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What made you buy an Elgrand?

A

Adamjones0094

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Wales
E51 Owner
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Location
Newport
First Name
Adam
Elgrand
E51
Region
Wales
Evening all,

Nice and simple one. What made you buy your Elgrand?

Was it for the style? Japanese engineering? Seating? the engine? Or was it because they are postivley a little treasure trove of little trinkets?? I mean I found a pokemon poker chip! Who'd a thunk it??!??

Anyway, why'd ya do it??

(my own reason is quite simple, capacity for a big family outings. And the fact it's cool as f*ck. Plus it's not just another VW camper)!
 
Discovering that having two kids means lots of bumff on any trip further then the end of the drive and having pensioner parents and a mother in law means the third row seats of European mpvs and suvs are inaccessible or useless.
Plus I've churned through so many vehicles that developed a healthy appetite for repairs shortly after purchasing, I figured just get one that likes a drink instead, as that at least it's cheaper.:p
 
Wanted a day van with autobox, not diesel, with a bit of go. Love V6 engines and the Elgrand was the biggest and baddest.
 
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Wanted a true 6 seater, seen a Elgrand a few years back on holiday and liked the look of them, this year I took the plunge and sold the Smax I had (nice car but the rear seats were only made for very small people) and got myself a bus
 
Because is big and sexy.

That’s it.

After selling off the Delica, I wanted something less of a pain at MOT time, more economical and still haul people round. So after budget assessments and practicality reviews, Ford Galaxy 2.2 diesel Auto it was. Titanium X. Saw one and realised, I would never want to drive it unless it was full of people. So went to eBay and was about to give up when I saw a fancy Elgrand with fancy wheels....and that was the end of that.

A big, sexy bus you want to drive even when you are on your own. Screw economical, and if you don’t mind a bit of travel, I do have a nice garage that lets me buy my own parts...so screw it, have fun. I feel sorry for ‘normal’ people in their ‘normal’ cars.....I stand out. It’s like being a TV celeb.
 
We have have always had jap imports buses, estimas largos etc was a natural progression to get the best at the end ..
 
I’ve liked Elgrand for donkeys years but there was always something came up that kept them a dream. Owned a couple of Bongos as a kind of half way house, and loved them for their quirkiness, but they were lacking a little power and presence.
SWMBO was looking for some trinket or other on EBay and spotted an Elgrand. Only 250 miles away in Kent (or 5 hours by train) so, because we had no plans to buy one and we’d not seen it, and we’d done no research, she put a deposit on it and told the owner I’d be down the day after.
As luck would have it, it was well looked after and as a bonus had a large cage for the dogs built in. Took it for a test drive, emptied my bank account and drove it home. Fortunately the previous owner had filled both the petrol and LPG tanks😂😂😂
 
This forum mainly.
A large community
Bursting with information
Friendly People
Elgrands look great.
The most versatile vehicle I have owned.
Goes like stink
Very reliable
 
I rather naively started working for myself about 3 years ago.
(Don't mention this year! - ha).
The area was going to be England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
So I needed an economical, comfortable, reliable, long distance cruiser that wouldn't let me down.
When I got to where I was going I needed to take my clients out to restaurants in luxurious class style and sophistication.
Then I needed a flat bed van capable of international touring and able to boosh it down to Germany very fast, pick up and carry large lumps of machinery back to Blighty without complaints.
I also needed my very own big comfortable hotel room on wheels, paying out for 2-3 nights a week was going to seriously cut into my beer money.
Oh, then I needed my mobile office set up.
And my kitchen set up.
And my boy racer gene tickled.
And some like minded people around me.
And I wanted a conversation starter.
And I wanted to have something I was proud of and could maybe develop.
And and and
Obviously - there is nothing else out there that would fit the bill.
Does it all in bundles.
Done so many stupid things in my life but the van kinda off sets a few of them.
 
Question should be ... why wouldn’t you buy one?? Next time you drive down the motorway take note of how many other vehicles you actually ‘notice’ ... very few? And any Elgrands you pass will be one of those few. I tend to just ‘see’ bikes and Campervans .... everything else is just bland noise .... no wonder I have so many prangs!!!
 
1. Covid-19.
This meant a staycation for a holiday this year. Bought a large tent that barely fitted in our Tesla MS.
On the campsite there was plenty of VW transporters but the only van i took notice of was a very nice Bongo all freshly done out as a camper in a custom paint job. Now I was aware of Japanese vans.

2. Missus didn't want to use roof racks for bikes anymore (we have 4 to carry) & one fell off on the M25, i'll take the blame for the strap not being connected securely at one end.

3. Just got son a motocross bike that needs transporting around.

So we needed a van to transport all our stuff around, I didn't much fancy a transit, considered camper conversions but decided they were over my budget and we'd still have to use a tent.

Search narrowed to Elgrand after deciding it was harder to find good Bongos, Alphard was out as I could never bring myself to drive a Toyota.
E50 - I was too chicken to buy older. E52 the rear seats fold flat rather than up against the sides - so i couldnt use for bikes. E51 seemed to be my best fit and plenty to choose from. I'm a lazy ass driver now (tesla fault) so cruise control was a must - I was surprised this wasn't standard but luckily found one with adaptive cruise control so even more suited to my lazy ass.

Can't comment on whether it was my best decision ever as I don't pick it up until end of the week, but the kids love it, missus aint seen it, its purple and she hates purple but hopefully its luxury will win her over.

So thanks covid, without you I'd be pulling a trailer.
 
I'd been looking for a large RWD saloon with big petrol engine to take my elderly parents out. I happened upon my Elgrand at a local 4x4 garage who had taken it as a part exchange. Sadly my parents are no longer here but I became obsessed with the van.
 
Have 6 kids so had 8/9 seater transits and wanted a change
saw the e50 rider on ebay and loved it
when time came and funds allowed I settled for an e51 rider (this was a year later)
leather, twin screens, chrome, tints and spoiler
wanted to be different, no-one else had them at the time....
always tried to have cars that were not popular in the staff carpark (work in hospital so I can easily spot it)
great looking van
admiring looks from others
electric door...(mine only had the one)
that engine....
conversation starter
versatility, seats can be lifted to the side and middles rotated and moved, transit had heavy removable rear bench and middle removable but bolted in

nothing else comes close for spec, power, comfort and style at that price/age unless your prepared to spend silly money on a vw or merc v class

some parts were expensive (more availability now so cheaper)
it needed regular oil changes
its thirsty
it made a nice noise when I fitted a cone filter
it got thirstier...

but I loved it

hardest part was seeing the new owner drive it away but i'm adamant ill have another
 
needed a reliable comfortable truck/van to get the mrs mobility scooter in plus 4/5 adults my delica was not very reliable and agricultural saw one going into a shop turned round had a look and fell in love
 
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