I was selling as-is because I recognize that any buyer would be assuming some risk due to the unresolved issues. As I hadn't diagnosed the problems (shimmy, fuel gauge) it would not be clear if these would entail large expenses to fix. My price factors that in. Mileage is 110K. More detailed info is in my garage. Most all my pictures can be found here.
The undercarriage rust saga is discussed in this thread. I was tempted to despair when it seemed these problems would leave the van beyond repair, but after replacing the fuel transfer pump, brake calipers and pads, blasting and undercoating the undercarriage rust and rebuilding the aux fuel tank I was able to proceed. A few before and after pictures here.
The pictures in the original for-sale post in this thread are fairly recent, and reflect current conditions. I haven't done anything with the rust on the exterior lower panels. You be the judge whether this should be corrected now, later or never.
Any major rust-related issues since? Hard to say – some things might or might not have been partially or fully caused by rust (exhaust manifold, tie-rods and kingpins). The last rusty thing I replaced was a length of fuel line (May 2015).
UPDATE: I took the van off the market since the interested parties fell away. So I decided to proceed with diagnosing and repairing. I started with the shimmy, which I thought was transmission-related. Took it to a shop and they found a misfire on cylinder #1. Apparently this is commonly confused with trans trouble! So they fixed that and now the shimmy is gone. Does this mean there are no tranny problems? No, it doesn't. I'm planning to have the trans looked at next week. So now:
I've put a little time, effort and money in. Not so much yet that I feel a need to recoup by raising the price. But that point could come as soon as next week depending on what I learn.
A buyer's risk is now reduced somewhat depending on how much confidence one might have that the misfire was indeed the sole cause of the shimmy. This could be reflected in a price adjustment.
I recognize the complexities my proceeding with repairs introduces. That's why I took her off the market. Bottom line is I guess I'm still open to a fast sale at the original $15K but the window is closing fast. If you're still interested we'll have to act fast.
Sorry for the long post. Also sorry if this post is corrupted / unformatted. I've lost the whole thing (twice actually) when I tried to preview post.
[*]I recognize the complexities my proceeding with repairs introduces. That's why I took her off the market. Bottom line is I guess I'm still open to a fast sale at the original $15K but the window is closing fast. If you're still interested we'll have to act fast.
Have an interested party in Raleigh NC. Sent you a PM yesterday...if its easier just call me at 410-212-2731.
Thanks