How much it costed to buy a used step van

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The step van I bought in 2018 was 21 years old at the time. I didn’t buy it to live in it or travel with it, but to work out of it. Here, I’ll discuss what I had to do to the aging vehicle to make it reliable and safe.

I bought the van for $12K.

It only had 32000 miles when I bought it. The City of Tacoma Power Utility had sold it, it appears for the simple reason it was twenty years old. The low mileage indicates it didn’t do a lot of driving around Tacoma, though it may have done more than normal idling. Everything worked when I bought it.

The six tires on it had plenty of tread. Still, I took it to my local tire shop to have them inspected. It turns out they were twenty years old. There was no visible checking or cracking. But, it turns out that recommended service life of tires is around five or six years, regardless of tread wear. It’s oxygen damage to the rubber that defines that limit, apparently. Six new BlackLion tires were $1400.

Alternators and starters are common failure components, so I replaced them right away, that was around $400 for both, I think.

A known failure point on the 6.5L Detroit engine is crankshaft breakage caused by a failed harmonic balancer. I had that replaced along with the front main bearing seal, water pump, fan clutch, radiator hoses, serpentine belt. They installed an independent engine oil cooler at that visit, also. It didn’t make sense to dig all the way down to the harmonic balancer and replace all those old components. That was another $1500.

The front suspension was awfully noisy. Sway bar bushings were hardened and cracked. Replacing those was about $400.

I replaced the starting batteries for $400.

I suspect the van spent more time parked than being used. And, I don’t think they kept the fuel tank full. Condensation over the years corroded the inside of the fuel tank, which nearly blocked the fuel filter. The fuel starvation symptoms presented as fouled fuel injectors. So, replaced the fuel injectors and glow plugs, while they were in there working again. The original injectors show some carbon buildup, but were probably working just fine. All glow plugs were operating properly, but are new now, anyway. The new injectors did not solve the fuel starvation symptoms, but are consumable items, and replacing them was appropriate. That cost $1500.

Next week, I’ll have the fuel tank and fuel pickup replaced, should be under $750.

At this point, I’ve spent over $19K to buy and service my 1997 Grumman Olson step van. None of problems I addressed caused downtime or left me stranded anywhere. I’ve spent quite a bit to solve age related problems, though.

These things are only what I’ve spent tending to the vehicle platform. I still have expenses to rebuild the interior properly!

What may be a bit novel is that, when I’m not actively going to be traveling with it, my van is a bicycle service shop. It is a machine that pays for its own existence and maintenance!
 
32,000 miles?!? She is still a baby! I should make a list of all the repairs I've had to do to my step van. She has hard a life with over 400,000 miles on the clock and many repairs.
 
The step van I bought in 2018 was 21 years old at the time. I didn’t buy it to live in it or travel with it, but to work out of it.

At this point, I’ve spent over $19K to buy and service my 1997 Grumman Olson step van.

What may be a bit novel is that, when I’m not actively going to be traveling with it, my van is a bicycle service shop. It is a machine that pays for its own existence and maintenance!
It's wise to make sure your bread and butter ride is good to go.

Since those expenses are tax deductible, the money spent hurts a little less.
 
It's wise to make sure your bread and butter ride is good to go.

Since those expenses are tax deductible, the money spent hurts a little less.
Yes, that’s a big advantage, the ability to deduct vehicle expenses from my business income. The service costs what it costs, but it helps a lot that I can use pre-taxed money to do it. Those dollars are about a quarter bigger!
 
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