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Age Versus Mileage
mistergrumpy - 3/12/11 at 07:03 PM

I've been looking at campers for a long time now and have finally decided on a VW T4 Transporter against other vans.
I'm hoping to purchase a van in the next few months and I'd like the 888 special with a full tail lift and electric pack but there are a lot of high milers out, which doesn't seem to bother the VW lot and looking there are quite a few 300,000 milers or there abouts going.
What with money not exactly bursting out of my ears, but I have been saving for ages and ages it got me thinking which people value more.
Is it vehicle age? Is it engine age?
I think wanting an 02 plate (or whatever) may just be a bit snobbish of me or am I being over cautious with the engine wanting a sub 100,000 mile engine when in reality they have a proven long life and theres nothing to stop me doing an engine swap when or if it goes wrong?
Which one should i be concentrating on more?

iank - 3/12/11 at 07:09 PM

Voted vehicle age, but only because that means it's more likely to be in good condition. Value of specialist vehicles tends to follow condition rather than age/mileage on their own.

mistergrumpy - 3/12/11 at 07:17 PM

But will it be in better condition if it's a 2010 van with 200,000 miles? To me it would seem that all the running gear and engine will be worn.

quote:

Value of specialist vehicles tends to follow condition rather than age/mileage on their own.


Really? I never knew that. Thanks.

mark chandler - 3/12/11 at 07:17 PM

Its a commercial vehical carrying a light load and unlightly to have been thrashed so mileage is not really an issue.

Just buy on age and condition, broken bits show the owner has not kept on top of things so avoid these ones.

jacko - 3/12/11 at 07:23 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mistergrumpy
I've been looking at campers for a long time now and have finally decided on a VW T4 Transporter against other vans.
I'm hoping to purchase a van in the next few months and I'd like the 888 special with a full tail lift and electric pack but there are a lot of high milers out, which doesn't seem to bother the VW lot and looking there are quite a few 300,000 milers or there abouts going.
What with money not exactly bursting out of my ears, but I have been saving for ages and ages it got me thinking which people value more.
Is it vehicle age? Is it engine age?
I think wanting an 02 plate (or whatever) may just be a bit snobbish of me or am I being over cautious with the engine wanting a sub 100,000 mile engine when in reality they have a proven long life and theres nothing to stop me doing an engine swap when or if it goes wrong?
Which one should i be concentrating on more?


Good luck in finding a VW i have been looking for ages but they all seem to be high mileage or a lot of money
my next door had to go down to Portsmouth to get one all the way from hull
Have you considered buying a van and converting it to a camper
Jacko

jacko - 3/12/11 at 07:26 PM

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/
Join this forum if you haven't
Jacko ps I'm jacko55 on there

Confused but excited. - 3/12/11 at 07:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Its a commercial vehical carrying a light load and unlightly to have been thrashed


I find that something of a contradiction.

hillbillyracer - 3/12/11 at 07:31 PM

I run a T4 & bought it straight out of the disposal auction for the AA, it had near 140,000 on then at 51 reg. I dont do massive miles so in the 4 years I've had it on the road it's only just gone over 160,000 now. There were X reg 200,000+ milers going through & selling no bother, I think cheapest was still way over 2k on the hammer, mine was 3.4k even with the VAT on but I did have a major dent in the sliding door to fix, but they all had a few dings here & there.
I'd go for a younger vehicle with more miles before an older low mileage one in most cases, more so with these T4s. So long as the servicing etc has been decent (& in a vehicle doing more miles in less time that's more likely as somebody is using it with some purpose & needs it to be reliable).
They do have issues but nothing to scare you really, the cambelt is the big thing on the 5 pot TDI motors but it's nothing more complicated than most modern cars & access to do it is'nt bad. The tensioners on the belts let go & it can be a big bill if you are unlucky enough to have it let go.
Apparently the heads are bad for cracking on the 5 cylinder ones too, but I've never heard of a 2.5 giving bother with that, only the older 2.4 used up to the mid 90s.

[Edited on 3/12/11 by hillbillyracer]

mistergrumpy - 3/12/11 at 07:42 PM

Cheers all so far.
Jacko, yes. It was actually a van I was meaning so me and the missus could convert it ourselves. Just joined VWT4 the other day.
hillbillyracer, thanks for that, really helpful actually. In your opinion 140,000 miles isn't/wasn't an issue and you've not added much to it which I don't think I will either. I'm aware of the cambelt thing and ideally the first jobs will be cam belt and water pump and then a decent alarm.

morcus - 3/12/11 at 08:34 PM

I voted mileage, a Vehicle isn't going to wear out when it's not doing anything (Unless it's Italian) so assuming in both cases theres a decent service history I'd take the older machine with fewer miles.

loggyboy - 3/12/11 at 09:52 PM

Neither really, Id judge the car on its merits.

For me body/chassis is the most important as everything else can be replaced with relative ease myself, saving money. Its dents, rust and other body repairs that I cant do on the drive and as such cost lots more.

[Edited on 3/12/11 by loggyboy]

Ninehigh - 3/12/11 at 10:05 PM

quote:
Originally posted by morcus
I voted mileage, a Vehicle isn't going to wear out when it's not doing anything (Unless it's Italian) so assuming in both cases theres a decent service history I'd take the older machine with fewer miles.


Ah but my first car was a bag o' s**te because the old man I bought it off only drove it 3 miles a week. I guess campers would be different because it'd be a few hundred miles at a stretch

beaver34 - 3/12/11 at 10:08 PM

i would look for one that has had some work done,

dmf + clutch, injectors and a fuel pump

they go on for moon mileage half a million is normal, how long will you be keeping it? and the mileage you will put on it

gazza285 - 3/12/11 at 11:10 PM

Having owned and driven in both I'd go for a Transit over a T4, cheaper to buy, run and maintain. I prefer the way the Tranny drives as well, and I find the seats better, important on a long run.

hillbillyracer - 3/12/11 at 11:37 PM

I wouldn't worry about the DMF, I think it's a solid flywheel. They dont have the one-way clutch on the alternator pulley that most DMF equipped stuff has, & even if they do have one they're plainly very good or we'd hear about it!
The injection side of things is pretty good too, they're the last of the line of old school diesel injection, no common rail & as such very reliable.


I do agree with the comment about the Transit, I could have bought one 3 years younger than my T4 with less miles on, most of the parts will be cheaper & they do drive much more like a modern van where the T4 design dates back to 1990 & it does show.
But all the Transits in my price range had the early signs of rust on the edge of the arches, seams underneath etc & if you're buying an older vehicle to keep for a few years that matters

stevegough - 4/12/11 at 07:57 AM

I have voted 'age'.
Three points to add.....

one- if there are heaps about with starship miles, it says a great deal about the build quality - so don't worry about the miles too much?
two- if you go for one that looks tempting due to low miles - it could have been 'clocked'?
three- if you get a vehicle that is very old, parts sourcing could prove difficult?

Also, in my limited experience using a hired camper (down under last year) I found the greatest drawback once you'd set up 'camp' was the lack of mobility to get out and explore etc. It suddenly made sense why you see campers towing a runabout (eg Smart / yaris etc).

MikeRJ - 4/12/11 at 10:49 AM

quote:
Originally posted by morcus
I voted mileage, a Vehicle isn't going to wear out when it's not doing anything (Unless it's Italian) so assuming in both cases theres a decent service history I'd take the older machine with fewer miles.


Just the opposite IME. Sitting for lengthy periods, especially outside, is much worse for a vehicle then driving it. You don't get wear as such but it promotes rust, corrosion and degradation of plastic and rubber components.

alistairolsen - 5/12/11 at 12:51 PM

quote:
Originally posted by stevegough


Also, in my limited experience using a hired camper (down under last year) I found the greatest drawback once you'd set up 'camp' was the lack of mobility to get out and explore etc. It suddenly made sense why you see campers towing a runabout (eg Smart / yaris etc).


Id say condition rather than either age or mileage, but have a look around and see what mileages the regularly see. High mileage on a VW commercial wouldnt phase me, but Id want to see some service history etc.

Incidentally, with reference to the quote, this is illegal.

nick205 - 5/12/11 at 02:10 PM

Has to factor both age and mileage IMHO. You'll soon tell good from bad too.

There's 2 T4 mini cabs round here, both in excess of 400k miles, I couldn't tell you the age as they're both private plated to the cab firm. Both run perfectly and even having been mini cabbed don't show any undue signs of wear and tear.

jossey - 5/12/11 at 02:51 PM

i have a 525d e60 bmw which is 2005 model.

i bought it in 2009 with 90,000 miles on it for 7k....

its now done 198,000 miles and is only 7 years old.

i have bought young hi mileage cars in the past and found that newer is better. age related wear is more expensive than the mileage related. thats my thought.

mistergrumpy - 5/12/11 at 05:49 PM

Thanks fellas. It does seem that the T4's get some very high mileage out of them, something I'm not used to having never owned a vehicle over 60-70,000.
Very helpful thanks.