2004 Sportsmobile 4x4 Diesel $28K

[VanDickin]

Just seen this. Almost warranted posting in the "what's wrong with it" section.
For 28K I wonder what's been done to the engine. Looked up the VIN and it's a 6.0L

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/200...IGN-5007725797

[wish41]

I love how they put SMB stickers on it and are advertising it as a SMB. I see nothing upfitted by SMB on that rig. And I wonder what 4x4 is on it.

[VanDickin]

The 4x4 is the only thing that I suspect is from Sportsmobile. But you are right, they could have just put stickers on it. I didn't even think about that!
That's what's wrong with it!

Also. It appears that it was bought from an auction that specializes in salvaged vehicles. Oh, man. This is getting smellier by the minute!

[wish41]

It's not a leaf sprung front end, so that wouldn't have been done by SMB. I do think this is just a deceptive marketing ploy, but maybe I'm missing something.

[carringb]

This strikes notes of a Javier van except its not overdone for a change. But still, lots of red flags. 145k and engine is stock?!?

Door gaps up front don't line up and the headlight bucket mismatch suggests its an accident rebuild.

[Offroading_is_Fun]

Eh... As others have said, there are a number of things that don't really add up.

For high end cars there's not really such thing as "too clean".... but for a 15 year old, 150K mile off-road van that obviously hasn't lived its entire life in an Arizona garage? I'll label this as "too clean".

Price now down to $24K, not sure if that's US or CAD... yeah, I hope whoevers brave enough to sink some hard earned money into this really gives it a VERY thorough look through and PPI.

Something also tells me this 'clean title vehicle' is a flat out lie. If there wasn't something wrong with it, this would probably get $35K if held out for the right buyer.

Really the only other downside of a 2004 is that Ford didn't introduce the 5R110 until 2005, right? I'd much rather have the 5R110 than the 4R100.

[86Scotty]

That's a Quigley shifter and I'm pretty sure a radius arm visible on the photo close up of the wheel. I'm thinking coil conversion, not SMB for sure. Nothing SMB about this one.

[Offroading_is_Fun]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

That's a Quigley shifter and I'm pretty sure a radius arm visible on the photo close up of the wheel. I'm thinking coil conversion, not SMB for sure. Nothing SMB about this one.

Quigley's site says "Nope" on its "Is it a Quigley?" VIN lookup.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by Offroading_is_Fun

Really the only other downside of a 2004 is that Ford didn't introduce the 5R110 until 2005, right? I'd much rather have the 5R110 than the 4R100.

The 6.0 PSD actually got the 5R110 one year early, so this van will have it. The 4R100 won't work with the 6.0 PCM.

The other thing that concerns me is simply the original configuration. It seems that 2004 E350 extended wagons ONLY got the diesel as a fleet order option. I've never seen one that wasn't a former worker shuttle, or best case, a college motor pool van.

The current Chateau seats were not original, as Ford didn't offer them in EB vans and also they're the wrong period. The plush seats with holes in the head rests ended in '97 or '98.

[Offroading_is_Fun]

Originally Posted by carringb

The current Chateau seats were not original, as Ford didn't offer them in EB vans and also they're the wrong period. The plush seats with holes in the head rests ended in '97 or '98.

I thought about calling that out too, but I never kept tabs on when the seats changed, just the 2009 dashboard change. Just another strike against the van...

Feel like it might have been worth something if the dealership came forward saying "Yeah it has a salvage title, yes it was professionally repaired, so-and-so's 4x4 conversion, minor buildout, older chateau interior (etc etc etc)" and letting people be confident in what it is... rather than it being a hot soup sandwich of just about everything and nobody can tell what exactly the deal is.

And even on the 5R110 trans, it still has the early 6.0 PSD. I know it was a bigger deal for the higher output F-Series motors, but I feel like I heard someone say that between 2003 & 2005/2006, Ford made something like 500 different changes to the 6.0... If the E-series were like the F-series in that sense, and all else being equal, I'd tend to devalue the early 2003-2005 vans over a later 2007+ 6.0 van, if I absolutely had to buy one (Under the impression that the early motors are going to be prone to more parts breakages than the later ones).