Club 80-90 Forums

Hi Kim
I think that bodywork is the main consideration because the van is going to be around 20 years old for that kind of money. Mine is 22 years old and cost me £3500 last year.
The bodywork was good with the main bits well repaired, and it also had a recon engine which so far has behaved itself.
The interior, whilst complete, was not the smartest I had seen, but I took the view that I could work on it.
Mine is a hightop, I love the space but prefer the look of pop tops, main difference between the two may be the abilityto get into car parks of course, considering it's going to be an everyday vehicle.

Two things have caught me out really, one is the fuel consumption at 22mpg, came as a bit of a surprise, the other is a leaking fuel tank. They leak sometimes from the top of the tankwhen full up. Thisis not effeceting the consumption because I don't fill it, but will need fixing.
Hope this helps.

My advice would be to be patient and keep your eye out in the for sale forum here. Be prepared to look at 2 or 3 to figure out what sort you want (lhd/rhd, hightop/poptop) but always be prepared to walk away from a sale if it doesn't feel right. Buying from an established member here you can't go too far wrong. Yes there are many "bargains" out there on fleabay and the like but there are many traps for the unwary.
good luck

Stefvan

22mpg it's a shock at first. one option is lpg! if you can find a bus with an lpg conversion, you'll be laughing. with reguards to mainatance, if you are fairly handy you'll not have to spend much on anything other than parts. they are not difficult to work on, and in gerneral parts are readily available at not a great cost!

if you can't do it, there's always soemone on here who has done it or can do it and will offer advise!

best bet is to come to dubfreeze next weekend and speak to us look round the vans and see what you think you need!

My one does between 25mpg to 34mpg and it's also a 2.0 litre Aircooled hightop.

The main things also to look for on type 2 T3s (aka T25) are the following:-

- Rust/rot. If any of it is severe then walk away!! Pay particular attention to:-

- Front door steps

- Below the lower radiator grille (watercooled models)

- Rear quater panels, especially at the bottom

- O/S door sill (or N/S door sill on left hand drive mdels) where the fridge and cooker units go.

- Wet carpets (underneath). Walk away if this is the case.

- Engine rattles. If it does not quieten down after about 10 or so minutes then also walk away.

- Oil leaks. Acceptable if it only appears from the pushrod tube seals (by the cylinder heads)

- Rear wheel bearings. If there is any play or noise from them then walk away!!!

Also where ever possible avoid the watercooled models. They can be nothing but trouble, eg:-

- Bodywork rust/rot caused by a coolant system leak anywhere within the campervan. The radiator is at the front and the engine is at the back.

- Engine overheating. This is normally down to water jackets being around the cylinder heads. Also the temperature gauge will give you no warning at all when the engine is about to overheat.

I hope this helps.

Why would you walk away if the van had rear wheel bearing noise ?
Only asking because I think mine has started that now.
are the rear wheel bearings a pain to replace or something ?

I can get better mpg than 22 but not the way I drive it

It's the bearing cases. That's what happened to my rear N/S wheel bearing on my camper.

I replaced both rear wheel bearings first of all and 200 miles later it went again (loud banging noises). The rear O/S wheel bearing still felt like brand new.

In the end I had to replace the following:-

- New rear wheel bearing case - www.busdepot.com

- New rear wheel bearing spacer- www.busdepot.com

- Second hand rear axle (hub) shaft - Megabug

- Rear wheel bearings - Just Kampers

The rear wheel bearing case and spacer took over a month to arrive since these had to be bought from VW South Africa and they cost nearly 400 quid.

The second hand axle shaft cost 25 quid.

The old wheel bearing case was severely rusted and was nearly impossible to remove. I wasn't sure about how out of round it was.

The old axle (hub) shaft was burred and had to be replaced as well.

Since then my campervan hasn't had any problems (yet) with the rear N/S wheel bearing.

It's just a note to everyone of what could happen if there's a loose rear wheel bearing.

I hope this helps.

Kim
welcome
Im new to this site too, but nt to T25s!
Agree with that said so far, except the bit about watercooled engines! I luv mine, and there are advantages too.

If you are no mechanically minded, get a suitable friend to view any van with you. Spend a good while looking over it too. A good service history will be worthwhile. Prepare to pay for a well loved van, rather than a cheapy - coz it'll bite you back pretty soon!

Any seller who knows whats what will allow you to take a few pics of inside/outside/under/engine and then post em to see what the masses here think?

They are brilliant vans, fun and generally easy to work on.

Go for it........

Hey Kim welcome to the forum

£3000 should buy you a decent enough van...if you put your location in your profile then maybe a member can come with you to kick some tyres when you want to look at one

can you or do you know someone local who is a trustworthy and honest mechanic?
they are very simple to maintain and service in my opinion compared to a modern car, but as has been said these are 20 year old vans now so don't expect completely trouble free motoring for years on end

lastly I've had so much fun in mine I don't really care a hoot what it takes to keep on the road ...our lives have changed imeasurably for the better because of our camper.....the people we have met... the new friends and most of all the laughs, and isn't that what living is all about?

good luck in your search, you won't regret buying one I can tell you that

Don't avoid watercooled models because of one persons opinion of them, admittedly if you get one that gives you water troubles then you may wish you had chosen an Aircooled but then you are looking at an even older model and one thats even slower than the rest and one thats got next to no heating(they do look better though i will be the first to admit) i personally would not have an Aircooled but there are plenty on here who would have nothing else, i guess all i am trying to say is keep an open mind and as others have said look at as many as possible to get an idea. Of course there is also 1.6TD which by all accounts is the best one of all.