Peugeot Boxer from hell
Alright chaps.
You are in possession of the worst financial investment of my life.
Run down of events
September 2024
Bought the van from a Southampton based van dealer named Vansco.
183k miles
fresh engine refurb fitted prior to my purchase
3 months warranty
£13k
Spent until January 2025 making it useable for my business
Spent its entire time parked up on my driveway.
Converting interior to current standard (not finished) and sign writing
£15k
October 2024
I had no central locking when I bought the van and Vansco assumed it was just disabled due to it previously being a multi-drop van in London.
Turns out the BMS was faulty but they agreed to pay for a replacement through Peugeot as it had to be coded from the manufacturer. (£2500)
February 2025
- 500 miles of use
Engine shits a brick
Drive it to local garage to find its pissing oil and leaving a trail behind me like something out of Mario Kart
Spoke to Vansco who said its out of warranty but get it investigated to find out what happened.
Answer: Whichever knuckle dragging idiot fitted the refurb engine prior to me buying it didn't bolt the Vacuum pump on properly and it sheered off the block and good bye block.
Vansco continue to say it's not under warranty and I'm on my own.
November 2025
11 Months go by and I'm still fighting with them and threaten lawsuit, whilst the van is sitting at this other garage since February rotting.
Suddenly they agree to contribute £3k for a new refurb engine but they don't want to do the work
Great! I'll get the garage who is holding it to do the work.
That's when the real shit hits the fan
Turns out, it needed the following in addition to the new engine:
Clutch
Turbo
Vacuum pump
2 CV Joints
Aircon rad (Still not working)
Handbreak system (Didn't hold very well)
I'm sure there was more
New total cost: £8k
Vansco refuse to assist any further, but at this point, I just want it on the road so I cough up the difference.
Funny thing is, it had 11 months MOT and a fresh service when I bought it. Hmmm.......
December 2025
I finally get it back and it seems sweet
January 2026
It dies again!
Get it to same garage and they inform me its burnt all its oil (6L of the stuff)
Oil gauge on dash read it was fine.
They check it over
Needed 16 valves etc and as its heat damage, its not under warranty and it cost me another £3.5k
I get the van back after about 6 weeks.
June 21st
I was going on holiday and had a few other issues I wanted them to look at plus it continued to lose or burn oil at an alarming rate. The garage that carried out the work agreed to investigate and said they would speak to their engine refurbishment supplier and I am waiting for that response.
The other issues are around losing:
Hill assist
ESC
Temporary loss of Speedo
Temporary loss of Range
Temporary loss of engine Temperate gauge
Thursday 2nd July
When I returned, they advised this is due to a failing Body Management System.
However, this was actually replaced by Peugeot just after I purchased it.
So this part may be under warranty with my local Peugeot dealer so please don't worry about that for now unless you believe it's not the BMS.
When I collected the van Thursday morning, I was advised it would be fine to make the journey to Sheffield that afternoon and to just keep checking the oil.
So I travelled from Southampton to Sheffield for a business conference. Despite the journey taking around nine hours due to traffic, the van performed well and the engine appeared to be running normally. I continued to check the oil every few hours when taking breaks and no loss found.
Saturday 4th July
Unfortunately, while travelling home the van went into limp mode near Tamworth on the M42. It would not rev beyond approximately 2,500 RPM, and the brake pedal became extremely hard. The pedal would barely move more than an inch, although applying significant force would eventually slow the vehicle.
I managed to reach Tamworth Services and contacted the AA. That is when I then discovered that I did not have the correct commercial recovery cover, despite the breakdown policy being arranged through the van dealer when I purchased the vehicle. I had reasonably assumed that a commercial van dealer would arrange the appropriate cover for a commercial vehicle.
The AA attended and attempted to diagnose the issue at the roadside. Their initial assessment was that:
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The timing chain may have moved or become incorrectly timed.
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The vacuum pump appears to have failed again, which would explain the extremely hard brake pedal.
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The excessive oil consumption may be caused by severe engine blow-by.
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The engine may not be a properly refurbished unit and could instead be a poor-quality used engine.
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Depending on what is found, the engine may require complete replacement.
The AA recommended that the van be recovered to you for a proper inspection. This avoided an estimated recovery charge of more than £1,500 to transport it back to Southampton.
The AA driver has therefore left the van outside your premises. I then travelled to Birmingham Airport, hired a car and returned to the van to remove all of my tools, stock and electronic equipment before driving back to Southampton.
I still own my previous 2016 Transit Custom, so I will now have to transfer everything back into that van and continue working from it. Unfortunately, I originally replaced it with the Boxer because I had outgrown it. I am also unable to sit or work comfortably in it because of the limited headroom, which aggravates my existing back problems.
The AA driver mentioned that you use either replacement or remanufactured engines. Once you have inspected the vehicle, I would appreciate a clear explanation of the following:
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What has actually failed and why.
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Whether the existing engine can be repaired properly.
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Whether any repair would be expected to provide a reliable, long-term solution.
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Whether fitting a fully remanufactured engine would be the most sensible option.
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The likely cost and expected turnaround time for each available option.
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What warranty would be provided on the work and replacement engine.
I am understandably extremely frustrated. I have now spent close to £15,000 simply trying to get this van running reliably, yet I have only covered approximately 6,000 miles in it.
Had I known the original engine failure was going to occur, or had I been able to cover the required mileage within the dealer’s three-month warranty period, I would have returned the van and purchased something else. Unfortunately, an empty van was no use to my business, and I had already invested significant time and money converting it into a mobile workshop, including the internal fit-out, livery and signwriting.
I now feel financially trapped with the vehicle. Walking away would mean losing a substantial amount of money, as well as the time and investment that has gone into building it around my business.
At this stage, if the most sensible solution is to wipe the slate clean and fit a properly remanufactured engine so that I can finally use the van reliably, then I may have to accept that and cut my losses. However, I do not want to spend more money repairing the current engine unless there is a high degree of confidence that it will provide a dependable, long-term solution.
Please inspect the vehicle and let me know your honest assessment of the best course of action, including the costs, warranty and estimated turnaround time.
Kind regards,
Ash