Final Score: 203493 - Dead Van for Sale!

Tiree · 2021-12-03 15:32:46

Hey all,

Hope everybody's doin OK.

Sad tidings!

My trusty old van of 8½ years [and 80,000 miles] has finally succumbed to the elements and has an MOT failure list that my garage and I believe is way beyond worthy of attempting to fix.

In the space of two years the sills have gone from seemingly fine to utterly fecked. The sub frame too is so weak in parts that it can be manipulated.

I could go on ...

The van will be scrapped but if anyone wanted to salvage it I'd happily listen to any offers.

It is currently at a garage in Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway and would need to be transported.

Things that may be of interest:

4 x almost-new budget tyres 205/65 15
recon turbo [40,000 miles ago]
recon alternator [40,000 miles ago]
almost-new low-pressure / lift fuel pump

The van runs really well. The engine was partially rebuilt 60,000 miles ago after a timing belt failure - with various new parts and a re-skim of the head.

It starts instantly every time.

The back of the van is heavily insulated although I'll be keeping my carpeted ply panels.

Any Qs - just give me a shout: chris@dispatchexpertscudo.org.uk

Not exactly sure what's next - but I'd love another one of these vans - they're pretty few & far between these days but I'm going to get a temporary runaround and keep my eyes on the market for a low-mileage one. At least that's the plan. Glutton for punishment!

Onwards!

vaz2121 · 2021-12-04 03:33:47

This saddens me..............

Have you actually inspected the foibles of your van or just taken the word of the garage ......................
What I have found in the years of being in this part of D&G...............
That and this is not confined to just CD that some garages depending on age of vehicle and mileage will assume that if they condemn it bad enough you'll go away...................
[To some old vehicle means No Money]............

I've had this both now with my van as its now 16 yrs old and ageing but especially the 306 when the car wash at tesco tried to rip the rear hatch off it and tesco wanted quotes ... Most garages totally dismissed it because it was about 18 years at time with a bit of mileage, after some slight repairs [biggest issue was finding parts for that age of car and vans getting there]... 306 is now 21 years with 212,000mls and climbing slowly as it's sort of retired.........................

I'm Not saying it doesnt need some work ....................
It might not be as bad as you think if you use second hand parts out breakers.....................

Thats where I had to find tail lights for the 306 .............
It's easier to price for new parts! ...............

kenbw2 · 2021-12-04 20:08:39

That's a real shame! Rust is the killer isn't it. The sills I wouldn't be too worried about, I just got my rear right one done for £150. Subframe will be tough though, just getting a replacement.

It's a 2.0 litre, right? Shame it;s not got many transferrable engine parts, I might have considered it.

Hopefully someone takes it on as a project

Ricko · 2021-12-06 00:38:51

I feel saddened by this.
Must get away in mine again soon.
Currently investigating a possible electrical fault, so I daren't go too far.

Tiree · 2021-12-07 18:42:17

Hi folks,

Thanks for the commiserations and thoughts!

It saddens me too after all this time.

I've spent a lot of money keeping it on the road and the last two MOTs in particular have been expensive and stressful.

This one though is just a couple of bridges too far.

Both sills are totally peppered with holes from front to back [they were both partly welded last year].

Ken - as you say the subframe is the biggest problem - the garage tried hard to get a replacement but to no avail. And of course you can't weld the subframe.

But on top of that, the brake servo and master cylinder both needed replaced along with most of the brake lines and callipers.

There was more too.

In the last few years I've more or less budgeted for £500-1000 / year to keep it on the road - this year would have been waaay beyond that.

Vaz - I do totally get that garages are sometimes keen to give up on old vehicles. They've always been really supportive though - they've helped me pull through a few of the tougher years.

This just feels like the end of the line for this van.

Will wait until the end of the week in case someone else picks this up.

kenbw2 · 2021-12-07 19:48:04

One thing I'll say is, don't let it go without letting one of us claim dibs on that glove compartment!

Pathfinder100 · 2021-12-08 06:17:36

It's not just these vans. All vans seem to have rusty sills. It sucks when your car or van reaches the point of no longer being viable.

Is there any remote chance of picking up another van for cheap and transplanting the sub frame? How about if you rip the sills off completely and spot weld some new ones back in place in the same way, JohnDragonMan did his sills? Even if the job looks like complete shite, if they hold, that's all that matters.

While its a bit far from you, something like this Dispatch in Sheffield, might be sufficient to solve your problem, if you can get to it. FTR, I don't know anything about this van. I actually looked at it a couple of days back as a possible donor van for my expert. Failing that, if the van was mostly good, you could get your garage to transfer your engine into it and make a point of painting anything and everything that might or is rusting.

Also I suspect the smoking exhaust on the above van is due to shit diesel in the tank. if its been sat for 2 years with diesel in the tank its not going to be fit for use. The smoking would probably clear up with a good dose of redex and a tank of good quality diesel.

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#1 2021-12-03 15:32:46

Final Score: 203493 - Dead Van for Sale!

#2 2021-12-04 03:33:47

Re: Final Score: 203493 - Dead Van for Sale!

#3 2021-12-04 20:08:39

Re: Final Score: 203493 - Dead Van for Sale!

#4 2021-12-06 00:38:51

Re: Final Score: 203493 - Dead Van for Sale!

#5 2021-12-07 18:42:17

Re: Final Score: 203493 - Dead Van for Sale!

#6 2021-12-07 19:48:04

Re: Final Score: 203493 - Dead Van for Sale!

#7 2021-12-08 06:17:36

Re: Final Score: 203493 - Dead Van for Sale!

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