FFS - That’s it I’m done!

[trevskoda]

My big van had only 56 th miles on it and cost 2.400 bucks then all sorted on the rd for 6 grand.
No way would anyone here buy a van with excessive mileage,most here at auction with close to 100.the miles go for penuts ,4 to 5 hundred bucks.

 

[Millie Master]

My big van had only 56 th miles on it and cost 2.400 bucks then all sorted on the rd for 6 grand.
No way would anyone here buy a van with excessive mileage,most here at auction with close to 100.the miles go for penuts ,4 to 5 hundred bucks.

Well Trev. I have just taken a looksie around several N.I. commercial sales sites and I have to say that the prices for second hand vans are very similar to those over here, so do you have any links to suggest where best to find the bargains you write about and which might make it worthwhile the costs associated with coming over to buy one.

Phil

 

[trevskoda]

Well Trev. I have just taken a looksie around several N.I. commercial sales sites and I have to say that the prices for second hand vans are very similar to those over here, so do you have any links to suggest where best to find the bargains you write about and which might make it worthwhile the costs associated with coming over to buy one.

Phil

Wilsons auction newtownabby or portadown,i always try to buy up the years with a fault which other cannot be bothered to fix,many with clutch trouble etc,dont go by the online price you have to be there on the day,first in the arena or last at night are best buys.

 

[jagmanx]

What about UK auctions ? Again you have to be there and always a risk !

 

[RichardHelen262]

My big van had only 56 th miles on it and cost 2.400 bucks then all sorted on the rd for 6 grand.
No way would anyone here buy a van with excessive mileage,most here at auction with close to 100.the miles go for penuts ,4 to 5 hundred bucks.

I have sold many vans to
Irish lads here that buy them to take to Ireland to sell, and on the few occasions that new buyers in Ireland have phoned me asking for mileage confirmation they have usually lost quite a few miles between here and Ireland.
The last one lost over 200,000 miles as it went from 239,000 to just a mere 39,000 miles.

 

[trevskoda]

We take in loads of uk cars as they are looked after and serviced whereas here folk never get a service change oil and ither trade in every two years or drive to they stop at side of the road,my last car was 7 years old with 75 th miles and cost me £10 as the engine was fooked,soon sorted and away for next 15 years driving,right place right time and knowing what you are doing.

 

[wildebus]

I have sold many vans to
Irish lads here that buy them to take to Ireland to sell, and on the few occasions that new buyers in Ireland have phoned me asking for mileage confirmation they have usually lost quite a few miles between here and Ireland.
The last one lost over 200,000 miles as it went from 239,000 to just a mere 39,000 miles.

I don't know about other makes, but with newer (from mid-2000) VAG vehicles, it is essentially impossible to fully clock them. You can change and fiddle with the Odometer that is visible, but there is an internal ODO that is read using commercially available VCDS software which can be compared with the clock on display. Interestingly the two can actually slightly vary - my T5 numbers varied by around 3km on 167,000 miles (the internal ODO is always in Kms) - and there is a specifed variance level which is permitted.

I suppose when the vehicles go to Ireland they get reregistered and so the UK MOT history is very hard to track down. Shame that system can't be looked up by VIN as well as Reg Number (or can it?)

 

[QFour]

I gave up messing about with old vehicles many years ago. My sister had a rather nice Ford Anglia that was burning vast amounts of oil before it finally stopped. Her boyfriend at the time managed to purchase a Cortina with a column change for £10 and a push bike. The Cortina was terrible and my sister asked if I could fix the Anglia. They towed it from Warrington to Nottingham with the Cortina and I set about repairs. Removed the engine and had it rebored with new pistons. Had the head skimmed and the block while it was out. Reassembled and good as new. I then got to drive it back to Warrington and came back in the Cortina. Boy was it fun. It could change lanes on its own on the motorway and the steering had a fair amount of play in it. When I finally got back home I lifted the bonnet and peered into the gloom. With someone moving the steering wheel it soon became obvious what the problem was. The steering box was moving. Finally sorted it and sold it to cover the cost of repairing the Anglia. Guy who bought it had never driven a column change automatic.

As for buying an old van and converting it. I personally cannot see the point. You are going to spend a considerable amount of money / time on it so why bother with something from an auction that may have been round the world a few times. You would probably have more fun buying a half decent MH and enjoying it rather than having your head stuck under the bonnet every weekend. At least with a MH its not going to have covered considerable mileage.

We meet a guy in Spain this year and his friend had just had his old Hymer repaired with a new engine from Kazakhstan cost in the region of £10,000. Fiat never expected their vans to be around for so long. Once the vehicles stop being used by the fleet operators the parts guys stop selling the parts. New parts stop being made by the factory or are made in small batches and all the other parts become harder to find. A garage full of new fiat diesel engines for vehicles 20 + years old would be worth a fortune.

 

[maingate]

I overhauled many a Ford Crossflow 1200cc engine for friends. Two people and a scaffold pole could have the engine out easily. I used to time the overhaul for when I was on the right shifts. Take the engine to work, strip and steam clean everything. Drop the block and head at the machine shop, pick them up and rebuild with oversize pistons and rings. They only had 3 Main Bearings and you were lucky to get 40,000 miles out of them.

 

[trevskoda]

I overhauled many a Ford Crossflow 1200cc engine for friends. Two people and a scaffold pole could have the engine out easily. I used to time the overhaul for when I was on the right shifts. Take the engine to work, strip and steam clean everything. Drop the block and head at the machine shop, pick them up and rebuild with oversize pistons and rings. They only had 3 Main Bearings and you were lucky to get 40,000 miles out of them.

You are 100% right there,still have a jago jeep and there were more engines /g boxes and diffs in it in seven years that i gave up,most never got past 40 th,ford were always known as sh one t when i were in the motor trade,bmc were not much better,a bettle was the only tool which lasted until jap rust buckets landed on our shores,now we all drive cars built else where.

 

[mistericeman]

You are 100% right there,still have a jago jeep and there were more engines /g boxes and diffs in it in seven years that i gave up,most never got past 40 th,ford were always known as sh one t when i were in the motor trade,bmc were not much better,a bettle was the only tool which lasted until jap rust buckets landed on our shores,now we all drive cars built else where.

You were still driving stuff built elsewhere back in the bmc/beetle/Ford days......

Even delorian used froggy based engines.....

Days of yore you were lucky to get much more than 80/100 k out of an engine before it needed work....

Days of my apprenticeship and bolting a van Norman boring rig to the top of an engine block in situ are frankly well gone.

Modern tech and oils/production methods have shifted things on a pace

Thankfully

 

[trevskoda]

You were still driving stuff built elsewhere back in the bmc/beetle/Ford days......

Even delorian used froggy based engines.....

Days of yore you were lucky to get much more than 80/100 k out of an engine before it needed work....

Days of my apprenticeship and bolting a van Norman boring rig to the top of an engine block in situ are frankly well gone.

Modern tech and oils/production methods have shifted things on a pace

Thankfully

Yep and high sylicat/alloy pistons cnc tooling and as you say good oil have moved things on a tad,mind you i still dont understand engines being cast in heavy iron which requires more energy to cast/make,alloy wet liner is by far the best and easy to rebuild.

 

[Wildman]

one last cheap thing to try is K-Seal find it on ebay. Bit of a bodge but it works.