Pretty Disappointed (Van Pricing)

[BulldogPI]

I'm fortunate enough to make a decent amount of money (53k) and would really like to get a Van for travel and part-time living.  I scoured around on Cargurus and a few other sites and was shocked at how expensive vans have gotten.  I liked the looks of the Ford Transits with at least a medium height roof, possibly a 150 or a 250 and Long Wheel Base... but what I'm seeing is 2016 and 2017 models with 50k to 150k miles and price tags of 19k and up. 

I don't want to get something with super high miles and unreliable.

 

[crofter]

The RAM Promaster is about $10k cheaper than the Fords, and is taller and wider as well. Cabin dimension of the low roof RAM is about 6 feet by 10 feet inside with an interior height of about five and a half feet. If you are tall, you will want a higher roof. Front wheel drive.

For a bigger rig, look at the dimensions of HDRs cargo trailer
-crofter

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=35609

 

[nature lover]

If you ever consider a dodge pro master look underneath. A very dumb design reducing the ground clearance to That of a small cara small car. I think your Ford beats that all the way. I’m in at 98 dodge thank God they didn’t build this one with that low of ground clearance. I hope you find what you’re looking for and join us “on the road, again?“

 

[crofter]

True, there is that back axle, about 7 inches off the ground and above it is a convenient spot to mount your black tank. Under mounted Spare tire is 14 inches off the ground. I found the back axle to be a hindrance plowing my way through 18 inches of snow. Now I live in AZ where snow is not a thing.
-crofter

 

[user 37446]

Lots of competition with trades and parcel delivery at the moment. Give it a couple years and there will be lots of hard used high mileage Sprinters, Transits and Promasters... Not that you'd want them. Seeing the way the delivery guys treat the vans in my area, well, ...

 

[Tony's Dream]

I also looked around for a long time before I found one. I saw the same thing, vans keeping their retail values. I paid $17,000 for a 2016 with less than 30,000 miles......but it was a factory buy and most banks won't finance them. So far I have not had any issues but the price was right.

 

[Giggles]

I got mine from a used car dealer who bought it at a government auction. It only had 7500 miles and it was a 2008. I looked for a year, though, until I finial found what I was looking for. (High top, low miles.)

Don't worry...you'll find it. Make a list of your 'must haves" and the universe will send it to you. Make a vision board. That's wha I did. (Sounds corny, but it works!)

 

[Sofisintown]

I wanted an AWD Express with low mileage and I found one, but it took 6-7 months of diligent looking.

 

[jacqueg]

I wanted an ordinary cargo van, of which there are approximately one jillion on the road, and it took me a good 6 months to find one that 1) had not been beaten to death and 2) was in my price range.

Many used vans have been used hard. they are utility vehicles, after all. I think it is completely normal to have to reject a lot of them before you find a good one.

 

[Zmann]

...strike!... while the irons HOT...!

 

[IGBT]

Have the Transits really gone up that much?  We bought a new zero miles 2018 mid roof long wheelbase Transit 250 with V6 turbo off of the lot in 2019 for a touch over $30,000.   Maybe consider new old stock if you are seeing ones with 100,000 miles for $19,000...

With your income you should qualify for one of the really low interest rate loans too.

 

[user 37446]

I did a CL search within 500 miles of my east coast zip code for 2015-2019 medium roof Transits up to $19K and under 90,000 miles:

"No cars found
Try changing your search criteria or start over"

Then I tried RAM Promasters, same parameters except started at 2014:

Got 9 1500 low tops, nothing else. Not a single high top.

They just aren't out there that much.

 

[Sofisintown]

Omit the medium roof and see what comes up.

 

[Sofisintown]

You have to search through to find what closest matches what you are looking for.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...RE&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d1067

 

[txmnjim]

yes, prices have gotten outrageous for sure! here is one i've been following just to see how
high it gets! https://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Ford-E-Series-Van/133693974208

 

[IGBT]

That is more of a collector's item....1972 and 62,000 miles!

 

[Nomad2022]

Likewise I've been looking for a used minivan in the 5k range to do a no-build build. Astounded by the miles, some over 250k. Just wanting to get a cheaper one for now and try out vandwelling.

 

[user 37446]

Plenty of those around Raleigh/Atlanta area. I'm sure in Fl, OK and Tx there's plenty as well. Just pull a Carfax or Autocheck report due to the number of flood vehicles out there...

 

[user 37446]

Plenty of those around Raleigh/Atlanta area. I'm sure in Fl, OK and Tx there's plenty as well. Just pull a Carfax or Autocheck report due to the number of flood vehicles out there...

Atlanta CL $4K: 2010 chrysler town and country
condition: good
cylinders: 6 cylinders
drive: fwd
odometer: 164640
paint color: silver
title status: clean
transmisson: automatic

 

[user 37446]

and even cheaper: [size=large]2002 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY LX - $2,200 (4919 CRAWFORDVILLE RD) 153.611 miles[/size]