Absolute beginner needs help! (1 Viewer)

[tonyleblanc]

Hi

Im buying a used camper van,this will be my first camper.

Have narrowed it down to 3, need to pick one and get a mechanic over to have a look at it. So...

All are about the same price:

• Merc sprinter - 1996. Looks great inside and out but 210K miles

• Peugeot J5 - 1994. Again well kitted out and less miles, circa 120K

• Ford Transit - 1988. Nicely fitted out, bit rusty on the outside and circa 100K on the clock

Will be using the van most weekends on the motorway as I will be travelling from the east coast of Ireland to the West and South. Im a surfer and climber and the best spots are here. However I will also be using it on a daily basis as I cannot afford to keep a car and the van on the road. (Motor Insurance in Ireland is ludicrously expensive.)

I do like the look and feel of the Merc but am I mad buying a van with so much mileage?

Your views are appreciated.

Le Blanc

 

[aba]

hi there.
some may say the merc is probably the better one even with that mileage although spares can be expensive but they are coming more available in breakers yards if it has a service history it should be fine.

the peugeot cant really comment on this one as i don't know that much about it spares are readily available from breakers yards. tho some do seem to suffer from rot especially around the front of the step area behind the front wheels same as the fiats and citroens do.

the transit would probably be the cheapest to keep going as there were so many built spares can be got from almost anywhere and relatively cheap.

have your mechanic look at all 3 if possible and take it from there.

andy

 

[pappajohn]

Hi and welcome to the fun.....

sorry i cant help with a decision...only you can do that but the first two sound very excessive on the mileage to me.

not too sure about the transit either but it may be possible.

all three, particularly the sprinter, sound VERY well used and many things may be wearing out/past their sell by date which could mean spending more cash on repairs.

my own kontiki is a 2001 and has less than 35k on the clock....thats less than 3500 miles per year average.
by the time its as old as the sprinter it will probably have less than 50k.
one quarter the current miles on the merc.