Best value "budget" small van

Berlingo van rather than car version. Standard response, but unsure if it is budget these days...

Some of the Transit Connects have 3 seats, and available at reasonable prices, as they were so popular. Get one with a bulkhead, or at least a cage between the front and rear, otherwise stuff will be flying everytime you brake sharply.

If the Berlingo van is big enough , don’t write off a berlingo car, can fold 3 rears flat or just 2, (so 3 seats with 3 bikes down side wheels out - *** check that modern bikes fit lengthwise, tho as berlingo is quite short -worked great with our old 26 bikes less so with a 29” levo. .

other ideas Nissan nv200, Citroen dispatch 

I Have a peugeot partner for exactly this use. Works a treat. Berlingo is identical. Fits 29er 150mm trail bike 120mm Haibike Hard Seven 27.5 and a Canyon Neuron Small 27.5 with room for a bmx and kit.

As much as I love my Transit Connect 3 grand is getting you quite an old van, and Transits are prone to rust. I've had a couple of Renault Kangoo's in the past with the 1.5dci engine. Pretty basic but decently reliable. 

Might be able to pick up an older Merc Citan XLWB for around that budget.

Mines been great, takes two bikes while with a back seat still available or three with it down.

Wee bit nicer inside than their Kangoo sisters but ultimately the same thing underneath.

Gearboxes are prone to going (mine needed a recondition at about 80000 miles) but otherwise it's been pretty faultless. 

5 seats and a big boot when you need to shuffle people, 2 seats and a good sized van when you don't and the option to split the back seats for the times in between.

We're just about to start looking for something bigger after 3/4 years ownership now my daughter is a bit bigger. Squashing three bikes and three people becomes harder with every newer and bigger bike she grows into and we're about at the limit now.

I'll be sorry to see it go, it's been great.

Berlingo van rather than car version. Standard response, but unsure if it is budget these days...

Berlingo car rather than van version. All the vans are beaten up whereas the Multispaccers are in good condition.

The older/fairly rare M59 with the 2.0Hdi is absolutely the best one to go for. Bulletproof engine, 50+mpg, galvanized, dirt cheap parts and simple to work on. Mines been brilliant.

Will take an XL 29er or 3&people with wheels off, or lots of bail arm crates, or junk to the tip, or a commode

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Oh aye, forgot. If you are buying from a dealer and it's a proper van the price may not include VAT. Probably not as common at that price point, but something to check if you spot an apparent bargain at a garage. 

Suzuki APV, love mine.

A 3k van will be an absolute shitter, better get an estate or something that can easily accommodate bike racks.

If you want to up the budget a bit, and van size, my T5 kombi is up for sale in the classifieds. Just had a major service yesterday too. It's only been used for social stuff in my ownership (2012), mostly bike races and climbing trips and it's been brilliant for that. 

Posted by: bigdugsbaws

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A 3k van will be an absolute shitter

Shop around and you can get a really nice one for £3k. In 2021, when van prices were high, I bought a 2013 Peugeot Bipper for £750. The best van Ive ever had. Cheap, as it was filthy, and the guy couldnt be bothered cleaning it. Oh, high mileage, around 150k. I thought it’d keep me gooing for a couple of years, I’ve still got it, 197k miles now, and still runs really well, and averages 53mpg.

On the plus side, it had been serviced from day one, and he had all the receipts. It took most of a week to clean it, I had all the seats out, carpets up etc, it was a plumbers van from sites,and it seemed like 5 bags of plaster had been spilt inside it. So a weeks work in cleaning it , I gave it a service, and have only done service work since, apart from changing all the springs and shocks, did it myself in two days over a weekend.

You can certainly get a decent older van for £3k, but I'd agree it's worth looking at car Berlingos/Partners/anything else they were called - as long as part of the reason for getting a van wasn't the security of bikes hidden away? I do miss that, having gone back to a car currently.

But then if you are considering a car, would an S-Max or Galaxy suit, for a bit more refinement?

My peugoet partner tepee has removable seats so that would work well

For value ex motability wheel chair adapted is apparently a good option. You just need to put the time and energy into sorting out the back. 

Been really pleased with ours. Reliable and nice to drive. Although ours is the sporty 115 hp version

 Some one on here will know about engine versions. There was one which didn’t get enough oil to the turbo. Rectified in the Euro 4 version. But that’s from memory 

Thanks all.

It needs to be small/car based so the wife can get in - mobility issues rule out Transporters etc.