Hi !
2008 Volkswagen transporter auto $4,900
I'm looking for A VAN. Would like to convert it to camper van and going away for 2/3 months
I was in touch with this seller
do you think it's a good deal or not?
Is this type of van, easy to fix in Australia (2008-volkswagen-transporter) or I should look for Toyota/Hyundai?
He just said : the suspension makes a little noise but that is not a problem (apparently only 1 is making a bit of noise)
Thanks for your help !
thanks for the reply !
this is what he said when i asked him
Just the driver side one make a little noise 3:41 pm
I have driven it and had no issues it drives well 3:42 pm
I bought it to use the transmission but it end up beginning different 3:42 pm
That's the reason why I am selling it
do you think it s a trap ??
None of that means anything at all. Get a qualified mechanic to inspect it, especially for rust. It's clearly been repainted recently so who knows what it's hiding underneath.
yes, it looks like very clean to me … not sure what to think !
@Hybroid: where can i find a mechanic to inspect it , any website i can check and get someone?
i do not know any mechanic in this area !
@bennarra: Vehicle seems to be located in Liverpool, a quick google search will yield many results.
https://www.oneflare.com.au/prepurchase-car-inspection/nsw/l…
https://www.autoking.com.au/service-areas/nsw/liverpool/
https://www.yellowpages.com.au/find/vehicle-inspections/live…
You may want to ask someone you know for help if you're not sure what you're doing. You're going to be relying on this vehicle for 2-3 months, do it properly.
It's not really a trap, if you have a lot of spare time or spare money to spend on it I'm sure you could fix it.
If it was a cheap and easy fix then you have to ask why is it still not fixed because a car that is working will get you more money than a car that is not
hi, i asked him already he said he doesnt have time to do it… but in the meantime, he said he bought it to take a piece out to fix another van … strange to me !
@bennarra: story for it doesn't really matter, many people work on cars for fun projects in their free time but someone trying to sell a broken car could be saying anything to sell it.
If you aren't confident in mechanical work yourself then rather just pay someone for a pre-purchase inspection of the vehicle so they can give you a list of all the things it would need to have done in order to at least pass rego check or become usable on the roads
DO NOT TOUCH IT without getting it inspected
https://www.mynrma.com.au/cars-and-driving/car-servicing/mob… is a place to start, if you have no knowledge
That van is recorded as being white and last registered 5/10/16 - 3 years ago !
Have you done the minimum and done a ppsr check ? https://transact.ppsr.gov.au/ppsr/QuickVINSearch
Personally I wouldn't touch it with a large pole covered in brown stuff
YMMV
was about to add the $2 check but then I saw you edited your post to include it. Good thinking
hi
how did you get all this information ?
The PPSR check that he linked, uses a data base that checks the VIN number and Rego history of the car to see if its been recorded as stolen or written off in an accident. Which judging by the info Oscargamer provided looks likely that there is something serous wrong if it hasn't been registered for 3 years. A car that has been standing for a long time without movement can develop new problems from being unused
he said registration finished 4 months ago
@bennarra: he is a liar - walk away….no….. RUN AWAY
the plates might not even match the VIN
Ask him for the VIN
Actually DON'T - just find another van from a bloke that doesn't lie
i just aked him : when was the last time the van was registered ?
his answer : 4 months ago
is he lying to me ??
YES HE IS
Do some more research about buying cars first. Learn about what a PPSR check is and read on the car sales or NRMA sites that have a checklist of things to look out for when buying a second hand car.
There is no point rushing into buying a van that will give you trouble, rather take longer to do more research so you end up with a van that you will be happy with and will be able to enjoy your trip in
Also no point in rushing to buy a stolen vehicle with false plates……
i m not in a rush, i m just looking around and taking my time . was just surprised as he s willing to sell it to me for 3500 dollars now.
my project is not before 3/4 months , so i have plenty time to find something .
is it better to buy it from a car dealer so i will have no surprise ??
@bennarra: Mate - just walk away. stop all contact with him. YOU WILL END UP LOSING SOMETHING, be it money or time or dignity or whatever….
It's a shitheap that he'll sell for $500 or it's stolen or it's a write off or ……
@bennarra: In the secondhand market it is up to the buyer to do all the research and checks before they make the purchase.
NO matter where you buy a car from unless its brand new just pay for a mechanic to inspect it.
Go search the forums and see stories of people who bought from a dealer expecting a perfect car only to discover it was perfect on the shop floor but after using a week it developed issues
is it better to buy it from a car dealer so i will have no surprise ??
In that price range there is no warranty. It is up to the purchaser to know what they are buying.
A dealer has to make a profit so if they are selling for $4000 then they paid $2000-$2500
Depends where you want to travel in the van. If you are going into rural areas for extended periods of time then I would consider a Toyota variant due to a lot of parts of hilux and others being compatible with hiace vans in case you need to find spare or second hand parts for serious fixes.
is toyota the best bet for a van? easier to find mechanic/garage to fix around australia ?
when you say around Australia it depends where you want to go. For example my mate bought an old vw t3 van with 400000km on the clock but took it straight up to Byron bay where there are multiple VW specialists that work on VW vans so they have plenty of parts available. He also lives in Sydney where there are many vintage VW mechanics to be found. But if you were travelling inland near the Simpson desert I don't think there would be many VW specialists to work on older VW cars
it will be more all the way near the coast from sydney to cairns / may be up to darwin
There are other ways of doing what you want.
Companies like https://www.travellers-autobarn.com.au/backpacker-van-and-ca…
You can buy and then they buy it back from you - or you can rent
Dude save your time and his, go elsewhere. Get one from somewhere that isn't Liverpool. Don't ask why just trust the locals on this one.
Nope… It has VW badges on it.
The driver's seat has diarrhea stains on it. Prepare yourself for a bidding war, OP, because I've got deep pockets.
Ill bet my life savings it cant regenerate itself!
But
Registration details
The registration is Cancelled
The registration expired on 05 OCT 2016
WV1ZZZ7HZ7H093429
This the chassis number
It doesn't match the registration plate from the van…
As others have said
Walk away, stop contacting the seller, forget that you ever asked about this van
Or, keep talking to them like you're currently doing, some how get convinced to buy said van, come back later starting a new post detailing why you shouldn't have ;)
Put that VIN into the ppsr site, pay $2, you will have your answer.
You already know that that rego should have a VIN ending 4081.
Move on. Find one that's not going to bite you.
Be better off with something like this
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/waverley/cars-vans-utes/mits…
Don't be scared of higher Kilometers in a older vehicle. What you want to see is evidence of regular servicing and repairs.
Nice find
but it's kilometres not kilometers…. ;)
Got me - my spell checker didn't highlight the American spelling..
Just go and buy it. Offer more than the asking price, it’s a bargain after all. There aren’t enough people in this thread supporting your decision.
/sarcasm.
You don’t know about cars, don’t buy anything withbout rego or a recent roadworthy check.
That's a hideous colour. Looks like it might have been a courier van. Which means it will have been flogged to death.
I wouldn't touch it either. Especially with the dodgy details on its rego and VIN.
If it's on gumtree; there's at least a 50% chance it's dodgy! If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Especially from someone who looks to sell a lot of crap on gumtree.
Who would paint a van that colour?
Hyundai would be the option if you're looking at the cheaper end of the market.
Looks like an ex couriers please delivery van. If one “suspension” piece is bad, all will need redoing (at 290,000km it would be a good idea to do anyway), so add at least $1000 for parts only to get it up to speed.
If you’re not good with cars, you will really need to stay well clear of anything unregistered.
As other people have said, if you must look at buying that exact one, absolutely have someone inspect it. It will be the best money you will spend on it.
Stay Away!!!!! I owned a 5 cyl petrol version of those was nothing but trouble, expensive to fix, hard to work on, the only positives was safety and comfort. I also owned a Toyota townace at the same time and you could not kill it, when i got rid of it it had 450,000k's on the clock and it was an auto, only things fixed were alternator and starter motor, easy to work on, negatives safety, under powered and comfort. If you want reliable then a Toyota would be the go.
excellent, i ll be looking for a toyota so . thanks
I’ve got one and I wouldn’t buy the one in your ad. Looks like an ex-courier and I wouldn’t be surprised if the transmission needed attention.
Mine just cost me $10k for an engine rebuild and still isn’t right. I made the mistake of taking it to a VW dealership, they are useless. They can do oil changes and replace random parts but have zero knowledge on how to actually fix cars.
Looking at the service history and receipts, nothing is cheap and they require a fair bit of maintenance.
It depends on what engine it has (it only says it's a diesel). Some of them have inherent faults. Look in the transporter section at VW Watercooled for some examples.
Get it inspected by a specialised VW mech before purchase. Matt White at Camden GTI in Campbelltown knows these vans backwards and is only 20 minutes up the road.
Seriously, if it;s one of the units that has the head gasket or water pump or EGR issues then it will easily cost you the purchase price to repair.
If you get a good one they are great cars. So are the Mercedes vans.
11 years old, done 290,000 KM and no rego means it could have some serious issues, or maybe not. Take it to a mechanic for inspection before purchase in case it fails any safety checks. Worth the peace of mind if you're relying on it for 2-3 months travels.