to look out for as totally new to owning a van. I'm thinking definitly a long wheel base version for the storage capacity, not sure if either semi or high top, is it possible to stand up in the back of a semi or would it have to be a high top to be able to stand up in as ideally like to fit a work bench in back and use like a kind of workshop. would also appreciate any advice on common problems to look for when buying eg common rust spots that are dangerous, also any advice on the engine type which is more durable than others, also heard about a costly fuel pump problem, is that on all models or restricted to certain engine versions? I would appreciate any advice you can offer before I go looking for a van.
Thanks
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Re: Advice on buying a mk7 transit please

Postby dumper » Mon Jul 03, 2017 7:37 pm

Have a really good look underneath for rust go for as lower mileage as you can find with full service history have a look at all the thing you would when buying a car .as for roof height the front wheel drive models have a lower floor so more head room and if you are getting in and out a lot not so high to get into and to load up .
Not really up on mk7 problems some of the members on hear will be a long soon to put you right also welcome to the forum
MK 8 L4 H3 Motorsport campervan
Past camper vans
1974 mk1 v4 with 2.0 pinto fitted
1986 mk3 2.5 di swb
1990 190 lwb 2.5 di
1998 100 lwb 2.5 di
2006 350 jumbo 135 tdci
dumper
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Re: Advice on buying a mk7 transit please

Postby mike10 » Wed Jul 05, 2017 12:07 am

I Work as a handyman myself and I've got a 2010 MK7 115 T350 medium wheelbase with a semi high roof. Mine's also the front wheel drive so has the slightly lower floor. I can stand still in the back but moving around runs the risk of banging my head on the roof ribs (although I only did it a couple of times before naturally bowing my head a little when walking along the van). I'm 6 foot tall though so if you are shorter than that you may be OK. I would suggest finding one for sale somewhere near you and walking up and down a bit in the back to test for yourself. I may have opted for the high roof myself (I'd be able to comfortably stand up and also get another shelf on the racking), however, I have some regular clients with overhanging trees that makes getting my van up the drive awkward as it is so a high roof may have been a bigger pain. I also like to think that not being the long wheelbase makes it easier to find somewhere to park in the street outside clients houses (although that may just be my imagination as I doubt the few inches difference really makes that much of an impact).

I find that I've managed to pretty much fill my van with all the stuff I carry around, with (self built) custom racking down both sides, there's definitely no room for a work bench so I have to make do with carrying a folding one with me. I've got the 350 version as with all the tools and the stuff I carry to cater for the 'just jobs' (ie, "while you are here could you just ....") means there's already a fair bit of weight on board before I start adding materials for particular jobs.

It took me a while to find a sensibly priced decent one of the version I wanted, the 350 MWB semi-high FWD as they seem to be not so common. Lots of the smaller, lower weight capacity ones, or the bigger, higher capacity ones (mostly RWD though).

Definitely don't wear your good clothes to look at a van as you'll want to crawl around and inspect the underside for rust. Mine is one of the Turkey built vans and there is pretty much no rust on it, that's definitley not the case for all MK7s though and last month the MOT man remarked on how good mine was compared to what he usually sees. There are lots of vans about so take your time and find the best you can.

I can't really comment on engines or technical aspects of the Transit, I've not had mine too long, I'm learning lots from reading posts on here though. Only thing I would add on that front is that it is probably not wise to get the lowest powered engine if you opt for the highest weight capacity.

Anyway, enough blather, hope some of that helped.
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