Buying a van with 300k Miles?

Hi guys,

So I have been in the market for a van for a while. Today I saw this one in Nashville:
https://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/d/2005-dodge-sprinter-2500-high/6378230859.html

It is partially converted and looks pretty decent. I would certainly change up the interior, but it looks pretty nice, plus I would save milage on buying a side-window, insulation, inverter, fridge (may have to get another, depending on the wattage of this one). My only concern is the milage of 300K.

Does anyone have any thoughts on buying a van with this many miles? It looks to be in great condition, but probably was repainted so I still need to look closely. Im a bit worried that from the 300k-500k mark they have a lot of issues; but still, this van has lots to offer if it runs decently.

How long realistically could I expect it to run? What kind of issues may it experience that would put it in a grave-yard?

That is quite a bit of money for a partially converter van with lots of miles...

If the maintenance is up to date, and they have records, 300k doesn't scare me for a good price. for 9k? That's steep unless it has lots of new parts.

Several users on here have over 300k miles on their T1Ns with original trans and engine. Obviously there are plenty of wear parts though. If you are handy/DIY a high mileage van can be a good value, just not at 9k!

Midwestdrifter said:

That is quite a bit of money for a partially converter van with lots of miles...

If the maintenance is up to date, and they have records, 300k doesn't scare me for a good price. for 9k? That's steep unless it has lots of new parts.

Several users on here have over 300k miles on their T1Ns with original trans and engine. Obviously there are plenty of wear parts though. If you are handy/DIY a high mileage van can be a good value, just not at 9k!

Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts! And actually 9k is a great price. My guess is you aren't in the market currently. It is very difficult to find a nice van (under 200k miles, limited rust, service records, etc) for under 10k. Additionally, converting a van like this costs many thousands of dollars. 9k for the full package is actually a great deal. That inverter in there is worth 500-1000 dollars by itself. Insulating a van takes another $1000. Then there is the AC unit which im not in need of, but costs a lot of $$

I am very familiar with.van costs and conversion costs. You can find non sprinter RV alternatives for better value I suspect. Which is how I am assessing the deals value.

My t1n van with 100k miles and a bare cargo was 10k. Don't get stuck on a single vehicle option either. Just because the market at large is that high, does not mean that is a good deal.

There are many unknowns with anothers diy conversion and a decade old high miles van. Price accordingly.

I don't know if this line of thinking will help or not.

My 2004 cargo now has 320,000+ miles. At around 300,000 miles I started looking for a replacement. I found a 2006 and now own two Sprinters.

If my 2004 engine had major problems I just wasn't going to put much money toward keeping that van on the road. The 2006 is now 11 years old. I'm not certain what I'd do if the 2006 ever has major engine problems.

So if you buy the converted Sprinter and sometime shortly afterward the engine or transmission fails, are you willing to invest thousands of dollars to return it to service? My 2004 is still working very well. It will not get expensive repairs should that time come before the body has rusted away.

vic

Midwestdrifter said:

I am very familiar with.van costs and conversion costs. You can find non sprinter RV alternatives for better value I suspect. Which is how I am assessing the deals value.

My t1n van with 100k miles and a bare cargo was 10k. Don't get stuck on a single vehicle option either. Just because the market at large is that high, does not mean that is a good deal.

There are many unknowns with anothers diy conversion and a decade old high miles van. Price accordingly.

Click to expand...

Ok, well where can I find something like that? I NEVER see conversions go up for sale under 15k unless they are small, in older/ bad vans, have issues, etc. I am pretty set on a sprinter but would be open to other ideas. Im looking to convert it myself until I saw this. So that is why I am looking for a sprinter specifically.

Considering the seating etc already installed, might be worth it. 158 is definitely the way to go . 9k is okay if you can afford to walk away or fix it is there is a problem. Before buying you need to,have it scanned and look at the history of codes etc. I know how much time it takes to modify a vehicle, just the little stuff ads up. Personally for 9k I would buy an old already converted bus, but I'm a,little bus crazy.
This 40' is a steal, very clean looking rebuilt in there is worth the price alone if documented.
https://mohave.craigslist.org/rvs/d/2-buses-conversion-gm-pd/6376827323.html

The 4104 in the ad is probably a 4spd, not 3spd(don't think they made a 3spd manual). That is a great fuel,efficient ride and you get to double clutch!