I’ve noticed that a lot of cargo vans for sale, especially in the $3-5k range, have very close to 200k miles.
Is there any major maintenance such as timing belt/chain that is motivating the sale of these vehicles at around the 200k mark?
Vans such as Chevy Express, Ford E-xxx / Econoline series and similar.
At such a mileage, what type of maintenance (and associated costs) should i expect to do, and what should I watch out for?
My ballpark figure for a modern vehicle is 250,000 miles until it’s “used up”.
When I look at something with 200k miles on it I figure it’s good for maybe another 50,000 miles. (This is MY ballpark figure…) If I drive 10,000 miles a year that gives me 5 years, is what I’m going to pay a good price for 5 years?
Good luck on your hunt!
It depends on the type of miles put on it. If it was driven on the highway or around town. My advice is to stay way from anything with that much mileage on it. If you’re not a mechanic you’re taking a pretty large risk as repairs add up quickly. At that mileage anything could need repair.
If you do look at these, you will definitely want buy one with well documented service records and have a solid repair budget readily available.
I would assume they are selling these for 3 - 5k because that is what they are worth and also assume the mileage itself is what is motivating people to sell them.
If you’re patient you can find a van with around 100K miles for around $5,000. They’re out there, but it might take a lot of time to find, and there may be a few solvable issues that need to be taken care of. My van with 110K miles cost $4900, but I knew it needed ball joints, tie rod ends and tires. I replaced the ball joints and tie rod ends myself, had it aligned, had the tires replaced, replaced all the fluids and several wear items, and then proceeded with the build. In all we have around $10K invested plus our time. Now we have a van that can take us anywhere we want. Our van is a 2000 Ford E350 passenger model with the long body.
I’d rather get a passenger van because they seem to be better taken care of, and those who drove them probably didn’t abuse them as much because they’re carrying passengers. It also already has some insulation if you’re okay with the original interior, making the build much easier, and I really like having windows. I think the whole “stealth” thing is a crock because people become very suspicious when they realize that someone is trying to hide in a van. Better to be open and honest about what you’re doing.