I dont know what to do. Help making decision needed.

[ericj 1,576]

got here a little late, the only word of caution I would use is if god forbid it was involves in an accident and insurance was involves in either yours or another party would they give you what you paid for it or some low offer becuase of it's age. Maybe see if you can get it insured for the value that you paid for it. Doesn't quite fall under the antique insurance so not sure how to go about getting something like that , but it would be worth your while to do something like that. good luck

 

 

 

 

 

eric j      

[ebinmaine 63,081]

10 minutes ago, ericj said:

got here a little late, the only word of caution I would use is if god forbid it was involves in an accident and insurance was involves in either yours or another party would they give you what you paid for it or some low offer becuase of it's age. Maybe see if you can get it insured for the value that you paid for it. Doesn't quite fall under the antique insurance so not sure how to go about getting something like that , but it would be worth your while to do something like that. good luck

 

 

 

 

 

eric j      

Oh yeah. ...wicked good advice there! 

[Sarge 3,462]

A declared value policy is possible with some companies - you basically pay a rate for a pre-determined value of the vehicle and in some ways is a smart move. You have to gauge what the market prices are running - many times it's nearly impossible to find used prices for a basis on a vehicle that is in super good shape for it's age - that's where they will cut the price the most if they have to pay out on a totalled vehicle, regardless of previous condition or mileage. Some vehicles have a very high used value regardless of age/mileage/condition - like the older Toyota trucks and the insurance industry in some ways does recognize that , but not far enough to make it worthwhile for full coverage in most cases. One thing to consider is any value of what you're buying down the road. If you buy a newer late model vehicle it will automatically retain more value later just since it's newer. But, that comes with not only an added cost but also a lot of potential heartache if it has no warranty. Buying an older one like that van you're basically on your own when it comes time to move on - you get whatever you can get out of it. If it's provided a great service life - you won. If it has a major expense in a repair cost - you lost the game, that's just how it works. Some folks get away with it pretty regularly - others just don't have the luck or pick the wrong vehicle. Given the proven history of these vans - I'd say you've got the best chance of a long service life without the risks that most will have given the age of the thing - go for it. I'd never recommend buying things like this unless you have at least a reasonable amount of mechanical repair skills, but that's just me and I've always just worked on my own stuff as well as working in shops as a mechanic. Not everyone has that option or backround so it just depends - mostly upon whether or not you have a reputable mechanic locally that you trust, sometimes that is not so easy in some areas. Anyway, given your description - I'd say it's a great purchase for what you want.

 

Buying a low mileage, like new vehicle has to be considered somewhat as one that you'll drive until it dies for that price range - which for some models is a very, very long time and a winning decision . Still, either way - it's a risk that you take but the savings difference in the long run can be a lot of money, just something to keep in mind.

 

Sarge

[formariz 11,849]

Perhaps a little unrelated to this topic, but I have to say that it was a fortunate day when I joined this forum. Aside from the obvious purpose of the forum, the level of good advice and common sense from seasoned  individuals experienced in life is indeed valued and appreciated. Instead of quoting every reply with great ideas and advice let me just in general thank everyone for taking the time to share them with me. One is not always lucky to have such a wealth of advice immediately around us so I consider myself real privileged to have you all.

[Cvans 1,009]

If it's what you want you need to get back there and buy it. Check with your insurance agent and see what they say about replacement cost if you have an accident. There are a lot of older low mileage vehicles out there and you know at least some of them have good insurance. 

If I didn't mention it, What are you waiting for?????

[formariz 11,849]

Forgot to mention it before but I did commit to buying it and already put down a deposit to seal the deal. Also prior to doing that with one phone call to a friend in the same profession as me I sold my  old faithful for $2000.00. Knowing the van very well it was an immediate yes from him. The rust issues are not a major problem for him since it will only be driven around a couple of towns by one of his employees.It has new shocks, brakes , brake lines, suspension bushings ,ball joints, service records for 19 years,etc,etc. One can still drive it on highway and do 85 MPH with out even thinking about. 19 years, 300,000 miles and countless hours. I am going to miss it.I actually feel guilty about this and were not that this specific van showed up I probably would have driven it to the end, hers or mine.

[ebinmaine 63,081]

4 hours ago, formariz said:

One is not always lucky to have such a wealth of advice immediately around us so I consider myself real privileged to have you all.

 

 

I'm thinking one could post a question about ALMOST Anything in the proper area here and get the answers one needs.

 

 

[Pullstart 59,649]

Yeah I got to this one late, but sounds like a good story I can relate to! 

 

In '15 I found a '99 Silverado 1500 with a plow at a dealership, the previous owner bought it new simply to clear his driveway.  It's got about 76k miles on it now, had 34k then.  I paid $12,400 and couldn't find anything close to that price newer with even double or triple the miles.  I don't regret my decision, I think it's taken an alternator, shocks and brakes, shy of normal maintenance and tires last year.  At 50k my wife got it stuck in a snow pile helping me plow a lot and broke the sun shell in the transmission, but that wasn't the trucks fault... things like that just happen when you're plowing!

 

As for rust prevention, I asked a friend who's taking over the body shop from his dad what they do to prevent rust on their personal vehicles.  He said: every fall a bunch of us get together with a case of beer and a case of motorcycle chain lube over to the parking lot out back, we lay on cardboard, spray everything under the truck with chain lube, and when the beer is gone and the trucks are done dripping on the cardboard we go get an underbody flush at the car wash to get excess lube off and it stays long enough to do it all the next fall.

 

  here's to the new van!

[Sarge 3,462]

I wish I had started using Fluid Film the day I brought the old Land Cruiser home - our weather has done a lot of additional damage that wasn't necessary to the old girl, my bad for that. We have some guys doing resto work on them now that are having the entire tub and frame galvanized, allowing it to oxidize and then painting them as normal - it's working out great and those trucks should live an easy 50yrs despite salt and age. I know of two people that own the same generation vans - both are V8's and have some staggering miles and both are nearly rusted to oblivion, such a shame for a very reliable vehicle. Good luck with yours, and we want pics, of course...

 

Sarge