Deciding Between These Cargo Vans...

[drysailor]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]BroccoliVan said, one could add a "25-30" hightop on it for the 3-5 grand extra,"' [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Is that an overall concrete figure, or an estimate on a dealership priced new parts, new vehicle installed? [/font]

I've gotten some firm quotes from Fiberine in the past, but they don't like to be quoted on them, likely due to widely varying costs of their materials.
But what they gave me was $2000-$2500 for various tops for a Ford van, depending on style, height & length, for me to pick it up at their factory.
There were adders for many things: white gelcoat finish, plywood (OSB) reinforcement, interior fiberglass liner, insulation, installation, & others.
The way I would buy it cost approx 4000+tax, finished, reinforced, insulated, installed - but you could do all that yourself, and get it for 2500 or less.
They impressed me as really good people to chat with, definitely worth the time to talk over ideas and get a specific quote from.

 

[BroccoliVan]

Links, pics?

I guess they are just called mini-rv's. The one I was thinking of specifically was something like a toyota dolphin 

Still small enough to park width ways in a single spot, i think

 

[John61CT]

Yes Mini Motorhome. Looks good!

http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/b...otorhome-a-quirky-rv-with-a-strong-following/

 

[frater secessus]

I know the Transit is more expensive than the promaster, but I actually prefer the promaster because it has a slightly higher floor-to-roof cargo area at 76" height, I believe (I'm 5'11.5, and with insulation + ceiling + flooring the extra few 4" over the transit is probably required for me to completely stand upright).

The Transit Mid Roof is 72';  the High Roof is 81" (!).  So you may want to find an actual High Roof Transit;  I bet you could jump up and down and not hit your head.

So, anyway, why are people saying the Express + high top is a (much) cheaper option if it isn't? What am I missing here? Is it that the express starts to become much cheaper when you hit over 50,000 mile compared the Promaster of similar mileage (because I'm really not noticing that either)?

Humans say all kinds of things that are are based on emotion rather than evidence and reason.  <shrug>  It's fine if they want to make decisions that way but spreading it around turns it into FUD.

I ran some numbers over 5 years of Total Cost of Ownership.  Express + the cheapest high roof added is more expensive over five years than the Transit High Roof, by about $500.  The only van more expensive than the Express over 5 years is the Sprinter.

They are all close enough that it really doesn't matter that much over time.  But that's not as fun as making loud proclamations like Found On Road Dead,  Gotta Mechanic Coming?, Had One Never Doing Again or Fix It Again Tony. Har har har, that's just hi-larious. So helpful.

 

[frater secessus]

Another thing to consider is the fact that the Promaster doesn't have the history the Chevy/GMC vans have.

They have been made in Europe since the early 1980s.

 

[NeedAnEscape]

I ran some numbers over 5 years of Total Cost of Ownership. 

The depreciation seems awful high on all of those. Maybe the north carolina used van market is inflated, but before I bought my 1.5 year old express I was looking at vans in the $10k range and couldn't find anything 5 years old unless it had crazy high miles. 2012s with 160k are still $15k here.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

The 2012 Nissan NV 1500/2500/3500 had a few recalls early on, overall pretty minor issues. . Since there have been no major design changes between 2012 and 2016, most problems have been ironed out. And if you get one manufactured in the last two to three years, the bumper to bumper warranty is 5 years, 50,000 miles.

The city mileage is abysmal, but I got 16mpg {albeit with a nice tailwind for 100 miles} yesterday, all highway. But I drove 55-60 mph, which most people are not willing to do.
Ted

 

[frater secessus]

The depreciation seems awful high on all of those. Maybe the north carolina used van market is inflated, but before I bought my 1.5 year old express I was looking at vans in the $10k range and couldn't find anything 5 years old unless it had crazy high miles. 2012s with 160k are still $15k here.

They are published depreciation numbers from NADA.

 

[frater secessus]

The 2012 Nissan  NV 1500/2500/3500 had a few recalls early on, overall pretty minor issues. . Since there have been no major design changes between  2012 and 2016, most problems have been ironed out.  And if you get one manufactured  in the last two to three years, the bumper to bumper warranty is 5 years, 50,000 miles.  

The NV wins in many categories:  

• most ground clearance
• lowest TCO over 5 years
• lowest purchase price
• only high roof available with a V8
• longest basic warranty

I've got a comparison chart on such things started.

 

[user 37446]

My intent is not to talk smack about Transits;  they are excellent vans.  My intent is to present evidence whenever you make insinuations about the PM platform so others can make informed choices.

FS, it appears that in several threads I have said negative things about the earlier years of the Promaster here in the US. It was all innocently done based on research that was a year old. I stand corrected about their newer ways of dealing with their parts problems.

The Transit has more vehicles registered in the US than the Promaster, therefore there will be more owners with issues. Like you, I am not trying to "talk smack about" about particular vehicles. I would happily accept the keys to any year Dodge Ram van or Promaster, even the post 2007 Sprinter's with their ongoing emissions component issues. 

Please forgive me for not being accurate when I make statements about your Promaster van.

TWIH

 

[user 37446]

The NV wins in many categories:  

• most ground clearance
• lowest TCO over 5 years
• lowest purchase price
• only high roof available with a V8
• longest basic warranty

I've got a comparison chart on such things started.

Those are all strong reasons for the NV for sure.

 

[frater secessus]

Like you, I am not trying to "talk smack about" about particular vehicles.

I tried to get the mods to delete my post on this one as it was particularly aggressive but I was not fast enough.  Sorry about that. 

I offer you a cold beer in peace  /hands beer    You are always welcome around my campfire.

 

[user 37446]

I tried to get the mods to delete my post on this one as it was particularly aggressive but I was not fast enough.  Sorry about that. 

I offer you a cold beer in peace  /hands beer    You are always welcome around my campfire.

Ha ha. Based on your description we could be brothers, only you're taller and I'm older.  Like quiet, like to read, sometimes too quick to reply...

That was a good frosty, thanks!  

Keep us informed about your build. I will eventually get a (lowtop, sigh) van and will be jealous of the headroom!