Holy &%#$ finding the right &%#$)@* van is challenging!!

[GSSP]

I searched for a year, out of the blue on a Lincoln Mercury lot, I found my 2013 E250, 4000 miles with the 4.6 engine, 4:10 gears, short wheel base, never titled, was use by Ford in house to transport Ford parts, $21K

A very lucky find

 

[Lafnbug]

Nice score, and nice job; that looks fantastic!

 

[wagoneer]

When i found the 2001 E350 high top xl it was running rough but after looking for 2 months I took a chance and just went on a feeling 195k miles fleet maintained. The 7.3 had been discontinued 12 years earlier 3500 bucks and have spent another 3500 bucks since 2 years. She has been very reliable.

 

[mconlonx]

Once I had cash together and a general outline of what I wanted, it took about a month to find a decent deal in my area. Would have been longer if I'd had specifics in mind -- model, engine size, wheelbase, cargo area, etc. -- but I figured as a first van, it won't be my last, and whatever I got would be fine. Came down to a decision between a E250 extended body, and an E350 with a Stahl utility body on it. Decided to go with the E350 and don't regret it. It's now racking up some repair bills, but no loan on it, no payment, and a '98 is super cheap to register and insure. I've had it for about a year, using it all the while as my bedroom. Between no car payment and no rent, the thing has paid itself off ($2500) and then some...

 

[TucsonAZ]

Well, it is looking like this turned out to be about a 2 month process as I bought a van yesterday.

2003 GMC Savana G3500, 6.0L v8, Extended cab, barn doors on the side and 113,000 miles for $3,400.

Needs tires, brakes, and a radiator all sooner than later but nothing immediate (and all things I'm happy to know will be new), runs good, shifts good, seems to be trouble free so hopefully it will hold up and be the deal I'm hoping it was.  It was Rhino lined on the inside which I will want to removed, it's the floor and 18 inches up the sides, has some dings, scrapes, normal stuff but nothing of major concern in the 30 miles I have put on it. 

 

[Almost There]

Congratulations!!

2 months isn't bad - some of us had to look for a lot longer than that to find what we were looking for!

As to the work needed - I totally agree that it's great to know what is new and in good shape. I had to do tires and battery first thing to mine. I think they were charging the old battery right up to the time I pulled in their driveway :dodgy:  and the tires were OEM on a 13 year old vehicle...ahem!!

 

[LeeRevell]

Bravo, TAZ! Sounds like you got pretty much what you wanted.
Now the fun of a build out begins!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

As to the work needed - I totally agree that it's great to know what is new and in good shape. I had to do tires and battery first thing to mine. I think they were charging the old battery right up to the time I pulled in their driveway :dodgy:  and the tires were OEM on a 13 year old vehicle...ahem!!

I would actually PREFER that they leave the old, barely legal tires as-is, so I could go out and buy the tires **I** wanted, as opposed to them buying the cheapest set of new looking tires they could find.

Regards
John

 

[ZoNiE]

Yeah, it doesn't make things easier that's for sure!

I really wish they would cut the "edit post" time down to 15 seconds, it's way tooo long the way it is.  

I wish it were longer. I took too long to finish an edit and lost it. Had to add another post.

Well, it is looking like this turned out to be about a 2 month process as I bought a van yesterday.

2003 GMC Savana G3500, 6.0L v8, Extended cab, barn doors on the side and 113,000 miles for $3,400.

Needs tires, brakes, and a radiator all sooner than later but nothing immediate (and all things I'm happy to know will be new), runs good, shifts good, seems to be trouble free so hopefully it will hold up and be the deal I'm hoping it was.  It was Rhino lined on the inside which I will want to removed, it's the floor and 18 inches up the sides, has some dings, scrapes, normal stuff but nothing of major concern in the 30 miles I have put on it. 

Sounds like you got a good buy, and that $2,600 saved will go far to replace a lot of stuff with new. Patience paid off.

I would actually PREFER that they leave the old, barely legal tires as-is, so I could go out and buy the tires **I** wanted, as opposed to them buying the cheapest set of new looking tires they could find.

Regards
John

Me too, then I can get the road hazard. I always use Discount. You can negotiate prices, and the road hazard has paid for itself over and over.

 

[Canine]

X3, I prefer seeing the condition of the front end, alignment, cupping, feathering, that sort of thing, but most (except contractors) seem to throw on cheap rubber just so they can advertise "new tires". I believe the average buyer likes new tires and doesn't care to look at what brand or load range they are, I do...

Finding what you did that quick is great. I'm was just going post that you may need to consider a 2500 and also drop a few years then voila! You found it. Main thing is no rust, hopefully.

That's why I like the southwest for cars. Few floods and no rust. Stay away from curbers, auctions and used car lots though...

 

[Almost There]

X3, I prefer seeing the condition of the front end, alignment, cupping, feathering, that sort of thing, but most (except contractors) seem to throw on cheap rubber just so they can advertise "new tires".  I believe the average buyer likes new tires and doesn't care to look at what brand or load range they are, I do...

That was one of the first things I looked at on the van when I went to see it! Even though the tires were way past usable life and cracked, there was no uneven tread wear.

And you're right, the average buyer loves to see new rubber - it means one less thing that they have to spend more money on. But then none of us are 'average buyers' now are we!!

 

[TucsonAZ]

I like new rubber but it's rare somebody has actually tossed on a new pair of LTX M/S so I would rather have worn out and a lower price than a set of new Kuhmo or Falkon tires, arrrrrrgg.

And as mentioned, at least you get to see what's going on with the front end, in this case, all even wear so I was happy to see nothing too odd going on with those.

And yes, onto the build, first I need to really dig in, see what I have and what will need attention and decide where to go from there. I don't know the history fully and there were some red flags but the van seemed fine so I was willing to take things at face value. There are a few odd issues but it was a carpet cleaning van so I think it had more heat exposure inside than normal which caused a few things to crack, I guess we will see once I dig in, I will start a new thread of course.