What to look for when you're buying a second-hand van
If you follow us on social media, you’ll know that we recently bought a second-hand Nissan MV400, which we intend to convert into a camper over the next couple of months.
It can be so daunting buying a vehicle second-hand to use as a base vehicle for your van conversion, but in this article, we’ll be covering some of the things that we look for when we buy second-hand vehicles, which help to reduce the risk of buying a lemon!
The biggest concern with buying a second-hand vehicle is that you have no idea how the previous owner drove it (were they rough on the vehicle?) or maintained it (was it serviced regularly and properly?). This being said, there are a few things you can look out for that will indicate how well the vehicle was looked after.
When we’re looking at a vehicle, there are a few things we do & look for:
Pop the hood/bonnet. Actually, this is quite funny - it’s the done thing and so we’ll see clueless buyers peering at the engine with no idea what to look for. When we do it this is what we’re looking for:
What is the general condition in the engine bay? Are there things clearly missing and/or broken and botched jobs? This tells us in general how well the owner looked after the vehicle.
Is there oil in plain sight? This tells us if there are potential problems with things like cylinder heads. An engine bay with oil everywhere tells you at a minimum that the owner doesn’t care for the vehicle or that you’re buying a lemon. Or maybe you’re lucky and it’s one single pipe you need to replace.
Excessive corrosion can be an indicator that the rest of the vehicle has corrosion issues. If your engine bay is corroded, and we’re not talking about a bit of surface rust, then there are bound to be other corrosion problems.
How easily does it start and how rough is the engine for the first minute? Unscrupulous dealers and sellers will, where possible, start the engine before the buyer arrives and warm it up a bit. This ensures that the buyer-observed start is quick and smooth. We like it when the vehicle has stood for at least several hours and is totally cold, preferably more than 12 hours or overnight. Cold weather also helps to identify tired engines. A difficult start can be an indicator of reduced compression resulting from excessive wear of the pistons and/or cylinders. Some of the wear can also be in the valves. Furthermore, some wear can be in the fuel injection system. Once the engine has been running for a few minutes check the smoke, also check for signs of oil being expelled from the exhaust. A rough, difficult, and multiple-attempt start is a general indicator that either:
You’re lucky and simply need to change glow plugs or some other easily-remedied problem exists
You’re unlucky because the engine is tired
ALWAYS TAKE IT FOR A TEST DRIVE!!!!! This is something we cannot stress enough. We always say that you should NOT buy a vehicle unless YOU have driven it yourself and are comfortable with how it feels and drives. Don’t let the seller drive you around in it. You can’t pick up on certain things unless you’re driving it yourself. You need to drive it to make sure it changes gears OK, listen out for funny noises, etc.. Always remember that when you drive a vehicle often, you learn to deal with the issues and nuances, so the seller might be able to hide certain things from you if you are just a passenger.
Does it have a tow-hitch? If so, be careful to identify excessive top-gear wear during your test drive. Vans with 5th and 6th gears should NOT tow heavy trailers using those gears. You need to test drive at a reasonably fast speed to test those top gears.
Look underneath. We always take a flashlight/torch. We’re checking for a few things:
Corrosion, not just a bit of surface rust, that can cause structural problems in the future
Obvious structural issues, perhaps clearly visible repairs
Nice-to haves such as chassis protection (Dinitrol etc) but which in turn could have been applied to mask bad corrosion (you just can’t win can you!)
Condition of the exhaust - knowing that if it’s bad we need to add the cost of a new exhaust to the overall cost of the vehicle
How corroded are the brake pipes? Close to replacement? Expensive things to replace.
Check the tires - knowing that if they’re bad we need to add the cost of a new set to the overall cost of the vehicle. Sometimes tires can also tell you that there is a problem with tracking which could indicate the possibility of a past accident. A bit of interrogation will almost always yield nothing (because the 2nd hand dealer knows to NOT ask the original seller about such things) so basically, bad wear together with other concerns may put you off.
General fixtures - prior to inspection it’s a good idea to have a very rough idea of costs of replacement of the below-mentioned fixtures
Are the mirrors shot - extra cost to replace
Are the cab door handles and window mechanisms OK
Are the rear door mechanisms OK
Is the sliding door all OK
General external condition and in particular rust. If corrosion exists in certain areas it can be expensive to fix properly
Windscreen - chips in front of the driver can cause it to fail roadworthiness
We hope that this is helpful for you if you’re in the process of looking for a van to convert. If you have any questions related to building out vans, please let us know!
