tips on buying a second hand Van

A question about : tips on buying a second hand Van

I finally passed my driving test few weeks ago on the 14th attempt! Now I'm looking to buy a second hand van with a budget of around Ј3500. Hope thats decent. Any tips and advice for a newbie like me. This will be my first vechicle.

Should I avoid the ones with over 100k milage?
If a van is 10 years old, how much longer can I expect to last?

Thanks

Best answers:

• A ten year old van will be a Ј3500 gamble, good luck.
  Look at the back springs, if they don't curve upwards it's spent a lifetime overloaded.
• How long will it last, Anything further than home will be a bonus.
  Have you checked the insurance, Just passed your test and insuring a van may see a large chunk of that Ј3500 gone.
  I dont buy cars with less than 120,000 miles. Service history and condition is everything.
  You want a well serviced, tidy example thats been used to deliver feather pillows or polystyrene packaging.
  Nice and light so the suspension wont be about to fall off.
• Do you need a van? What size, will it be hauling heavy loads long distance?
  Bear in mind vans, and car derived vans, are commercials from new and will generally have their best years behind them when (if) they get to 5 years old and will always carry an insurance premium, no matter how knackered they are.
• As forgot myname says, service is everything, it denotes that it's belonged to a company/person that has had an interest in it.
  As for not touching anything over a 100k - most vans are good for at least 200 - 250k. As regards transmission, try and find something that hasn't done multi drop.
  I run Renault Masters and sold a couple of them over 300k mark, one at 365k and they were still running OK with original engine in. We do service and change oil more frequently than the suggested service schedule, run light weights long distance.
• Pick a van at random which is withing budget and suites your needs and get a quote on that, which should give you a better idea
• A grand should see you ok in an average postcode area.
• Less than Ј1000 for a new driver with zero no claims? Have you beed dancing with the fairies?
  Pick a van at random off ebay or the autotrader and get a quote, Nephew tried a quote on a Fiesta van he had been offered cheaply after he crashed his first car. Ј8000 But he was 19.
  But he never informed the insurance of the crash. He just scrapped the car.
• surprise nobody asked. why did it take you 14 attempts to pass? how many years have you been learning to drive for? AFAIK there are 3-6 month wait for tests when i passed 6 years ago.
• I was hoping for some suggestions for a Ј3500 ish van as well. My original budget was Ј5000 but Ј3500 would be a nice purchase as it would leave me with Ј1500 in my back pocket.
  Out of curiosity, why is a Ј3500 van so bad? I had an employer who had a Ј1000 LWB van that had seen better days. It was so beat up that the boss decided to just fit a padlockable gate lock on the door after it got burgled.
  Boss bought a brand new mercedes from dealership while I was working there - some priorities.
  But the van did OK. It started when it needed to. It had dents in every panel but it was reliable.
• The guy next door to me paid about Ј800 for a 54 plat Pilot diesel. He drives it all round the country with his job.