What are your thoughts on this van? '89 B250, $4,000

[BigT]

I spotted this (much) older, 86k miles, 1989 Dodge B250 "Getaway" camper-van recently in a neighboring city, and while considerably older than I'm really comfortable with (& it being a Dodge), I find myself going back and looking at it again and again.  

It's said to be in great condition, inside and out, and super reliable (it just made a 2,400 mile trip to Montana and back with no issues).  
I like the interior a lot.  It looks cozy, though I'd replace that bed with the bunk I made for my little TC and open up some room inside for a toilet and folding bike.  Or maybe toss the bed and just sleep in the loft. 

The amenities include, a "downstairs" bed, a fold-out loft/bed, onboard propane, fridge, heater, 3 burner stove, and a sink with an integral water tank (I guess that means it's under the sink).  The seller said it gets "around" 16mpg on the highway.  Would that be 12 mpg on the highway and single digits in the city?  :s

I recently read a post from our very own SternWake where he said he had an '89 Dodge B250, and seemed to like it.  It would be great if he saw this and chimed in here. 

Keeping in mind that this is the Calif Bay Area where everything is expensive, I don't think $4,000 is all that much if the van is in great shape and still has more life in it.   But....  it is 28 years old and could have some serious issues waiting to spring up and cost a fortune to fix.  Drivetrain, suspension, brakes, electrical, etc...  

The seller recently bought a new truck and said "make me an offer".  I wonder if that means he wanted something that got decent gas mileage and needs to dump his gas hog of a van?  

Does an '89 Dodge use a carburetor or have fuel injection?

 

[Ballenxj]

BigTI spotted this (much) older, 86k miles, 1989 Dodge B250 "Getaway" camper-van recently in a neighboring city, and while considerably older than I'm really comfortable with (& it being a Dodge), I find myself going back and looking at it again and again.  
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Does an '89 Dodge use a carburetor or have fuel injection?
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According to Allpar, the Dodge B vans got fuel injection in 1988.
Go about two thirds of the way down, just past the ambulance for that reference in this site.
http://www.allpar.com/trucks/b-vans.html

 

[Dgorila1]

If it checks out mechanically and you like it, make them an offer. Sounds like they are willing to negotiate based on what they told you.   Start low because you can always go up but it's hard to go back down in price  :shy: Good luck!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

In addition to potential problems with "drive train, suspension, brakes, electrical, etc." RV stuff like the fridge and heater could be nearing their end of useful life point also.

 

[Alcatraz]

Nothing wrong with buying a 28 year old vechicle. I would prefer one over a new mini van any day.
$4000 seems kind of high i would over them 3200.00 -3600.00 if its in great shape.
Dont worry too much about the appliance's, a decent van with nothing in it will cost you that much.
Consider anything that is usefull in it - a bonus.

Dodge did make some great engine's. I would really check the suspension, take a good look at the tire wear.
Check where the steering box hooks up to the frame for stress cracks.

I followed this girls adventures in a Dodge class B van


2 years later she still has the dodge van, kept it running with almost no skills.
Even rebuilt it after a major crash, with help from some friends.

 

[SternWake]

Mine is an 89 B250. I get about 9 city and 16.5 highway with the 318/5.2 liter engine, if i keep it to 65Mph or less. It is throttle body fuel injected, two injectors sit where the carb used to be located.

My roof is the TV top fiberlgass roof, not as tall as the one shown in the photo, which will likely eat into fuel economy some on the highway.

I got mine in 2001 with 127K miles

At ~130K miles I had A500/ 42RH transmission rebuilt
At ~174K miles i had engine rebuilt It had a cracked head, likely could have gone much longer with just that replaced.
At ~194K miles I replaced 8 3/8 Axle with a junkyard 9.25, and had new bearings installed in that.
I've rebuilt front suspension in 2011.

The only really wearable parts I've not replaced are the rear leaf springs, and i have firestone riderite airbags assisting those

Pretty reliable overall.
The biggest pain in the ass issue was the 14 pin engine computer connector which can cause random stalling. as the weight of the wire bundle leading to it can fracture the solder joints on the circuit board. This computer issue is why many people call Dodge's TBI system problem prone. I've had one injector fail and they are very easy to replace.

Look closely for windshield and roof gutter rust. These will cause the demise of my van and are a losing battle I must fight every so often to slow it down.

 

[Alcatraz]

Mine is an 89 B250.  I get about 9 city and 16.5 highway with the 318/5.2 liter engine, if i keep it to 65Mph or less.  It is throttle body fuel injected, two injectors sit where the carb used to be located.

My roof is the TV top fiberlgass roof, not as tall as the one shown in the photo, which will likely eat into fuel economy some on the highway.

I got mine in 2001 with 127K miles

At ~130K miles I had A500/ 42RH transmission rebuilt
At ~174K miles i had engine rebuilt  It had a cracked head, likely could have gone much longer with just that replaced.
At ~194K miles I replaced 8 3/8 Axle with a junkyard 9.25, and had new bearings installed in that.
I've rebuilt front suspension in 2011.

The only really wearable parts I've not replaced are the rear leaf springs, and i have firestone riderite airbags assisting those

Pretty reliable overall.
The biggest pain in the ass issue was the  14 pin engine computer connector which can cause random stalling. as the weight of the wire bundle leading to it can fracture the solder joints on the circuit board.  This computer issue is why many people call Dodge's TBI system problem prone.  I've had one injector fail and they are very easy to replace.

Look closely for windshield and roof gutter rust. These will cause the demise of my van and are a losing battle I must fight every so often to slow it down.

I know people with cars a few years old, that have done alot of that and are still making car payments.
I always wondered why everyone in the old days, use to chop the dodge vans roof more often then other vans.

 

[Gary68]

gas hog,yes,but you have to consider that you are hauling around a fairly spacious studio apartment around,if you're going to do a lot of driving maybe not the best rig but if you plan on sitting by a lake it would be great and get really good gas mileage parked there

any auto parts store will have parts for it

 

[GotSmart]

I would offer him $3.000.  And do a dance if accepted.  

I have a 91 with the TBI, and love it.

 

[Dgorila1]

Offer $2500 and go up from there. Always start low, the worst he can say is no...the best is "accepted" ! He wants to get rid of it so he's not paying on two vehicles, and emphasize you'll be putting as much love and care into into it he did.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Any van will be a "gas hog" just some more than others. My 89 Dodge is fuel injected (it will have EFI badges on it) and gets 9 City, 13-14 Hwy. I bought mine (in 2010) for $3400 and it was in much worse shape. It had 70k on the clock back then, and now has nearly 160k. The Dodge motors are great.

If you can pick that guy up for $3000 give or take a few hundred, it is a good deal. The $4000 inst a bad price actually, considering it already has the interior ready to go.

 

[Ballenxj]

Any van will be a "gas hog" just some more than others. My 89 Dodge is fuel injected (it will have EFI badges on it) and gets 9 City, 13-14 Hwy. I bought mine (in 2010) for $3400 and it was in much worse shape. It had 70k on the clock back then, and now has nearly 160k. The Dodge motors are great.

If you can pick that guy up for $3000 give or take a few hundred, it is a good deal. The $4000 inst a bad price actually, considering it already has the interior ready to go.

Go test drive it. Look closely at all the rubber, ie hoses, belts, tires, etc. as those will probably be the first things you will have to take care of after buying. If you can get it for $3k, replace all that with your savings, unless the owner already has. I usually get stuck buying new tires at a minimum.
I like the 318. It's a tough little engine. With the low miles on this one, you should be able to get a lot more miles out of it in the future.
Also, as MR Van-Tramp has mentioned, the interior looks mostly done. If I needed a van and lived close enough, I would be all over that van.
Vans were never meant to get great mpg's, they were built to haul stuff, and in this case, think your home.
Somebody on another RV forum once said, this thing gets terrible mileage as far as cars go, but it gets great mileage for a home.
PS, my 03 standard top Dodge van equipped with the 5.2 gets 9/10(ish) in town, and a shade over 17 on the highway.

 

[BigT]

Oof! 9mpg in the city?? That's a tough pill to swallow, given my current van, admittedly much smaller, gets over 20mpg in the city.
Granted it's comparing apples to oranges, but still, when you're used to getting "decent" mileage out of your vehicles, dropping to single digits is rough.

Thanks for all the replies, but given my (eventual) hope is to drive across the country with my recumbent bike, riding all the coolest bike trails I can find, I think I'll hold out for something newer and lighter that gets better fuel economy.

My current obsession is with a 2015 or newer Ford Transit high-top cargo van that I'd convert like I did my little Transit Connect...
Minimalist. Stripped down with only the things I really need.

 

[Ballenxj]

Oof!  9mpg in the city??  That's a tough pill to swallow, given my current van, admittedly much smaller, gets over 20mpg in the city.  
Granted it's comparing apples to oranges, but still, when you're used to getting "decent" mileage out of your vehicles, dropping to single digits is rough.  

Thanks for all the replies, but given my (eventual) hope is to drive across the country with my recumbent bike, riding all the coolest bike trails I can find, I think I'll hold out for something newer and lighter that gets better fuel economy.  

My current obsession is with a 2015 or newer Ford Transit high-top cargo van that I'd convert like I did my little Transit Connect...  
Minimalist.  Stripped down with only the things I really need.

2015 Ford Transit = Roughly $30,000. Rated mpg with the V10 = 10 mpg city, 19 mpg hwy. And gets a three out of five star rating.
From Edmunds, https://www.edmunds.com/ford/transit-van/2015/safety/
The way I see it $30,000. subtract $3000. = $27000. difference. You can afford to buy a whole lot of fuel for that.

 

[BigT]

V10???  I'm talking about the new Transit van with the V6.  I'm finding low mileage 2015's for around $21,000.  

And yeah, I thought about the price difference, but there's also the issue of modern technology and modern conveniences, accessories and reliability.  

BobBSki just replied to a post I made on one of his threads when I asked how he liked his new Transit.  He said he was getting, on average, 17mpg and as high as 23mpg on the highway... and absolutely no issues.

Motortrend gives it 4 stars and Car & Driver gives it 5.

 

[Ballenxj]

V10???  I'm talking about the new Transit van with the V6.  I'm finding low mileage 2015's for around $21,000.  

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Motortrend gives it 4 stars and Car & Driver gives it 5.

Ok, let's round it down then. $20,000. subtract $3000. leaves $17000. But I understand the desire for new.
I got my ratings from both Kelly Blue Book, and Edmunds. It's your money, you asked for advice on what to do, and that was only my .02 cent opinion.
I think there was a choice between the V6 & V10 in that article. I picked the V10 as I figured you were going to add a substantial amount of weight with your build.

 

[BigT]

There are some things I like about older cars/vans, like cheaper parts and character, something newer vehicles seems to lack, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around 9mpg.

As someone else said, if I plan to park it by the lake and live in it, great, but if I hope to make it my daily driver and/or use it for my 36 mile, round-trip, commute to work every day.... well that's another story all together.

Depending on what I decided to include with my TC when I sold it, I could probably get at least $12,000 for it. That would take a big bite out of that $17000 difference.

 

[GotSmart]

Please post it in its own thread.  That is worth looking at. 

 

[SternWake]

I Doubt I even got 9MPG when I was working contruction in SanFran climbing all those hills. sitting at traffic lights, driving in circles looking for parking.

Seemed to take half a gallon just to get out of one of those steep parking spots with 6 inches of room front and back.

 

[Ballenxj]

Depending on what I decided to include with my TC when I sold it, I could probably get at least $12,000 for it. 

Sorry, I'm drawing a blank here, what is a TC?