Buying used PM with 330k miles?

[dc843]

So, im looking into buying a used promaster 3500 ext high roof.

There isnt many for sale in my area, i will have to travel some ways to check some out, and with that said i want to be pre financed by a bank so dealers dont see im from away and try to take advantage.

From what im finding out my loan will have to be a certain debt to income ratio, the guy from one bank said 40%. So basically with my situation with 5000 down and a 60month loan at 10%, i can probably make a loan happen for $21,000 or less. There isnt many that fit the bill but a few.

Anyway to get to the point, there is exactly what i need for sale but its high miles for cheap. Asking, $11000, but i can probably negotiate less its been listed for a few weeks. Its a 2014 with 330k miles on it. Gas engine. Only 1 owner and they have the service records. Nothing currently wrong with it, seems to be really well taken care of. Looks to be set up as expediter or camper van with insulation and roof fan and such.

Just looking for advice, with my credit situation is it worth the risk to get a van with such high miles. Id basically only drive it till i paid it off then sell it and upgrade.

 

[Treadmill]

So, im looking into buying a used promaster 3500 ext high roof.

There isnt many for sale in my area, i will have to travel some ways to check some out, and with that said i want to be pre financed by a bank so dealers dont see im from away and try to take advantage.

From what im finding out my loan will have to be a certain debt to income ratio, the guy from one bank said 40%. So basically with my situation with 5000 down and a 60month loan at 10%, i can probably make a loan happen for $21,000 or less. There isnt many that fit the bill but a few.

Anyway to get to the point, there is exactly what i need for sale but its high miles for cheap. Asking, $11000, but i can probably negotiate less its been listed for a few weeks. Its a 2014 with 330k miles on it. Gas engine. Only 1 owner and they have the service records. Nothing currently wrong with it, seems to be really well taken care of. Looks to be set up as expediter or camper van with insulation and roof fan and such.

Just looking for advice, with my credit situation is it worth the risk to get a van with such high miles. Id basically only drive it till i paid it off then sell it and upgrade.

See if you can get the vin number of the vehicle and take it to a dealer and have them tell you what was serviced at the dealer.

 

[pelgrn]

I would be shocked if a lender would finance i van with 300,000 miles.

 

[BigStickJr]

Being hard to finance works in your advantage.
It will probably go to the highest cash buyer.
The longer he has it, the cheaper it may become.
Try to figure out how to raise more $$$, or offer him your $5000 and ask him to carry the note.
Where else can he get 10% on his money ?

 

[dc843]

So, im looking into buying a used promaster 3500 ext high roof.

There isnt many for sale in my area, i will have to travel some ways to check some out, and with that said i want to be pre financed by a bank so dealers dont see im from away and try to take advantage.

From what im finding out my loan will have to be a certain debt to income ratio, the guy from one bank said 40%. So basically with my situation with 5000 down and a 60month loan at 10%, i can probably make a loan happen for $21,000 or less. There isnt many that fit the bill but a few.

Anyway to get to the point, there is exactly what i need for sale but its high miles for cheap. Asking, $11000, but i can probably negotiate less its been listed for a few weeks. Its a 2014 with 330k miles on it. Gas engine. Only 1 owner and they have the service records. Nothing currently wrong with it, seems to be really well taken care of. Looks to be set up as expediter or camper van with insulation and roof fan and such.

Just looking for advice, with my credit situation is it worth the risk to get a van with such high miles. Id basically only drive it till i paid it off then sell it and upgrade.

See if you can get the vin number of the vehicle and take it to a dealer and have them tell you what was serviced at the dealer.

They have a free carfax report that shows when it was serviced and what got checked or repaired, very thorough listing.

 

[dc843]

Being hard to finance works in your advantage.
It will probably go to the highest cash buyer.
The longer he has it, the cheaper it may become.
Try to figure out how to raise more $$$, or offer him your $5000 and ask him to carry the note.
Where else can he get 10% on his money ?

If im paying cash there isnt a point, i want to get financed as to improve my ability to borrow.

Perhaps they would do a buy here pay here financing. Ill look into it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[skyraider]

Drive for someone else for awhile, there will always be another ride to buy...imho.. you will sleep better, -- if you blow an engine or transmission,,you will most likley be out 5 to 8 thousand bucks..

 

[dc843]

Drive for someone else for awhile, there will always be another ride to buy...imho.. you will sleep better, -- if you blow an engine or transmission,,you will most likley be out 5 to 8 thousand bucks..

Yeah i mean if i blew the engine then thats the same cost as the van just about its basically a bet on weather or not i can pay it off and sell it before a major problem. Seems well taken care of like i said and ive heard of these lasting to 500 or 600k when treated right, but i dont know if its worth the risk.

Probably just going to keep working local and checking for a better van daily.one in the 30 to 80k miles for $20k range.

Worked for fleet owners already arent a big fan of it, but if its really not going to happen for me in the next month ill try a straight truck for owner probably.

 

[westmicher]

I can tell you from experience (I own a herd of Promasters) that they have several major engineering deficiencies that any of them could (actually, WILL) fail and cost you between $2,000 to $6,000, depending on where you are when the failure occurs. If you dont have at least $6,000 CASH in reserve, a Promaster like that WILL bankrupt you. Mine have up to 500,000 miles on them and I know from experience. If you go forward, I wish you great luck!!!

Sent from my SM-G955U using EO Forums mobile app

 

[dc843]

I can tell you from experience (I own a herd of Promasters) that they have several major engineering deficiencies that any of them could (actually, WILL) fail and cost you between $2,000 to $6,000, depending on where you are when the failure occurs. If you dont have at least $6,000 CASH in reserve, a Promaster like that WILL bankrupt you. Mine have up to 500,000 miles on them and I know from experience. If you go forward, I wish you great luck!!!

Sent from my SM-G955U using EO Forums mobile app

Is there certain year models that are more prone to these problems in your expeirence?

 

[westmicher]

Never buy a diesel Promaster... they are constantly going down and dealers are not experienced enough to fix them. Gas versions are, unfortunately, all prone to the same issues. Chrysler knows about them but does not re-engineer them, except for the failure prone rocker arm needle bearings... which did get a complete re-design about a year ago....

Sent from my SM-G955U using EO Forums mobile app

 

[xmudman]

I can tell you from experience (I own a herd of Promasters) that they have several major engineering deficiencies that any of them could (actually, WILL) fail and cost you between $2,000 to $6,000, depending on where you are when the failure occurs. If you dont have at least $6,000 CASH in reserve, a Promaster like that WILL bankrupt you. Mine have up to 500,000 miles on them and I know from experience. If you go forward, I wish you great luck!!!

Sent from my SM-G955U using EO Forums mobile app

PLEASE elaborate!


Sent from my iPhone using EO Forums

 

[dalscott]

Never buy a diesel Promaster... they are constantly going down and dealers are not experienced enough to fix them. Gas versions are, unfortunately, all prone to the same issues. Chrysler knows about them but does not re-engineer them, except for the failure prone rocker arm needle bearings... which did get a complete re-design about a year ago....

Sent from my SM-G955U using EO Forums mobile app

Sent from my iPhone using EO Forums

 

[westmicher]

Electric radiator fans cannot take idling... even with no idling the bearings go bad, about $1,000 IF YOU CAN GET A NEW FAN SET BECAUSE THEY ARE, ALMOST ALWAYS, OUT OF REPAIR PARTS!

Radiators leak between the metal radiator and plastic tank... dissimilar materials expand differently and cause slow leaks at the seam. $1,000

Headlight bulbs burn out constantly because the connector is not designed to keep a firm hold on the bulb - arcing makes them fail. $30 and lost time every other week.

Roller bearings in the rocker arms fail because of poor design... not sufficient to hold up... ruins cams as well from the pounding- $1,600

Transmission fails because the transmission pump dies... $4,500 IF YOU CAN EVEN FIND A REPLACEMENT AS THEY ARE CONSTANTLY ON BACKORDER!!!

Struts wear out early... about $2,500.

Those are the frequent and common repairs required... we know from experience!


Sent from my SM-G955U using EO Forums mobile app

 

[coalminer]

Rock auto has radiators for $76 and the fan assembly for $134 new headlight socket $8

Not showing struts yet but I’m sure they will be appearing soon with as many promasters that have been sold.


Sent from my iPhone using EO Forums

 

[piper1]

So a knockoff rad is available for $76...if that's how you cost out equipment failure you aren't really capturing it. My guess is Westmicher is including things like labor and ancillary costs.....not to mention lost revenue earning abilities (especially if your going to sit and wait for a RockAuto shipment to wherever you break down) . New headlight sockets also don't fix the design flaw that causes the bulb failures...and they require labor to replace too.

BTW as an FYI to others....that TYC branded stuff RA lists as an option is absolute garbage. Any of it I have bought rarely lasts 25% of the time name brand or OE parts do. Ok to use if you're selling a vehicle, not relying on it.

 

[BigStickJr]

Note to self:

Remember, don’t buy used off piper1.

 

[Moot]

So basically with my situation with 5000 down and a 60 month loan at 10%

If you have $5000 for a down payment why not open a savings account at a local credit union? Work a real job for another 6-8 months while depositing as much as you can on a regular basis. When you do find a decent used van get the loan from that credit union, people who know you.

Its a 2014 with 330k miles on it. Id basically only drive it till i paid it off then sell it and upgrade.

A 60 month loan is like 5 years. I did the math! Expediting full time, a conservative mileage number would be 60,000 miles a year. That would put you over 600,000 miles on that particular van at the end of the loan. Personally I don't like those numbers.

 

[BigStickJr]

The 60 month loan would be for a different, hopefully lower mileage unit.

But the premise was right.

 

[C&J]

Electric radiator fans cannot take idling... even with no idling the bearings go bad, about $1,000 IF YOU CAN GET A NEW FAN SET BECAUSE THEY ARE, ALMOST ALWAYS, OUT OF REPAIR PARTS!

Radiators leak between the metal radiator and plastic tank... dissimilar materials expand differently and cause slow leaks at the seam. $1,000

Headlight bulbs burn out constantly because the connector is not designed to keep a firm hold on the bulb - arcing makes them fail. $30 and lost time every other week.

Roller bearings in the rocker arms fail because of poor design... not sufficient to hold up... ruins cams as well from the pounding- $1,600

Transmission fails because the transmission pump dies... $4,500 IF YOU CAN EVEN FIND A REPLACEMENT AS THEY ARE CONSTANTLY ON BACKORDER!!!

Struts wear out early... about $2,500.

Those are the frequent and common repairs required... we know from experience!


Sent from my SM-G955U using EO Forums mobile app

Hi DC....westminster makes many valid points...repair costs, which also means downtime, which means no income.
Moot makes a great point.... 5 years! for a used vehicle...... with 330k on it. PLUS...what will economy be like in 3 years...4 or even in 2? Maybe your plan is a 5 year note, but pay it off inn two??? a low payment just in case
( good idea, make double payments)
Even you realize that it has HIGH miles for CHEAP. Everybody who has posted makes good insightful info.

Consider why the owner is selling it??? If it was a great truck.... the costs that West pointed out are probably on the horizon???

I know the allure of having your own truck, picking your loads, your places you want to go, etc.... Though I also know the hardships from buying cheap older used up trucks.... experience is the best teacher, draw on the experience from these drivers/owners.... which you are, though it sometimes appears you are seeking an answer that validates what you want to hear/or do. I have been there!!!

While a low monthly payment seems great and easy to pay off.... the maintenance is what creeps up on you and stabs you in the back.... right in the kidneys. And those will be far higher than your note.

Personally..... 330k on a 7/8 truck gives me pause ( The heebeejeebees ) ... my husband tends to trade in around 350 to 400k, gets a better deal as it has warranty left ( class 8 TT ) Do the numbers...numbers won't lie to you, emotions will. Your maintenance fund is going to probably or should be equal to that payment? Maybe more? Consider a breakdown in BFE....towing, hotel, downtime, service failure, etc....... you can't sleep in a truck while it's stuck in a garage.
The question I ask myself... " why is the owner selling such a good solid money maker"? Many answers to that question.... my experience, most aren't positive.

I'm rambling.... doing my best to offer any scraps of solid info.... Husband on the road, kids at pool parties, too hot out to enjoy.....