Are Renault Trafic Reliable
Cecila Dammrich
At UKC/UKH we are all experienced internet users and as such we understand why some people want to use Ad Block to remove annoying and distracting advertising that proliferates on some web sites. We don't feel that UKC/UKH should be considered as such a site.
We have developed a site that has subtle and appropriate advertising; we don't use pop-ups, we don't force you to read adverts before you can see content, we don't plaster content with adverts, and we don't use third party ad servers dishing up totally inappropriate advertising. We have worked incredibly hard over the years to make sure that we keep a good balance between advertising and editorial content.
Yeah, in all honesty, the transit seems like a better deal on paper but I still see way more old Trafics and Vivaros about than I do Transits. Budget wise I'm already likely to be getting an old one anyway, but in my head I dont see any 2007 transits about much so getting a 2009 one doesn't sound like years of motoring ahead, despite it being cheaper. I do kinda prefer the extra space in the LWB Trafic too. Trafics = gearbox problems, Transits = rust problems. Swings and roundabouts I guess.
I've had one transit and 3 vivaros/ trafics (in amongst the 10 vans I've owned). Despite the transit disintegrating due to rust I would buy one again if it were the right van - trafic/vivaros I wouldnt touch. The engines seem to be made of cheese - if the injectors dont fail the gear box (or crankshaft!) will somewhere around the 150k mark. They're a good cheap van for tradies who want something that looks sharp for three years and goes nice and quick (for a van) but once they get into the second hand market they dont have long to live.
Hm.. I'm currently wondering if I'll be wanting a new van or just a new gearbox within the next few months or so. I was thinking new van, but if second-hand prices are silly perhaps another gearbox is the way forward.
I'm on my second Renault Trafic. The previous one had started making slightly ominous gearbox noises (at about 180k) when I sold it to a builder friend of a friend. (He then went on to cheerfully abuse it for many more miles, so I guess the noises weren't as ominous as I thought.)
Meanwhile my current van, which had about 70k on the clock at the time, needed a new one almost as soon as I'd bought it. (It was ex RAC and might have had a bit of a hard life towing.) It was actually the diff that was whining then, not the gearbox itself. It had a reconditioned box fitted then, is up to about 185k now and has just recently started to be a bit noisy in 6th. Not a problem yet, but I guess it's only going to get worse.
I've loved both vans, and had no problems with the engines despite their reputation other than the odd load of gunk in the EGR valve of the first one. Both have always been quite expensive on suspension and brake parts, bushes, brake calipers & pads, shocks etc. But perhaps that's more a reflection on the quality of the roads around here (and the quality of my driving) than the van itself.
The gearbox has always been the fly in the ointment of the 'driving experience' though - they're really nice to drive* otherwise but changing gear can be clunky. The current one has always been especially difficult to get into 2nd when it's cold. (Fine when it warms up.) Both developed a problem at around 150k where the gearbox cable starts to pop off. Which feels catastrophic, but it's just a press-stud type thing and you can pop it right back on - for a while until it gets really sloppy and starts to become a real problem. A new pair of cables are irritatingly expensive to fix such a relatively minor problem at one end of one of them.
My last 2 vans have been traffics, got shut of 1 at 5 years and 180k, the next one at 7 years 194k. Other than the last one having an electrical problem in the first month they were perfect. I also had a small fleet of 4 more traffics at work. 1 had its injectors changed at 150k.
I had a 07 transit from New, it's the only van I ever got rid of as soon as the warranty ran out. Fuel pump once, 2 egr valves and 1 other thing that I can't remember. At 3 years old and 70k you could hear the rumble of the dual mass flywheel getting ready to give in and it was peppered with rust too.
Thanks all for the info.
Realistically it sounds like any van (especially) in my price bracket is going to be a lottery. I guess what I'm hoping for (as I'm sure we all do) is the one which will have the least unwanted bills in the long run.
Sadly the van market is really crazy. Trying to find a van for 5 or 6k that I'll get more than a couple of years out of seems to be the challenge at the moment. I once had what I thought was a "fairly decent" 07 plate transit and that van doesn't even exist any more so the thought of spending 5k on an 09 plate........
My last van was a Citroen Dispatch (until someone wrote it off). It was nice and nippy, but the 1.6 engine was notorious for injector problems. Twice for me in 2 years. It was also a bit too narrow for me in an ideal world, hence looking at the wider Transit or Trafic.
I even looked Vitos but they all seemed well out of my price range at the moment.
SH is always a gamble, especially at the age your looking for. Newer ex fleet are normally okay but at the age your looking at they will have been in private or small business hands and most people in that situation run them to the ground if they are reliable and get shut if they are not.
I'm about to put up for sale a 15 plate Renault Trafic 115 Business in black. It's done 120k miles and has been well looked after and is a clean and tidy van with nice extras such as built in Sat Nav and remote phone connection. Looking for around 7.5k and there's no VAT to add as it's a private sale.
One factor to decide is that the I believe the Traffic is significantly narrower than the Ford with excellent visibility. Great for parking and manuvering, there are SUV's wider than it. But this may limit some campervan layouts. We managed to get good wall insulation and still fit in everything we wanted though. Sideways beds are not really an option.
I think I'd be pushing it a bit to get up to 7k to be honest. My main target is nearer 6k but if the van looked really good (or as really good as you can expect for that kind of money), I could probably get up to about 7k.
c80f0f1006