High Mileage Ford Transit 350 Euro 6 Van Conversion

[Dinosawus]

Hi All,

I'm looking for advice on buying a high mileage modern diesel Euro 6 van, low entry price vs higher maintenance costs.

I'm looking to do an adventure van conversion and need a Euro 6 engine due to living in the low emissions zone and want an automatic to make life on the road easy and then an L3H3 for space and height, Im pretty tall. This a rare configuration and expensive for 2016 model onwards. In addition modern Euro 6 vans are at a premium right now since factories closed down due to covid so brand new ones have a long wait pushing up the prices of nearly new. After a long search I have found a 2016 Ford Transit 350 L3H3 Automatic with 164k miles on the clock and service history for 144k of that with 1 company owner mostly motorway miles, looks pretty clean on the outside, asking £14k with the VAT.

BUT, with a 164k could the DPF by near end of life and gearbox and suspension also in the last innings. Does anyone have any idea of the life span of a modern Ford Euro 6 (Ad Blue) engine if properly serviced? I know the Mercedes Sprinter can easily achieve 250k plus but not sure if Ford makes them to the same standard and they are certainly cheaper to buy than the Merc. If spending £10k plus on install and 100s of hours on a conversion it might be more sensible to invest more upfront for a low mileage base vehicle than risk doing all that conversion and finding you have bad mechanicals.

Any diesel head advice much appreciated.

 

[SquirrellCook]

With all modern engines, they mainly get damaged by servicing. First thing you should do is change all the oils for manufacturer recommended.
If it has a timing belt change it. Do the oils and filters yourself to be sure it is really done with the right stuff.
We thought if we had spent £40k on a better coach for the Betty build it would have saved money. Then realised most of the problems were in the vehicles design and still would have happened with a newer vehicle, after converting it It's a job to know how to win.

 

[wildebus]

I would say personally that starting off a van conversion on a base vehicle with 164k Miles is a dubious idea.
Apart from the engine, you have all the other parts that wear out with that kind of use ... Turbo, DPF, suspension, etc etc.
I bought my VW T5 with 167k miles - so slightly more than that transit.... Service history was magic.... FULL VW Dealership history with a stamped up book and receipts for over £10k in the previous two years.
It was a beautiful looking van when I bought it and after I sold it. Still cost me over £3k in mechanical repairs in 18 months including a £2.2k engine repair bill.
And that VW was a more prestigious vehicle to buy than a Transit and I still paid to buy less than half what you are being asked for.
£14K sounds an awful lot of money for a 5 year old transit that is near the end of its useful life?

 

[Dinosawus]

Agreed its a lot of money but thats what the market is paying based on what on the factors above, the next nearest thing would be £5k more for Cat S repair job and 30k miles but L2 not L3 so will have to wait for the L3H3 Auto, reasonable mileage combo. Damn that peasky low emissions zone but at lest my kids will be able to breath a bit easier in future.

The general advice seems to be avoid very high mileage base vehicles as they can lead to trouble down the road and better to make an upfront investment in your pride and joy.

thanks for the responses

 

[mb2tv]

We were in a very similar position to you. Looking for a reasonable van that we can build on. Second hand vans seem to be vastly expensive, unless as you discovered you go for a high milage one. For us, an additional sticking point was the fact that a van with a passenger airbag is almost non-existence! We also wanted automatic, so basically could not find any. We did find a crafter, manual with passenger airbag, 2 years old with 20k miles, but the price was more than a brand new one! The dealer would not budge on the price. We ended up ordering new, to our spec at the lower price (we went with autoebid as the deal is not with them, it is with the supplying dealer) with the long wait (September ).
You want a sound base as this is the one thing you will not be able to change. You are about to invest a lot of money and even more time into the build which is not transferable. At least that is what guided us. We know we are lucky to be able to afford that though.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[Dinosawus]

Yes buying new is almost the same cost as 2nd hand recent models but there is a long wait due to factory closures. If I was buying new I think I would go for a MAN high roof which is based on the Crafter but just looks cooler. If you do a good quality conversion a new vehicle will probably hold its value due to the demand for such conversions, perhaps the only time a new vehicle doesnt depreciate by half when it leaves the showroom. The one thing that puts me off going new is cutting lots holes in a brand new vehicle just feels wrong. Good luck with your conversion.

 

[Millie Master]

Hi All,

After a long search I have found a 2016 Ford Transit 350 L3H3 Automatic with 164k miles on the clock and service history for 144k of that with 1 company owner mostly motorway miles, looks pretty clean on the outside, asking £14k with the VAT.

I am like a stuck in the grove record when it comes to Transit's, personally I would never consider one as despite them having brilliant mechanicals, I am afraid that they are proven to be all screwed together in the most tin worm prone bodies of any vans on the market. Over many years I have known of numerous people who have spent large amounts on their Transit conversions only to have a major, astronomically expensive MOT failure due to their van dissolving in a red pile!
However if you do find a truly excellent Transit and thoroughly check, cure and treat any problems with the body shell prior to starting the conversion, then you could end up with a truly brilliant long lasting machine for you to travel in both far and wide.

Phil

 

[mb2tv]

If I was buying new I think I would go for a MAN high roof which is based on the Crafter but just looks cooler.

The MAN and the Crafter are identical bar the badge. MAN has a different ordering system where there is a base vehicle and all the rest are add-on. Crafter has a few base vehicles. Also I am not sure they accommodate private buyers- they are more geared for business use.
30 years ago it was Fiat with the tin warm, the joke was that if you looked carefully on the brochure, you could see the rust spots already there.

 

[wildebus]

yup, I think MAN are more geared up to Businesses and have a much superior assistance program compared to VW and for critical business users that can be important.
(I leared this from chatting with my old DPD Courier who had terrible experience of both Sprinters and Mercedes support and totally loved the MAN van he eventually was given - but then switched to either a Transit or Relay/Ducato as so much cheaper to lease).

 

[SquirrellCook]

I think if you have a good relationship with a senior dealership fitter who tells the truth rather than the company line, your best of with what he sells. Without support they are all rubbish for most people.

 

[Tookey]

Hate to be boring but if you can hold off for 12 months I would recommend doing that. Camper self build is so popular I think you will pay premium price on a van base vehicle and all materials required for the build.

Less boring option; you've put aside 10k for the conversion so your planning to make it sweet, how about putting more money into the vehicle and doing a budget conversion. Save the sweet conversion for when you've had the experience of doing a build and for when you have used a camper for a couple of years and know what you like.

 

[workbox]

Commercial van is the most abuse vehicles regardless of motorway or start/stop drives.
They plan for 4-6 years of services and care less what happens afterward.

If I have choice I wouldn't buy second hand (over 5 years) commercial van for campervan project.