Hi,
Just arrived in Sydney and need to buy a car / van. I have a 40 minute drive to work so want something reasonably comfortable but ideally I also want to store my windsurf gear in it as we'll be living in an appartment and really don't want to hassle of dragging gear around too much. And just to complicate things more I need at least 4 seats.
What would you suggest? Any ideas at all? Longest board is a JP x-cite at 250cm.
Thanks.
4 seats and store your gear
or
4 seats or store your gear
?
www.carsales.com.au is a handy site.
I know late model VW Kombis are a tad under 250cm. Went something like this:
"Phew, that was a long, long drive to pick up the board. OK, just place it in the back."
"uh-oh."
(You can thankfully quite easily remove the mesh/grid thing)
4 seats without gear and 2 seats with gear would be fine, though any options with 4 seats and gear even better!!
VW combi tempting.
I'm in a similar situation to you except the 40 minute commute. We bought a Mitsubishi Delica. Fits all the stuff, two or three boards, sails, masts, booms, bbq, esky, junk etc and can have two passengers and the driver. With everything taken out it fits seven but there are eight seaters out there. Quite comfortable inside with climate control, good seats, reasonable stereo and sunroof / moonroof.
Not bad on the fuel as its a diesel. Thankfully the price of diesel has come down from being close to $2 a litre. A petrol one on LPG would be the most economical drive.
Now that sounds like an interesting option, hadn't realised they had so much space in them. Do you get someone in the front passanger sear with boards behind?
Will go and take a look at one today. Tarago also seems like a posibility although I guess a more van like option (VW?, Hiace?) Would allow me to build some sort of box / cover to hide gear away.
Interested to here other people's solutions.
Thank you.
The boards have to go sideways and fit between the front seats. With the gear in there can be one passenger in the front and one sitting behind next to the passenger door. If I was buying one again I'd get a long wheel base model. Its a bit longer and 250cm boards can fit in flat behind the front seats. However it would be a bit more of a pain to park. Some Delicas have parking sensors though.
The other option is to buy an old an cheap van like a Hi Ace and then use it for windsurfing, park it somewhere secure and use it for windsurfing and have a normal car for everything else. I'd probably do that if I was doing it again.
Of course the big worry with a Delica is it will break down and it can't be fixed as its a private import. There seems to be a fair number of parts available now. The delica club website is a pretty good resource. I've heard VW has issues with spare parts so its probably much of a muchness.
I have a Merc Vito (not the current shape/latest model)
My 240 long boards fit down one side of the back of the van, I have a single seat on the other side for my little bloke...so seats three with a few boards and sails very easy. I can even get my 11ft SUP in there to be locked away when I need, without loosing any of the seats - the benifit of having a step through van.
It's not flash, it's not fast, but it works well and didn't miss a beat on a recent 3000k round trip I did with the family.
I have a similar Delica to MobyDisc (short wheel base, diesel), I bought it for windsurfing...
If you are going to go 4WD'ing to find some secret spots then it's the right tool for the job, but around the city those all terrain tyres sure get noisy! They're a big heavy car too.
I'd probably go a Ford Transit, Merc Vito, that sort of thing. 2WD so a bit lighter, plenty of room for the boards, not too noisy on the highway.
What's up with VW Transporters? You hear so many of those stories.
Went around NZ recently in a late 90's Jucy Toyota Emina campervan, green and purple they're everywhere. We call them Taragos. Windsurfing gear fits nicely in the back. A comfy cruiser, handles well. Didn't miss a beat of course - the rental companies know what goes without problems.
Hi, Confused,
The following might help:
If you are considering buying new, you might have a look at the Hyundai iMax. It's got the seats but the load space is a bit smaller than the X-Cite board length. If you go to look at one, take the board with you and get the sales guy to allow you to try the "fit".
If you are buying 2nd hand, have a look at the Toyota HiAce Coaster and the Ford Transit Bus, but make sure the Ford does not have the auto transmission (which gave a lot of trouble). Buses tend to have lower klms. on them than vans, but an RACV/NRMA test would be beneficial.
I'd want the following options: power steering, power windows, A/C, dark windows or screens to hide the gear. A diesel engine for economy and a petrol engine for all-round performance.
When driving a van, leave about 2 seconds' space between you and the next car in front (to allow for braking) and be prepared for lane-changers to jump in front of you all of the time.
When going around corners, always go deep into the corner before really starting the turn: you need the extra space to clear posts in roundabouts/corners (start looking at courier vans as you are driving and you'll find the many of them have damage from halfway along the door to the rear of the van, because they didn't go deep).
Be super-careful if you are going to reverse. I've fitted a tailight "beeper" (about $15 from an accessory shop) and, before I get into the van (if I have to reverse), I have a good look at what's behind/around me so I know what's happening.
Alfredo: really sorry to read that you have had so much trouble, because I was almost going to buy a similar spec van. Given the problems, I think you have a good case to take to Consumer Affairs or A Current Affair or a solicitor. Your description seems to imply a safety issue and at the very least, if the Owner's Handbook does not specifically warn you that the filter cleaning can cause problems on the road, I would think that you have a valid case to take further.
Hope this helps both of you.
Regards,
WindmanV
Chrysler Voyager. My wife made me buy one as we have 5 kids and I have always hated the people mover image, however now that I have taken up windsurfing I see it in a whole new light. 7 seater but can remove various seat combinations. I obviously keep the front 2 seats and usually the 2 bucket seats in the middle row. My board can then go up the middle between the 2 middle row seats and leave a large clear area at the rear OR I may take out both the middle and back row and use it as a truck. Can fit enough gear for 8 people. They sell for about 5 grand+ for a 1998 model.
Get a ute.... duel cab for extra seats if you need. Can store so much its not funny. We really load ours up at times.
Cheers
Hamish
Thanks for the replys. As much as I'm tempted by a van (although maybe not a T5!!!!) I suspect I might not be so keen once I've done the work commute a few times. The Tarago and the Delica seem like good options, possibly te Tarago as its a bit more common so hopefully easier to get fixed.
Not so sure about the Voyager as the crash ratings are horrible and I've heard about a lot of reliability issues with them.
I did see on drive.com.au so Toyota super customs - hiace body with tarago interior, they look like they'd be ideal but crazily expensive for the age!!
Next challenge is to actually get on the water... kit arrives end of May so hoping for a windy winter!
Thanks
van is obviously the perfect choice for a windsurfing set up and i must admit at times i am very jealous of some of the awesome set ups that i see around the windsurf spots.
another option might be station wagon or even a hatchback. My bro used to have a Ford Falcon station wagon that fitted all kit in the back and still allowed a passenger to sit up front. I think his board then was about 260cm.
I've got a Mazda 323 hatchback. at one stage i had 3 boards (longest at 250-255) and easily fitted them all inside the car. with 2 boards now it's an even better fit. It's still possible to fit a passenger in although they have to sit behind the driver.
Don't know how much room you've got in your garage, but I like putting the sailboard gear in a trailer (tied down), and parking that in the garage (which I lock), all loaded and ready to go....ie is "stored".
In my case I've also got a (separate) car port, so the trailer with board loaded in it sits in the garage, and car under the car port.
So, when the wind is cranking, i come home and throw the trailer on the car, and I'm off without having to muck about fitting things in the car. Also saves getting everything inside the car wet afterwards, or moving the family.
Maybe not what you're after, but thought I'd throw it out there.
Split fold rear seats are also good for the occasional time when you throw
the board on the roof, and everything else inside.
I just order one of these. 5 seats, fits all the windsurfing kit permanently in the back at the same time along with the moto x bike. 4 motion all wheel drive system with diff lock as added option was only a couple of gorrilas more. Was a serious toss up between black and silver. I love black cars but ended up going Silver as so much cooler in summer if you are permanently leaving kit inside.
Anyway, it's a three month wait given no one is really bringing these in with all the specs you would want as a windsurfing van.
Nearly bought a Vito but the 4motion and diff lock on the VW is a winner as far as I'm concerned.
1200 buck for a chip and they put out 208 bhp (153kw). Ok, so it voids the warranty. Minor detail and definitely worth it i say......
I tired the new Hiace and found that if you have a passenger taller than about 5'11" they will have thier knees against the dash.
Ok so this thread is still cherning out reply's, must be the lack of wind around.... anyways, during my uni days I had a Toyota Camry Vienta Wagon - V6 so had the power to drive around and a bit of luxury on a budget. I fit my gear in there no probs and because they were designed for left hand drive, the back passanger seat folded down single on the left so it meant 2 could fit behind the driver if req'd or 1 more comfortably. Never missed a beat with this car for about 85,000km which is when I then sold it. . . nowdays drive a 05 Suzuki Swift and manage to fit board, 2 sails, mast, boom and accessories in boot and still fit passanger in the back and see out the windows! - mind you have a JP RWW so only 234cm, but can fit my old board at 265cm... if req'd - I'd start scouting car yards with a tape measure and measure the guts of some of the cars when you fold down seats etc. My other car is a new mazda3 sedan, and I can drop the back and front seats and slide my quiver in and still have missus sit in the back if req'd. Wouldn't get more than 1 board in it at a time though
If I had the money though I'd go the terry north option in a flash 
NICE!
Wow, you must have got a really bad Friday Car. I've had a T5 for over 2 years, with almost no issues.
Biggest drama with my old T5 apart from the gearbox s****ing itself is that it didn't my new 5.5 and 6.2 in it.
Problem solved with my new Transit.
VW did fix the gearbox despite the car being 2 months out of warranty. Saved me almost $10,000 so I won't moan too much.
Love the new Transit though.
Sam.
Vans? I have had heaps. I decided finally to go for quality and bought a Mercedes Vito. Loved it, drove so well and comfortable. BUT had problem with gear changes. Mercedes spent $14,000 to fix it. Off the road for 6 weeks. So dissapointed with it I traded it in.
Before that I had a VW Transporter. Expensive to repair. Didnt drive as nice as the Vito.
I think for reliability and performance, the Toyota Hi Ace is the go. The only downside is the cabin is cramped and the vehicle looks so ugly, like it's been caught in a vice.
