Any advice welcome, I'm new

Dawnymoo

Hi all, thanks for having me.

My partner and I are hoping to buy a converted van this year to live in for a year while travelling Britain and Europe. I've found a van on gumtree which is within budget but is 20 years old with a very low mileage (60000). Having done some research, lots of people advising to look at the condition not the mileage but I'm nervous so looking for any thoughts or advice really.

Thanks in advance, dawn

custardy

Sorry but theres little people can advise with this info.
Mileage is one factor. At 20 years old on that mileage it could have been (not surprising) only used for holidays.
whats the price,what vehicle etc

an old car is always a gamble.

daveyjp

Mileage isn't a concern, van engines can do hundreds of thousands of miles, but they generally do them over a few years.

Due to this the rest of the van can be designed to last only those few years. You need someone who does know vans to have a proper look and it needs to be up on ramps for that to be done properly.

Corrosion to major structural steels, sills, doors, floorpans, suspension, brake components and lines, exhaust etc etc.

Use old MOT history as a guide, but don't rely on a new MOT that all is OK. Corrosion can pass one year and become so bad over a year it fails the next.

walwyn1978

Vans are not made to last 20 years. If you are seriously considering this you need to get it inspected by a mechanic who is familiar with the model of van, so they can advise on what has been fixed well/badly, what may break soon, etc etc.

Jackmydad

What type of van?
Some are better than others.
But generally I'd agree with the others. It's all about condition,

Dawnymoo

Thanks all, this is really helpful. The van is a Ford transit and is being sold for 3250. Its passed most mots, but failed in 2017 for corrosion. It passed again in 2018 and the guy is having another mot done before we see it tomorrow.

forgotmyname

Rust.. That can be super expensive to fix properly. If they slapped a bit of plate over the rust it will get really bad very quickly. Repairing it properly may require fittings to be removed.

mollycat

Dawnymoo wrote: »

Thanks all, this is really helpful. The van is a Ford transit and is being sold for 3250. Its passed most mots, but failed in 2017 for corrosion. It passed again in 2018 and the guy is having another mot done before we see it tomorrow.

£3250!! Are you serious?

If someone is telling you that this gross overpricing is justified because of the low mileage, they are taking the proverbial.

Like others have said above, even if the engine is in an okay state having either long spells of inactivity/frequent small journeys, (or both), then the rest of the vehicle wont be.....see 2017 MOT.

You need someone who knows about motors; what is good/ bad, what is overpriced etc, etc because on the info available in this thread this would be a buy you would regret I'm sure.

Sorry to be blunt, am trying to help, but that last post has blown my already fragile mind!

parking_question_chap

Dont eat yellow snow.

Geodark

Has this already been converted? without seeing it no-one can say if it is overpriced or not. If this is recently converted to a really high standard the the price might be ok, if its a scrapper then its over priced. We can't say on here. but... my neighbour has one, about the same age, and he is constantly fighting the rust on his.

Ozzuk

As above, rust kills these. I have a converted T4, and a part converted T5 and wouldn't live in either of them for any length of time, I can't imagine a transit being much better. Can you stretch to a motorhome? Much more confortable and although (much) bigger cost usually very low depreciation so you should be able to shift for a similar price in a year. And you are self contained, shower, toilet etc, so you can literally sleep pretty much anywhere. 15k will get you something around the 03 mark, but watch for damp. going travelling for a year on something costing 3-4k I'd be very worried about reliability. Fiat seemed to be good option from my research.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lunar-Champ-A520-Fiat-Ducato-4-Berth-MANUAL-2004-04/153365546900?hash=item23b54c8794:g:S5wAAOSw3NpcS1KQ

There are much cheaper around, especially if you are a bit handy, but do buy a damp meter!

We actually gave up on motorhome idea in favour of caravan - more space and you can leave it at site and go exploring.