Hello i am proposing to buy a 6x2 tractor unit to put to work on and bulk tipper carrying arable produce and am looking for suggestions of best truck on market for the money i have to spend which is £20k i have been looking at daf xf480 and volvo fh but wanted to know peoples honest opinions of the man tga/x as i have seen and heard al ot of bad press regarding engine trouble on these but seem to find a lot available in the prie range i am looking at spending
simon
For 20k I’d go for a Renault premium. You are looking at a 07 08 at that money Volvo driveline but a lot cheaper than a fh on that year.
kr79:
For 20k I’d go for a Renault premium. You are looking at a 07 08 at that money Volvo driveline but a lot cheaper than a fh on that year.
Me too, a comfortable cab and do a grand job, ask Paul (Repton)
Had looked at premiums in beginning but steeered away from them after hearing that they were cursed with same problems i experienced on a ralis i drove for quite some time and that is electrical problems
simon
I’ve been told to avoid an MAN at all costs after 500,000km. I’m told the cost of parts is astronomical.
turnbull2012:
Had looked at premiums in beginning but steeered away from them after hearing that they were cursed with same problems i experienced on a ralis i drove for quite some time and that is electrical problemssimon
Anything Italian is inbuilt with electrical problems, it is in their genetic makeup. 
Renault have never let me down and the company I worked for had 3000 of them.
The biggest question to ask is the fuel economy, 8mpg is reasonable, 10mpg is good, anything less is financial firebombing
As KR said, you will get a lot of Renault for 20k, you will be buying someone else’s bother at 20k on a DAF or a Volvo imo
Harry Monk:
I’ve been told to avoid an MAN at all costs after 500,000km. I’m told the cost of parts is astronomical.
Yeah 2.5k for a auto gearbox selector unit 
kr79:
Harry Monk:
I’ve been told to avoid an MAN at all costs after 500,000km. I’m told the cost of parts is astronomical.Yeah 2.5k for a auto gearbox selector unit
Or £250 for a second hand one 
I wouldn’t buy a 2nd hand MAN again, sure they’re lovely new and you might be lucky but I just wouldn’t do it 2nd hand again, that’s from running 2 TGA’s. The TGX might be a different kettle of fish but I doubt it.
A Renault premium with the Volvo running gear (after roughly 06 plate) would be a serious contender as would a Volvo. It would be a tough call between a newer premium and an older FH.
Not that keen on Daf’s but would have a newish one, not sure about an older one though.
i have got 2 TGA’s and had very little trouble with either of them
1 is an 06 plate XLX 430, had to change the window motor, it has just started leaking from an air valve on the auto box and a pipe for the headlamp washers has rubbed through on one of the cab air bags
the 2nd one is a 57 plate XXL Euro4 440, had it since the beginning of the year and so far, had no trouble with it
what year did they change driveline on renault and have got to consider weight as payload is important when on tipper
simon
The first ones were the 440 DXi, the newest ones now being the 460, a lot of horses for a fleet truck.
Ken.
shuttlespanker:
i have got 2 TGA’s and had very little trouble with either of them1 is an 06 plate XLX 430, had to change the window motor, it has just started leaking from an air valve on the auto box and a pipe for the headlamp washers has rubbed through on one of the cab air bags
the 2nd one is a 57 plate XXL Euro4 440, had it since the beginning of the year and so far, had no trouble with it
You haven’t had them that long. 
Silver_Surfer:
shuttlespanker:
i have got 2 TGA’s and had very little trouble with either of them1 is an 06 plate XLX 430, had to change the window motor, it has just started leaking from an air valve on the auto box and a pipe for the headlamp washers has rubbed through on one of the cab air bags
the 2nd one is a 57 plate XXL Euro4 440, had it since the beginning of the year and so far, had no trouble with it
You haven’t had them that long.
Beginning of the year, eh? It is only February now…
I like MAN engines, but at 500k, I may be wary
turnbull2012:
what year did they change driveline on renault and have got to consider weight as payload is important when on tipper
Anything up to an early 06 plate is renault and will be badged “420dci”, later 06 plates and newer are volvo driveline with the “dxi” engine. You can easily tell which is which at a glance as the headlights changed to much bigger ones on the dxi models.
Other differences include the fact that the dxi ones are all disc brakes whereas the dci ones are drums on the lift and drive axles.
The dxi is heavier than the dci by something in the region of 400kg I am told.
I have an 05 plate dci and on bulk grain work and I find it fairly good although it could do with a bit more power at times. It’s nice and light, with a 2002 65yard Fruehauf bathtub on the back and mostly steel wheels I can still get 29.5t legal with a full tank of diesel.
For your 20k budget you should be able to easily get an 07 or 08 plate 450dxi premium with sensible miles on it. My 05 plate 420dci with 210k on it cost me 12k in September of last year from a dealer (and they have several more identical ones if you’re interested).
Paul
chaversdad:
kr79:
Harry Monk:
I’ve been told to avoid an MAN at all costs after 500,000km. I’m told the cost of parts is astronomical.Yeah 2.5k for a auto gearbox selector unit
Or £250 for a second hand one
It’s under warranty thankfully. 
We run at full weight or empty nothing between, our manual CF 460’s take some beating, good on fuel whilst fast through the gears and up to speed quickly, auto box ruins this otherwise good workhorse IMO, and you do not need that stupid auto box in any chassis for farm work.
Good independent workshops can fix them easily, nothing too complicated.
Better on fuel than the auto MAN’s which drink the stuff unless on motorways, mind you the MANs spend a fair bit of time in the worksops and they’re good on fuel then, different as chalk and cheese to proper tough indestructible MANs of previous generations…
Another good all rounder IMO is the Merc Axor in manual form, basic sturdy simple truck and will pull right down to 800rpm without complaint, again the auto version is carp IMO.
You don’t want or need complicated stuff.
Axor is a decent truck so is the Premium, had a Tga xxl 460, loved the truck from a driving point of view what with comfort shift etc but electrically couldn’t trust it, had a 460 globetrotter for a while 04 with I-shift and 1.4 mill on the clock and still going like a train, scania 124 400 must be the worst I’ve ever had, now run a magnum and so far very happy, decent on fuel too.
thanks for all the advice had considered the cf but thought cab too small for been in all week hence the xf and would love to be able to afford a 105.460 as was recently piloting one on arable type work with auto box and whilst only loaded 50 per cent of the time they were doing 9.25mpg whereas the r470’s they had running alongside the dafs on same work were only doing 7.5mpg so that and price of scania wiped them out of consideration despite all yappie might praise scanias i cant see the price demanded is worthy of them especially as last year i was driving a stralis 480 and a v8 480 scania at same company on same work and the stralis pulled as well as the scania and there was next to nothing in fuel consumption differences. i have over the past 5 years however driven nearly every varient of xf and have yet to find one that didnt perform well and drive nicely. another main consideration in my mind is backup the local dealers are either volvo or daf a little bit further afield at blackburn there is a renault dealer at preston there is daf scania and iveco and as i intend to run the wagon 7 days a week on a two driver 4 on 4 off rota i need to know parts can be obtained in a rush if needed not be waiting around with a load on trailer and no means of getting it off
simon