first van, helppp

Buyer Recommendation

Hi everyone,
looking for some advice and this sub came up so hoping i’m in the right place.
Me and husband are looking for our first van, we have 4 kids so a family of 6.
our family car gave up the ghost last week and a van is something i’ve always wanted because quite frankly they just look fab and are so practical.
when we started searching the first choice (mainly based on looks) was a ford transit custom, however, having looked more into it I honestly am very wary about wet belts, I don’t feel I have enough knowledge of them or really money to confidently own one.
This is where I need some help.
our budget is 14k, looking for of course something with 6 seats and large boot (is that the correct word on a van?), we’ve been looking at a vw transporter (what a beauty of a van) and have seen lots of differing price. At this point we aren’t after all of the campervan stuff as we are a camping family who use a trusty tent.
we’ve come across a T30 year 2008 with 150k miles on the clock, it has full service history and honestly looks in amazing condition and it’s up for just shy ok £10k. This is the bit i’m stuck with, are these vans designed to last a long time? would we be stupid buying such an old van? does the age matter if it’s been very well looked after?
Any help or advice would be very much welcome.
Thanks so much

Posted May 8, 2026, 3:41 PM UTC

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