Considering purchase of 1998 Chevy 3500 Sportsmobile with 210,000K. What's it worth

[wildwestrider]

Hello everyone,...I'm new here, and for my first post,....asking for some assist on evaluating a sportsmobile I am thinking about purchasing.

I looked at a 1998 Chevy 3500 (one ton?) Sportsmobile conversion yesterday.

Chevy 350 is solid, no smoking, runs well and is quiet,..4180e transmission shifts well and fluid is bright red and clear, no burnt smell at all.

210,000 miles. Body is rust free, but undercarriage show a lot of what appears to be surface rust. Tires are newish.

The Onan Gen set does not work

The penthouse looks to be weather tight and operates, but is very heavy feeling,...wondering if the spring tension can be adjusted somewhere to make lifting easier.

All the upholstery cloth is very good, but the vinyl portions on the sides of all 4 seats are STICKY to the touch,....thinking this is an indication that the vinyl is deteriorating or breaking down..

The front and rear A/C both blow but do not cool

Feels like all the shocks are shot on it.

It hasn't been inspected or apparently on the road for 2 years.

Windshield is cracked badly, and left rear door where the spare is mounted was hit and the sheet metal cracked/ripped/tore,...which is allowing water into that door,....rust stains on the bumper under that door show that it is rusting internally,...but the spare cover most of the visible damage.

Can any of you suggest what a fair price might be for this,....or perhaps a price range? I tried looking on eBay and NADA,....but didn't find enough of them to draw any conclusions.

Thanks in advance,
Brian

 

[simplesez]

I sold my 1997 Chevy Sportsmobile with 200k miles for around $9000 last year. It had no rust and mechanically was pretty darn good for its age and miles.

 

[Grampswrx]

What is the asking price? Seems like there is quite a bit of variation based on features and such. I paid $11k for a 1993 ford and that was about the cheapest I have seen. Location matters a lot too. Prices are higher here in CA.

I would assume any van that age is going to need about $2500 worth of work to make everything function. So if the camper systems are good, then the AC and vinyl can be fixed. Generator work is not cheap, so be careful when planning for that.

 

[wildwestrider]

simplesez,.....good looking van,....looks cleaner than this one,....they are asking $13,000

 

[Grampswrx]

Is it one in Austin TX? Sounds like one I have been looking at.

 

[simplesez]

simplesez,.....good looking van,....looks cleaner than this one,....they are asking $13,000

Maybe slightly cleaner but nearly the same. Ours was an Austin built Sportsmobile as well. This 3500 seems to be an extended wheelbase which gets you more room. I would make sure the spark plugs have been changed. Get a full inspection if you are serious. If the shocks are blown it probably needs bushings all over as well. With the inspection you can get an estimate of price to fix and use that to reduce the asking price closer to $10,000 where is likely belongs.



https://austin.craigslist.org/rvs/d/1998-sportsmobile-with/6583908089.html

 

[GAR-SMB]

The GMC/ CHEVY one ton van has been a real dependable vehicle for a long long time. They had problems with paint at one time, which is why you see many with paint pealing, particularly the hood, but mechanically they are very solid.


Gar

 

[BrianW.]

One thing it has going for it are those second-row captain's chairs, which are hard to find. It's a very good layout for four people down there. We have the same dinette beds on our Ford EB and love them.

Sounds like it needs a fair amount of work, though. The A/C can be very expensive to fix, assuming it's a Starcool system. Could be easy and cheap, could be thousands. Or just disconnect it (the Starcool) and use the front A/C. Obviously it's been a tow vehicle, and probably towed heavy with all the racecar stickers on it.

I'd say figure out what it would be worth if everything was in good shape, and work backward from there. For a 98 with 200k miles, maybe $15-17,000 in good shape? Ford 98-99s with 120k miles seem to be going for $18-22,000.

 

[wildwestrider]

One thing it has going for it are those second-row captain's chairs, which are hard to find. It's a very good layout for four people down there. We have the same dinette beds on our Ford EB and love them.

Sounds like it needs a fair amount of work, though. The A/C can be very expensive to fix, assuming it's a Starcool system. Could be easy and cheap, could be thousands. Or just disconnect it (the Starcool) and use the front A/C. Obviously it's been a tow vehicle, and probably towed heavy with all the racecar stickers on it.

I'd say figure out what it would be worth if everything was in good shape, and work backward from there. For a 98 with 200k miles, maybe $15-17,000 in good shape? Ford 98-99s with 120k miles seem to be going for $18-22,000.

Yes, its been used to tow a dual axle trailer with a race car on it,....and a couple bike on the receiver hitch.

 

[wildwestrider]

Update

Well, after talking with the guy who was selling it for the current owner, I could see how things were going to go. There were a number of issues that needed attention. Dead gen set, lots of rust underneath, Neither AC was cooling, and I could tell they weren't going to actually repair the AC,....they were just going to shoot a bit of Freon into the leaking system, call it a day, and sell it.. Also the left rear door had been hit, and it was bent and ripped in a few spots, allowing water into the door internals and rusty liquid had been leaking out of the bottom of that door. Too bad they aren't going to fix it right. The current owner paid $13K for it about 3 years ago. They are now asking $14,000 and I think the other poster here was correct,....I would expect probably $2500 and up on repairs, depending on whether you wanted to fix the damaged door and get the generator running.

 

[BroncoHauler-SMB]

It's good that you're looking with a critical eye, and not just with your heart. I know with a fast-paced market it can be difficult to take your time to ask the right questions and thoroughly look over a rig, but with enough time you will find the right rig for you. The most challenging part is balancing the purchase price versus purchase+repair price. Is a more expensive rig that doesn't need as many repairs the right answer, or is a cheaper rig that you need to spend unknown dollars to repair the right answer? Tough call.

Good luck on your hunt.


Herb