Pre-vanning anxiety

[Lucky mike]

I have a 2006 dodge ram 1500 in my driveway.....no rust....nice paint....loaded , maintained its worth 1k in this area.

so if your telling someone to save more you would be wrong.......Look more is the answer....get out of your high dollar backyard and look elsewhere.....a hundred dollar bus ticket will save you 10x that if you look....

problem with the internet is some only think for the area there in......

when I bought mine I spent just over 200 for a train ticket......for doing it I saved 12k...from an estate that had no idea of value in a region it wouldnt sell due to high unemployment and being rural

 

[user 423]

$1K is pretty low for an '06 truck unless there's something very wrong with it. Why do you think it's only worth that? NADA lists a 'rough trade-in' at over $6400.

If GD is looking on Craig's in her area, then the prices will tend to be localized.

 

[Lucky mike]

LOL........NADA is worthless unless your a dealer.......in the real world the market is what it will sell for in the area its located and the base incomes of the buyers.......

if you take the model /yr/ mileage and just craigslist it.....once in L.A then in mobile Al. maybe dayton OH. and then NH.......................you would see a 3k difference in the price range of the same vehicle

 

[akrvbob]

You guys are thinking long term and I think you need to think short term. The OP said he was paying rent so if he buys a van for $1000 and it lasts him three months and he saves all his rent then he should have more than $1000 back.

let's assume the worse happens and after 3 months it blows an engine and it's scrap (I think that is very unlikely). Then he sells it for to scrap yard for $300 and now he as at least $1300 ($1000 from rent savings + $300 scrap)and probably more. So he buys another $1000 van and lives in for 3 months and it blows the engine as well. He saved all his rent money, has the $300 from scrapping the first van and scraps this one for another $300. Now he has $1600 to buy a new van ($1000 from rent savings and $600 from scraping two vans).

A much more likely scenario is it needs work but will keep running for a year or more. He saves all his rent money for that length of time then sells the van for $800 and has that plus a years rent savings to buy a new van, probably at least $4000 or more.

If he shops wisely the chances are very good it will keep running for several years. If you decide you plan to scrap it, a van can run with some pretty major problems for a long time. You just keep adding oil or water or brake fluid. if the tires go you buy cheap used ones. Why? Because you only need it to run for a year while you save to buy a long-term van.

Again it is NOT long term, it's just to give you head start for right now. All you want is for it to run for one year and be able to drive around town with it.

In many cities you can find a part of town where you can leave the van without moving it much. The OP has a bike with a gas engine so he is going to park the van and drive it very little. He might can even get away with leaving it there for months after it blows the engine. There are many cities where you couldn't get away with that so it's no certainty.

In all this I'm assuming he is paying about $300 for rent and it is much more likely he is paying $600 or more. If so then he would pay for the van in 2 months and after a year he would saved $7200 and sell the old van for $800. $8000 will buy you a very nice van!

Now lets assume the very worst. He buys a $1000 van and he next day the engine blows. NOW WHAT!!!!? He sells it for $300 scrap and lives in a homeless shelter for 2 months and saves his rent and then buys another van. He hates it the whole time and but later on rememebers it fondly as a grand adventure.

I'd go for it!
Bob

 

[Lucky mike]

I like the way you put it Bob...
I bought my first van(a Skillet face Chevy) not running and moved it to the truck stop in Sacramento......would push it up and down the street to keep it from getting tickets , lived in it for almost a year....got it running in the end....and drove it to the wrecking yard!!!

Those were the days!!!!!!...................lettering & pinstriping trucks all nite....lumping loads everymorning!!!!

 

[akrvbob]

Isn't it strange how our greatest fears so often paralyze us but after we get through the experience we treasure it!!?

I'm sure that you built up a lots of confidence in yourself after that and your fears diminished and confidence increased.

Again, I say go for it!
Bob

 

[steamjam1]

To me, fear is something you don't have time for in life. Sure there is fear of say being eaten by a bear that's sitting 30 feet from you and looks ripe pissed off. There is the fear that you'll lose and arm or other appendage from an accident, but to fear the unknown just because you haven't done it, or seen it before is a waste of time.

 

[SoulRaven]

Now lets assume the very worst. He buys a $1000 van and he next day the engine blows. NOW WHAT!!!!? He sells it for $300 scrap and lives in a homeless shelter for 2 months and saves his rent and then buys another van. He hates it the whole time and but later on remembers it fondly as a grand adventure.

I'd go for it!
Bob

Greetings Bob!

Well, I was rooting you on till the very end...

May I replace your ending? Find a place to park it and continue living in it until you have saved up enough for your next move... Almost any church would donate a parking space to you for a month or two, and some might even handle all of the needed repairs too.

Cheers!

The CamperVan_Man

 

[Gaunt Dusk]

Hrm... I admit I wasn't thinking about it with Bob's mindset.... maybe moving into the van is the right option now.... although either way I need to pick up the selling/chucking of all my things. However, I can't technically move into my Aunt's place until the end of April on the grounds that she and her husband are going on some moving trip for like... 3 weeks. Obviously I only intend to stay short term since I'm moving to a new city and stuff.

Although here's one thing that I didn't mention. THe MAIN reason I'm not so confident is the HORRIBLE luck I've had regarding vehicles.... THe first car I got I owned for about 6 months before the transmission blew up (well those are the mechanics words, I heard a popping sound and the vehicle died.). The second vehicle I'll admit I got my money's worth out of but I got it from a relative. It started leaking oil from every orifice after a year. Didn't have the money to fix it. Third car also came from a relative and then as soon as he sold it to me I started having problems with it such as a blown bloody water pump which buddy wasn't cheap and eventually I gave up and sold it as it showed more problems.

However I admit all those took over 3 months to need maintenance or die.
I'm not too fond of the getting a vehicle that dies the next day though. I'm hoping to find a parking space to rent for at least a month so that way I can minimize the chances of a break down. I like Camperman's idea best. THere's enough bloody churches in this area that you really only need to drive a couple blocks to find one... which is ironic, none of the kids my age go... ever.

I admit I'm feeling better about all this but the goal is obviously get that bloody vehicle before I move out, so now. I'm not gonna be able to save up while things are like this, that's for sure. I still want that second job though. Faster I save, the better.
My rents 285 by the way (obviously I have a roommate, she hates me at the moment).

 

[caseyc]

Good luck to you. Your rent amount of $285 is like....dirt cheap! Even with a roommate, that would be dirt cheap compared to my neck of the woods. I realize it's all relative and entirely dependent on location. Anyway, wish you the best. If you can get a 2nd job for additional income, that's all the better. When I was in my 20s, I had 3 jobs simultaneously, plus going to college part time. I had a lot more energy back then. Plus way more ambition. Nowadays, not so much.

 

[Gaunt Dusk]

Yeah well despite my cheap living, I can go cheaper, I appreciate the commentary, here's crossing my fingers with the hope that I manage to sell everything that I can't fit in the van and things I can fit in that I haven't sold yet, sell quickly. I don't own very much anyway.

 

[caseyc]

It's actually a blessing to not own very much. In my younger years, I spent too much, and owned too much stuff. I wished I had simply saved more money instead. Having to de-clutter and lighten my load over the years time and time again has taught me a lesson. I'm a slow learner, I know. Nowadays, I'm realizing I just need a comfy and warm bed and pillow, some clothes for work and play, a few electronics such as a smartphone with internet, DVD player and television, minimal cooking gear. That's about all I really need. I used to think I need more, but life lessons have taught me differently. My van is so full of stuff that even though I've trimmed down a lot over these past few months, I'm sure I'll lighten my load even more before the year is over.

I don't own very much anyway.

 

[SoulRaven]

Greetings!

Check out the temp agencies and/or the day labor places in your area,

In many area's they can give you as many hours of work per week as you want. When I got back to Seattle, I didn't have anything scheduled and was feeling a little bored, so I went into a temp agency, and they immediately sent me out to fill in for someone on vacation at an RV sales & service lot. No experience necessary, just answer the phones, and wait on customers if everyone else was busy. $1,000 week for 2 weeks.

Things were pretty dead in the sales office, so by my choice, I went out and helped in the shop too, but that wasn't required or expected of me.

Personally, I like the jobs that are either vacation relief or out sick relief, because it's usually easy work and they really don't expect much more than a warm body to fill in if they get busy. The regulars will handle most of the workload for their absent comrade. If it's a sales job, which I love, the old timers will tell you that you're on the bottom of the list since you're new, so the only time you need to do anything is in the rare event that everybody else is busy.

Trade shows are good too, you just go and smile and hand out fliers and brochures. Even standing on a corner waving a sign, or wearing a silly costume, or taking some sort of poll usually pays $10/hr. Most of those types are at the day labor places.

There's lots of harder work available too, but it usually doesn't pay any better...

Spring break is just about here, so you might get a carnival job, running the games are fun and you can make a LOT of money. Some of them will pay a commission on top of wages as an incentive to get you to bring in more customers/money. Running the old softball toss into a wooden laundry basket, I made over $11,000 for a weeks work. That was my 20% commission, and all I did was stand there and take people's money and hand them 3 softball's. It was 17 hour days for 10 days straight, but I made more than some people make in a year.

So you can make good money and have fun doing it...

Cheers!

The CamperVan_Man

 

[Simran]

To GD the OP. I bought my hi top van for 1500. I am going on my 3rd year and all I've done to it was put a water pump in it and replace the door seals. Neither one of these problems rendered the van useless nor was I left without wheels. I think Bob is right: Get the van; but get a mechanically sound one. A little rust never hurt anyone. Lets face it you can't buy a perfect van for 5000 let alone a 1000. Find a van that RUNS good and looks as good as possible. If it has a few dings and a couple small rust spots so what. You might even learn to do a little body work. If you keep looking for a nearly perfect van for 1000 dollars; you'll never end up with one. Make sure it functions well FIRST and looks good SECOND. One well used well maintained van can save you thousands in rent!
We all want a pretty van but . . . then there is reality!

 

[PastTense]

You say you have $1080 for the van. How much do you have total? For example it is probably going to cost close to $300 to drive to Texas. And I strongly suggest a cushion for minor repairs. For example suppose a tire goes bad and you have to replace it.

 

[Patrick46]

if you're serious about having a second job, then get out there and get one.

despite how bad things may be, there are ALOT of jobs available right now. Burger joints are always looking for help. Yeah, it may not be your dream job, but it will fill in the void.


Go get 'em, kid!!!

 

[MK7]

I'm almost done putting a motor on a bicycle to save on gas and also go to peoples places to check out their vans.

a van that's about a thousand dollars since I'm pretty poor. Well what sorts of fears did you guys have?

Be careful with bicycles that are motorized. Most places outlaw them due to being a public nuisance and will ticket heavily to prove a point. Even with all the safety gear on and being registered as a moped, pedaling on the sidewalk with the motor off can (and have been) a $350 ticket.

And I think $1000 for a van is a bad idea. You could be real lucky and find a good one but more likely, a big headache. Transmissions are like $2000 at least for a rebuilt one installed.

 

[Lucky mike]

The final choice is yours.....its all about what you think, I have been there and bought a van more because it filled the means at the time...it was a roof over my head and it helped save funds to get something better.

That being said....if you plan to take a low dollar vehicle on the road do it in short trips and inspect everything every stop.

if your planning on a long distance trip driving it all day long and putting every Dime you have into the trip will bite you in the ass!

plan your trip within your means....find day labor every other day if you can there is plenty of it out there if you look!....the object is to move up and create savings so you wont be in this position again...

if you buy a piece of crap that is not fixable...call it home, save and tough it out....find somewhere to park it till you can afford a way out......its free living space!!!

 

[MK7]

I think my big mistake was going too cheap on the van. It seems ok now but who knows. Switching to a new van would be a pain. Moving and redoing everything. Then there's all the holes and junk that needs to be put back together to resell. If you don't have any place to park 2 vans, you'd have to rent a storage pod, unpack everything, wait for a buyer; then once sold, look for a new van. Good paint is important too, because you have to look at it everyday, including not looking like a bum when parked somewhere, attracting attention. My paint is ok, but I should have looked for a better one. Cheapest paintjob for a full size van is like $1500-2000.

 

[SoulRaven]

I think my big mistake was going too cheap on the van. It seems ok now but who knows. Switching to a new van would be a pain. Moving and redoing everything. Then there's all the holes and junk that needs to be put back together to resell. If you don't have any place to park 2 vans, you'd have to rent a storage pod, unpack everything, wait for a buyer; then once sold, look for a new van. Good paint is important too, because you have to look at it everyday, including not looking like a bum when parked somewhere, attracting attention. My paint is ok, but I should have looked for a better one. Cheapest paintjob for a full size van is like $1500-2000.

Greetings!

A neat trick for cheap, quick, and easy paint jobs is to use grey primer, it's nice and easy to get it uniform, then just put a gloss clear coat over it, it will come out looking like a stock silver van.

I've seen a lot of other guys use other varying colors of flat rattle can paint with gloss clear top coat too, and they look surprisingly well. You'd never know the base coat was flat.

I learned that trick at a hot rod show.

Cheers!

The CamperVan_Man