JJ0063’s current steed - Life of an impulsive car owner -[Transit Connect]

[Dave_Q]

Have a look at Mercedes Vito as well, I would say this having owned a couple but you'll get a newer/nicer one for shed T5 money and they drive a lot better as well.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Vito-Sport-X-120cdi-Brabus-2008-5-8-seater-air-con-camping-wagon-/295741503381?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p4429486

[JJ0063]

13 minutes ago, Dave_Q said:

Have a look at Mercedes Vito as well, I would say this having owned a couple but you'll get a newer/nicer one for shed T5 money and they drive a lot better as well.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Vito-Sport-X-120cdi-Brabus-2008-5-8-seater-air-con-camping-wagon-/295741503381?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p4429486

I must admit I was reading I think some of your posts about these last week, we then parked next to one at the weekend and Mrs JJ said it looked like a good option, so certainly not out of the question!

[JJ0063]

Still can’t stop looking at vans. 
 

Transit Custom - are they a total nightmare? I keep reading about OMGWETBELTS but I see there are a couple of engines they use. 
 

Had one as a work van when I was at Autoglass and they drive lovely, like being sat in a Focus. Much better value than a VW Transporter too so not sure if worth considering? 

[Jazoli]

48 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

Still can’t stop looking at vans. 
 

Transit Custom - are they a total nightmare? I keep reading about OMGWETBELTS but I see there are a couple of engines they use. 
 

Had one as a work van when I was at Autoglass and they drive lovely, like being sat in a Focus. Much better value than a VW Transporter too so not sure if worth considering? 

Ask @paulplom about transhits, plus you'll look like a pikey.

[Dave_Q]

On 15/06/2023 at 23:15, Jazoli said:

Ask @paulplom about transhits, plus you'll look like a pikey.

As a bonus though, you won't look like one for long as it'll get stolen pretty quickly

[JJ0063]

Have been chatting with Mrs JJ for a few days now about options and she now doesn’t think a T5 sized van is any use size wise for us and the dogs, but understands I also don’t want to daily anything bigger.

Seriously tempted to just buy a cheapo estate car rather than blowing the whole value of the 335d on one.

Am I mad considering something like this? Have had a quick chat with the seller and they’re willing to take £1600 for a quick sale. Seems very good value but I know these come with their faults but I fancy something I can chuck all the dogs in and not really care about.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/966729458083164/

[Saabnut]

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

Have been chatting with Mrs JJ for a few days now about options and she now doesn’t think a T5 sized van is any use size wise for us and the dogs, but understands I also don’t want to daily anything bigger.

Seriously tempted to just buy a cheapo estate car rather than blowing the whole value of the 335d on one.

Am I mad considering something like this? Have had a quick chat with the seller and they’re willing to take £1600 for a quick sale. Seems very good value but I know these come with their faults but I fancy something I can chuck all the dogs in and not really care about.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/966729458083164/

Perfectly good if a bit dull and uninspiring an car. The most you can lose is a bit over a grand and you can use some of the cash saved to hire a really nice* camper on the odd occasion you want one. Makes sense to me.

[Jazoli]

They are ok but not as big in the rear as you think, decent to drive though, sump pickup seal replacement is a must and something to factor in when buying.

[Bren]

Insignia is not a bad steer. Just bear in mind the 2.0 diesel engine can have issues.

[JJ0063]

Think I’ve missed it unfortunately but the idea of a £1500 estate I don’t have to particularly care about is sounding attractive. Maybe a Passat or something.

[Bren]

1 minute ago, JJ0063 said:

Think I’ve missed it unfortunately but the idea of a £1500 estate I don’t have to particularly care about is sounding attractive. Maybe a Passat or something.

A £1500 insignia is more likely to be better than a £1500 passat. Some are asking that for B5 passats which are ancient.

[yes oui si]

Saab 93 with the 1.9 diesel? Vectra coilovers fit and they're 5x110 so any number of 5x112 wheels will wobble bolt on

[DeanH]

16 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

Think I’ve missed it unfortunately but the idea of a £1500 estate I don’t have to particularly care about is sounding attractive. Maybe a Passat or something.

Set up email alerts for HMC activity. It's bound to happen soon..

[JJ0063]

So now we have the Volvo of dreams on the fleet, I’m at a bit of a loss with what to do with the 335D.

 

Part of me says keep it, but in reality do I need nearly 7k tied up in a car I can only drive if I go out by myself 

Other part of me says just sell it and bank the money but I know the money will get eaten by ‘life’ 

 

Thirdly and the one that will most likely happen I think is that il sell this, use some of the money on ‘life’ but having a boring Volvo as a daily means a toy is required. Maybe something like an E36 or even a Mk2 Golf GTI would be nice.

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

sell 335 buy folding camper

[SiC]

3 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

Other part of me says just sell it and bank the money but I know the money will get eaten by ‘life’ 

Stick a good chunk of it in a fixed term ISA that isn't easy access. Keep a smaller chunk for holiday/toy/etc.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

3 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

So now we have the Volvo of dreams on the fleet, I’m at a bit of a loss with what to do with the 335D.

 

Part of me says keep it, but in reality do I need nearly 7k tied up in a car I can only drive if I go out by myself 

Other part of me says just sell it and bank the money but I know the money will get eaten by ‘life’ 

 

Thirdly and the one that will most likely happen I think is that il sell this, use some of the money on ‘life’ but having a boring Volvo as a daily means a toy is required. Maybe something like an E36 or even a Mk2 Golf GTI would be nice.

 

Have you seen the values of mk2 Golf Gtis recently? I still regret selling my VR6 converted mk2 in 2015 - it's value has more than doubled since.

[JJ0063]

21 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Have you seen the values of mk2 Golf Gtis recently? I still regret selling my VR6 converted mk2 in 2015 - it's value has more than doubled since.

I knew they’d gone up but wow, looks like 6k upwards for a half decent one! Wowza.

Maybe an E36 is a wiser move, they’re still cheap enough. 
 

I think sensible me would spend £3k on a toy and bank the rest. Just fancy something slightly older for a change. My old E30 is actually on eBay at the minute for 10k 😬

[Shandylegs]

2 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

I knew they’d gone up but wow, looks like 6k upwards for a half decent one! Wowza.

Maybe an E36 is a wiser move, they’re still cheap enough. 
 

I think sensible me would spend £3k on a toy and bank the rest. Just fancy something slightly older for a change. My old E30 is actually on eBay at the minute for 10k 😬

In a similar position in terms of wanting a bit of a toy and have been struggling to find anything that remotely takes my fancy around that budget. 😱

[JJ0063]

Update required for this thread 

 

Volvo has been completely revamped and is in daily use now. Only annoying thing I’ve spotted is a slightly roughly idle sometimes, I know these are known for injector issues so I’ll probably just ignore it. Fantastic car though and we use it all the time.

335D is finally on eBay. Took me a while to get my arse in gear and take my plate off etc but it’s done and listed.

When the BMW is sold, we’re pretty set on another van and I know I’m asking for trouble but it’s either a T4 (😂🤦‍♂️) or a T5. 

[JJ0063]

OK so I’ve currently got a deposit left on both the BMW and the Volvo, with the BMW being collected on Saturday, Volvo on Monday evening. 
 

That leaves a VW T5 shaped hole. 
 

I’ve just paid a deposit on this after seeing some walk around videos, let’s hope with a 4/5 hour train journey, it’s not a complete shed. Guys owned it 5 years and it seems a very genuine van so we’ll hope for the best, should be collecting it next weekend (23rd) subject to V5 coming back in time as he’s got to retain his plate.

 

It’s even the same colour as the Transit was! 

[RoverFolkUs]

Nice! Has the forum software glitched and eaten the for sale thread for it already though? 😉😂

[tom13]

I honestly thought the Volvo would last a bit longer.

I give the T5 2 months max.

[JJ0063]

28 minutes ago, tom13 said:

I honestly thought the Volvo would last a bit longer.

I give the T5 2 months max.

I did too but it was one of those scenarios where I kind of had to let it go.

1. Big profit 

2. Only purpose of having it was because dogs. T5 is more than suitable for dogs.

3. I know what I’m like for owning two vehicles at the same time, I always drive one and the other just sits. I’d end up paying out for insurance and whatnot for it to just sit

 

I never keep cars long, T5 is heavily influenced by mrs JJ so hopefully that’ll encourage me to hang on to it but we’ll see. Luckily they hold their value and are in high demand. 
 

Got to get a train to Shrewsbury to collect it so let’s just hope it’s not a pile of shit when I get there.

[JJ0063]

That’s both the fleet ready to go! 
 

BM is supposedly being picked up at 2PM tomorrow, Volvo Monday evening.

[JJ0063]

BMW went Saturday afternoon

 

Volvo went this evening:

 

Just got to hope the T5 turns out alright! 
 

Mrs JJ has agreed to drive me to Ely station as if I get the train from there it’s £39 odd to Shrewsbury but if I leave from Downham Market, it’s £98!

Train departs Ely at 5:30AM on Saturday…

[RoverFolkUs]

Blimey, I was expecting "2 out, 1 in" to be in reference to the T5 having already sold as well as another purchase that hasn't even happened yet to accommodate the latest 3.0D BMW shaped purchase

[JJ0063]

I shouldn’t be allowed to shop online when I’m tired and it’s 1am

Not sure why I needed this but still, I now own another registration. 

[w00dy]

4 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

I shouldn’t be allowed to shop online when I’m tired and it’s 1am

Not sure why I needed this but still, I now own another registration. 

Decided to buy a Vito instead? 😉

 

Van looks tidy, someone's definitely spent some money on it.

[JJ0063]

Thought I’d update this thread rather than carrying on the collection Fred.

Went over to Shrewsbury on Saturday and got the T5.

Really like it. For a van it drives nice. It was dangerously slow, I knew at 84bhp it would feel slow but I was a bit worried when on the way home I got stuck behind a Kia doing 45mph and couldn’t overtake it. 
 

Luckily the seller had bought a stage 1 mapped ECU that he’s never got round to fitting, I stuck it on the next day and it’s night and day difference. The 84 and 102bhp models are apparently identical bar software, so they both map to 140ish bhp. It’s so much better. I reckon it must have pretty much halved the 0-60. 
 

Overall very pleased. Picked up a Vango driveaway air awning off FB Marketplace for a bit more room. Going to try and get away for one night this weekend as a trial to see if we want to change any of the setup/layout.