Hello, to all Van Dwellers- I am a Newbie in the van life. I want to look for a “Van” that are Reliable and affordable. My budget is around $2000-$4000 Max. I am not too mechanical, I can change the oil and basic maintain. What are the main thing to look for “hunting” for the “Perfect “ Van.Where do I start? Any suggestion will be appropriate-Thank you
Advice-For New Van Dwellings
- Thread starter KDvan
- Start date
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Start with watching some of the videos on the youtube channels from people who look for good bargain vehicles to flip.. They will show all the things they look at when shopping for a reliable bargain. Watch a bunch of those videos because they don't all cover everything you need to know.
Then when you come across one that you think is pretty good after doing your newly informed way to inspect a van invest the money to have a professional garage put it up on the rack and do a more complete inspection. They will likely find something that you might be able to fix yourself and that can be used to bargain down the price to cover the cost of the professional inspection. Of course if you missed something major it was still worth the money to avoid having bought a dud and it furthered your education regarding what to inspect.
Then when you come across one that you think is pretty good after doing your newly informed way to inspect a van invest the money to have a professional garage put it up on the rack and do a more complete inspection. They will likely find something that you might be able to fix yourself and that can be used to bargain down the price to cover the cost of the professional inspection. Of course if you missed something major it was still worth the money to avoid having bought a dud and it furthered your education regarding what to inspect.
highdesertranger
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Welcome KD to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.
Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.
We look forward to hearing more from you.
I hope you don't mind I moved your thread to the "Newcomers corner"
highdesertranger
Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.
We look forward to hearing more from you.
I hope you don't mind I moved your thread to the "Newcomers corner"
highdesertranger
eDJ_
Well-known member
Welcome to the CRVL Forums 
Do you have a preference with Ford, Chevy, or Dodge ?
I've always owned Ford Vans and PickUp's. They have good springs and a solid ride. The V8 tend to last where the V6 doesn't seem to have the same reputation. (there is a Ford wrecking yard where I live and the owner says his yard is full of good V8's that he can't sell, and he can't keep a V6 in the yard)
The local Phone & Power companies here fleet Ford Vans with V6 engines and they sell them off within 3 to 4 years. They used to keep the ones with the V8 for 5 years before selling them off. Generally the aftermarket for them has been small biz people like plumbers, electricians, carpenters, fleamarket people etc. A lot of these seem to wind up at that Ford wrecking yard before too long and the yard owner strips them and uses the bodies for parts storage buildings. One guy I know sells online thru his ecommerce biz and has a half dozen of these old Vans he uses for storage buildings for his inventory. Says they all have blown up motors and some of them were given to him to tow off.
There are any number of businesses that fleet Vans and they purchase them new and write them off their taxes after 5 years. Anything they can get for them may go into the funds for the Christmas party or company picnic. Often whole fleets are sold off to used car lots by the time they are written off after 5 years. They will buy new ones as soon as the new years models arrive in August or September. So look for deals in the fall of the year.
Do you have a preference with Ford, Chevy, or Dodge ?
I've always owned Ford Vans and PickUp's. They have good springs and a solid ride. The V8 tend to last where the V6 doesn't seem to have the same reputation. (there is a Ford wrecking yard where I live and the owner says his yard is full of good V8's that he can't sell, and he can't keep a V6 in the yard)
The local Phone & Power companies here fleet Ford Vans with V6 engines and they sell them off within 3 to 4 years. They used to keep the ones with the V8 for 5 years before selling them off. Generally the aftermarket for them has been small biz people like plumbers, electricians, carpenters, fleamarket people etc. A lot of these seem to wind up at that Ford wrecking yard before too long and the yard owner strips them and uses the bodies for parts storage buildings. One guy I know sells online thru his ecommerce biz and has a half dozen of these old Vans he uses for storage buildings for his inventory. Says they all have blown up motors and some of them were given to him to tow off.
There are any number of businesses that fleet Vans and they purchase them new and write them off their taxes after 5 years. Anything they can get for them may go into the funds for the Christmas party or company picnic. Often whole fleets are sold off to used car lots by the time they are written off after 5 years. They will buy new ones as soon as the new years models arrive in August or September. So look for deals in the fall of the year.
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