Replacement ?

[dob]

My van is a 02 - T90 - 350,with 110k on it,I have clocked up 47k since september,so towards the end of this year ,if I still have it,I would imagine it could quite comfortably achieve 200k or thereabouts.

So far it's been pretty reliable,I mentioned earlier on another thread about the clutch going and the starting problems,but since I have replaced the battery it seems to be behaving,though the weather is warmer now so I won't know for sure till another frosty night.

I use it in my business as a self employed courier,so it would help if the van looks tidy as a good advert for the firm.I got it from auction,previously it was owned by Norwest Holst and has had a few knocks.There's a slight dint on the front wing,a scrape down the near side,another down the roof above the SLD,minor dings all over it and dints on the side door where some twat on a forklift ripped it off.The deciding factor on choosing it was price - I paid 4k plus VAT,which I thought was fair after looking at forecourt prices,I claimed the VAT back so it was 4k in reality.

It's paid for itself and been pretty reliable -I don't bother with a car as I prefer driving a van.

Anyway - if I decide to replace at the end of this year I'm wondering what to go for - whatever I choose needs to be able to take approx1500 and be LWB I'm wondering wether a late model smiley would be better if I got one with low miles that had been looked after.
Presumably they aren't as quick (advice greatfully received on that) - but I'm not too bothered so long as I can do 70 on the motorway.Also I'd be interested in finding out what they're like on diesel,mine isn't brilliant,it probably does high 20's at motorway speeds - so essentially I'm looking for advice/comparisons between the two on such things as running costs - service bills and reliability issues etc

Cheers
DOB

[100ps_drw_hicube]

heres some mpg figures on the 2.5di and turbo



http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2973



and this would have been ideal for you



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-FORD-TRANSIT ... dZViewItem



and a bargain at £3200 most late smileys fetch more than early mk6's round my way as people can work on them there selves and there cheaper on parts

[dob]

That's exactly what I was thinking - ie - cheaper on parts and being simpler to fix