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OPERATOR EXPERIENCE
Page 150
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Operator 1 has an 80 strong fleet of Transits and Sherpas on spot hire and contract hire. Operator 2 has 70 Transits on newspaper delivery.
Operator 3 has five Transits on parcel express distribution.
Operator 1 was the only contacted operator who had other makes in his fleet. The other two operators were staunch Transit fans and did not forsee this changing. The common factors from all three operators were the reliability, service and high resale values of both the diesel and petrol models.
Operator 2 had an all diesel fleet but had only recently sold his last petrol-engined vehicle. The other operators ran a mixture of petrol and diesel vehicles but the trend was towards an all diesel fleet The better consumption, torque and durability were common factors for this move to diesel.
The average fuel consumption for the three operators was nearly identical at 31mpg for the diesel and 23.5rnpg for the petrol. Only operator 2 was lower on petrol consumption at 19,520mpg and this was because of the stop/start nature of his work and the city environment. This operator kept his vehicles for four years whilst the others were more flexible.
Two operators had diesel starting problems during the winter but thought that this was more of a diesel additive or water in the diesel fault rather than a specific problem with the vehicle. Spares were agreed to be pricy and, compared to equivalent Sherpa prices, very much so. However, service and breakdown facilities were felt to be good nationwide and this was quoted as a plus point.
Reports on the driveability, performance am handling of the Transits, whether petrol or diesel, varied from driver to driver but was considered generally acceptable.
The minus points agreed upon were restricted to poor heater output, difficult petrol engine access and rust around the sliding side door on the older vehicles. The high purchase price was not thought to be a deterrent.
Only one operator could remember a seriou fault and this was Operator 1 with a persistent gearbox bearing failure. Eventually, the gearbo: was replaced under warranty and the fault did not come back. Generally, the consistent specification, durability, quality and performance of the Transit were thought to be its best features.