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Posted: 13 Mar 2008, 22:19
by clartsonly
well done for £2K then, mine is a wreck and I reckon it would fetch around £3K
I am assuming yours is a hard top. with a rock and roll bed and working gas, electrics and water. I have rust around the windows and next to the dash inside. + the normal wheel arches underside of doors and steps.
some ebay t25 campers sold
Posted: 14 Mar 2008, 07:50
by 'hanish-boy
Yes, high top, r'n'r bed and (hopefully) working gas, leccy & water.
Interior looks fairly presentable but I've not seen close ups of exterior so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Thanks for all the input.
I'll keep you posted.
Cheers
Posted: 14 Mar 2008, 09:17
by ermie571
hanish-boy,
if it were me, I would go look I would have to! I too bought a cheap air cooled. It had twin webers when it arrived. Once tuned, it did have "go", but was thirsty, so was put back to the twin solex and standard distributor.
Unfortunatley, it wasn't a long term van for many reasons....but we learnt an awful lot, and boy did I love it. Had we had more knowledge, and somewhere to properly fix the beast, she might still be on the road today.
Personally, I think life is for living - and as some have found, a later water pumper can still dump coolant all over the road on the way home! But, I would do as someone suggested further up, pay for a new MOT on it before buying. And you go with it to MOT so you know its been done properly. (I like MOTs that are out of the way before the camping season really starts....my camper MOT is due in August....that may well change this year, and get done in June or july).
Go look. Be sensible (yeah right) Print the buyers guide off, tick off every item. Then haggle! Look on the for sale section....see what is listed there that you could get on your budget. Useful for comparison if nothing else.
(oh, and if after a year or so it is dead, they do recycle for parts, so its not totally dead money - i sold the poorly engine on e-bay for £100, the seats went in the new van, the lights are in the garage as spares, the glass is in the garage. The tail gate and sliding door have been sold on etc etc)
Oh - and if you do get it gassed (LPG), the kit is transferable to a new bus too!
Em
x
(got three of the buggers at the moment, but all water cooled
Going back into the Aircooled world in the shape of a yellow beetle)
Posted: 14 Mar 2008, 10:04
by matt-the-sign
Good advice from Em there
I've bought a fair few vehicles in my time and my advice for buying is take cash with you, but at least £100 less that the asking price .... then, if you like it of course, offer him at least £500 less than the asking price .... if he goes for it you've had a result, although I would be a little bit worried why
, but if he doesnt he then has to come back with a counter offer which in theory will be lower than the asking price, say £1900 .... this then gives you the opportunity to 'meet him half way' at £1700 .....
Posted: 14 Mar 2008, 10:29
by ermie571
Hamish,
Don't look excited in front of the seller. And, this is really hard.....be prepared to walk away. Also, turn up 15 earlier than arranged.....engine should be cold, and you can watch/hear it start from cold. Tell Seller that you particularly want to see this. If warm when arrived.....be suspicious! Ask why its warm when you expressly stated that it be cold!
Matt says useful stuff. The last van we bought we really really wanted....but got a brilliant deal, as when we were looking at it, I had already taken £500 off in my head, and was looking at ways to justify it.
Told the seller that I only had so much cash. Tops. That the "faults" I could see would take x to fix. And mainly, that I didn't need the van. Told them that I was prepared to leave the offer on the table, they could try and sell it at higher price, but I would walk away. Agreed sum £300 less than the asking price! Hubby thinks I am hard, and can't haggle as mercilessly as me.....so he normally shuts up and lets me do the talking. Takes nerve, but hang in there. Also, point out that you can leave a deposit now, and return with the rest ....Unlikely that you will be able to drive away - insurance etc. (don't want to be counting out cash in front of seller, esp if you have more than you need!!)
If they want to sell, they will.
Again, good luck.
Posted: 14 Mar 2008, 10:59
by matt-the-sign
I agree with you entirely Em ...... remind me not to sell you a car
Posted: 14 Mar 2008, 11:46
by ermie571
Bugger - never be able to buy anything off a club member ever again!!!
Em
x
Posted: 14 Mar 2008, 15:32
by clartsonly
to get all that for £1700 would be cheap enough to replace most of it and still be quids in. the awning, electrics, cooking, fridge etc is surely coming on for about £800 already.
Posted: 15 Mar 2008, 02:40
by 'hanish-boy
Thanks again for all the help & advice. I'm heading off to see it in a few hours.
Fingers' crossed!
Posted: 16 Mar 2008, 13:13
by 'hanish-boy
Well......
I knew that £2k was too good to be true and that I'd be looking forward to some garage bills but I bought it anyway
I had a good rummage around before purchasing and my luke warm car buying skills didn't pick up anything too frightening.
As always, any comments or advice is welcomed. Please feel free to ask questions. I'll be posting photos of relevent bits soon.
E D I T- oh yeah, the heating in the cab is knackered. Varying degrees of cold air are continually blown from top of dash, while milder, less cold air is blown below dash. Turning fan knob results only in fan knob being turned.
Another E D I T- to cover up for my embarrassing lack of technical know-how
Photos to come.....
Posted: 16 Mar 2008, 14:36
by 1664
'hanish-boy wrote:Turning fan knob results only in fan knob being turned.
I had this with my first van. Unless the problem is the switch itself that's a dash removal job and more besides. Do not attempt this job with children within earshot - trust me.
'hanish-boy wrote:Hole below windscreen has (non effective) bodge temp fix allowing water in, which then results in standing water under drivers' floor mat.
On the bright side you get pretty good access to your windscreen rubber etc so you could kill two birds with one stone.
Posted: 24 Mar 2008, 15:52
by 'hanish-boy
Posted: 24 Mar 2008, 15:54
by 'hanish-boy
Posted: 24 Mar 2008, 15:56
by 'hanish-boy
Posted: 24 Mar 2008, 16:02
by 'hanish-boy
We just returned last night from our first trip away and the bus performed great. She handled the 300+mile round trip with ease. But I do have a few things I'd like ask for help with.
You can see that the windscreen will need attention. How big a job will this be?
Will I need to replace the whole front panel? (Is that even a possibility?)
Or can I treat the corrosion and just fix up the hole?
Also- you can see that theres a concerning amount of rust near where the passenger seatbelt is fixed to the arch. How can I rectify this. It'll probably fail an MOT, no?
And....should I be overly concerned by the rather oily engine bay?
Any comments etc welcomed!
