2005 T5 Transporter - Worth It?

[Mtwem]

Hey all.

I've recently been looking for a new van, I had a Toyota Hiace, but a council truck ran into me and wrote it off!

I was originally going to look for another Hiace however I have a mate who has an newer Transporter Turbo Diesel and he loves it, as well as it being great economically.
I've found one i could be interested in, here's the details:

Year - 2005
Kilometres - 234,000
Diesel / LWB /FWD

The aircon is fitted but not working.
Supposedly serviced every 15000 KMS

Now my question is, is this year model with that many Kilometres worth it?
The price is cheap, however I've done some quick research and came across a lot of people having massive mechanical issues with transporters and rather commonly.
Does the fuel economy make up for the more pricey services and repairs?

Love to hear some opinions, would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Mike

PS - Im quite limited with my spending as the councils insurers ripped me off massively and my payout was a lot lower than what it should have been.

[Transporter]

Welcome o the forum Mike.

I'm not sure if I understand you?

T5 worth what?

...also what engine? Manual or auto?

[Mtwem]

Welcome o the forum Mike.

I'm not sure if I understand you?

T5 worth what?

...also what engine? Manual or auto?

Thanks mate,

Sorry, i didnt make myself clear, is it worth buying a transporter is what I was wondering, and if the rumours of mechanical faults were as common as they seem to be in reviews. It's a manual diesel engine.

Basically I was just wondering if over 200,000kms will have common, expensive issues and if anyone has had any experiences with transporters from that year model!

Thanks!

[Sunny43.5]

We are selling our 2004 T5 Turbo Diesel 2.5 auto it only has 150000 kays one owner auto trans was rebuilt at 135000 water pump done etc new air con compressor very good condition seats 4 full glass all around cruise control etc .

[Transporter]

Thanks mate,

Sorry, i didnt make myself clear, is it worth buying a transporter is what I was wondering, and if the rumours of mechanical faults were as common as they seem to be in reviews. It's a manual diesel engine.

Basically I was just wondering if over 200,000kms will have common, expensive issues and if anyone has had any experiences with transporters from that year model!

Thanks!

Ah, the rumours of the mechanical failure in the media?

Put it that way. Almost any todays vehicle is more reliable than those made 15-30 years ago. Back then, the people didn't have have the Facebook, twitter and hundreds of forums to post about their failures, many post at every forum that exist just to get the attention, which leads to perception that todays cars fail more than before. I'd say almost anyone owning Falcon or Commodore from that era.... would see today's VW as a very reliable in comparison.

Now, is it worth it to buy a secondhand T5 or not?

Unless you're 80 + years old and won't be driving for too long, don't buy secondhand, buy a new vehicle or year or 2 old if you know 100% of its history. Otherwise doesn't matter what brand you buy, it's not worth it, IMO. Anyone please feel free to disagree.

[Mtwem]

Ah, the rumours of the mechanical failure in the media?

Put it that way. Almost any todays vehicle is more reliable than those made 15-30 years ago. Back then, the people didn't have have the Facebook, twitter and hundreds of forums to post about their failures, many post at every forum that exist just to get the attention, which leads to perception that todays cars fail more than before. I'd say almost anyone owning Falcon or Commodore from that era.... would see today's VW as a very reliable in comparison.

Now, is it worth it to buy a secondhand T5 or not?

Unless you're 80 + years old and won't be driving for too long, don't buy secondhand, buy a new vehicle or year or 2 old if you know 100% of its history. Otherwise doesn't matter what brand you buy, it's not worth it, IMO. Anyone please feel free to disagree.

Very true, I see so many on the road...
Ah yes, thats the thing, I'm almost forced to buy second hand, and a year/two years old is too excy for me. I'm only 21 and the amount I got back from the insurance companys payout was almost 4grand less than I should have, so I'm working with what I've got, and a second hand older year model is really the only way I can go unfortunately!

[Sunny43.5]

Transporter is right about used cars in general , todays are somewhat more reliable but unfortunately more expensive in relation to the vehicles value to repair . Last years statement by the ten judges who gave the Golf 7 Car of The Year Award not one of them would admit to wanting to keep one past warranty expiration date . It does not mean that that model is necessarily a problem it just seems that car makers would rather you buy a new one every couple of years . Look up the definition of Planned Obsolescence its pretty relevant in the world today . As a matter of interest what sort of budget are you working on ? .

[Mtwem]

Transporter is right about used cars in general , todays are somewhat more reliable but unfortunately more expensive in relation to the vehicles value to repair . Last years statement by the ten judges who gave the Golf 7 Car of The Year Award not one of them would admit to wanting to keep one past warranty expiration date . It does not mean that that model is necessarily a problem it just seems that car makers would rather you buy a new one every couple of years . Look up the definition of Planned Obsolescence its pretty relevant in the world today . As a matter of interest what sort of budget are you working on ? .

Yep its very relevant throughout most of technology or machinery these days.
I'm looking at 10-13grand, so like I said, options are quite limited to older models or newer models with higher kilometres, i just dont know which side to lean towards.

[Sunny43.5]

Like I said our 2004 T5 150000kays one owner is for sale currently we are in Brissie though , if you are interested I can put up some pics or more info PM me Howard .

[jfoldbar]

i kind of agreee with transporter. i think petrol engines are more reliable than they used to be 20 years ago, but diesels are the opposite. diesels are far too complex now to be reliable. and this in turns leads to harder to diagnose problems and more money.
the thing with a t5 from 2005, if you get a good one you could go another 300k with no problems, but if you get a bad one then it could well be at the end of its life now. there are a few tell tale signs but its pretty much luck of the draw. a complete repair/service history would be handy to know

[Transporter]

Well, I drive modern diesel engines for the last 15 years and I never had a problem with them.

There is not much difference in how do you diagnose diesel and petrol engine, you need a good scanner for both but at the same time you need the knowledge and experience.
If anything, I can say that the petrol engine is the one that could have more faults, ....if you're unlucky.

jfoldbar, don't think that the diesel engines are less reliable just Just because you had a bad experience with one (for what ever reason). In reality it's a fact that the cars are more reliable today than 20 years ago regardless of the engine. The car had always its useful life and once it reached that, one had to spend some money to keep it safely on the road and because the newer cars are more complex you will need to spend more to maintain them once they are old.

Back on topic, buying old doesn't have to save money to one and it doesn't have to be worth it, ....if the car wasn't well maintained or just neglected.
Just like you said "get the good one and can you can get another 300,000km out of it" but I'm not sure if that would be without a problem, no matter what you buy. If you buy old put some money aside for the repairs and start saving for the new.

[Sunny43.5]

Diesels engines are renown for long life some in excess of 500000 kays sometimes there are faults found but hopefully not many . Wrong oil seems to be the main culprit on the early ones . My work T5 petrol 2.0 petrol is now clicking over the 250000 kays and still going strong and believe me it does not get exactly the same love sometimes that I give our other ones , left foot and right foot coordination gets out of whack a lot !! The day is coming when it will need a new engine as you all may have noticed recently when it rolled down the hill by itself even in first gear it will roll away easily .

[jets]

Year - 2005
Kilometres - 234,000
Diesel / LWB /FWD

If I was in your position there is no way I would buy a van with that amount of k's. Money pit seems to come to mind.
You don't say how much they want for it. If it was only a few thousand you could walk away from it when the first big bill came in.
The other thing that nobody has mentioned is whether you have skills to DIY. Although parts are expensive, the repair costs will be considerably reduced if you can service/repair it yourself.

[Mtwem]

If I was in your position there is no way I would buy a van with that amount of k's. Money pit seems to come to mind.
You don't say how much they want for it. If it was only a few thousand you could walk away from it when the first big bill came in.
The other thing that nobody has mentioned is whether you have skills to DIY. Although parts are expensive, the repair costs will be considerably reduced if you can service/repair it yourself.

Its for 8,000...Unfortunately I do not, i have close friends who are mechanics but I do not know much about car mechanics,

[jets]

I just had a look at carsales & there a quite a few vans with high mileage that are listed much dearer than the one you looked at. EG 2004 manual with 205,165kms in NSW for $14,900. If you are still interested, you would need to investigate the past history [city or country], all service history & a full inspection by someone who is very familiar with the T5. Good luck with whatever you decide.