What is the maximum mileage you would consider for a base van?

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  • April 16, 2010 at 3:21 pm #105384
    Head Full of Feathers
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    I’m looking for a Transporter/Vito sized van to convert,

    My budget (1000-1400) has me looking around older vans with higher mileage, but what should be my limit?

    Obviously i’m taking into account the general treatment and wear of the vehicle, but how many miles are too many miles?

    I will be using the van day to day for round town journeys, and short breaks around 100 miles away every couple of weeks over the summer.

    Any advice greatly appreciated.

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  1. Darren April 17, 2010 at 7:57 am

    All depends on the vehicle
    All depends on the vehicle and your budget/mechanical skills.
    VW & Mercedes are the makes that you can buy a higher mileage example.
    If you want to play it safe, want to keep the vehicle for a long time (10 years) and want the minimal of maintenance fuss, go for no more than 100,000 miles.
    If you want to save a bit of money on the purchase price, are confident with your mechanical skills, and are willing to take a bit of a risk then go for up to 200,000 miles.
    With a high mileage vehicle a full service history will give you extra piece of mind, but you’ll struggle to find it on a high mileage vehicle.
    I bought a Mercedes Sprinter in fairly poor shape with 200,000 miles on the clock. I gave it a full service, engine, transmission, suspension, etc, made it into a campervan and toured Europe for 9 months. In that time all that went wrong was a glow plug stopped working. I did change the alternator before starting on the trip. I also had to fix a few things after I bought it, like broken lights.

    I have read about Sprinters doing 500,000 miles. To achieve this it has to be cared for. Full servicing and fix rust as soon as it appears.

    The same can be done for a Vito or Transporter, although with lesser milage perhaps. You’ve just go to fix things when they happen, and stop things happening (rust).

    1. Head Full of Feathers April 18, 2010 at 2:08 pm

      Thanks for the reply,
      I’ve
      Thanks for the reply,

      I’ve got a better idea of what to look for now. My mechanical skills are not the best. (I’m better at the DIY side!)

      I’ll keep an eye on service history before I buy.

      Cheers!