[Closed] VW Crafter

Height restrictors on carparks .....

I'll get me coat

Good point. Surely not on campsites though?

We had a 2008 and did about 30k miles in it over the time we had it. Overall they are very well built, we had no issues other than consumables. The only thing to watch out for is rust - they're really bad for it. Once the paint is chipped you can expect rust to develop quite aggressively.

Fuel economy is quite poor relative to newer vans. Expect a max of 28mpg if you drive very cautiously (62mph cruising)... Full tank will give you a max of 450 miles so that can add up quite quickly.

Check the cambelt service interval. On our VAG group car, (though not a commercial diesel engine to be fair) the interval halves after the first change.

Thanks, Unclesomebody I didn't realise they were that bad on fuel.

28mpg

didn’t realise they were that bad on fuel

What... that's about what my T5 gets..

Lower speed limits are often forgotten about, which is an issue with more anpr speed cameras.

It's just a Merc sprinter, but with a relatively rubbish VW engine and dashboard.
Main issues on Sprinters were gearboxes (check for any noise, or crunchy gears. They all felt a bit hard to select gears as there isn't much gear lever movement between gates, so a harsh feeling lever is normal), handbrake will often be poor due it being drum in disc and corroding so at low speed gently pull it on and see if you feel any bad shuddering which would signify the drums are likely badly corroded, and the original anti roll bar bushes were known to wear and knock quickly, and a new heavier duty version were available.

Sprinters/Crafters do rust, possibly worse than Transits.
I'm getting 39/40mpg from my 125 T350 LWB Transit but that is with next to no town driving.
Talking to the garage man before I bought mine he said that the most rust-resistant of the big vans were Renault Masters, but then warned me off them due to electrical gremlins.
Neighbours have a 2016 Relay and a 2018 Crafter and both are very happy with those, obviously the VW is too new for the rsut to have set in yet.

Sprinters/Crafters do rust

at 11 years old it would be pretty obviously rusty by now mind. I've found sprinters to be rust prone but only is a cosmetic sense - never in a way that worries an MOT - even at 14 years / 330k.

An issue with Crafters is they are Sprinter with a VW engine dropped in - its a VW engine but, IIRC, managed by Mercedes electronics and this can make diagnostics problematic. They are maybe no more or less reliable than their Merc cousins but fault-finding when it does happen can be more costly/inconveient/time-consuming. as a result.  For this reason, despite the VW badge value, the Crafters tend to be cheaper second hand, like for like, than Sprinters.

handbrake will often be poor due it being drum in disc and corroding so at low speed gently pull it on and see if you feel any bad shuddering which would signify the drums are likely badly corroded

its not so much the drum as the backing plate that the handbrake pulls against  - this corrodes and flexes, reducing the effectiveness of the handbrake (general braking is fine) - however replacing the backing plates is a pretty major strip down and half-axels out so pretty pricy. Just had them done on my 2008 sprinter 🙂

Thanks MC for the info. AndrewH Yep, that's my only worry. Looked at a 2008 Ford Transit and it looked in good condition. Had started a bit on the arches and underneath had surface rust. Engine sounded great with a full history. Was out and about today, Most Sprinters and Crafters seem to be rusty after a certain age and as you say more so than other brands.

A LWB Transporter would be ok size wise, they are expensive but they don't seem to rust though. Toyota Hiace would be a good, but its a bit small.

Was really wanting something I could stand up in.

maccruiskeen Yep thats why I was drawn to them, because they seemed cheaper than a sprinter. One I was going to see, had a full VW history. Bodywork didn't seem that bad either in the pictures. I suppose I could bedliner / underseal the bottom half of the van below the rubber strip.

At that age you're on the cusp of having DPFs fitted... unless the driving you do demands that you have one (IE you drive into London or one the the cities planning to introduce low emission zones) then not having one fitted would be favoureble.

The first generation of DPFs were less than optimal - I don't know about the VWs but merc ones are expected to last about 100k before needing replacement - so unless its shown as recently replaced then its something you can expect to need to replace reasonably soon. Various gremlins like a leaky injector can manifest as DPF failures and you can end up replacing the DPF twice if the reason for failure isn't identified first time (which it often won't be if it was due to fail anyway).

So if you're looking at models of that vintage you might want to opt for something a tiny bit older.

I've spent quite a bit of DPF related shenanigans of late but I use the van to earn money so don't mind spending on repairs, especially as I buy quite old and keep them a long time so any big bills amortise out less that the cost of depreciation of anything newer

I can't remember the specific problems, but one of my customers had a fleet of 9 of about that vintage and they had loads of major issues with them. They have had Peugeots since and they are a big improvement.

Ducato or one of it's cousins would be my choice.

I've had a 2008 crafter for about 5 years.
I hate it.
Always had mercs before but bought this as they are a bit cheaper than the mercs for a similar age.

Not only is it really hard to work on but it is rusting badly (and I'm used to sprinters)
Had a ton of stuff fixed every year and it's spent 4 months parked up earning me no money. When I finally get it out of limp mode I'm selling it and buying a pre 2006 mwb sprinter

Here is just one example. To replace a leaking sump gasket you have to remove the flywheel as there are bolts behind it.

jonah tonto Why a pre 2006 Sprinter? I'm assuming they have better engines and no DPF etc?

What about the VW LT 2.9 and 2.5 TDI engines?

An issue with Crafters is they are Sprinter with a VW engine dropped in – its a VW engine but, IIRC, managed by Mercedes electronics and this can make diagnostics problematic. They are maybe no more or less reliable than their Merc cousins but fault-finding when it does happen can be more costly/inconveient/time-consuming. as a result.

Nearly everything electrical chassis/body wise is Merc, which is paired to the VW engine electrics, VW spec instrument cluster, and IIRC the steering lock module is VW spec. I suspect the big diagnostic thing is VW 'experts' have no idea about Merc electrics, and Merc guys have no idea about VW engines. And as I don't think the more common Crafter engines are used in anything else, nobody has a clue what they're common faults are (and they have a habit of sounding like a bag of bolts rattling!)

its not so much the drum as the backing plate that the handbrake pulls against – this corrodes and flexes, reducing the effectiveness of the handbrake (general braking is fine) – however replacing the backing plates is a pretty major strip down and half-axels out so pretty pricy. Just had them done on my 2008 sprinter

The cable doesn't pull against the backing plates on sprinters/crafters 😉
The cable mounts into the axle, so it doesn't flex. All the backing plates do on these is secure the parking shoes flat with one end of the shoes sitting against a solid anchor bolted to the axle casing, and the other end floating on the cable lever. The backing plates do corrode and cause the brake shoes to constantly rub, due to them no longer being held flat.

The backing plates on the 906 single wheel vans are an easy job. Strip the brakes off, take out the 4 bolts that hold the halfshaft assembly in place, and the backing plate is sandwiched between the halfshaft assembly and axle casing.
The older single wheel 903 chassis were a nightmare, as you had to strip the hub bearing of the halfshaft, which involved a couple special tools and a big press.

As for DPFs, I wouldn't worry too much about them on Sprinters.
Any we replaced had covered upwards of 200k, and some of those were vans that spent most of their life in town, probably idling far more than they should have.

Thanks MC. Sounds like a sprinter would be a better bet.