Noob: Alphard as car in UK and for travel and camping in EU

[Teresa66]

Thanks for allowing me to join. I am thinking (have been for some time now) of giving up my old Fiat Panda and getting a vehicle to use as a car in the UK and for travel and camping in Europe. It's just my husband and I and for the last 15 years or so, we've gone camping every year to Italy in a tent without a car (rucksack job), so we're fairly minimalist, don't like to carry too much stuff and happy to adapt.

 

I am Italian and the husband is British and we have started asking ourselves what we want to do with ourselves once we retire and have more time on our hands - at first, I looked at selling up and buying in Liguria, but there are too many complications right now, and we're pretty happy here in our little home on the South coast, so if it ain't broke... so I the first thing I started noticing on the roads are the VW Transporters, but quickly realised how ridiculously priced they are, so quickly moved on to panel vans, Ford Custom being the most obvious - not converted - we're happy to adapt it. We're on a budget, my husband doesn't drive and I could cycle to work every day (6 miles) so everyday travel is minimal.

 

However, medium panel vans are a bit awkward as a 'car' and I am not so sure about Diesel in the future. So I tried looking for petrol vans, but there's very little out there. Electric is far too expensive for us, and not suitable for travel around Europe due to charge times. I stumbled on the Mazda Bongo and, having realised that the newest is 2005, I stumbled upon the Alphard - petrol - tick, car - tick, reasonably priced - tick, can carry a couple of bikes - tick, can be converted - tick. I was feeling pretty happy! It's a bit 'showy' for someone who has never dreamt of having a luxury car, but the price tag for a used one is in my range, so I suppose I can live with that lol. The MPG is eye-watering, but if I cycle all year, I suppose I can put up with that for holiday trips.

 

However, as I delved deeper, I started to find obstacles (it always happens with too much delving!) so I thought I'd ask for your advice:

 

Travel round Europe (and even UK) - OMG what a complication this has become, or will become shortly, with all the emissions regulations and everything else. If was planning of buying something for the next 15-20 years - can't afford to scrap it after 2025 or even 2030. I can possibly find a EURO 6 and ULEZ if the car was manufactured after 2007, but with EURO 7 coming out in November this year, is there going to be a whole lot more to worry about? Moreover, imports seem to have all sorts of missing info, so I am scared to get something that will get me stopped and fined wherever I end up in Europe (or in the UK for that matter).

 

Carrying bikes - the interiors of the Alphard are ridiculously creamy - a bike rack is fine if you're in the car, but I don't trust 2 bikes on there while I am out and about in Europe, so can I seriously wheel two mountainbikes on that immaculate cream carpet?? Anybody had any concerns like this?

 

What model and year do I go for for my needs - mainly with driving through narrow lanes in Europe in mind, with minimal camping equipment, but a couple of bikes? I was thinking a 2.4 would be fine (coming from a Panda!) but I saw a V and a G which I didn't even know existed today. Read up and am still none the wiser. 

Any advice would be very gratefully received. I have seen all the emission and ULEZ threads - read everything and it all seems still confused, so sorry to bring this up again, but maybe there are others who are also looking for a vehicle which won't become obsolete after two or three years... or is that too much to ask these days? Shall I just keep camping in a tent, continue saving, and wait 3-4 years to see where the world is heading?

[Rojie]

51 minutes ago, Teresa66 said:

Thanks for allowing me to join. I am thinking (have been for some time now) of giving up my old Fiat Panda and getting a vehicle to use as a car in the UK and for travel and camping in Europe. It's just my husband and I and for the last 15 years or so, we've gone camping every year to Italy in a tent without a car (rucksack job), so we're fairly minimalist, don't like to carry too much stuff and happy to adapt.

 

I am Italian and the husband is British and we have started asking ourselves what we want to do with ourselves once we retire and have more time on our hands - at first, I looked at selling up and buying in Liguria, but there are too many complications right now, and we're pretty happy here in our little home on the South coast, so if it ain't broke... so I the first thing I started noticing on the roads are the VW Transporters, but quickly realised how ridiculously priced they are, so quickly moved on to panel vans, Ford Custom being the most obvious - not converted - we're happy to adapt it. We're on a budget, my husband doesn't drive and I could cycle to work every day (6 miles) so everyday travel is minimal.

 

However, medium panel vans are a bit awkward as a 'car' and I am not so sure about Diesel in the future. So I tried looking for petrol vans, but there's very little out there. Electric is far too expensive for us, and not suitable for travel around Europe due to charge times. I stumbled on the Mazda Bongo and, having realised that the newest is 2005, I stumbled upon the Alphard - petrol - tick, car - tick, reasonably priced - tick, can carry a couple of bikes - tick, can be converted - tick. I was feeling pretty happy! It's a bit 'showy' for someone who has never dreamt of having a luxury car, but the price tag for a used one is in my range, so I suppose I can live with that lol. The MPG is eye-watering, but if I cycle all year, I suppose I can put up with that for holiday trips.

 

However, as I delved deeper, I started to find obstacles (it always happens with too much delving!) so I thought I'd ask for your advice:

 

Travel round Europe (and even UK) - OMG what a complication this has become, or will become shortly, with all the emissions regulations and everything else. If was planning of buying something for the next 15-20 years - can't afford to scrap it after 2025 or even 2030. I can possibly find a EURO 6 and ULEZ if the car was manufactured after 2007, but with EURO 7 coming out in November this year, is there going to be a whole lot more to worry about? Moreover, imports seem to have all sorts of missing info, so I am scared to get something that will get me stopped and fined wherever I end up in Europe (or in the UK for that matter).

 

Carrying bikes - the interiors of the Alphard are ridiculously creamy - a bike rack is fine if you're in the car, but I don't trust 2 bikes on there while I am out and about in Europe, so can I seriously wheel two mountainbikes on that immaculate cream carpet?? Anybody had any concerns like this?

 

What model and year do I go for for my needs - mainly with driving through narrow lanes in Europe in mind, with minimal camping equipment, but a couple of bikes? I was thinking a 2.4 would be fine (coming from a Panda!) but I saw a V and a G which I didn't even know existed today. Read up and am still none the wiser. 

Any advice would be very gratefully received. I have seen all the emission and ULEZ threads - read everything and it all seems still confused, so sorry to bring this up again, but maybe there are others who are also looking for a vehicle which won't become obsolete after two or three years... or is that too much to ask these days? Shall I just keep camping in a tent, continue saving, and wait 3-4 years to see where the world is heading?

 

Hello Teresa,

 

Welcome to the Club and the Forum.

 

Wow, That's a few questions you have here.

Are you testing us all; trying to keep us all on out toes ?

 

I have never owned a Fiat Panda; you will experience a huge difference, I am sure.

 

An Alphard will easily accommodate two bicycles, some members transport their motor cycles.

Buy a rubber mat for the bikes. I us one to prevent unnecassary mess from my beloved pooch

 

Actually, the fuel consumption is quite good; but not, no doubt, when compared to a Panda.

The engines (especially the V6s) are very torquey, so you don't need your right foot much.

There is at least one thread regarding actual real life fuel consumption on this Forum.

 

I don't think any of us have the faintest idea what will happen with fuels, emissions, ULEZ etc over the next decade or more

 

If I had to guarantee anything, it will be that taxes will increase whatever you drive; electric / hybrid included.

I humbly suggest you decide on the now, rather than what the future may, or may not, be.

 

All the Alphies Vellfires are about the same size, and, compared to a Panda, are pretty big !

 

V and G are different distribution channels resulting in a few small trim differences.

 

As with all vehicles, consider the important options, ignore the rest, buy the best you can reasonably afford and, imho get an RAC or AA report before committing to purchase.

 

The main decision might be ready converted, or not ?

 

I feel sure you will receive many other helpful suggestions.

 

Welcome to our Community

[Lanciaman]

Hi Teresa.  I'm a recent buyer of my first Alphard but been looking at them for years.  My own view is take the plunge now or you never will.  I don't think anyone really knows how all this emissions stuff will pan out but it'll be years before they're banned completely.  I live in the middle of nowhere so ulez I'm not sure about. 

 

I bought a 3.0 as my view is the mpg difference is pretty marginal in the overall scheme of things and bigger engines less stressed so more reliable over time.  And it doesn't have to work so hard to pull the hefty Alphard weight.  I did get mine converted to run on lpg,  but this is a bit of a gamble as it gets harder to find suppliers of lpg. I thought it worth the gamble.  If you're touring Europe,  I understand availability can be better there.  

 

V and G trim.  I believe G were supplied through Toyota own dealers,  and V was independents. But someone more knowledgeable than I can perhaps shed the light. The V and G doesn't reflect any trim or equipment as such I don't think.   There is a hierarchy of trim,  mx,  ms,  mz,  mzg but many of them seem to have various options so best to decide what is good for you and try to find one that meets that.  

 

You can get them from 2005 on with grey interiors,  and 2007 with black, so these might be better for the bikes and any camping clobber.  

[Teresa66]

33 minutes ago, Rojie said:

I have never owned a Fiat Panda; you will experience a huge difference, I am sure.

Lol - Love the humour. But yes I am sure I will! That's what happens when they price cars reasonably  Thanks for your suggestions... I think you're right - if you research too much, you end up doing nothing!

[Rojie]

55 minutes ago, Lanciaman said:

Hi Teresa.  I'm a recent buyer of my first Alphard but been looking at them for years.  My own view is take the plunge now or you never will.  I don't think anyone really knows how all this emissions stuff will pan out but it'll be years before they're banned completely.  I live in the middle of nowhere so ulez I'm not sure about. 

 

I bought a 3.0 as my view is the mpg difference is pretty marginal in the overall scheme of things and bigger engines less stressed so more reliable over time.  And it doesn't have to work so hard to pull the hefty Alphard weight.  I did get mine converted to run on lpg,  but this is a bit of a gamble as it gets harder to find suppliers of lpg. I thought it worth the gamble.  If you're touring Europe,  I understand availability can be better there.  

 

V and G trim.  I believe G were supplied through Toyota own dealers,  and V was independents. But someone more knowledgeable than I can perhaps shed the light. The V and G doesn't reflect any trim or equipment as such I don't think.   There is a hierarchy of trim,  mx,  ms,  mz,  mzg but many of them seem to have various options so best to decide what is good for you and try to find one that meets that.  

 

You can get them from 2005 on with grey interiors,  and 2007 with black, so these might be better for the bikes and any camping clobber.  

 

The main visible difference with V and G versions is the grill.

Some folks prefer one, others prefer the other type.

 

My dog?

He prefers the beige leather; that way he can make a REAL mess.

Fear not though, he is forced to use his waterproof hammock or walk.

[Lanciaman]

I got over the dog issue by getting the alphard seat covers. Gives a bit of peace of mind.  Still cream covers all the same..... 

[Teresa66]

22 hours ago, Lanciaman said:

I got over the dog issue by getting the alphard seat covers. Gives a bit of peace of mind.  Still cream covers all the same..... 

 

Good idea. Thanks, I will consider this option once I get a bit further on in my journey.

 

Thanks for all your useful replies.

 

Now to find a reliable dealer near Gosport... I am just looking for the car for the moment, 2.4 with sunroof, no conversion to start with. But I would like a post 2007 manufacture due to ULEZ. Trouble is, so many of these cars are advertised with their UK reg date which is really not helpful. I wish I could do a search for when cars were first registered in Japan, instead of wading through ads for cars registered in UK 10 years after their manufacturing date. 

 

On a drizzly Monday I drove myself to Jap Autos in Southampton to have a look at their Alphards, but the office was closed with a 'return in 5 mins' sign - nobody showed up, so I just looked around at what they had parked outside. Not sure whether these are reputable dealers by the look of the 'showroom' and the fact nobody was there on a day that was not by appointment only. But they had a couple of nice ones.

 

Any recommendations not too far from Gosport (Southampton, Fareham, Portsmouth) gratefully received.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Teresa66

[Lanciaman]

Not too sure of dealers down your way but you can check any alphard detail on here :

https://carvx.jp/

 

If you can get the chassis number from the car/dealer. Full report costs a little over £20 but the free bit will show the original registration date in Japan. 

[Rojie]

14 hours ago, Teresa66 said:

 

Good idea. Thanks, I will consider this option once I get a bit further on in my journey.

 

Thanks for all your useful replies.

 

Now to find a reliable dealer near Gosport... I am just looking for the car for the moment, 2.4 with sunroof, no conversion to start with. But I would like a post 2007 manufacture due to ULEZ. Trouble is, so many of these cars are advertised with their UK reg date which is really not helpful. I wish I could do a search for when cars were first registered in Japan, instead of wading through ads for cars registered in UK 10 years after their manufacturing date. 

 

On a drizzly Monday I drove myself to Jap Autos in Southampton to have a look at their Alphards, but the office was closed with a 'return in 5 mins' sign - nobody showed up, so I just looked around at what they had parked outside. Not sure whether these are reputable dealers by the look of the 'showroom' and the fact nobody was there on a day that was not by appointment only. But they had a couple of nice ones.

 

Any recommendations not too far from Gosport (Southampton, Fareham, Portsmouth) gratefully received.

 

You can do a search on DVLA.

Vehicle details will state when the vehicle was imported.

You will need the UK registration number.

You can, of course, also check MOT history for vehicles that were imported as they must have an MOT to be registered and taxed.

[ThuMentaliss]

IF you purchase your vehicle from a republe dealer who imports these vehicles as a profession and not a 'fast buck' individual  you will be given the orginal japanese export paper work that has all the details on it you require be its mostly in the japanese dialoge its fairly straight forward to sort out

[Rojie]

9 hours ago, ThuMentaliss said:

IF you purchase your vehicle from a republe dealer who imports these vehicles as a profession and not a 'fast buck' individual  you will be given the orginal japanese export paper work that has all the details on it you require be its mostly in the japanese dialoge its fairly straight forward to sort out

 

Yes. I agree with this.

 

Further, if the dealer does not have the Auction Sheet be suspicious.

 

There are help sheets available on the internet to help you decode the auction sheet.

As Larry says, it isn't difficult; and offers some piece of mind.

[Teresa66]

Thanks guys. I will be taking this into account.

[K_T]

Hi Teresa,

You and I seem to be on the same (so far 'virtual') journey!

I currently drive a T4 kombi van (ex AA) which I love. It's for camping - part time camper with DIY bed that uses the back bench seat folded down on itself and two aluminium 'pop ups' in the back with boards across to the seat. Single or double bed variants depending on the width of boards I take. It's worked wonderfully for me for years but living in London it's not ULEZ compliant and it's 20 years old now so incurring greater costs per year.
I'm also a cyclist and kayaker so I want to fit roof bars when needed (for sea kayaks) and probably, a bike rack. On my T4 I've used the Maxx Rack that mounts to the tow bracket.
Some may be able to shed light on whether this is even an option on the Alphard. Tow bars anyone?
The final image below shows the towbar mount. The upright pivots down to allow the rear barn doors to open. I've no idea if this is going to work on an Alphard...

I went to see some Alphards and Vellfires at a dealer in Fife yesterday and got a lot of info about models and configurations.
They recommended that if using the existing seats folded down to sleep on, go for a 1st generation model as the middle seats swivel round and fold right down.
I tried a 'bed' from the back two rows of seats but then from the front seats and the middle row. The second option seemed far more comfortable.
I'd intend to lose the back seats altogether turning the Alphard into more of a 'kombi van' type of setup.
I have no kids but I do have lots of gear!

The other thing about using the seats as beds - recommended to go for the grey cloth interior - leather and vinyl are less comfortable to sleep on. This is also one of the cheaper trim options.

ULEZ........
Well I live in London so this is my primary concern for any replacement vehicle.
I think that it is likely that the older 02-06 models may fall foul of the ULEZ restrictions.
I'm looking at an 07 year of manufacture for this very reason.

I was also told that the hybrid (as well as costing on average about £5,000 more than the standard) is susceptible to battery degredation (not surprisingly) over time and that this can be a costly problem to remedy as the batteries are multiple cells which will degrade at different rates.
This is a common issue on cordless power tools for example. I really don't want to be dealing with this in addition to the other expenses I'm likely to incur.

Like you I'm a cyclist and tend to cycle in London rarely using my vehicle for short trips. Also with my bike trailer I can do supermarket shops that limit me to my actual purse, not the size of the back of the van!
So I'm thinking that, given the time I'm likely to have this older vehicle in the long run, I will aim to get a standard petrol engine.
I was also given similar advice to some others on this forum - that the larger engine mpg difference is slight and that it works less hard to shift the vehicle and tends to last longer. That does make sense to me.

Finally, I wanted to know about LPG conversions - I know of a garage up in Edinburgh that specialises in this and converts Alphards but... it's not a standard thing and may introduce more head scratching down the line when work is needed on the vehicle.
There are issues with fuel temperature and valves as I understand it and to be honest, I don't want to have to fiddle faddle about with after market mods in an expensive garage arena.

I think I will aim to get a 2007 model and am looking at https://www.algysautos.com to source a freshly imported vehicle for me to ensure that what I'm getting is what I think I'm getting. They seem to have a good reputation from what I've read.

Colour wise - you can always put down rubber mats - but cream.... Hmm. yes I agree. I think I'm going to try and replicate the interior of my beloved T4 in the Alphard (if and when I get it).
I'm attaching some images that might give you some ideas - the criss cross metalic matting is a sample of rubberised mat that I may get for the back of 'mine' when I get it.
The interior shots are to illustrate how I've had my bed. It's been brilliant to be honest and repeating this in the Alphard seems like it might even be an option.

If only they did yellow - I love my yellow van and it's the safest colour on the road! But yes, VWs are stupidly expensive and I'm not seeing this next vehicle as a long term investment - we just don't know how long we're going to be able to drive fossil fuel based vehicles - and for good reason...

 

[Teresa66]

Hi Karina,

 

I really enjoyed reading your post and having a peek at your lovely yellow van! I like your attitude and ideas and yes, what you say matches quite a bit with my experience. We'd like to have a custom conversion that we can remove, so the vehicle can be multi-purpose.

 

At this point, I should say that I think we bought a van.

 

I fear to mention it on here... we/ve bought an Elgrand... 2007, E51 S2 Highway Star, black, 60k, black leather interior, petrol (but considering LPG conversion), 3.5, 2WD.

 

Apologies everybody.

 

It's just been imported, so the MOT etc will be complete at the end of Sept or thereabouts and we don't quite have it yet, but we're very excited.

 

Best of luck with your search!

Teresa