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What made you buy an Elgrand?

A lot of members joined before owning an Elgrand , me I brought one in then joined ..I just happened to stumble upon daisey , loved her just because she was grey/ silver ... wasn’t until I got her home I discovered she was awd with two power doors and the winter pack I wasn’t taking much notice when buying her as the colour and styling had me already ..
 
For us, we were moving on from a 1996 Honda Stepwagon and wanted something a bit more refined and comfortable. We had seen a few Elgrands while we were camping down in Cornwall and decided it was the next van for us. They are different, Practical for the grandkids, dogs, camping, biking, just day tripping and look fabulous. We are getting the E51 Series 2 X model, so lovely and comfortable for driving and passengers. Good spec as well and we can't wait to get her. Picking her up from Matt at JJ a week on Saturday and it seems a long way away just now, especially as I still have to get off this ship I'm working on and get home to the UK.
 
peter strokosz said:
A lot of members joined before owning an Elgrand , me I brought one in then joined ..I just happened to stumble upon daisey , loved her just because she was grey/ silver ... wasn’t until I got her home I discovered she was awd with two power doors and the winter pack I wasn’t taking much notice when buying her as the colour and styling had me already ..
Click to expand...
Sounds like a real love story, awww
 
Had been looking at Elgrands for over 3yrs, when i was young i had a Skyline, always been a Nissan Nut. Finally one month ago i found one for the family for trips and the new norm, staycations. My reasons in no particular order...... Price/style/space/vroom. So so happy i turned my dreaming into reality on this occasion.
 
Just prior to the Elgrand I drove a series of Chrysler Grand Voyagers (3.3V6 petrol automatic), I still quite like them but they have a weak automatic gearbox (only available in automatic but I like autos anyway) that tends to fail if the car is used for towing (a known problem with them). I've changed a few automatic gearboxes on my Chrysler Grand Voyagers, even made one good auto gearbox out of 2 failed auto gearboxes. They also have a weak diff, I've changed a diff in one of the gearboxes too (front wheel drive so more of a trans axle type setup than just a gearbox). Anyone using an automatic Grand Voyager for towing be warned that 4th gear (they only have a 4 speed auto) is particularly weak, when towing leave the shifter in '3' not 'D' and fit an additional ATF cooler... and even then you've got to nurse the gearbox a bit when towing.

Bought my first Elgrand after converting a few dozen customer's Elgrands to LPG, I've converted hundreds of Elgrands to LPG since then. I liked the Grand Voyagers but I liked the Elgrands better overall, especially the extra power, and knew the Elgrand would be fine for towing (and generally more reliable anyway).

Grand voyagers were available in a 4x4 version but only the earlier versions up to around year 2000 models, all left hand drive and all with the (rare in itself in Europe) 3.8 engine. With the Elgrand I could a spacious right hand drive 4x4 people carrier. There are many people carriers but some are based on a normal car with extra seats where the boot would normally be, some don't have much luggage space when seating 7 people, some are based on a van and drive like a van.

Bought my 2nd Elgrand (still own the first one and intend on keeping it) because, well, I've got the bug! Plus this one was for sale at a good price in a town 2 miles from home and has electric curtains and cruise control etc... And I can use it to try new things on such as front cat decore before possibly offering a new service to customers. My core business will always be LPG conversion but if I can become speedy at doing things like front decore (been offering rear decore for years already) at the same time as LPG conversion there's no harm in doing so. I've already done most jobs (bearings / suspension / etc) on my first Elgrand.
 
I drive across Europe relatively often. I've had several different vehicles over the last 20 years, from Jags via American SUVs to the current SsangYong 4x4. I'm buying an Elgrand for the comfort and the potential to sleep overnight if we get caught our by weather/strikes/border closures etc. To date the best experience has been the Ford Explorer which had huge comfy seats. The Jeep Grand Cherokee we had was an irritating, fragile lump with an auto gearbox that malfunctioned frequently. The last straw was a £2500 rebuild after which the gearbox still didn't work (stuck in 2nd gear).

I'm hoping the Elgrand will be more reliable because most owners seem really happy with the reliability. A big consideration is the height (it's useful to see over other vehicles) and the dimensions. Although they are large vehicles they are not motorhome large and motorhomes are a pain in the neck. I've driven several over the years and they're not suitable for driving to the shops or for picking up stuff from Ikea. Most European cities have streets so narrow that you can't drive a motorhome through them, but Nissan Primastars, Ford Transits etc are common sights in the cities so I'm guessing an Elgrand will also fit.
 
Had a Bongo for 10 years, loved it but... as the kids got bigger it was a pain when 3-4 of us wanted to camp in it. So when the Bongo needed to be replaced I chose the Elgrand because...
1. I wanted the versatility of a large vehicle (carrying people and/or carrying stuff, etc.). Having had the Bongo for 10 years, I still 'needed' a van.
2. I wanted a luxury van that we'd all be happy travelling in for long journeys, and not a camper van (tent works better for us)
3. I like the fact that the Elgrand surprises everyone with how 'rapid' it is (passengers and other motorists)
4. I like/trust Japanese V6 engines of this era
5. I just refuse to pay over the odds for a (probably tatty & unreliable) VW, and even then have to live without most of the things listed above.
 
I can kip in it
I can make a coffee in it
I can relax in it at lunchtime
I can carry antique furniture in it
It looks luvleeeee
It sounds luvlee
It goes like shit off a shovel
 
I have a Toyota hiace ... most reliable van ever.. she’s been great as my work van and pleasure van - taken me everywhere she has and not missed a beat, passes her mot every time even when I’m thinking this year could be a big bill. - I want some form of luxury now Like electric windows and a small amount of bad ass styling.
I’ve been talking with Matt of ace imports for quite some time now and bid on a few ... one that Matt from just jap managed to bag ... that lovely cappachino one ...🔥
but my one will be out there when import prices come back down. ... weirdly it’s currently the same money to buy from a dealer if only ace Matt had what I was looking for.
 
Smudgez1000 said:
I have a Toyota hiace ... most reliable van ever.. she’s been great as my work van and pleasure van - taken me everywhere she has and not missed a beat, passes her mot every time even when I’m thinking this year could be a big bill. - I want some form of luxury now Like electric windows and a small amount of bad ass styling.
I’ve been talking with Matt of ace imports for quite some time now and bid on a few ... one that Matt from just jap managed to bag ... that lovely cappachino one ...🔥
but my one will be out there when import prices come back down. ... weirdly it’s currently the same money to buy from a dealer if only ace Matt had what I was looking for.
Click to expand...
What I mean is dealer prices are really good at the moment compared to import prices.
a few beers down so I’m sure I’ll be forgotten/ forgiven
 
My Elgrand is really the first car I've actually decided to buy. Before it I had a Subaru Forrester (for almost exactly 10 years), however I bought that from my Mum after I sold my motorbike and needed a car. I was very happy with the Subaru, but I got it by default really. Before that I always shared a car with my brother and they were always cheap run-abouts we'd have for a couple of years.

The seed of wanting to own a vehicle like an Elgrand was sown many years ago when I was backstage at a music festival filming some interviews. I saw a black Mercedes Vito (or similar) with full black leather interior and I wanted one. When it came time to look for a new car, that particular model was swiftly discounted due to cost. So the search continued.

I need a car with plenty of boot space and it can be useful to have space for several passengers at the same time. As others have mentioned, many European people carriers say they have 7 or 8 seats, however they are fold-away and so small only children can use them. So most of them were also quickly discounted.

Back in October 2018 I had been doing some photography over at a company who import Elgrands and Alphards in order to convert them to campers and I'd noticed them in their yard. I was interested. So when the time came to look more seriously at a new vehicle I found this forum and I got in touch with them.

For me, as with most, it’s a combination of features which make the Elgrand the right choice. I definitely like that it's different from most things on the road. I love the space and having owned and driven vans over the years, the larger size isn't a problem. I like being higher up.

The luxurious interior and gadgets is also great. I showed mine to some friends recently, as well as the guy who's going to de-cat it for me and when I asked them what plate or year they thought it was they both guessed at about 3-4 years old. When I said it was a 2006 they were shocked.

Yes, having an engine with plenty of grunt is cool, however I feel that I'd still have been interested even if it wasn't quite as rapid.
 
Lpgc said:
Just prior to the Elgrand I drove a series of Chrysler Grand Voyagers (3.3V6 petrol automatic), I still quite like them but they have a weak automatic gearbox (only available in automatic but I like autos anyway) that tends to fail if the car is used for towing (a known problem with them). I've changed a few automatic gearboxes on my Chrysler Grand Voyagers, even made one good auto gearbox out of 2 failed auto gearboxes. They also have a weak diff, I've changed a diff in one of the gearboxes too (front wheel drive so more of a trans axle type setup than just a gearbox). Anyone using an automatic Grand Voyager for towing be warned that 4th gear (they only have a 4 speed auto) is particularly weak, when towing leave the shifter in '3' not 'D' and fit an additional ATF cooler... and even then you've got to nurse the gearbox a bit when towing.

........

Bought my 2nd Elgrand
Click to expand...

You know, if Simon's bought TWO, it's got to the be the right choice.
 
My wife! We'd seen our only Elgrand in the car park at a house clearance auction and got talking to the owner.
Started looking for one and found one a couple of days later not too far away. Long story short...I was working and my son and wife went to view it, got a phone call from wife to say she'd bought it! This was some 6 years ago just days before this Karl started this site (thanks @Karl)...We knew nothing at all about Elgrands apart from the fact we loved them. Best car we've ever bought...does everything you ask of it...except pass a petrol station...Oh, and we've still got it!
 
A real Elgrand veteran. The most time I’ve ever owned a car is just over 2 years. I am an automotive tart.
 
i have 7 grandkids !
enough said lol :joy: :joy:
 
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