Advice what should I do a decision to make .

[Sunny43.5]

Okay I am having a problem with myself on what to do for the future of two T5 vans , my trusty 2005 T5 2.0 litre petrol manual work van is reaching into the 260000 kay mark . It goes real well { thanks to Jmac for looking after it } water pump and timing belt done at regular intervals . Main problem is that I know in the back of my mind that one day the engine will need overhauling { it does struggle a bit to get up to speed } Jmac told me when that day comes it might be better to buy a right off van with a diesel 1.9 turbo engine with low kays and do a transplant . Apparently the cost of rebuilding the 2.0 petrol engine can be pretty expensive . The next option is we still have my wife's 2004 T5 2.5 Turbo diesel tiptronic auto 130000 kays {yes the one I ranted about a few years back } This one is low kays and diesel economics plus the auto was rebuilt back in 2012 and turbo replaced earlier this year . Should I sell mine and keep the 2004 or sell it and wait until the engine expires in my work van , what do you think I am open to advise or comments .

[Seano]

Drive them both to Death. And then resuscitate. Neither are worth much to anyone else so only sell them if they are worth nothing to you.

[Sunny43.5]

Well I had considered driving my work van to death but other than the high kays on the donk the damn thing is perfect , it drives like a near new one and It has never let me down . I do regular trips to onsite jobs sometimes in excess of 4 to 500 kays in a round trip in one day ! Its comfortable great stereo with GPS etc and very quiet due to extensive trim work and soundproofing , even outside it looks great as it had a nice make over care of insurance last year so no dings or scratches .
The second van looks just as good and also drives great it has had the same trim job inside , and I suppose I could look at the bright side the auto has been rebuilt and the turbo done as well { yes two nasty bills there } But the van is not needed in the family we only held onto it after buying a new one two years ago as we had lent it to a friend who had MND as it was set up with wheel chair ramp at the back . Because its a diesel I figure saving on fuel bills as the petrol one chews through petrol , around town and the occasional out of town trip I can squeeze 5-650 kays from a tank but the diesel will easily better that by another 150 - 200 kays . Plus the bonus that diesel engines should last up to 500000 before surgery is required .
I am going to wait and see Jmac when he comes back as I will get him to give the diesel one a full diagnostic and general check to see what might be in the future . The way I am leaning at the moment is that the petrol one could fetch around $7000 - $8000 as its much better setup than the ones I have seen on the car sales sites [ you would be horrified at some examples shown and the money they want for them ] . But the diesel has its past reputation as its Achilles heel , as dealers will not touch them because its an auto . I tried to trade it on the new van but was horrified when the dealer only offered me between $4000 and $8000 as a trade . I actually heard the valuer tell the salesperson after he looked at the van that in his words " it's an automatic I would not trust it " I stormed out telling the salesperson he just lost my business because of the valuers blurting out his opinion right in front of me . I should have gone to the manager and got the prick fired . So that van is probably only worth around $10000 - $12000 even though its got much less kays on the clock than my work van .

[Seano]

It's a trade off. Can't help there. If it were me...I'd keep the petrol one. And I drive a diesel!

There's always a private market for wheelchair vehicles like yours...

[Sunny43.5]

Yes the petrol one is probably more simplified , but it is a slug in comparison to the diesel 85 kW 170 Nm Torque versus 128 kW 400 Nm Torque . From what I have read they do offer the 2.0 petrol TSI 150 kW 350 Nm Torque from 2010 on but only in Europe seems they don,t think it would sell that well here . It will be interesting to see if the 2.0 petrol TSI makes it to Australia in the T6 . I had thought about wacking a Garrett aftermarket turbo on my van but the bottom end probably would go out to lunch plus the head would need to be decompressed to accommodate the extra pressure . Oh one last thing it,s no fun being passed by trucks going up the Toowoomba range ! the poor old girl has to be coerced with multiple gear changes to get to the top , this usually results in crawling the last few kays in second gear . DOH.

[Transporter]

From what you say, I think you're ready to buy a new van. Do it. I personally would sell both of them, the petrol one would be long gone.
You see, it's not just an engine the rest of the vehicle is all worn out/aged. IMO, if you get 10 years out of the van and can afford it buy new one, the down time can cost you money in the business.

[Sunny43.5]

Good point Transporter but I see myself scaling back the mobile side of my business in a couple of years time so I was hoping to avoid getting into more loans etc . We are clear and free at the moment so I want to avoid having to fork out the extra for a short term need .

[Tornado T5]

From what you say, I think you're ready to buy a new van. Do it. I personally would sell both of them, the petrol one would be long gone.
You see, it's not just an engine the rest of the vehicle is all worn out/aged. IMO, if you get 10 years out of the van and can afford it buy new one, the down time can cost you money in the business.

So true, the last 3 months ownership of my T4 petrol/lpg @ 10 yr old 298,000km cost me over $3000 in repairs but the 3 towing trips back to work to unload then mechanics to repair when it broke down, hiring replacement vans, time lost, time spent on backlog of work catching up drove me nuts and straight to Burwins for a T5 with cheque book in hand for the deposit.