Astra Van owners please...

You can put bikes into normal hatchbacks without any dismantling, so a van will be no trouble. Just lay them flat. If it's the one which looks like an estate, they won't go in vertically with the wheels on though.

cheers, clive

I dont want to have to lie them flat, thats part of the problem - they get scratched and damaged in ways that they dont even out on the trail and its such a pain to have to pack everything around them, then re-pack when you take them out or in as they form the floor of the boot!

My brother used to have a Maestro van, ex BT thing, you could JUST get them in fully built and stood up, and have room either side to store things. Plus it was big enough to get changed in, just, then bikes were removed.

Do you know of any sites that might give load area dimensions for small vans? I only get ebay adverts and junk when i google it :(

I think youre right about the astra - based on the estate the rear doesnt look *quite* deep enough :(

Hmm... one car that will fit the bikes in is a Previa, and still retain five seats. The bad news is that you won't improve on the fuel figures without lpg or the (import only) diesel option. Worth thinking in the MPV direction though; any van is going to be a massive driving diisappointment after a Celica.

I think MPV is heading out of my price range (very low, just want an old junker i can keep plodding along - im currently spending a fortune keeping the celica running as a daily driver and it needs some repairs). I'm not too worried about the handling - i get my fun from the celica (should soon be up at 300hp, 4wd) on sunny days and the odd trip out - the rest of the time i just want to get from A to B with the least hassle, espense and without having to dismantle everything, lie bikes flat in 3 pieces with seperating cloths and pads just to go 30 miles for a quick spin in wales lol. I'm lazy i know! I had considered one of those midi vans but im heading back into heavy fuel usage AND the neighbours wont like it parked on the front!

How about a pick-up? I'll probably be selling my P100 1.8TD in a month or so...

I had considered

I've got a Vauxhall Midi and it makes a great work horse. Dirt cheap, bomb proof, lots of room (bigger than you would expect from the outside) and suprising economy from the 2.2 Izusu TD at around 40ish MPG.

Fraid its just not secure enough but thanks for the thought, combined value of bikes that would be in it (or kitesurf gear) is around =A32000 at any one time. With a van i was thinking I can put in a bulkhead, weld over the rear windows and remove all external methods of entry/unlocking.

Cheers J

Wow, now thats the kind of information i was after! 40mpg is a good level from it - basically anything >32 saves me money even over taking the train to work!

How do they fair with rust? Any hotspots I should keep an eye out for?

Thanks! J

Eheh, mines rusty *everywhere*. Although to be fair, it all seems to be surface rust from abuse. I see much better examples driving around, though wheel arches seem to be a common hotspot, like most Vauxhalls.

It's 14 years old, had hard life but to the best of my knowledge has never been welded. It recently passed it's MOT first time too, reassuring my opinion that it's still solid underneath.

To be honest, I've not had it a huge amount of time nor have I worked on it much (an Alfa and a Fiat take up all my time!). So whilst being the least probmatic of my "fleet", I wouldn't just take my word for it. There's a owners club and forum on the net somewhere so I'd check that out. (sorry, don't know the URL of the top of my head and haven't got net access atm).