Used van prices during Covid

[motovan_mn]

Hey everyone,

Hopefully this is the correct sub-forum to post this question in, but please let me know if I should post somewhere else!

I'm currently looking around for a low-mileage extended passenger E-series, and it looks like newish clean examples with <100k miles are going for $15-$20k. KBB usually shows somewhere around $15k.

I figure I'll be paying a premium given the used car market these days, but I'm trying to get a sense for how much of a premium! Am I paying a couple thousand above what they used to go for, or am I going to be paying double? If the former I'm ok with that, as I plan to invest a decent chunk of time and change into this project. If the latter, maybe I'll wait it out...

Unfortunately the last time I purchased an E-series was a few years ago, and I was looking at older years (mid 90's) with higher miles. So I don't have a great basis to compare against.

[simplesez]

Gosh an opportunity to just have an opinion on prices? This should be an interesting one.

I say 10% inflated

Then again the higher end market seems 20% inflated.

Dammit...now my answer is "it depends"

[motovan_mn]

Originally Posted by simplesez

Gosh an opportunity to just have an opinion on prices? This should be an interesting one.

I say 10% inflated

Then again the higher end market seems 20% inflated.

Dammit...now my answer is "it depends"

My next post will be asking about opinions on oil!

But in all seriousness, I appreciate the input.

[mikracer]

Van prices have been on the rise for the last 7 or 8 years because of #vanlife. The COVID definitely made things worse in terms of supply and demand so prices probably went even higher.

The drivetrain is going to have a large impact on whether you're paying KBB or an adjusted market price. 5.4 vans are the most common so they will most likely be closest to KBB. V10 vans have become very desirable due to the negative experiences people have had with the 6.0 diesel engines. V10 vans that are 2005 and newer have the 5r110 transmission which is more robust and easier to convert to 4x4 so they get an even larger tax. People are still paying large premiums for the 7.3 diesel engines so don't even look at KBB on those vans.

[lashidalgo]

Originally Posted by mikracer

Van prices have been on the rise for the last 7 or 8 years because of #vanlife. The COVID definitely made things worse in terms of supply and demand so prices probably went even higher.

The drivetrain is going to have a large impact on whether you're paying KBB or an adjusted market price. 5.4 vans are the most common so they will most likely be closest to KBB. V10 vans have become very desirable due to the negative experiences people have had with the 6.0 diesel engines. V10 vans that are 2005 and newer have the 5r110 transmission which is more robust and easier to convert to 4x4 so they get an even larger tax. People are still paying large premiums for the 7.3 diesel engines so don't even look at KBB on those vans.

Totally agree, throughout the last years I've been involved in 2 purchases, one for me and one for a friend:
- 2002 5.4 e350 150k miles with a hightop(old wheelchair van) in 2016 was $6,000 in CA
- 2003 5.4 e350 150k miles with the same hightop conversion as mine (busted limo conversion) in 2021 was
$8,500 in OR

That is $2,500 of diff 5 years later for a 1 year newer van. Some would say old vans are appreciating assets these times, from my experience I couldn't agree more.
This is good news as an owner, bad news as a buyer.
I've been looking at selling mine and getting a fuso since the family has grown since 2016, those seem to keep their price over the last 3 years that I've been looking for. My $.02

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by mikracer

Van prices have been on the rise for the last 7 or 8 years because of #vanlife. The COVID definitely made things worse in terms of supply and demand so prices probably went even higher.

The drivetrain is going to have a large impact on whether you're paying KBB or an adjusted market price. 5.4 vans are the most common so they will most likely be closest to KBB. V10 vans have become very desirable due to the negative experiences people have had with the 6.0 diesel engines. V10 vans that are 2005 and newer have the 5r110 transmission which is more robust and easier to convert to 4x4 so they get an even larger tax. People are still paying large premiums for the 7.3 diesel engines so don't even look at KBB on those vans.

Well said

Once again, the message I have entered is too short. I have lengthened it to appease whatever idiot formatted the software this way.

[Lilnuts2]

Wait till fuel prices creep towards $5.00 a gallon.
#vanlife for many will become #priuslife.

[b. rock]

Originally Posted by Lilnuts2

Wait till fuel prices creep towards $5.00 a gallon.
#vanlife for many will become #priuslife.

I was actually just thinking about that at the pump yesterday. This summer could be interesting.

[BrianW]

Originally Posted by Lilnuts2

Wait till fuel prices creep towards $5.00 a gallon.
#vanlife for many will become #priuslife.

I doubt it. People willing to plunk down $150k on a 4x4 Sprinter campervan probably aren’t fretting too much about gas prices. Gas is, what, like $4/gallon or so now in California (I hear)? But vans still sell at a premium there.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by BrianW

I doubt it. People willing to plunk down $150k on a 4x4 Sprinter campervan probably aren’t fretting too much about gas prices. Gas is, what, like $4/gallon or so now in California (I hear)? But vans still sell at a premium there.

Exactly. The people 'living' van life, as in neonomads will stay put to save fuel but they have nowhere else to go. People 'playing' van life aren't too worried about it because they aren't daily drivers.