Mickydripin Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Hi all, I have been looking for a good used camper van and I have seen one it is a 2001 Mercedes 316 CDI Gwent Eurocruiser it is selling for £20,000 and has done just under 36,000 miles and is in great condition do you think that it is a wise buy. Some people say that if it had more miles on the clock it would have been better and not standing around too much. (But just over 2,000 miles a year???) What with all the restrictions on emissions and towns all over the EU banning diesels unless you are euro3,4,5,or 6. My question is, Will I be able to get my money's worth out of it before I have to pay a fortune in charges if I want to go into any towns (or even banned) or in the end will I have to scrap it and £20,000 gone down the drain in say four or five years. I know we do not have a crystal ball but things are going so fast and we are now on Euro six engines. I have seen some campers of that year around £10,000 so it worries me that I could be paying over the odds even though it is a Mercedes and in good nick.??????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodach Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Rust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Hi Michael, If it worries you at £20k offer £15, and keep looking. Maybe a 16 year old Merc is a worry? But you are probably a Merc fan? We converted our van 10 years ago for around £33k, and I keep threatening to calculate the total cost of 10 years and 40k miles of travel and high level enjoyment. I rekon it would work out pretty good value even at a total writeoff. Very roughly, 70 nights holiday accommodation per year equals 2 years alternative to hotels and B&B. I think it would work out pretty good value. Must get the spreadsheet sorted out! Regards Snowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Hi Mike. Honest answer? Too old: too few miles. Might be worth trying to find out how much longer spares will be available. I think all manufacturers have a cut-off date after which the only spares will be those left on the shelf. After that, you have to rely on patterned parts which may, or may not, be available. Whatever its condition it is a 17 year old commercial vehicle, not intended to have survived in commercial use for much beyond 5 years, and to have been scrapped after about 10 years. I know they do last longer, but commercial common sense says that the older they get the fewer of them will be around, and spares storage becomes a very costly item if there only a handful of survivors in the market. Just my opinion, of course. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumblewagon Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 It depends if you want to go into large towns here or abroad. If you do, then I think you want at least a Euro 4 or 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmerson Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Brian Kirby - 2018-02-12 6:45 PM Hi Mike. Honest answer? Too old: too few miles. Might be worth trying to find out how much longer spares will be available. I think all manufacturers have a cut-off date after which the only spares will be those left on the shelf. After that, you have to rely on patterned parts which may, or may not, be available. Whatever its condition it is a 17 year old commercial vehicle, not intended to have survived in commercial use for much beyond 5 years, and to have been scrapped after about 10 years. I know they do last longer, but commercial common sense says that the older they get the fewer of them will be around, and spares storage becomes a very costly item if there only a handful of survivors in the market. Just my opinion, of course. :-D But that opinion is sadly flawed! Check some of the classic camper forums. I own a 1987 Talbot Autohomes Camelot, and am one of hundreds of Talbot owners throughout Europe. This is also true of most other makes of camper/motorhome. The Retro Caravan Club UK has over 900 members, probably 10% of us have campers, and the cut off age is 1990, so why is a 16 year old van too old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globebuster Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Well, having never heard of the make or model the first thing I would say that it not being an established brand, it might not be so easy to find a future buyer. I guess these were fairly bespoke campers, and regardless of the build quality, you have little to go on in terms of a real market valuation. There's not much information available on the 'net and you might assume they were built in limited numbers. However, I did find the same spec model that was on the market for £22,250 [with 33k on the clock] back in 2009. There is a distinct possibility this is the same one that's been languishing somewhere......in which case you should be offering about half that figure. Personally, I would steer well clear of a 'niche' product - unless you really want it and it's seriously cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Brian Kirby - 2018-02-12 6:45 PM Hi Mike. Honest answer? Too old: too few miles. (lol) (lol) (lol) ............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 globebuster The motorhome you mention that was advertised in 2009 http://www.motorhomes.mobi/Motorhomes/tabid/95/ItemID/21586/Motorhome/Mercedes-(Gwent)-Eurocruiser/Default.aspx is undoubtedly the same vehicle that is being advertised now. The present advert is here https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/for-sale/motorhomes/mercedes-316-cdi-gwent-eurocruiser/958021 Its registration number is Y906GDV and its MOT history can be viewed using this website facility https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ There are quite a few much younger Sprinter-based panel-van conversions currently advertised on-line, and the £20k asking price for this Gwent Eurocruiser is wildly optimistic. (I know nothing about the converter, but there are on-line images of at least three Sprinter-based PVCs produced by that firm.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 bodach - 2018-02-12 6:09 PM Rust? That would've been upper most in my mind, with it being a Merc' (Sprinter).... Any Sprinters that we've looked at in the past, or seen on the roads, that have much more than a handful of years on them, seem to have 1970s levels of bodywork rust!? 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-02-13 8:40 AM Its registration number is Y906GDV and its MOT history can be viewed using this website facility https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ Nothing on that MOT history that a dam good service and regular use won't cure ;-) ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 pepe63 - 2018-02-13 8:42 AM bodach - 2018-02-12 6:09 PM Rust? That would've been upper most in my mind, with it being a Merc' (Sprinter).... Any Sprinters that we've looked at in the past, or seen on the roads, that have much more than a handful of years on them, seem to have 1970s levels of bodywork rust!? 8-) Given the choice between 70's body rust and Modern vehicle injector rust ;-) ............ I know which I'd prefer 8-) ......... http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/rusted-injectors-ducato/48451/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Given the choice between paying £20k for a 2001 Mercedes-based PVC (with the dreaded Sprinshift transmission) that has hardly moved for seven years and nothing, I’d choose nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-02-13 9:08 AM Given the choice between paying £20k for a 2001 Mercedes-based PVC (with the dreaded Sprinshift transmission) that has hardly moved for seven years and nothing, I’d choose nothing. Fair comment ;-) ........I wouldn't buy anything built this century :D ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickydripin Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 Hi everyone, thanks for your opinions on this motor I will just have to keep looking. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.