FAO Pineapple fans - LHD T4 value?

[ERNO]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-T4-Transporter-800special-LHD-Left-hand-drive-petrol-choice-of-2-LWB-/321929563586

 

A tidier looking bus for £1250 over here. Choice of two in the ad.

[Dave_Q]

Wow, responses.

 

Nibblet, what type is your T4? panel van or caravelle etc?

 

A brief search suggests that caravelles are not subject to the LEZ regardless of engine and the 2 UK reg Multivans I've found are the same, as long as they're registered with Doovla as having seats they're classed as a car not commercial. Nice selling point.

 

I think the export spec pez forrin reg ones are a bit overpriced at £1250 or so, here's a Lithuanian pez window van for 850 euro in de.

 

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=219176482&scopeId=C&zipcode=&isSearchRequest=true&makeModelVariant1.makeId=25200&makeModelVariant1.modelId=33%2C47%2C23%2C48%2C49&makeModelVariant1.modelGroupId=2&pageNumber=1#

 

 

Meanwhile I've found an advert for the sort of thing I'd like to bring in, note that it has a few rust scabs present and the multivan bed seat has been swapped out for a standard caravelle bench - the multivan seat will sell for £3-400 on it's own. This is up for £2750.

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/volkswagen/volkswagen-transporter-caravelle-2.4-td-lhd-left-hand-drive-1995-m-reg-uk-reg-multivan-/1145842212

 

 

Looking at ebay sold listings the going rate for a ropey foreign reg window van is around £1000, I think a low rust Multivan would be around £2.5 - 3k, I'm going to crunch some numbers and put a plan together.

[ERNO]

850 Euro is more like it. There would surely be a little bit of profit in that for you. These bus windowed ones have really grown on me the last couple of days. Never looked at T4s much before.

[Dave_Q]

850 Euro is more like it. There would surely be a little bit of profit in that for you. These bus windowed ones have really grown on me the last couple of days. Never looked at T4s much before.

 

Am not proposing fetching something like that, just using it as an example of how just driving them over here and not even registering them seems to make people think they're worth double.

 

The problem with most foreign reg ones is you don't know how long they've been here or when, if ever, they've had any sort of safety inspection.

 

At least a German reg van with a recent TUV should stand a fighting chance of passing an MOT here without too much work.

[dave21478]

Remember that rust is a serious issue with these things. I doubt if ze Germans would stand for this sort of thing, but have no idea about the Eastern Bloc countries.....bear in mind that in France gaping rot holes you can fit your arm through in major structural parts of the shell are of no concern at all to the Control Technique.

 

Some of the ones you have linked, especially that 850 euro on look rather.....wobbly around the edges. It would be a bit of a pisser to get there and find your vans bottom six inches is sculpted from chicken wire and whatever the Daily Mail is called in Lithuanian.

[Dave_Q]

Yes that's another reason for looking for something with recent TUV. 

 

I wouldn't buy the 850 euro one but just posted it as a comparison for the £1250 ones linked above.

 

I'll be prioritising rust levels over mileage, obviously it's not always clear from pictures so will have to brush up on my German.

 

Ist das Auto rostige?

[John F]

dink, on 10 Dec 2015 - 2:44 PM, said:

Yes that's another reason for looking for something with recent TUV. 

 

I wouldn't buy the 850 euro one but just posted it as a comparison for the £1250 ones linked above.

 

I'll be prioritising rust levels over mileage, obviously it's not always clear from pictures so will have to brush up on my German.

 

Ist das Auto rostige?

 

Try "Ist die Karre durchgerostet?"

[Alan_Green]

Erno, why must it be a VW van? VW vans are expensive (LTs and Crafters excepted - more on that in a tic). That £300 Pug 806 2.0 HDi would do the job just as well. You'd get a good '04 2.0HDi van for the price of a rusty '94 T4.

 

OK, VW van loophole. Keep it under your hat but SWB Crafters are seriously good value. £2,970 would get you this 2008 2.5Tdi with air con and everything. The equiv T5 2.5 TDi would be twice that. The LWB T4 is only 15cm shorter. A Dispatch with the terrible 1.6HDi would be about the same price:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volkswagon-Crafter-2-5-tdi-SWB-/221957423931?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=VIquAGEpg3%252FAnnzJj9KLHPloH30%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

[ERNO]

Yes that's another reason for looking for something with recent TUV. 

 

I wouldn't buy the 850 euro one but just posted it as a comparison for the £1250 ones linked above.

 

I'll be prioritising rust levels over mileage, obviously it's not always clear from pictures so will have to brush up on my German.

 

Ist das Auto rostige?

The one at 850 euros has some interesting repairs to the arches. It wouldn't bother me running a scruffy one as long as it would pass a test, either here or in the Netherlands. I've never owned a left hooker in the UK but adjusting wouldn't bother me too much.

[ERNO]

Erno, why must it be a VW van? VW vans are expensive (LTs and Crafters excepted - more on that in a tic). That £300 Pug 806 2.0 HDi would do the job just as well. You'd get a good '04 2.0HDi van for the price of a rusty '94 T4.

 

OK, VW van loophole. Keep it under your hat but SWB Crafters are seriously good value. £2,970 would get you this 2008 2.5Tdi with air con and everything. The equiv T5 2.5 TDi would be twice that. The LWB T4 is only 15cm shorter. A Dispatch with the terrible 1.6HDi would be about the same price:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volkswagon-Crafter-2-5-tdi-SWB-/221957423931?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=VIquAGEpg3%252FAnnzJj9KLHPloH30%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Yes, the 806 on here recently floated my boat, especially with its DMF mod.

 

I've just been digging the styling of these T4s in euro spec. It's a really clean, functional design and look the ideal wagon for doing creative stuff that involves humping some gear around and maybe being able to sleep in at push. I'd never dream of spending almost 3 grand on a T5 etc. I've never spent more than 1500 quid or so on any transport and I'd be looking at the lower, hippy spec end of the tired old euro T4 market. I'd maybe consider French made bus windowed vans and, like I said, I liked the Japanese guy I met recently's French reg Sprinter bus.

[dave21478]

But if Dink is in this for profit he is going to have to stick with what works is in demand....garish T4s.

If you are doing this for yourself then yes there are a lot of better, cheaper alternatives but he needs to cater to the market demand of wealthy hipsters dressed like depression-era farm hands but with haircut and beard styling that cost more than my last car, a couple of grands worth of Apple shiny things in their manbags and an obsession with social media - because these folks are all so.....like....individual, man.... they all need to have an Orange T4 slammed on 18's with chequerboard lino flooring, LED mood lights and an Ikea sofabed.

[Alan_Green]

OK, an LT then if it has to be under £1,500. No bids at £1,250. 76K. 2.5 non turbo: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-LT28-SWB-Van-only-76K-like-Mercedes-Sprinter-RARE-VAN-MOT-Sept2016-/141837405202?hash=item21062b0c12%3Ag%3APBsAAOSwp5JWVd9y&nma=true&si=VIquAGEpg3%252FAnnzJj9KLHPloH30%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 

[Lacquer Peel]

I think the appeal of those T4 vans is they're relatively car-like to drive and fuel efficient. An LT is neither.

[ERNO]

OK, an LT then if it has to be under £1,500. No bids at £1,250. 76K. 2.5 non turbo: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-LT28-SWB-Van-only-76K-like-Mercedes-Sprinter-RARE-VAN-MOT-Sept2016-/141837405202?hash=item21062b0c12%3Ag%3APBsAAOSwp5JWVd9y&nma=true&si=VIquAGEpg3%252FAnnzJj9KLHPloH30%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 

It is an attractive van for that sort of money. It seems to have sold quick enough anyway.

 

Panel vans don't really appeal to me as daily transport. The appeal of the T4s linked is that they are buses. I'd been thinking more along the lines of a daily driver that could carry a bit of a load and doubles up as a camper.