PineyCruisin
Well-known member
Although I haven't been posting at all in the past few weeks, I still have been on the unending quest for a good conversion van. I'm finding that I have to call owners within hours of posting on CL and make an appointment immediately for anything that is even close to being a good deal or they are gone quickly. Which means I haven't had much time to even ask for opinions here beforehand (which I value immensely!).
I can't tell you the number of junkers we have seen in our price range (ideal range around $6K but up to $8K for a newer vehicle with no additional repairs needed) and the ones whose body/undercarriage look OK (not perfect) have other problems. Living in the rust belt made us realize that undercarriage/body rust is now just as important as engine on our list of priorities. However, the costs of driving to view/test drive vehicle and then professionally inspect resulting in lost deposits is making us gun shy.
So......we are going to take another stab at a van tomorrow. The first time this van was posted about 2 weeks ago, I poo-poo'd it because it seemed overpriced for the year. But after a few days, I couldn't resist considering again because this thing seemed to be babied and had Florida plates (although I was also wary that is was one of those out-of-state selling scams).
The very first thing I do when I see a van on CL is google the phone number of the seller, if given, to see if it is associated with a dealer. I can't tell you the number of CL posts of dealers camoflauged as private owners I've found. Anyway, the phone number given on this one was used for selling 2 other vehicles....a 65 Corvair and a 2010 Camaro on 2 separate lesser known selling websites. So I called the owner.
As it turns out, he collects cars...a Jay Leno of sorts, it seems (I didn't tell him about finding his other ads). He lives in an upscale NYC neighborhood and keeps the van in storage when not in use. He owns houses in upper state NY and FL where traveling to/from accounted for most of the miles. Because his family is being hauled in this vehicle,he said he made sure everything on this van was in tip-top shape. Love this!
I also really like that the transmission was recently done because the vans within our price range usually are within transmission end-of-life expectancy and we've just been adding on a couple grand to any price for that repair to see if price within our range. I figured that taking the new transmission cost into consideration, along with all the front end work, 4 brand new $300 tires, brakes, full tune up....we are already ahead of the game than if buying a cheaper vehicle that is crappier and in need of repairs. From this standpoint, I guess the asking price is not as bad as when first considered.
I realize that Fords are highly recommended to be avoided on this site, I'm assuming because of the spark plug problem primarily, but there are just too many satisfied Ford tritan 2valve customers on the internet to make us completely run away from one that has been this well maintained. I had asked the owner if the spark plug issue was addressed on this van and he said he never had one spit out.
Almost forgot....here's the ad......
https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/6085756115.html
I don't know why I am finding it so hard to come up with a maximum price I am willing to put out for a 17 year old vehicle.
Any thoughts?
I can't tell you the number of junkers we have seen in our price range (ideal range around $6K but up to $8K for a newer vehicle with no additional repairs needed) and the ones whose body/undercarriage look OK (not perfect) have other problems. Living in the rust belt made us realize that undercarriage/body rust is now just as important as engine on our list of priorities. However, the costs of driving to view/test drive vehicle and then professionally inspect resulting in lost deposits is making us gun shy.
So......we are going to take another stab at a van tomorrow. The first time this van was posted about 2 weeks ago, I poo-poo'd it because it seemed overpriced for the year. But after a few days, I couldn't resist considering again because this thing seemed to be babied and had Florida plates (although I was also wary that is was one of those out-of-state selling scams).
The very first thing I do when I see a van on CL is google the phone number of the seller, if given, to see if it is associated with a dealer. I can't tell you the number of CL posts of dealers camoflauged as private owners I've found. Anyway, the phone number given on this one was used for selling 2 other vehicles....a 65 Corvair and a 2010 Camaro on 2 separate lesser known selling websites. So I called the owner.
As it turns out, he collects cars...a Jay Leno of sorts, it seems (I didn't tell him about finding his other ads). He lives in an upscale NYC neighborhood and keeps the van in storage when not in use. He owns houses in upper state NY and FL where traveling to/from accounted for most of the miles. Because his family is being hauled in this vehicle,he said he made sure everything on this van was in tip-top shape. Love this!
I also really like that the transmission was recently done because the vans within our price range usually are within transmission end-of-life expectancy and we've just been adding on a couple grand to any price for that repair to see if price within our range. I figured that taking the new transmission cost into consideration, along with all the front end work, 4 brand new $300 tires, brakes, full tune up....we are already ahead of the game than if buying a cheaper vehicle that is crappier and in need of repairs. From this standpoint, I guess the asking price is not as bad as when first considered.
I realize that Fords are highly recommended to be avoided on this site, I'm assuming because of the spark plug problem primarily, but there are just too many satisfied Ford tritan 2valve customers on the internet to make us completely run away from one that has been this well maintained. I had asked the owner if the spark plug issue was addressed on this van and he said he never had one spit out.
Almost forgot....here's the ad......
https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/6085756115.html
I don't know why I am finding it so hard to come up with a maximum price I am willing to put out for a 17 year old vehicle.
Any thoughts?
