Davidducato
Free Member
Hello,
To introduce myself I’m David 28 from the Northwest. I’ve been day dreaming about buying a camper van / motorhome since returning from traveling around New Zealand nearly 5 years ago but the sensible part of my brain has been lying to me telling me that getting a house and knuckling down with my job is more important. Two weeks ago whilst the sensible part of my brain was otherwise engaged with alcohol my fingers got busy on eBay so I’m now the proud owner of an E reg Fiat Ducato 2.5TD with a Swift / Kon tiki body. As proud as I am it wasn’t until I received the 15 min bid reminder on my phone the morning after that I realised I was still winning or that I had even bid. The auction finished at £3200 which seems reasonably cheap compared to other vans of a similar finish, mileage etc.
The Van – it’s done just over 65k miles, sold with 12 months MOT, advert said a good runner, pictures showed the interior to look much newer than the cab and it also came with a side tent, Fiamma owning and a TV/DVD combo.
After a phone call with the old owner it became apparent that it had failed the MOT and required brake parts that wouldn’t be available for a couple of days but would defiantly be ready for Monday. Monday then changed to Thursday so I booked a day off and caught a lift to Workington with my mum who happened to be going to Carlisle. When I got there I was told that it wasn’t ready and possibly wouldn’t be that day due to a couple of lights not working which could require new switches. Furious I caught the £45 4.5hr train back to my home town and debated if I should still go ahead with the purchase or do my best to mess this idiot around as he’s done with me. The next day I received a message off the seller/idiot saying it was done and at his house ready for a test drive.
I arranged with a friend to give me a lift on Saturday so I could test drive it which went ok, it selected each gear fine and seemed smooth(considering age and engine) when moving but a little rough on idle.
Papers signed and money exchanged.
The first time I tried to go past 30mph was on a 50 or 60 road leaving Workington which is when I realised that it wouldn’t rev properly. Going up the hill out of town it wouldn’t pass 30mph so the train of cars behind me quickly built up so it’s a good job it was also providing a sufficient smoke screen to try and mask my embarrassment.
I pulled over into the first town (Great Clifton) tried to call the guy and cry, after he didn’t answer I tried re-starting it and nothing. The coils light flashed but nothing, not even a clicking from the starter. I tried to pop the bonnet and nothing, it was stuck.
After a few minutes of panic, worry and swearing I called the RAC whom I’m a member of but wasn’t sure if it covered me for a new vehicle or for a camper but I was 120miles and 2.5hrs from home so I couldn’t leave or push it.
The RAC guy turned up in half the expected time quickly showed me how to open the bonnet (1 person push it down to take the weight off the catch and the other pull the leaver) and tested the battery. The battery was fine so he asked me to hold the ignition in the starter position whilst he did some magic under the engine and it fired immediately. Then it was the lack of revs and speed to address, he took it on a quick drive and diagnosed it as a fuel starvation problem. He quickly found out that there was fuel coming out of the pump and into the filter but not out of the other side of the filter housing unit thingy. He by-passed the filter, re-test drove it and damn it was fast or faster than before at least.
After tipping the guy and fuelling up it got me all the way home without fault. Despite the previous owners choice of music being terrible I love the driving position and whole experience. It sat comfortably at 60mph and got up to 75 when overtaking a lorry but felt like it was straining so I came back down to 60-65.
The van is home now but unfortunately doesn’t fit in its purpose built drive way! Argh!!
I’ve planned a few bit of tidying up I can do myself like changing worktops, popup plug sockets and LED lighting but to begin with its just a deep clean and rust repair.
Don’t know if I’ve taken this introduction into too much detail but that’s me and my experience so far. I’m hoping to get info and help on my broken things like why doesn’t anything work on the leisure battery so if you reply be prepared for questions.
To introduce myself I’m David 28 from the Northwest. I’ve been day dreaming about buying a camper van / motorhome since returning from traveling around New Zealand nearly 5 years ago but the sensible part of my brain has been lying to me telling me that getting a house and knuckling down with my job is more important. Two weeks ago whilst the sensible part of my brain was otherwise engaged with alcohol my fingers got busy on eBay so I’m now the proud owner of an E reg Fiat Ducato 2.5TD with a Swift / Kon tiki body. As proud as I am it wasn’t until I received the 15 min bid reminder on my phone the morning after that I realised I was still winning or that I had even bid. The auction finished at £3200 which seems reasonably cheap compared to other vans of a similar finish, mileage etc.
The Van – it’s done just over 65k miles, sold with 12 months MOT, advert said a good runner, pictures showed the interior to look much newer than the cab and it also came with a side tent, Fiamma owning and a TV/DVD combo.
After a phone call with the old owner it became apparent that it had failed the MOT and required brake parts that wouldn’t be available for a couple of days but would defiantly be ready for Monday. Monday then changed to Thursday so I booked a day off and caught a lift to Workington with my mum who happened to be going to Carlisle. When I got there I was told that it wasn’t ready and possibly wouldn’t be that day due to a couple of lights not working which could require new switches. Furious I caught the £45 4.5hr train back to my home town and debated if I should still go ahead with the purchase or do my best to mess this idiot around as he’s done with me. The next day I received a message off the seller/idiot saying it was done and at his house ready for a test drive.
I arranged with a friend to give me a lift on Saturday so I could test drive it which went ok, it selected each gear fine and seemed smooth(considering age and engine) when moving but a little rough on idle.
Papers signed and money exchanged.
The first time I tried to go past 30mph was on a 50 or 60 road leaving Workington which is when I realised that it wouldn’t rev properly. Going up the hill out of town it wouldn’t pass 30mph so the train of cars behind me quickly built up so it’s a good job it was also providing a sufficient smoke screen to try and mask my embarrassment.
I pulled over into the first town (Great Clifton) tried to call the guy and cry, after he didn’t answer I tried re-starting it and nothing. The coils light flashed but nothing, not even a clicking from the starter. I tried to pop the bonnet and nothing, it was stuck.
After a few minutes of panic, worry and swearing I called the RAC whom I’m a member of but wasn’t sure if it covered me for a new vehicle or for a camper but I was 120miles and 2.5hrs from home so I couldn’t leave or push it.
The RAC guy turned up in half the expected time quickly showed me how to open the bonnet (1 person push it down to take the weight off the catch and the other pull the leaver) and tested the battery. The battery was fine so he asked me to hold the ignition in the starter position whilst he did some magic under the engine and it fired immediately. Then it was the lack of revs and speed to address, he took it on a quick drive and diagnosed it as a fuel starvation problem. He quickly found out that there was fuel coming out of the pump and into the filter but not out of the other side of the filter housing unit thingy. He by-passed the filter, re-test drove it and damn it was fast or faster than before at least.
After tipping the guy and fuelling up it got me all the way home without fault. Despite the previous owners choice of music being terrible I love the driving position and whole experience. It sat comfortably at 60mph and got up to 75 when overtaking a lorry but felt like it was straining so I came back down to 60-65.
The van is home now but unfortunately doesn’t fit in its purpose built drive way! Argh!!
I’ve planned a few bit of tidying up I can do myself like changing worktops, popup plug sockets and LED lighting but to begin with its just a deep clean and rust repair.
Don’t know if I’ve taken this introduction into too much detail but that’s me and my experience so far. I’m hoping to get info and help on my broken things like why doesn’t anything work on the leisure battery so if you reply be prepared for questions.
& 
