2001 Chevy Express Cargo Van (4.7L 6 cylinder 2500 156K miles $2500)

[QinReno]

2014 Savana 2500 extended with 106K miles 4.8L Vortec V8 L20 Flex Fuel .. 
extremely clean with great tires ...
Barn doors on side.
Glass on side and rear doors. 
Just what I am looking for except the price is ...
(gulp) $15K ... $14,999 to be exact.

I agree with Matty. 
Personally I think $15K is too much for one with 106,000 miles on it, but if you do a survey on the cargurus.com page, you can list them by year and mileage and cost. The cost goes up rapidly of course, but for the $20K range, you should be able to get one that's 1-2 years old, and under 20,000 miles. For $15K, I would guess they are some available with more like 50,000 miles. 

My Savana 4.8L was 1-year old, 16,000 miles, Flex-fuel, and cost $24,000, but I also got it from a GMC dealership who "certified" it. This means they did a comprehensive inspection, and then I get a 2-year bumper-to-bumper warranty, as well as the usual 100,000 mile drivetrain warranty. They don't tell you this offhand, but you actually pay on the order of $2500 for the "privilege" of certification and the 2-year warranty. Of course, now I'll be paying the darn thing off over the next 4-years too.

 

[TexasWoman]

Thank you everyone for the great feedback.

QuinReno ... Yes, that is why I don't look for certified vehicles.

Would a good inspection by an impartial mechanic be almost as good and a lot cheaper?

If I spend 20K on a van, I won't have any money left over for buildout, solar, etc.

Especially if I'm not totally convinced that full-time is for me.
I'm kind of thinking I will be a part timer.

Just would rather not get  into so much debt right out of the gate ...

 

[QinReno]

TW, as I was buying a fairly new used van, I specifically "wanted" a certified van, so was willing to pay the extra price. I figured they would inspect it well, and fix whatever might be wrong, otherwise they would "not" be selling it as certified in the first place.

It's hard to know if you want to go full-time without trying it, and if you're going to do that, then you have to buy "something" that hopefully will be reliable. Catch-22. You gave the example of the $15K van with 100K on it. I think you can look around on cargurus and find something in that price range and maybe less costly, and with a lot fewer miles on it. So keep looking every day.

It took me actually 3 months to find my van, but that's because of where I live. Almost all of the vans being listed were 250-miles away. However, there should be plenty in the DFW area all the time.

 

[QinReno]

Also, in regards build out, you can follow Matty's example and go very minimalist ... at first ... and save a lot of money. Then build it up over time. Don't know if you know of CaravanCarolyn, but she's rebuilt her van layout 3 times now in the past year. And doing it all in the field, .
- https://www.youtube.com/user/kamsmomusa1/videos

 

[TexasWoman]

Thanks QinReno ...

I just made a new post about a Dodge van I found.
Would appreciate your thoughts on it.

I am familiar with Caravan Carolyn and will watch the video.

Thanks again!

:heart: :heart: :heart:

 

[QinReno]

To me, anything over 100,000 miles is on the high side. But Matty and others have said how those vans are pretty reliable, so I'm not really the one to say. Cargo vans are built to take a heavy beating to start with, so ....

Carolyn is funny. More so, with her new dog - a cute little e-begger. BTW, I always watch youtubes at 1.5X to 2X speedup. And they're even funnier that way, LOL.

 

[tx2sturgis]

2014 Savana 2500 extended with 106K miles 4.8L Vortec V8 L20 Flex Fuel .. 
extremely clean with great tires ...
Barn doors on side.
Glass on side and rear doors. 
Just what I am looking for except the price is ...
(gulp) $15K ... $14,999 to be exact.


It's at the top end of my budget.

What do you think?

If you like the van (and barn doors are kinda hard to find), then you might offer say, 13, and let them chew on that offer. 

Cash talks, BS walks, and it's not a low-ball offer, it's reasonable, given the miles on the clock.

Remember, there will be taxes, fees, registration, and insurance, so keep those in mind.

They might decline the offer, if so, provide your phone number, smile, and say you'll be looking around for other vans. 

You never know!

 

[TexasWoman]

If I had 13K cash to throw down, that's just what I would do ..

Sure is a nice van .. does the flex fuel make any difference?
I know it's ok to run regular gas in them and I prefer the no ethanol kind when it's available.

Just wondering if the flex fuel makes repairs more expensive.
Couldn't find anything on the web about it.

 

[QinReno]

My van is Flexfuel, not worried about it - I've always just used regular unleaded. 87 octane.

I was looking around the cargurus site some more for the area around DFW, and there were some Chevy Express vans on the order of $10K which are not so old (circa 2007), and with under 100K miles on them. That sounds like a reasonable compromise. Once setup, search by lowest price first.

Another thing is, cargurus shows how long vehicles have been on the market, and if fairly long, then you can probably offer $2,000-3,000 under the asking price.

 

[TexasWoman]

Thanks, QR ...

Glad to hear that Flex Fuel isn't a problem.
I run 100% no ethanol whenever I can.

I almost took that 2014 extended for a test drive today but ran out of time.
I've never driven or parked an extended van before.

I wonder if it fits in a regular parking spot.
That could be a consideration.


I ran a Cargurus search nationwide and there are not too many of those 2014 extended 2500's on the market.
The one I am looking at had the best mileage and price of any.
Cargurus rocks.

Do you think the extended is a good way to go?
At least on the Savanna, the base doesn't extend way out behind the rear tires.
That would be dealbreaker for me. Too much bottoming out.

 

[QinReno]

I had to look up exactly what my owners manual says. ... "can use either unleaded gasoline or fuel containing up to 85% ethanol (E85)". Never have tried E85.

The regular van will not even fit very well in a regular parking spot. Too long and too wide. Tight. On the Savanas, the extension is actually between the side doors and the rear wheel, not off the back. This shows the same for the Express.
- http://jingletruck.com/img/chevy-ex...23207696161-0.jpg.pagespeed.ce.BJD6mFlCtl.jpg

The extended might scrape a little more underneath when going down the BLM roads, but I think it's still a good option for an RV. You're not gonna really do off-road, and you get a lot more floor space.

The biggest problem with backing and also driving is the blind spots, and the mirrors really don't deal with that all that well. I have a blindspot camera installed that looks out the side window, and I'm installing another in the rear window. In general, I try to park where I don't have to back up to get out.

 

[TexasWoman]

I've seen some vans that had huge overhangs off the back.  
I don't know how they make it over parking lot speed bumps without scraping.

The blind spots are a real problem, especially in a turnaround where you have to turn left to blend into traffic that's coming from the right.
That's why I want glass on the side and back doors, and even then there is a huge blind spot.

I like the open feel and visibility of the passenger vans but seems like it would cut way down on storage space.
Also a lot of work to insulate the windows on a cold night.
Not to mention tearing out the seats and interior to insulate it.

 

[B and C]

This is the first van that I have had that had a large overhang in the back. I have only drug the trailer hitch a couple of times and they were on paved roads, usually where the parking lot connects to the street. Looking at the road surface there will let you know if you are going to drag too. If so, turn so you leave at an angle and go slow as the pitch change can make the van rock sideways rather violently.

As far as parking. If you don't try to park right at the door to the store but park out a little ways (walking is good for you so I heard), parking is easy as you pull through so your nose is even with the parking stripes on the other side. Makes leaving extremely easy as you are driving forward.

Blind spots can be dealt with. I used to have vans that did not have windows in the side door. Those intersections where your are merging at an angle to the left, l pull up and turn to the right so you are 90 degrees to approaching traffic. Turn wheels left and wait for an opening.

As with anything new it gets easier with practice.

YMMV

 

[tx2sturgis]

Blind spot mirrors can help a LOT. You can buy the little stick-on 'fisheye' mirrors if needed.

With a van, there is a huge improvement in blindspot visibility if the van has a window in the curbside sliding door or barn doors.

 

[TexasWoman]

That's a good idea.  Hopefully the guy behind me doesn't start honking.

When stopped at an intersection. especially a tight one, I always leave almost a car's length in front of me so a big truck can make the corner without me having to backup or disrupt traffic.

I was really glad I did that yesterday because this huge 18 wheeler had to make a tight turn in front  of me. Boy was I glad I gave him some space.  But people are funny and sometimes I get a honk because I don't pull right up to the white line.

That's what city living can do to you. That's why I'm packing to leave.

 

[B and C]

When traveling I try to avoid big cities even if it requires more miles to be driven. You don't usually run into these types of intersections then. If they honk, so what. Am I supposed to blindly pull into an intersection? Let 'em complain. If the intersection looks particularly bad, keep going straight and make three right turns. You just made a left the easy way.

 

[QinReno]

You always have to be especially careful when moving into the lane on the right hand side. It's amazing how many people will just sit in someone else's blind spot.

 

[B and C]

Turn on the signal and let off the gas. They will then pass you. Also a good idea to have those little 2"+ blindspot mirrors. All you need to know it that something is there, not the make and model.

 

[TexasWoman]

Seriously thinking about getting a front and rear dash cam ..
It's dangerous on these roads. Lots of texters and rear ending going on.

I don't look or drive  like Granny but I am a very cautious and hyper-defensive driver.

 

[QinReno]

LA freeways are definitely crazy people land. I swear I would be driving at 80, and people would be going by me on both sides at 100 MPH. They will cross over 3 lanes in 3 sec and shoot on by, while you're trying to check your mirrors. Unfortunately my niece lives in Newport Beach and just had twins 9-months ago and keeps wanting people to come visit. I was there in February, and was happy to get out in one piece. So, I'm getting the live cameras ready.