Going to Look at a My first camper tomorrow

[nevill3]

Hi I have just joined as I am going to look at a Wentworth 2.1 litre Injection tomorrow. I have been dreaming of buying my own camper for years and have decided to sell my Audi A4 and replace it with a Camper. After lots of soul searching and wimpering at the price of Splitties and Bays, a work colleague has tipped me off about a friends van that's for sale.......after looking at a few photos online I made the call and am off to inspect it tomorrow. There is a little rust showing over the rear wheel arches ( along the seams) and a dodgy looking Fridge vent repair but the interior looks immaculate and there will be a little service history too (including the original Wentworth brochure and warranty (Now expired)

Any guides as to how much I should pay would be greatly appreciated

[Ian Hulley]

There's a good guide to buying your first camper in the Wiki (hammer symbol at the top of the page). Personally I'd be concerned about a

dodgy looking Fridge vent repair

, rust doesn't kill you but CO will, get it checked over properly and buy and use a CO monitor/alarm.

Hope all goes well and welcome to the club

Ian.

[nevill3]

Thanks Ian, I was Googling around for information earlier today and came across this great site/forum, so I joined and have read the guide you mentioned and lots of other posts besides. I have also had a long look at the vehicles for sale, the prices seem to vary wildly from £1,500 to £5,000++.

I am used to looking at the prices for Bays and can follow the "logic" behind their price structure....but all I can work out so far about the T3's is that Synchros are more expensive, I guess that it all goes on Condition and the list of extras and modifications or improvements.

[nevill3]

The dodgy fridge vent repair I referred to means a little bubbling of the paint for about an inch all around the white plastic thingy and not the vent itself.

[Ian Hulley]

Factory conversions fetch a premium over home-made campers, however body is everything. Many prefer the Westfalia brand but other good ones are out there.

The 2.1's a good motor and can be made VERY reasonable to run on lpg with a visit to Gasure.

Ian.

[ninja.turtle007]

Good luck. I buy and sell a few cars every now and then and always buy 100% with my head. It was completely different when I bought my van, I fell in love! Be carefull. Although i f you don't ming getting your hands dirty and with all the advice you can get on here, you'll be fine!!!

[jed the spread]

The dodgy fridge vent repair I referred to means a little bubbling of the paint for about an inch all around the white plastic thingy and not the vent itself.

If it has rust here



then on the inside behind the units it will be like this,





and behind a rusty vent the cross brace behind the panel will look like this,





Its a right job getting the units out and in again just to get the work done but worth it in the end

jed

[Ian Hulley]

Ooooh, I only just managed to contain my 'Westy envy' then Jed old chum

Ian.

[ghost123uk]

Welcome nevill3

Those pics of Jeds showing the real consequences of seam rust should be in the wiki, to help new buyers decide whether to buy or walk away.

[nevill3]

Thanks for all the replies guys an gals.

Just got back from the first viewing of my potential new camper!!!!

• The inside is immaculate
  the engine starts first time
  there is a full service history (only one stamp missing)

The body panels are quite rusty, the two back seams over the wheel arches are quite bad, the two front steps (under the rubber mats) are very rusty, also quite scabby around several of the windows (bottom corners). The guy is asking for £2,000, it has 11 months MOT and taxed to next April.

I am unsure now, is two grand too much? and how much would the repairs to the seams etc cost. If I could get some Photos of the worst bits could some one on here give some advice??

We desperately need a camper for next year, my daughter has refused to stop gr wing and we have just acquired a puppy, so the car and a tent is no longer big enough......

[Ian Hulley]

£2K isn't much for a conversion camper BUT is the rust just surface or is it in the seams ? Cab steps are a common thing to need welding ... usually a sign of a winscreen seal leaking.

As for costs just for e.g. I had our's stripped (windows etc out) and resprayed last January and that cost ~£1500.

Ian.

[jed the spread]

Ooooh, I only just managed to contain my 'Westy envy' then Jed old chum

Ian.

Thats the least of my financial problems with the van at the moment. That lot only cost £240 to get done. At the moment the van is at Syncronutz having a new 1.9td AAZ conversion and i have just bought a new turbo and pipes from Baxter and the gear box is heading down to Aiden for a recon Although the westy only cost me £1600 i am expecting the final bill to stand at around £4k and i have probably done a grand on it already

I have said it before and i will say it again, No such thing as a cheap van

Looks fhooking awesome though



jed

[happy camper]

Don't rush into anything fella, there's loads of vans forsale at the mo have a good look round and find the one you want, 2k is a good price but unless your 100% sure then walk away

[1664]

Seam rust is never a good thing but IF it's caught early enough the damage is minimal compared to Jed's pictures (although Jed's pictures are probably a more realistic representation of what you're likely to find). I attacked mine about 9 months after it first to started appear and as the pictures show the damage is fairly minimal.

Outside lower panel


Inside lower panel (Black stuff was grease, not rust)


Inside lower with grease partly scraped away


Wheel arch outside


Wheel arch inside


another wheel arch inside


Once the surface rust was removed there was still very good metal left with no holes whatsoever. The cause of all this was perished window ruubbers - the rain was getting in between the rubber and the glass; the seal between the rubber and bodywork was fine.

[nevill3]

I am afraid that the seem rust is a lot worse than yours 1664, I have managed to E D I T some photos I took earlier to show the worst bits.

camper3.jpg

camper2.jpg

I am guessing that this is a little more than cosmetic/superficial. I have had a quote to repair the front door steps of about £50.00 but I am sure the rust on these panels would cost me a lot more than that.