THE NEW VAN IS HERE

[formariz 11,987]

New van is finally here. Still hard to believe the condition this thing is in. On top of that previous owner had the whole thing detailed, replaced a taillight that had a scratch in it, took it to his mechanic to ensure all fluids were OK, and drove it to my house and insisted that I drive it and inspect it again and if I was not happy he would give me my deposit back. I cant believe my luck. Those of you who own one of these vans will definitely appreciate the condition of this thing for a 2007.

There are a few blemishes on photos but it is some crud in the lens of my camera.

The only body damage!One little nick!

I don't think anyone has EVER been on passenger side.

Springs still have factory tags

 

Fluids are totally clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2018 by formariz

[Jerry77 1,218]

SWEEET    !

[jay bee 896]

Cas, that van looks like a time machine.  Check the year on the title again.  Good job!!!

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,497]

Pretty darn nice, escpecially the underside. Best of luck.

 

Glenn

[formariz 11,987]

I have to slap myself! I keep walking around this thing looking for stuff to pick on until i finally realize that I did not buy a new van.I am however now acting like I did.I am even reluctant to put it into service.

Is it possible that battery is still the original?

Edited January 25, 2018 by formariz

[KC9KAS 4,741]

You have yourself a dandy new van!

[Achto 27,502]

Great looking van!!

[Terry M-(Moderator) 2,175]

Very clean!!

[ACman 7,618]

Never seen a cargo/work van stay that clean  . You made the right choice buying this van .

 

 I bet the seller is having separation anxiety right now  !

[ebinmaine 67,263]

38 minutes ago, formariz said:

Is it possible that battery is still the original?

Great find !!

Not super likely after 11 years but it IS possible.

I've seen quite a good many OEM batteries go 10 + years.

 

[Cvans 1,009]

That is a beautiful Van. Are you sure that has actually been anything in the back? I can't help but think of all the money you saved compared to the cost of a new one. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Aldon 4,826]

Congrats

[squonk 41,018]

That battery is most likely not original. Since this van sat a lot the electrical drain from the computers would have killed it long ago. The sticker on the front looks like a Motocraft replacement sticker. 36 mo. is short time for an originally installed battery also. Look for a date code or sticker.

[ebinmaine 67,263]

1 minute ago, squonk said:

That battery is most likely not original. Since this van sat a lot the electrical drain from the computers would have killed it long ago. The sticker on the front looks like a Motocraft replacement sticker. 36 mo. is short time for an originally installed battery also. Look for a date code or sticker.

Ahh yes. I had forgotten about the sitting for a long time. Definitely valid points there.

[953 nut 55,056]

        Need to have Terry @Vinylguy make you up a set of these decals.        

[Sarge 3,463]

Uh, wow - that looks like nearly new . I'd be getting that guy's contact info and keep an eye on what he replaces it with - if he takes that kind of care of his equipment he's someone you should keep track of to buy his "used" vehicles, I know of 2 people around here like that, folks fight over their used cars as they are maintained to a level like no other. When I traded my '08 Tacoma TRD Off Road it was close to that condition, an '08 traded in 2015 with 32,000 on the clock was rare - the dealer almost did backflips trying to make a deal on the newer '14 Dodge 1/2 ton I bought. I've always had a separate work truck since around 2005, that really helps keep the "nice" vehicle in good condition and easier to keep the mileage down. I'm amazed anyone could find a work van in that condition - especially at 11yrs old now, wow....good score. I'd say for what you paid, miles and condition you got one heck of a deal given their known record of reliability - it's not uncommon to see these beaten to death with over 300k on the clock, still plugging along. Around here , the ones that are left from that generation have holes large enough to see through the vehicle, yet they still keep going...lol.

 

Sarge

[formariz 11,987]

7 minutes ago, Sarge said:

Uh, wow - that looks like nearly new . I'd be getting that guy's contact info and keep an eye on what he replaces it with - if he takes that kind of care of his equipment he's someone you should keep track of to buy his "used" vehicles, I know of 2 people around here like that, folks fight over their used cars as they are maintained to a level like no other. When I traded my '08 Tacoma TRD Off Road it was close to that condition, an '08 traded in 2015 with 32,000 on the clock was rare - the dealer almost did backflips trying to make a deal on the newer '14 Dodge 1/2 ton I bought. I've always had a separate work truck since around 2005, that really helps keep the "nice" vehicle in good condition and easier to keep the mileage down. I'm amazed anyone could find a work van in that condition - especially at 11yrs old now, wow....good score. I'd say for what you paid, miles and condition you got one heck of a deal given their known record of reliability - it's not uncommon to see these beaten to death with over 300k on the clock, still plugging along. Around here , the ones that are left from that generation have holes large enough to see through the vehicle, yet they still keep going...lol.

 

Sarge

He actually had this thing listed for a very long time, lowering the price just a little once in a while. He stated that he started it at $16000.00. By the time I found it it was at 13,950.00. I got it for $12,500.00. He would not budge from that number at all. He stated that literally dozens of people went to look at it including dealers but the year of the van kept everyone from even being close to what he was asking, however that he did not need money from van and was absolutely content to hang on to it.  According to him I was actually the only one that test drove it since he would not even allow anyone to do that unless the offer was reasonable to him.??? There is nothing around here historically from that year in that condition that I could compare it too. All vans from that year have at least 180,000. miles and nothing went for more than $8500.00. I was also a little intimidated hence my original post. Lots of people around here cautioned me about it, but between seeing what is in front of me, the guy being forthcoming about any questions I had, not being aggressive about selling it ,even willing to take it to a dealership to get it inspected if I so desired it, and of course with the advice here, made me realize that perhaps another opportunity like this would not come around. I drove it yesterday for about 150 miles and so far it is everything it looks to be. I might as well have driven it new out of dealership based on how it feels and performs.

[ebinmaine 67,263]

Having been born in the late teens right around a hundred years ago my grandparents were at the right age to fully experience the Great Depression. Due to the things that they went through as teenagers they had a better than average appreciation of when something is just the right thing to buy, or not. They never spent any money that they didn't have and they almost always spent a few extra bucks to get something that they knew was going to last. I think to you. That is that van.

[Sarge 3,463]

That's great - and a rare find. Most times anything that looks that good is really hiding something - and sellers aren't exactly known to be all that honest these days and way too many predators out there.

 

My only reason for buying as you did here is I have the ability to diagnose vehicles - I did that for a living for years and can also work on them if necessary. I've had to fight with Chrysler over my truck on a few minor problems and finally got them to fix the stuff under warranty - service managers never want to listen to a customer mechanic, they consider us a pain in their butt as we won't let them go their normal route of basically ripping people off. When you walk in the door armed with factory service bulletins about issues with a vehicle their attitude goes south in a hurry, and that's too bad .The last round came to a boil pretty badly - it resulted in my talking to the owner of the dealership and once he understood that i grew up dealing with Chrysler's warranty service he forced the manager to play ball and knock it off - they guy almost got fired for his attitude. I use one of their other dealerships now and suspect they've been warned about me - their eyebrows go up when I walk in the door but they are courteous and do as asked without argument, we get along fine now, lol. I've made a lot of friends over the years fighting with dealers - it's rotten how some of them treat people and I've almost ended up in court going to bat for them as a result.

 

For what you paid - and you're description so far, you're in fine shape and I wouldn't hesitate to drive the heck out of it. Considering the cost of a newer unit, the extra cost of the insurance for a newer model year and the potential cost of repairs in the future that most basic shops can't handle - you came out on top - nothing to regret here. Honestly, if something like the engine or trans blew up in the next few years you're still money ahead and it would be worth it to fix the thing, in my opinion I'd rather fix what I know is reliable versus replacing with an unknown newer series since problems usually don't show up until long after the warranty is gone. I see a lot of used car lots that they are buying vehicles at the auction with a large issue cheaply - repairing the issue and then selling some very late-model cars/trucks at a pretty fair price given the age and condition. One is here in town and he honestly does a good job at it and makes some decent money on his little lot. No has seemed to have been ripped off or misled - he's got a good reputation and does really care, that's a rare thing now days. Many other lots are doing the opposite, putting band-aids on bad wounds and ripping folks off - they usually don't get away with it for too long as the word spreads. Buying directly from a previous owner can be a good or bad move - I'd say yours was a good one and hope it proves to be the case long-term. I see no reason to have any regrets later with the condition of it , nice score .

 

Sarge

[Pullstart 62,783]

I'm not much of a Ford fan, but I've gotta say... that'll sure haul the mail!  Nice purchase, enjoy it!

[wh500special 2,160]

Wow!

 

I wonder what he did with that thing to keep the interior so nice for 11 years.  Maybe had a mattress in back .

 

We have two of those 1-tonners here at work.  I don't know the year of either, but one is a V-10 gas with over 425000 miles, the other is a diesel with a little bit more.  Both run great, but after 20 trips around the globe there isn't anything in them that doesn't rattle or vibrate.

 

Based on that, I think you'll grow tired of that van before you wear it out.

 

Steve

[hm12460 53]

Very nice. What are you going to use it for?

[formariz 11,987]

On 2/2/2018 at 2:29 PM, hm12460 said:

Very nice. What are you going to use it for?

It will substitute my current work van. Basically used to haul my, woodworking supplies like sheet goods, lumber,etc. It will also have all my tools used on any installations I may do.

[chip61 658]

Those are great trucks-over the years we've gone through several of them at work-all abused, run hard, overloaded and very little maintenance except for routine oil changes. Every one of them went at least 300k miles. Never replaced a transmission. 

I would take one of these vans used in good condition over a new one any day.