Ranked #2 van in the UK · Panel van · 38,695 units sold last year

Ford Transit

The Ford Transit (two-tonne) is the default big panel van in Britain - the best-selling large van for decades, offered in a huge spread of lengths, roof heights and front-, rear- or all-wheel drive. Strong EcoBlue diesels do the work, with the all-electric E-Transit sold alongside. Ubiquitous, easy to fix and supported everywhere, it's the safe, sensible choice - just buy ex-fleet examples on history given how hard vans are worked.

Ford Transit
Photo: Vauxford via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Body
Panel van
Years
2018–2026
Fuel
Diesel / Electric
Economy
38 mpg

combined

Insurance
Group 16

The short version

25/100

Forecourt score

Value 21 · Reliability 3 · Insurance 79

The Ford Transit loses value faster than most cars and costs about average to run. Its MOT-based reliability is below average, 52 out of 100, ahead of 3% of the cars we track. On three-year value retention it ranks better than 21% of models. The main things to check on a used one are the suspension.

The Forecourt score blends how this car ranks against the catalogue on value retention, reliability and insurance cost (weighted 40/40/20). Higher is better; running cost is not yet folded in.

Pick your version

Estimates are tuned to the version you choose.

Fuel

Diesel · 1996cc

Power

170 ps

Drivetrain

RWD

Cam drive

Wet belt

Quoted MPG

33 mpg

The volume full-size Transit. 2.0L EcoBlue 170 PS, 6-speed manual, RWD. ~1500kg payload, 11.5m³ load volume L3H2. The big-Transit workhorse.

Tell us about the one you're looking at

2023
20182026
40,956 mi
0Expected: 40,956180k
good
PoorFairGoodExcellent

Tidy and well looked-after for its age — the typical car.

Remembered as you browse other cars.

Optional — fills in the exact year and ULEZ status for your specific car. The registration isn’t stored.

Estimated market value

How we got this number — click for the breakdown, or to challenge it.

£16,750

Range £14,100£19,600

medium confidence

When new (2023)£36,000Age-based value£18,720Mileage adjustment+£0Condition & region-£23Market calibration-£847Forecourt price£17,850Private sale£15,650Part-exchange£13,750
Holdthis 3-year-old

Fair value — the 4-year mark is the sweet spot.

At 40,956 miles it’s below the ~54,824 typical for a 3-year-old — a well-kept reading.

Seen one for sale?

£

A data-led guide from the depreciation curve, UK parc trend and reliability — not financial advice.

The depreciation curve

How a 2023-registration Ford Transit loses value over time.

What it costs to own

Over

Based on the 2023 car with 40,956 miles you entered above — worth about £16,750 today — here is the cost of owning it for the next 5 years, at roughly 13,652 miles a year.

5-year total

£25,011

Per year

£5,002

All-in per mile

£0.37

Fuel per mile

20.6p

Depreciation£3,907
Fuel / energy£14,084
Servicing£1,765
Road tax£975
Insurance£4,280

Best age to buy — around 2 years

A 2-year-old example loses roughly £5,300 a year — under half the £11,100 a one-year-old sheds. The steepest drop is behind it.

Uses current UK pump and home-charging prices (DESNZ weekly), typical-driver insurance and manufacturer service intervals. "Fuel per mile" is just the energy input — so an EV at ~9p and a diesel at ~22p make running-cost comparison direct. A guide; your own costs will vary.

How it compares

Where this car ranks against the 340 vehicles in our index — higher is better.

Holds its valuebetter than 21%
Reliabilitybetter than 3%
Fuel economybetter than 21%
Cheap to insurebetter than 79%

Percentile rank across our full index. A measure is shown only where the data spreads meaningfully across the index.

Petrol, diesel, hybrid or EV?

How the available versions compare on price, running cost, and the headaches each tends to develop.

EcoBlue / E-Transit

The big-Transit workhorse. Cross-shop Mercedes Sprinter (premium, more refined), Iveco Daily (bigger payload), VW Crafter (sister to Sprinter pre-Ford alliance), Renault Master. The Transit is the UK fleet default — Ford parts/dealer network unmatched at this size.

New price
£42,000
Annual fuel / energy
£2,800
3-yr depreciation
47%

Watch for

  • ·2.0 EcoBlue EGR cooler failures pre-2020 (campaign-fixed)
  • ·Early E-Transit charging port issues (resolved)
  • ·Twin-rear-wheel models brake wear faster

Fuel/energy costs based on this week’s UK averages (w/c 22/06/2026) · Petrol 153.3p/L, Diesel 172.5p/L, Electricity 27.0p/kWh · DESNZ

Estimated insurance

Group 16 of 50 (mid — around the UK average) · Comprehensive · 3 years NCB

Indicative annual comprehensive premiums for this car, by driver age band and risk profile. Pick the combination closest to your circumstances.

3 years
0 yearsBaseline: 3 years15+
Risk profile:

Estimated annual premium · typical, age 33-39

£856/ year

Roughly £71 per month

Typical

Average UK driver — 3 years NCB, average postcode, no recent claims.
Age bandLower riskTypicalHigher risk
Age 17-25£1,952£2,440£3,171
Age 26-32£1,019£1,198£1,462
Age 33-39Selected£753£856£1,010
Age 40-49£639£710£824
Age 50+£570£633£747

How we estimate this

Indicative annual comprehensive premium estimates. The 'Typical' figure represents an average UK driver in each age band; Lower and Higher risk show the realistic spread driven by factors UK insurers legitimately price on (postcode, occupation, claims history, NCB, voluntary excess, modifications). Based on 10,000 miles/yr, £250 voluntary excess, and the no-claims bonus selected above. Always get individual quotes before buying.

Expected annual costs

Adjust the annual mileage to match how you'll actually use the car. Insurance is what you selected above (age 33-39, typical risk, 3 yrs NCB).

13,652 mi/yr
2,000UK avg for this model: 13,65230,000

Routine service

£185

Annual main-dealer service

Major service

£210

Every 2 years, annualised

Road tax

£195

Standard rate, post year-one

Fuel

£2,802

38 mpg, £1.49/L

Insurance

£856

Age 33-39, group 16

Clean-air zones

ULEZ compliant
  • Electric variants are compliant with London ULEZ and all UK clean-air zones.
  • All diesel variants meet Euro 6 standards and are ULEZ compliant.

Based on London ULEZ standards — Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow and other UK clean-air zones generally follow the same rules.

Total expected£4,248 / year

Excludes depreciation and unscheduled repairs (see next section).

Unexpected costs

What out-of-warranty repairs typically run, by mileage band. Your selected mileage is highlighted.

0-30k miles

£80

per year · low risk

30-60k miles

£240

per year · low risk

60-100k miles

£520

per year · medium risk

100k+ miles

£900

per year · high risk

Tyres

195/65 R16 · 215/65 R16C

What a full set of four will cost you (including fit and balance), and which brand each tier of buyer should pick. A typical set lasts about 24,000 miles.

Budget

£300

set of 4, fitted · £60 per tyre

Mid-range

£440

set of 4, fitted · £95 per tyre

Premium

£620

set of 4, fitted · £140 per tyre

What to fit

Optional extras worth paying for

Factory options ranked by how much of their original cost they recover at resale. Anything above 70% return tends to make money back; below 40% is paying for your own enjoyment.

OptionNew costAdded used valueReturn

Tow bar

Strong return — actively sought by trade buyers.

£650£45069%

Full bulkhead

Cheap, and most working buyers expect one.

£300£20067%

Parking sensors & reversing camera

£500£30060%

Ply-lining / load-area protection

£350£20057%

Twin side loading doors

£450£25056%

Air conditioning

About half its cost back; widens the resale audience.

£900£45050%

Parts most likely to fail

Drawn from owner reports and warranty data. Filtered for relevance to 40,956 miles.

Watch now

Failure typically happens around your current mileage.

Upcoming

A known weak point — but you haven't reached its usual mileage yet.

Already due

Past its usual failure mileage. Either already fixed, or about to.

BrakesUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £150-£500medium severityParts high

Recorded in 13.8% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 17,534,978 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

SuspensionUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £150-£450high severityParts high

Recorded in 15.0% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 17,534,978 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Lighting & signallingUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £15-£120medium severityParts high

Recorded in 11.7% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 17,534,978 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Tyres & wheelsUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £80-£500medium severityParts high

Recorded in 7.7% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 17,534,978 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Driver's viewUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £60-£300medium severityParts high

Recorded in 6.9% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 17,534,978 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Identification & otherUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £20-£150medium severityParts high

Recorded in 7.2% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 17,534,978 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

"Parts low/medium/high" indicates how easy the replacement part is to source — discontinued or specialist parts mean longer workshop time and bigger bills.

MOT outlook

How this model fares at its MOT as it ages — from 17,708,690 real DVSA test records.

MOT pass rate by age

A 3-year-old Transit passes its MOT 77.4% of the time; by 25 years that has slipped to 67.1%. The y-axis is zoomed to this model’s range so the trend is readable.

Longevity

2%of 59-year-old examples are still taxed and on the road — a useful read on how well the model lasts.

From 59 vehicles registered in 1967.

Survival by registration year

25%50%75%100%19672026

Each point is one registration cohort. Older cars on the left, newer on the right. A flatter line means the model holds up over time; a steep drop means cohorts disappear from UK roads faster.

What’s on the road

The fuel-type split of every Transit currently MOT’d in the UK. From 2,199,946 vehicles.

  • Diesel 89.3%
  • Petrol 10.4%

Common MOT failures by mileage

The defect categories this Transit fails on most often, and how the failure rate climbs as the miles add up — from the same DVSA test records.

Category0-30k30-60k60-100k100k+
Brakes5%6%10%14%
Suspension5%5%9%15%
Lighting & signalling4%5%7%12%
Tyres & wheels4%4%6%8%
Driver's view3%4%5%7%
Identification & other2%3%5%7%

Share of MOT tests in each mileage band with at least one defect in that category. The peak band for each is highlighted.

Typical mileage by age

The average odometer reading for a Transit at MOT, by age — measured from the same DVSA records, not assumed. A useful yardstick for whether a given car has done more or fewer miles than its age suggests.

  • 0 yr16,805
  • 1 yr15,658
  • 2 yr37,540
  • 3 yr54,824
  • 4 yr68,993
  • 5 yr81,838
  • 6 yr93,395
  • 7 yr103,669
  • 8 yr112,836
  • 9 yr120,952
  • 10 yr127,730
  • 11 yr132,551

Mean recorded mileage at MOT by vehicle age, from DVSA test records (ages with at least 10 tests shown).

Reliability

52/ 100

Below average

Composite of MOT pass rate, defect prevalence and cohort survival from 17,534,978 tests — high confidence.

MOT outlook · age 5 years

74%first-time pass rate

4th percentileAmong the worst — investigate carefully

Based on 1,446,418 MOT tests · ranked against 248 catalogue models with comparable data

Where this car sits in the catalogue

0%50%90%

Pass-rate distribution across 248 catalogue models

Things owners say

  • 01Pick the length/roof (L2-L4, H2-H3) to suit the load; rear-wheel drive handles the heaviest payloads best.
  • 02EcoBlue diesels need their oil and EGR/DPF kept healthy - urban stop-start vans suffer most; check service history.
  • 03Most are ex-fleet high-milers - inspect clutch, DMF, load floor and ply-lining, and budget for cambelt/wet-belt service.

Safety recalls

Manufacturers occasionally issue safety recalls to fix a fault free of charge. You can check whether the Ford Transit, or your exact vehicle, has any outstanding recalls on the official DVSA service.

Check on GOV.UK

Opens the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency recall checker. Choose the make, model and year of manufacture — no registration needed.

Theft risk

A general indicator from UK 2025 theft data and this car’s characteristics — not a prediction for any one vehicle.

Whole-car theft

Higher

Higher-value cars like this are relay-theft targets — keyless entry can be exploited from the driveway in under a minute.

Parts theft

Around average

Parts-theft risk is around average — catalytic-converter theft is the main thing to be aware of on any petrol or diesel car.

Worth doing

  • Keep keys in a Faraday pouch and away from the front door to block relay attacks.
  • A visible steering lock is a cheap, strong deterrent on a frequently-targeted car.

Clean-air zones

Whether driving a Ford Transit into a UK clean-air zone will cost you anything. Rules use the same Euro standard across most zones — petrol from 2006 and diesel from 2015 onwards are exempt; pure electric is always exempt.

Charging zones for cars

CityAreaDaily chargeLikely outcome
LondonAll of Greater London (within the M25)£12.50
Likely exempt
Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6.
BirminghamInside the A4540 Middleway£8.00
Likely exempt
Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6.
BristolCity centre and part of the Portway£9.00
Likely exempt
Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6.
GlasgowCity centre
Likely exempt
Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6.
EdinburghCity centre
Likely exempt
Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6.
AberdeenCity centre
Likely exempt
Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6.
DundeeCity centre
Likely exempt
Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6.

Zones that don't charge private cars

  • BathCity centre (Private cars and motorbikes are not charged).
  • BradfordOuter ring road and the Aire Valley (Private cars are not charged).
  • SheffieldInside the A61 inner ring road (Private cars are not charged).
  • Newcastle & GatesheadCity centres and the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges (Private cars are not charged).
  • PortsmouthPart of the city centre (Applies to taxis, PHVs, buses, coaches and HGVs only).

Model-level guidance only. To check a specific registration, use the official gov.uk clean-air zone checker. Zone charges and boundaries are set by local councils and change over time.

Servicing & the dealer network

How well-supported Ford is across the UK — a practical read on how easy servicing, parts and warranty work will be to find.

Franchised UK dealers

~290

Large network

Mass-market

Network size relative to the UK's largest (Ford is 6.4% of all franchised outlets)

Servicing, parts and warranty work are easy to find UK-wide, and most independent garages know the brand well — which keeps maintenance competitive.

For context, the UK has roughly 4,500 franchised car-dealer outlets in total, plus about 15,500 independent garages.

Approximate figures, curated from public UK industry sources (NFDA, Car Dealer Magazine). Franchised networks shrink year on year — these indicate network size, not an exact count.

Dimensions & weight

Length

5,000 mm

Width

2,000 mm

Height

2,000 mm

Kerb weight

1,900 kg

Boot

4,000–9,000 L

Fuel tank

48 L

What it can carry

Load capacity and payload across the body-length and roof-height variants. The bigger spread means more versatility — but also more choice to get wrong when buying used.

Load volume

3.58

Payload

6001,400 kg

Gross weight

3,100 kg

Body variants

L1H1, L2H2

How many are still out there

Of every Ford Transit ever registered in the UK, this is what's actively on the road, parked off the road on a SORN, or gone for good.

Total ever registered

703,202

Currently taxed & on road

529,749

75% of all registered

SORN (off road)

168,619

24% of all registered

Scrapped or exported

4,834

UK fleet trend — 2014 to 2025

-0.6% vs 2024
647,234529,749

Source: DfT VEH0124 vehicle licensing statistics (year-end 2025) · Updated 1 Jul 2026

Common questions

Ford Transit, answered

Is the Ford Transit ULEZ compliant?
Most petrol Ford Transits from 2006 and diesels from September 2015 meet the Euro standards for London ULEZ and other UK clean-air zones, so they are generally exempt from the daily charge. Pure-electric versions are always exempt.
What insurance group is the Ford Transit in?
The Ford Transit sits in insurance group 16 of 50. Your actual premium still depends on age, postcode, annual mileage and no-claims history.
Is the Ford Transit reliable?
Our reliability score for the Ford Transit is 52 out of 100 (below average), derived from DVSA MOT records, with a first-time MOT pass rate of about 74% at the reference age.
What economy does the Ford Transit get?
Expect roughly around 38 mpg combined for a typical Ford Transit, based on official figures and our running-cost model. Real-world figures vary with driving style, load and conditions.
What are the common problems on the Ford Transit?
On the Ford Transit, the issues that come up most by mileage include Brakes, Suspension and Lighting & signalling. The section above breaks down each one with its typical mileage, repair cost and severity.
How many Ford Transits are on UK roads?
About 529,749 Ford Transits are currently taxed and on the road in the UK, from DfT vehicle-licensing data.

Common questions

Ford Transit, answered from the data

Is the Ford Transit reliable?
The Ford Transit scores 52/100 on Forecourt's MOT-based reliability measure, ahead of 4% of the cars we track. That is computed from 17,708,690 real DVSA MOT test results. The main things to check on a used one are the suspension.
How much does a used Ford Transit cost?
A 2023 Ford Transit with around 40,956 miles is worth roughly £16,750 today (typical range £15,150–£18,400). Dealer forecourt prices sit higher and part-exchange offers lower; newer or lower-mileage examples cost more.
How quickly does the Ford Transit depreciate?
A new Ford Transit typically loses about 48% of its value over the first three years, then depreciates more slowly. Buying at three to five years old avoids the steepest part of the curve.
What insurance group is the Ford Transit?
The Ford Transit sits in insurance group 16 of 50 — the middle of the scale. Exact premiums depend on the trim (some versions sit a few groups higher or lower), your age, postcode and no-claims history.
What goes wrong on a used Ford Transit?
The most common age-related issues we track for the Ford Transit are: brakes (typically around over 100k miles, £150-£500 to put right); suspension (typically around over 100k miles, £150-£450 to put right); lighting & signalling (typically around over 100k miles, £15-£120 to put right). A full service history and a recent MOT with no advisories are the best protection.
What does the Ford Transit cost to run?
Expect around 38 mpg combined, £195 a year in road tax, about £185 for a standard annual service. The full cost-of-ownership table above breaks this down per year and per mile for the exact year and mileage you choose.

Answers are generated from this car's Forecourt data — DVSA MOT records, DfT licensing statistics and our valuation model — and update with the weekly data refresh.

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