Is a 2006 transit that has done 112k miles any good?

[Duran]

Hi, I would prefer to buy a lower mileage van but I've found one in very nice condition that has done 112,000 miles. the engine is a 2.4 Tdci 100.

Can anyone advise me are these engines any good, how many miles would it be good for & could it still be a good runner at 112k miles?

I'm just looking at the moment trying to decide which is the best van to buy, I'd prefer lower mileage, but would also prefer spending the least can.

[dumper]

It can be very troublesome on the injection system ned will popup and tell you the pitfalls of his van Damian 1120000 mls is not high mileage for the mechanical side of the engine it’s just run in at that .I had the 135 tdci and I got it at 110.000 and did another 70.000 and no bother my current mk8 at 7000 mls when I got it has had more problems at 34000 mls then any van I’ve had with 100.000 on it when I bought it.

[ned]

2006 could be a mk6 or mk7 if it’s a 100 tdci it’ll be mk7 as they only did a 125 2L and 135 2.4L tdci in mk6.

[RadioSurfer]

Hi,

There are people with a lot more knowledge and experience than myself that can provide technical comments, but here are some thoughts and experiences from a relative newbie and someone who was in the same position as you a few months back.

Firstly, your question is very difficult to answer as there is so much luck involved and every van is different. I spent 6 months looking and debating which van ( any van) to buy. I needed something that would last me 2 to 3 years, be reliable and not cost that much and most importantly would carry a sheet of plasterboard. I thought the pandemic might have driven the cost of vans down, how wrong I was. They are in demand by those that want to convert them for simple getaway holidays or for the thousands of self employed parcel delivery guys. Hence the good ones sell fast, and there are many rough ones looking for an unwary owner.

There is naturally a big element of luck, your potential van could be the best vehicle you ever buy or it could be a nightmare on wheels. All you can do is some homework and use common sense and then cross your fingers. I did all the obvious things; was it clean? did it look well cared for? had some jobbing builder mixed his cement on the passenger seat? did it have a genuine full service history? Looked after most modern vehicles will cover significant mileage, but finding one that has truly been serviced properly rather than a stamped first 3 services in its 100k lifetime is not that easy. These are working vehicles, get abused and servicing with a loss of the van for the day is not at the top of owners’ priorities and when things start to wobble they get rid.

My own van is an early 2013 with 67,000 and evidence of “almost” a full service history, just the last 18 months with 1 service before I bought it but only covering 8,000 in the last 4 years. Sometimes low mileage is not always a good thing either.

My experiences to date, mostly recorded in various threads on here.

Leaking diesel due to a design fault on the bleed valve - cost £80 (not paid) and £20 cash for the local garage to fit.

Collapsed driver's seat rear that needed welding, well known failure point and bad design, just needed a re-weld and I put a new foam cushion and cover off the auction sites at a cost of £100 less £20 for the sale of the old cover and foam, again on the auctions sites.

A multitude of electrical issues, all now resolved for virtually no expense other than my time and patience!

Respray to the high top leading edge and a few minor scrapes above the window where the stones hit at a cost of £250. I live on an island for most of the time and any bare metal will rust in seconds.

Non working radio due to rusty connections (or lack of them) in the rood aerial base mount - cost £6.40.

All fairly trivial in the scheme of things and many wouldn’t bother as long as it was mechanically sound and runs (other than the fuel leak which made one hell of a mess and stink). Most of this I could do myself, which makes it much cheaper, electrical issues in particular can be time-consuming and expensive to diagnose if you use a garage.

Was it a good buy? Did I make the right decision? Do I trust the van to do the job I need? Well the jury is out, people say it looks immaculate and just out of the showroom. But it now needs it to prove itself.

A bit of waffle, but thought you might appreciate my experiences to date.

Good luck, cheers, Richard

[RadioSurfer]

I forgot to mention above, another obvious check is the MOT history. A string of failures and or advisories again would indicate lack of proper regular maintenance. And do you know/trust the seller?

Cheers.

[Duran]

It can be very troublesome on the injection system ned will popup and tell you the pitfalls of his van Damian 1120000 mls is not high mileage for the mechanical side of the engine it’s just run in at that .I had the 135 tdci and I got it at 110.000 and did another 70.000 and no bother my current mk8 at 7000 mls when I got it has had more problems at 34000 mls then any van I’ve had with 100.000 on it when I bought it.

I think it could be a risk but because it all depends how the people who hired it drove it, if any of them thrashed it or not. Would I want the gearbox repaired, and how much would that cost? I've been looking at some lower mileage ones but the only one I've found I like is a mk6 2.4 90 t350, I've been reading up 90 bhp info and lots of owners seem to have had power troubles. Maybe I should bide my time until something comes along that I don't have concerns about?

[Duran]

Hi,

There are people with a lot more knowledge and experience than myself ...

Good luck, cheers, Richard

Thanks for the info Richard, it does seem to be a luck of the draw. It probably is a good runner, but like you say it could have problems and is a risk.

[Duran]

I forgot to mention above, another obvious check is the MOT history. A string of failures and or advisories again would indicate lack of proper regular maintenance. And do you know/trust the seller?

Cheers.

I have checked the mot history and it's looks okay.

[Luke24123]

I got a 56 plate fwd 2.2 223k on the clock
Had to replace no4 injector at 220 but other than that starts and drives like a 50k engine
Rust will definitely kill it before anything mechanical