2000 Dodge conversion van - thoughts, advice?

[Gunny]

As diligent as you seem to be in your search for a van and with the intelligent questions you ask, your search will find the 'right' van shortly. Happy Hunting...

Rob

 

[DannyB1954]

The nice thing about people having a low opinion of you is that after a while they don't really expect anything better of you.

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Another conversion van I like... It is above my budget by quite a bit, but the owner is wanting to leave the country, so I could always just offer and wait and hope and not hold my breath!!  It's been on CL for almost a month!

This van is back with a picture of the rusty underneath... Is that bad rust or not so bad rust???

https://columbiamo.craigslist.org/cto/6005645512.html

 

[Gunny]

In my humble opinion that's not too bad as far as rust goes. Some minor cosmetic flaws repaired and some rust treatment should give you a serviceable Van. I am not a mechanic and someone more knowledgeable than me may chime in with more detail, but if he relisted it he may be willing to deal more now. Good Luck....

Rob

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Price is a bit high given the cosmetic situation and maintenance needed. A reason why it's on CL for this long (??). Close inspection and likely the front suspension needs work (front tires toe in--negative camber). Bob did mention the Dodge's frame issue from rust.

 

[GotSmart]

Priced high.  $2,000 would be a good price if it has a good front end.

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Priced high.  $2,000 would be a good price if it has a good front end.

You'll have to go with to do the negotiations 

 

[closeanuf]

That picture is of the back end of the van and doesn't show much.  You need someone to look at the front suspension and whee it bolts to the frame.  See if you can if you can take it to a shop that does front alignments and ask them how much it would cost to check it out or go to a body shop.  You may have to pay a few bucks, but that is my suggestion.

 

[Ballenxj]

This van is back with a picture of the rusty underneath... Is that bad rust or not so bad rust???

Is there any such thing as good rust?
 Seriously, what I could see didn't look bad at all. In fact, that looks about like the normal underside of most cars out there.
Go take it for a test drive, see how it steers and handles. Drive it over a bumpy road while listening for anything that sounds loose or not normal. Drive it on the freeway to see how it handles at speed. Don't be afraid of giving it some gas. Drive it long enough to get good and hot, and see how it reacts to that.
Funny story here. I kept going to a certain used car lot because they had a car I was interested in. They kept putting me off saying the car wasn't legal to drive yet. Finally one day they said OK, but the salesman had to go with me, I drove the car around the neighborhood a bit, then told the salesman I was going to take it on the freeway to see how well it handled highway speeds. It went well, so I drove back to the car lot while telling the salesman I really liked it. When I parked it in front of the office with intentions of buying it, all of a sudden smoke started boiling out from under the hood. After opening the hood to see what it was, it just appeared to be la serious case of blow by.
I got out, handed him the keys while stating I don't think I'll be buying this one today. The salesman didn't argue, but just took the key, and I left.
Now I understood why they kept delaying. They had apparently filled the engine with motor honey with the hopes of suppressing the smoke from the bad rings. 
This is also why I took it for a good long ride, including freeway speeds, and stepping on the accelerator briskly at times. This will loosen up the motor honey, and if it's going to leak, this will eventually make it do so. This also saved me looking at the oil to see if they had done this. At this point I was done with them, never to return. They got to watch me with money still in pocket walk away.
Remember, if they are afraid to let you drive it like you stole it, they are probably trying to hide something.
OTOH, just about every time somebody just handed me the keys and said have fun, I bought their car.
PS, I ended up buying the same model car from a private party much later and it's been a real gem.

 

[steamjam1]

Yep. When it comes to Dodge vans its the front, not the rear that causes problems when it comes to rust. Dodge vans love to rust in the front frame horns around the idler arms and steering box. Its the worst place for any vehicle to rust. The steering box, or an idler arm busts loose? Hope your not on the freeway cause your careening off the road like a 2 ton brick at 60mph plus. The results ain't gonna be pretty. I've repaired a couple of these vans in this area. It is a hard, involved job...

Depending on the year of the Dodge, they also looove to rust around the windshield pillar, and firewall. Its mostly an early van problem (Pre 1987 ) as Dodge figured out that the expandable foam they were using soaked up and held onto water like a sponge. Ill take a Dodge van with drip rail rot, mooshy quarters, or holey floors any day over a perfect looking van with front frame rail rot, even if it was 1/10 the price. Its that much of a pain in the *ss.

I've never seen a comparable Ford or Chevy rust like that. Yeah Chevy's love to rust around the windshield as well, and Fords love to rust their rockers to dust, but atleast the frames stay solid.