Advice needed (please :-)) (1 Viewer)

[jummers]

Hello there,

Im 29 yrs old and from Droitwich, always wanted a camper and have a measly budget of approx £1500.

A Renault Traffic 1991 has come up cheap and i'm going to have a look at it tomorrow.... however the lovely old lady who has it said "its got 12 months MOT but it makes a loud dragging noise when you drive it".

I'm worried about this already oh: I'm thinking gearbox.

Its a 1400cc 1991 (J), full MOT with a "pop top". Im not expecting too much but don't want to buy a load of trouble..... She wants £1800 but indicated she is willing to take less.

Any tips/ advice please

Jummers

 

[Brian and Jo]

advice

hi there jummers and welcome to MHF.just keep an open mind and go and have a look,it may be something thats perfectly simple to fix.if it is the gearbox its not the end of the world,you could pick up a good second hand gearbox cheap and still end up with a good little camper van.if its got 12months mot it cant be that badgood luck. regards brian jo & josh:thumb: dont forget you can always say no thanks

 

[motor roamin]

Hi and :welcomefunster: the only advice I would give is take someone with you who knows what they are looking at, you say you have a measly budget, there is nothing measly about £1500 if that is all you have in the world you need to be careful, if your budget is that and you have another £20,000 in the bank then you can aford to loose, if you get my meaning.

Let us know how you get on.

All the best and good luck Rick.

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[jummers]

Hi and :welcomefunster: the only advice I would give is take someone with you who knows what they are looking at, you say you have a measly budget, there is nothing measly about £1500 if that is all you have in the world you need to be careful, if your budget is that and you have another £20,000 in the bank then you can aford to loose, if you get my meaning.

Let us know how you get on.

All the best and good luck Rick.

Thanks for that Rick, I've just sold my motorbike so thought I would see whats out there. Its not going to be my daily transport thankfully so will se how it goes....

Anything in particular I should be looking at?

 

[Hayleylulu]

HI and well come . if it was me id go and have a look . have a look underneath it may be exhaust plus you can knock the price right down :thumb::thumb:

 

[motor roamin]

To be honest i am not in that price range so I am not sure whats out there, but I would have thought in the world of toyota there should be something.

If the renault is local to you and you know of the MOT station it might be worth having a word with them, being a renault look for rust that might not be an MOT failure, most Renault engines are pretty good, they can have gearbox issues but there are plenty around being broken so spares should be easy to scource and a reasonablre price.

Good luck Rick

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[Snowbird]

Hi and welcome,Take care with the gearbox,they were very week on the elderly Trafic and there are few about in scrapyards now.Any that you do find will possibly have the gearbox removed and if its not it will have a problem.If you PM me I will give you a friends phone no who is the technical officer for the Renult Traffic club in the UK.He will tell you all you need to know and look out for.Good luck.

 

[hilldweller]

Hello there,

Im 29 yrs old and from Droitwich, always wanted a camper and have a measly budget of approx £1500.

Any tips/ advice please

Jummers

Better to buy a van and some bits to go inside - in other words, self build. That way you can afford something more reliable but get a taste of motorhoming.

Van
Camp bed
Portapotie
Camping stove
Plastic bowls
Big plastic water containers

 

[pappajohn]

one important thing to look for is damp...a motorhome killer.

look in all the cupboards, use a torch, stick your nose in and you'll smell a musty dampness if there is any, and also the joints between roof and walls and around any windows/roof vents etc....these will show as water marks on the ceiling/walls.
carefully walk along the floor feeling for any 'bounce' or soft, spongy patchs which could mean floor de-lamination.

any of the above then walk away...quickly.

repairing damp is the most expensive repair there is and will probably cost more than your total budget.

good luck.

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[JJ]

Better to buy a van and some bits to go inside - in other words, self build. That way you can afford something more reliable but get a taste of motorhoming.

Van
Camp bed
Portapotie
Camping stove
Plastic bowls
Big plastic water containers

Very sound advice frm Brian here...

JJ :thumb: :thumb:

 

[slobadoberbob]

agree with Brian

Better to buy a van and some bits to go inside - in other words, self build. That way you can afford something more reliable but get a taste of motorhoming.

Van
Camp bed
Portapotie
Camping stove
Plastic bowls
Big plastic water containers

Kind of agree with Brain on this. The van needs to be sound.. the rest you can play about with. If it is a major mechanical problem you have to factor it the cost of the replacement part new or second hand. Are you going to fit it yourself? or have to get a garage to do it? more money.

£1,500 is not a lot of money by todays standards so I have found out.. still thinking when fuel was 4/6d a gallon.. Sue says I am not in touch with prices.. I know the food bill costs more now than last year and fuel is silly money. But is you have a limited budget and you want to do camping then go for it.

Not everyone can afford a £30k motor home of in the case of Rick (motor roamin) over dopuble that for his gin palace (very nice it is to Rick).... we all have to start some place. You may get a long service out of it .. who knows. But the only way you will find out is to buy it and then get it on the road and turn up at one of our meets in the future.

Oh, yes welcome to the group.. lots of people to help and advise out here.

Bob, Sue and Ezzie the St Bernard

 

[bigmillie]

Hi and welcome to FUN :welcome:

This might be of interest to you on Ebay at £750 start

Link Removed

The Mercedes engines used in these vans will do starship mileage with little problems


Regards Charlie

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[rainbow chasers]

Head gaskets were a common problem sop watch for them, no easy to bleed effectively either as the bottle is a really bad system.

£1500 will buy very little (that is virtual scrap value), especially retail. You have a number of options:

1. Save minimum of 5k and go on shared ownership of a nearly new.
2. Go to an auction and get a little better (usually worth roughly twice the amount you pay) - may not be perfect, but better!
3. 51 Plate transits can attract @ £600 at auction, a caravan of old age (£50-200) - buy and transfer the contents to your van for a self build. £12 pays for a years membership on here, and all the advice and expert pointers you will need. Should be worth 5k when done.
5. Self builds, or partial self builds can be sought for 2-5K for basic, good ones more.

With motorhomes/campers - the more you invest now, the less you pay next week!

Good luck!:thumb:

 

[hilldweller]

a caravan of old age (£50-200) - buy and transfer the contents to your van for a self build.
Good luck!:thumb:

Now that's clever lateral thinking.

 

[movan]

Hi there,

Brian and Rainbow Chasers advice is really good.

Several of my daughter's friends have gone along that route and they love their vehicles and have great fun kitting them out. Only thing to watch is the insurance ... get good advice.

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[hilldweller]

Hi and welcome to FUN :welcome:
This might be of interest to you on Ebay at £750 start

The Mercedes engines used in these vans will do starship mileage with little problems

Regards Charlie

Incredible - a set of tyres would cost that ( well, nearly ).

I once bid on an ebike, thought I'd never get it at that price but I did. Only bidder.