Newbee Needs Advice on New Rig
As others have said, separate “need” from “like” on your list. Brakes, suspension, etc. are need. RIP kit is nice. Cleaning up rust is nice. Etc. Any used van will require updates, some more than others.
Underneath definitely has a rusty patina, but I don’t see any significant scaling or structural issues. I recently dealt with this on a Ford van I had, and it looked way worse than it actually was. Took a good bit of sweat equity to address, but it wasn’t hard and only cost me a wire wheel and paint and turned out great. People tend to overreact to normal rust IMO, mainly because the preponderance of SMB buyers are west coast and don’t have much experience with what is or is not significant rust. To me (an east Coaster) this is not too bad.
The courtesy light issue is likely that they are just not turned on at the light itself. If it uses the same fixtures as my 98 SMB (black fixtures with two bulbs side by side) then there are small black, round push-button switches on the fixture itself that override any door switch. Additionally, my van has three of these fixtures in the front cab area. The center is controlled by the door switch pins and wired to the main van battery, while the ones to the left and right closer to the doors are wired to the house batteries and are not door-switched. If your house batteries are dead these won’t work.
For batteries, Lifeline are top notch, but there are much cheaper options. I successfully run Duracell AGM Group 27s from Sams Club at $150 each, not $600.
Van value? If a 4x4 SMB has been listed for a week or more and hasn’t sold in this market (assuming it’s been decently advertised), then that says to me it’s overpriced. The light rust is also likely scaring people off. Buy it, address the rust with a good POR15 treatment, and immediately your resale value goes up. Unless the seller us desperate, no way you’ll get it for $25k. Maybe $35k is realistic? Offer $32 and be willing to go up. I tried to buy a Quigley high top (non camper) last year locally. Seller thought it was worth $45. I thought low $20s given the work it needed. Obviously we didn’t come together on it and I walked away. They relisted for $35 or so and I assume got close to that. Needed more work than it looks like yours does.
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