Hey guys … Noob . so go easy on me 
… been a Scania 4X2 then 6X2 owner for last 12 years odd … good motors … shocking service by local agent though … fancy a 6x2 MAN for the next chassis … good price … seems to do whats needed and thinking of nailing a euro 5 … any opinions ?
The only operators that I know with mans are 8 wheelers quarry/muck away ,on/off road which they are great for,I don’t know any one in this area with a good word for them other than my uncle who still thinks a 16170 is top dog!
I asked about MAN when I put my own truck on the road in the early part of last year, general opinion was that they were good if bought brand-new, but not not to touch them over 500,000 km, valve problems were cited as a common issue and the cost of all MAN parts is apparently horrendous.
I bought a new Scania , 4 years later I bought a new megaspace, 3 years ago I needed something cheap so bought a 6x2 Tga 430, it does the job I ask of it but they are cheaper than any other marque for a reason, cheap looking switches/dash, auto gearbox gets clunky after 500k, on the other hand theres loads of room in the xxl and the 430 is great on fuel, mines done 880k and has lots of rattles and squeaks, that said it still does the 450kms I ask of it everday and its nine years old now, would I buy another one…probably not, unless it was a manual and the right spec
I realise your looking at something a bit newer but you get my point
A 510 manual with comfort shift new Xxl would be my pick with a fridge as the cool box is a waste of space. Be a lot cheaper than a Scania.
They’re alright if you buy new & chop them in after 3/4 years. Unless you buy 2nd hand for the right money but they can cost if you get a bad one.
I’d go SCR rather than EGR.
I’m not an O/D, but the company I work for has been buying MAN TGX 26 440s for the last 3 years.
I’ve been here for a year now & 1st drove an 11 plate (fleet no M41) with around 220,000 km on the clock, no major problems while is was driving her.
She would use about 5 ltrs of oil for around 9000 km & would achieve between 8-10 mpg depending on what she was pulling (not close coupled)
When I inherited her, the plastics/bumper were a bit cracked but I looked after her & they survived up until I handed her over (when they got Bashed & now replaced, £500 I believe for the complete Bumper !!)
Auto box was ok, as long as you didn’t want to drive her like Lewis Hamilton. I had a moment on a hill on the way to Lafarge/ Cauldon Works, very steep & there’s a very tight bend half way up, I had her in about 6th manual when she decided to auto change up loosing all momentum (had to put her I’m 1st/low & crawled up the hill, bit scary but she got me out of the ■■■■ !)
Engine/exhaust brake has got a bit of a lag, needs a few revs to work properly, but does the job ok.
The engine management/malfunction light used to come on, but I was told not to worry as it was to do with the fuel filter & would be replaced on service. The ABS light would come on when hooked up to certain trailers, 1st I was told that there was a ‘Compatability’ problem, but I kept annoying the fitters with defects & eventually they checked the trailers out & found some of the sensors were knackered ! They keep trying to tell me that the warning lights are a bit too sensitive, but I won’t be Fobbed off with ‘Fitter Speak’ just to save them a job !
She looked fairly tidy when I handed her over, I used to give her a wash every week, like anything thats used by more than one driver they need a bit of TLC,
(she’s sometimes used for the night trunk & they use agency’s when I’m on holiday, not knocking agency drivers, but some of them couldn’t care less !!!)
I got ‘Given’ a new TGX in April M50(not a bad Easter prezzy !) & have done most of the mileage in her (46,000 km so far)
Had no problems so far. Obviously she felt nice & new for the 1st few miles, but she feels nice & run in now. Gets cleaned every week with a polish once a month (the tank shines up Loverly with a bit of Autosol !)
Gearbox is much the same as M41, sometimes has to have a little think to decide what gear she wants but on the whole performs ok.
Sits at 55 all day long & will only drop to 48-50 up the hill approaching Coalville/southbound if fully freighted/27-28 tons.
Same warning lights as M41 -ie engine management & ABS-same causes- fuel filter & trailer sensors.
I check the oil everyday on the ‘Puter’ (no dipstick) & she didn’t seem to be using any (only shows OK on the screen until it needs some, then you can see the gauge !) then the fitters told me that they top all the MANs up regularly ! I was waiting until it found its own level !!! (Silly me ! ) not sure how much she uses, but you need to keep your eye on it.
Depends on what you are doing with it, but ours are all Motorway Spec, with the low spoilers on the front. We do sometimes go off road on construction sites, that’s where most if the damage gets done (I drive on them at around 1-2 mph & try to keep on the hard stuff) I believe that MAN offer a steel front bumper for off road work if that’s your thing !
Only guessing but they cost around £65 k as opposed to £75-£80 k for the top of the range Scania’s & Volvo’s.
If I was running a tractor unit I would certainly consider the MAN for value for money, it will do the same job as a Scania or Volvo, but it won’t have the same resale value. If its looked after- it should last for a few years.
One point !
Not sure how true it is but the new Euro 6 uses Adblu & 6 months ago, a MAN fitter told me that the Euro 5s were selling like hot cakes because the Adblu Unit/thingymajig costs about £30,000 & if it goes wrong out of warrantee, it will probably write the motor off as its uneconomical to replace it !
i got an 06 plate Euro3 430 XLX and a couple of 57 plate Euro4 440 XXL’s
no real problems, in fact, they have been very reliable since i have had them,
i have just picked up a 57 plate 440 Euro4 from a dealer, full 12 month MoT, 2 year tacho calibration and had the bottom half resprayed for a good price
one of the main issues with them, get the valve clearances reset on every oil change, they don’t like it if they are not reset regularly, and can cause major problems
What you give for it shuttle? What clicks it got? I just gave £16.5k for a 58 plate euro 5 prem with 450 clicks on it. Ride is tidy.
57 plate Euro4 TGA XXL 26.440
fridge, microwave, walnut trim on dash and steering wheel
650,000KMs
£13,500
got another one coming next week
ex Boughey Distribution from Wardle, has full history with it, including docs when it has broken down, even for silly things like when they called out the 24hr breakdown for a snapped red air line 
shuttlespanker:
ex Boughey Distribution from Wardle, has full history with it, including docs when it has broken down, even for silly things like when they called out the 24hr breakdown for a snapped red air line
Silly to me and you, I carry a spare airline and the tools to change it, but changing your own airline is probably a sackable offence at Boughey’s 
Only an employed jockey, but i look after me tackle, always have and take an interest.
I drive one, dislike the auto gearbox intently (comfort box is brill and i would opt if given the choice) but if you override it in manual when loaded you can get some useful fuel gains, better progress at junctions etc due to the thing actually being in a gear when needed, and most importantly take advantage of the reasonably efficient exhauster which will see you mostly only using service brakes for unexpected and below about 20mph unless downhill or unexpected traffic.
Autobox will fight you for control, you have to switch it over to manual deliberately and unless you do it will keep reverting to auto, it doesn’t stay in auto if you prompt a change like Scanias do, worth learning the box’s idionsyncrasies though cos the engine doesn’t need to rev its nuts off its fully capable of pulling right down to the bottom of the green, and lower and helps maintain progress in the usual hills.
Not as good on fuel as an equivalent Scania has been my experience at 44t, i’ve run them back to back and the MAN needs careful gearbox work and self limiting to around 52 on the motorway to get the same, hard road work expect disappointing fuel figures.
Won’t stand fleet numpty steering wheel attendant abuse like a Scania, maybe best as a trusted driver motor or OD in my honest opinion, they used to be unbreakable 20+ years ago nothing like the same league now.
Harry Monk:
shuttlespanker:
ex Boughey Distribution from Wardle, has full history with it, including docs when it has broken down, even for silly things like when they called out the 24hr breakdown for a snapped red air lineSilly to me and you, I carry a spare airline and the tools to change it, but changing your own airline is probably a sackable offence at Boughey’s
i presume that was you at the traffic lights of the A47/A5 on The Longshoot in Hinckley this afternoon Harry?
Juddian:
Won’t stand fleet numpty steering wheel attendant abuse like a Scania, maybe best as a trusted driver motor or OD in my honest opinion, they used to be unbreakable 20+ years ago nothing like the same league now.
would totally agree with the quoted part from Juddian
shuttlespanker:
i presume that was you at the traffic lights of the A47/A5 on The Longshoot in Hinckley this afternoon Harry?
I didn’t spot you but I did tip in Hinckley this afternoon so I’d say almost certainly yes.
Thank you gentlemen for your valued opinions so far … as it happens … I used to spend the dough … and just hand the motor to an employee of the moment … but recession being what it is, I’ll be doing the driving of this one myself … to start with at least.
The resale value is probably my biggest concern after some thought. I have to say that for all the bad experience of my Scania dealer, their spares prices for consumables are very reasonable,(Not dealer controlled) Scania UK sends out a listing of fast moving items such as £87 for a brake disk … £75 for a set of 4 brake pads … (■■■ … a set for one of my 4wd’s cost more and they were less than a quarter of the size ) although the dealer will try to charge book, until you point out what the UK special price is!
I know some of you dont get involved in the maintenance side, but I do all of that too. So the package I’m considering is , in the round.
For my type of work Ive already been advised the auto is not good, but the comfort shift is, once youve mastered it. My current engine is a 270 and struggles very well, but according to the computer, I’m avareging 7mpg …and I believe even a much larger MAN engine will better that … but as technology improves I would expect it to do so … I do mostly suburban and semi rural work with a bit of longer distance.
I just cant believe the increase in price of a chassis since I last bought one. For the same spec Scania P270 with a heavier front axle, the dealer is looking for almost £30K more , since I last bought one 7 years ago I’m just not sure I can afford that, what with the body builder looking for another £25k ontop so as much as I like the product, thats why I’m looking around for an alternative ?
We ran a TGA 460 XXL for four years and progressed to a 2008 TGX 480 XXL 6x2 last year,comfort shift,with retarder. It is definitely the lightest tractor unit on diesel that has entered our yard. A few issues to watch out for are;
(1) Keep the valves adjusted regularly…otherwise valve recession will occur.
(2) Watch out for oil ingress into the wiring harness for the injectors…this will cause your engine to smoke badly,lose power and burn more diesel and ultimately blow your ecu. Easily spotted and prevented all the same.
(3) Watch out for the exhaust box clogging…it is actually a Diesel Particulate Filter and will clog over time. You truck will get heavy on diesel, loose power and develop an appetite for turbos as it is constantly under pressure trying to force the exhaust gases out. It will eventually crack it’s main shaft. The exhaust box insides comprise of stainless steel, and it is not a big job to cut the box open, clean it and reseal same.
(4) The common rail pump and injectors are sensitive to poor quality diesel. A drop of two stroke oil mixed in the diesel once in a while keeps these components lubricated, and use only MAN genuine fuel filters.
The truck is extremely comfortable to drive and is proving durable & reliable in service. Where our FH12s were returning 6.5~7.00 mpg at low loader work, the TGX can return 9.00~10.00mpg all day long at the same work.
As these are common rail units, they are easily tuneable/chipped. Ours was remapped by Terlouw Diesel in Holland to produce 540bhp.
The cab is a nice place to spend your working day and has plenty of space to live in also. The comfort shift is a dream to use. At the end of a long hard shift, it is a truck you can walk away from feeling refreshed.
stay away from egr version. ad blue all the way now. although when euro 6 comes out they will be combined.
change ad blue filters every oil change, don’t get any crap in ad blue system, and you will not get any probs with them.
check to see when or if its had a clutch yet, they tend to pack in around 600k mark. like someone said, keep the fuel system spotless, them injectors don’t like water/crap 
I do like MAN’s, just in my experience can be a bit moody if you run them 24/6.
You still not had to replace a starter motor on yours? Used to be the Bain of my life starters on TGA’s
You don’t fancy making the leap from A to X shuttle, sure for an extra grand or two you could have that bit of chrome on the bonnet
The only thing that makes me cringe with Renault & MAN is the mid lifts don’t steer, my tyres are screaming at me.
Harry Monk:
shuttlespanker:
i presume that was you at the traffic lights of the A47/A5 on The Longshoot in Hinckley this afternoon Harry?I didn’t spot you but I did tip in Hinckley this afternoon so I’d say almost certainly yes.
i was in my van on my way home
That is a mighty fine looking MAN riverstick 
makes mine look very ordinary