Should I buy a used van, and if so, how?
July 23, 2010 3:21 PM Subscribe
Need advice about buying a used van for a long trip - or maybe I should rent?
I'm in Vancouver BC and we're going to Burning Man in a month, which is a round trip of about 2800km. Transportation logistics are getting sorted out this week and lots is still in flux, but:
- We need at least one more vehicle than we have, and
- It might have to haul more gear than we could fit in a car.
This means renting a pickup, SUV, or cargo van (not yet sure which we would need), for about 10 days. If you include insurance, damage waiver, and km overages, the cost ranges from $800 to $1500. No way it is any less than that, from what I'm finding.
For that amount of money we could buy a used van. This is attractive because it means we can take our time a bit more, and we don't have to be as careful about not scratching it, and we could sell it when we return and get some money back. There are all kinds on Craigslist for under $1000 -- mid 1990s GM models, typically. However, this is a pretty long drive through some remote country and reliability is a concern. In fact that's why we're in this mess, my own car was deemed not up to the task. So:
- Is it realistic to find a sub-$1000 van that will be capable of making this trip (without a lot of added work)?
- How could I identify such a van? If I go in person to check it out, what do I need to look for? What questions do I need to ask?
- Or is it a better idea to rent?
- What do I need to be aware of that I haven't mentioned here?
Thanks
I'm in Vancouver BC and we're going to Burning Man in a month, which is a round trip of about 2800km. Transportation logistics are getting sorted out this week and lots is still in flux, but:
- We need at least one more vehicle than we have, and
- It might have to haul more gear than we could fit in a car.
This means renting a pickup, SUV, or cargo van (not yet sure which we would need), for about 10 days. If you include insurance, damage waiver, and km overages, the cost ranges from $800 to $1500. No way it is any less than that, from what I'm finding.
For that amount of money we could buy a used van. This is attractive because it means we can take our time a bit more, and we don't have to be as careful about not scratching it, and we could sell it when we return and get some money back. There are all kinds on Craigslist for under $1000 -- mid 1990s GM models, typically. However, this is a pretty long drive through some remote country and reliability is a concern. In fact that's why we're in this mess, my own car was deemed not up to the task. So:
- Is it realistic to find a sub-$1000 van that will be capable of making this trip (without a lot of added work)?
- How could I identify such a van? If I go in person to check it out, what do I need to look for? What questions do I need to ask?
- Or is it a better idea to rent?
- What do I need to be aware of that I haven't mentioned here?
Thanks
Response by poster: P.S. If not a $1000 van, what about a $1500 van?
posted by PercussivePaul at 3:48 PM on July 23, 2010
posted by PercussivePaul at 3:48 PM on July 23, 2010
Is it realistic to find a sub-$1000 van that will be capable of making this trip (without a lot of added work)?
If you know what you're looking at, the time to shop around, and can do some mechanical tests, absolutely. those work vans get beat to shit, but in your case all you care about is the drive train.
How could I identify such a van? If I go in person to check it out, what do I need to look for? What questions do I need to ask?
Rent a van. Your $1000 van could end up being $1000 + towing + new engine. Bonus: working AC.
posted by anti social order at 3:56 PM on July 23, 2010
If you know what you're looking at, the time to shop around, and can do some mechanical tests, absolutely. those work vans get beat to shit, but in your case all you care about is the drive train.
How could I identify such a van? If I go in person to check it out, what do I need to look for? What questions do I need to ask?
Rent a van. Your $1000 van could end up being $1000 + towing + new engine. Bonus: working AC.
posted by anti social order at 3:56 PM on July 23, 2010
A thousand-dollar car ain't worth nothin', you might as well take your thousand dollars and set fire to it. (thanks Brian Hennemann)
If you need to transport just more...stuff... rather than people, get a Uhaul trailer and a hitch for one of the stouter cars in your convoy (i.e. the Accord instead of the Civic).
posted by notsnot at 4:11 PM on July 23, 2010
If you need to transport just more...stuff... rather than people, get a Uhaul trailer and a hitch for one of the stouter cars in your convoy (i.e. the Accord instead of the Civic).
posted by notsnot at 4:11 PM on July 23, 2010
If you are mechanically competent (can perform most of your own car repairs) you can get a used pickup/van that is reliable for 1500. If you are willing to shop around, take your time and do your own checks on the vehicle. However if you are not up to this level of competency, just rent. The odds are you are going to get a clapped out vehicle not worth a dime that probably won't make it across the country, and remote is not really the word for northern nevada-you cant even see the middle of nowhere from there. YOu do not want to be depending on a vehicle you are unsure about in the middle of nowhere. What you will probably be able to get for that money that might do the job is a used civic station wagon in good condition-but they aren't that big, or a used other kidn of station wagon. The same warning as above goes for any used car int he 1500 dollar range. I have gotten some gems for that money but also some real turds, and all the gems required some repairs before they were road worthy and even then I fixed some on the side fo the road.
BTW I woudn't count on any light weight passenger vehicle pulling a heavy trailer for 2800 miles and not breaking down. At the most a civic or accord with an automatic transmission shouldn't pull more than the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)-this means weight of car, weight of passengers, weight of trailer and trailers contents. This information is printed on a little placard in the drivers door well. YOu will find this really limits the amount you can tow with this kind of vehicle.
Good luck, and burning man is all about the adventure.
posted by bartonlong at 4:26 PM on July 23, 2010
BTW I woudn't count on any light weight passenger vehicle pulling a heavy trailer for 2800 miles and not breaking down. At the most a civic or accord with an automatic transmission shouldn't pull more than the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)-this means weight of car, weight of passengers, weight of trailer and trailers contents. This information is printed on a little placard in the drivers door well. YOu will find this really limits the amount you can tow with this kind of vehicle.
Good luck, and burning man is all about the adventure.
posted by bartonlong at 4:26 PM on July 23, 2010
Response by poster: Y'all have pretty much talked me into renting. My mechanical knowledge is rather basic, I could probably educate myself enough but so little time... so yeah. Thanks.
posted by PercussivePaul at 4:32 PM on July 23, 2010
posted by PercussivePaul at 4:32 PM on July 23, 2010
As someone who just returned from the roadtrip from hell, I'd say rent. Especially if reliability is important.
Even though we had our '97 van (worth about $2K) checked out by our mechanic & he said everything was fine, it wasn't. On the way home from Virginia to Minnesota, the transmission slipped (won't go in reverse anymore), a tire blew out on our trailer on a rural WV mountain highway in the middle of the night, and the brakes ended up needing new rotors & pads. Yeah. We got home about 5 days late thanks to all the time spent dealing with mechanics in strange towns and many hundreds of dollars poorer than we'd planned.
posted by belladonna at 4:40 PM on July 23, 2010
Even though we had our '97 van (worth about $2K) checked out by our mechanic & he said everything was fine, it wasn't. On the way home from Virginia to Minnesota, the transmission slipped (won't go in reverse anymore), a tire blew out on our trailer on a rural WV mountain highway in the middle of the night, and the brakes ended up needing new rotors & pads. Yeah. We got home about 5 days late thanks to all the time spent dealing with mechanics in strange towns and many hundreds of dollars poorer than we'd planned.
posted by belladonna at 4:40 PM on July 23, 2010
I have bought 3 vans of craigslist in the past 4 years, similar to what you are looking at. We use them for construction tasks when we rehab homes. I share them with my biz partner.
they were all 90's ford cargo vans with 200k+ miles. they stink, are loud and typically need batteries and brakes fixed. buy an $800 one and spend money on tires, brakes, battery and anything else that bugs you and you should be fine. we typically get a year out of them before some CL worker we hire smashes it up or steals it, rarely are the totally dead. that said, i hate driving ours anywhere long distance.
posted by thilmony at 8:04 PM on July 23, 2010
they were all 90's ford cargo vans with 200k+ miles. they stink, are loud and typically need batteries and brakes fixed. buy an $800 one and spend money on tires, brakes, battery and anything else that bugs you and you should be fine. we typically get a year out of them before some CL worker we hire smashes it up or steals it, rarely are the totally dead. that said, i hate driving ours anywhere long distance.
posted by thilmony at 8:04 PM on July 23, 2010
"This means renting a pickup, SUV, or cargo van (not yet sure which we would need), for about 10 days. If you include insurance, damage waiver, and km overages, the cost ranges from $800 to $1500. No way it is any less than that, from what I'm finding. "
A minivan like the Grand Caravan will haul more volume than all but the largest of SUVs and will be way more comfortable to drive than a pick up or cargo van. It'll also get better mileage and probably be cheaper to rent too.
It's quite possible to buy something in the $1-1.5K range and drive it that kind of distance. Minus the propane conversion I had about than in inflation adjusted dollars in the Aspen I drove to California in 90. And I only paid $1800 + battery for the 96 Caravan I bought in 2004; I put 50K on it before having to do anything but regular maintenance (timing belt).
posted by Mitheral at 9:18 PM on July 23, 2010
A minivan like the Grand Caravan will haul more volume than all but the largest of SUVs and will be way more comfortable to drive than a pick up or cargo van. It'll also get better mileage and probably be cheaper to rent too.
It's quite possible to buy something in the $1-1.5K range and drive it that kind of distance. Minus the propane conversion I had about than in inflation adjusted dollars in the Aspen I drove to California in 90. And I only paid $1800 + battery for the 96 Caravan I bought in 2004; I put 50K on it before having to do anything but regular maintenance (timing belt).
posted by Mitheral at 9:18 PM on July 23, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cosmicbandito at 3:38 PM on July 23, 2010