It's a 2011 cargo model with an impressive carfax report...oil changes always on time and always serviced at a Ford dealer. Transmission rebuilt 15k ago.
If I buy this should I plan on replacing the engine right away? I suppose any engine is near it's end with 1/4 million miles on it.
Does anyone know of a trusted source for used low mileage engines?

Your thoughts?

 

Well it's all about price and cost. Price of course being how much they want for the thing, and cost being how much it will cost to keep on the road, and how much it will cost you in down time while it's being repaired. How will you be using the van?

 

I'd be buying it for $5,000 and using it for a small HVAC business logging 100-200 miles per day on it. I do have another vehicle I could use as a "work vehicle" in a pinch during the down-time for repairs.
Thanks!

 

Broke;


You pose some interesting questions and Frantz lays out some good beginning considerations.


One consideration that I would want to make, if I was in your situation, is what year engine would you go for? 2014 ushered in two engines with more power than offered previously. I don't know if the newer engines would bolt right in and I don't know how the original transmission would handle the extra power.


As Frantz notes, there are a number of costs to consider and it might be that case that you could spend more money on this high-mileage vehicle than you would on a newer, lower mileage van. Part of the cost would depend on whether you did the work or farmed it out. In terms of a used vehicle, you might want to check the Enterprise rental sales--they will ship.


In any event, I'd want to do a lot of research before I made the jump.


Good luck with your decision making.

 

I have no doubt the market value is $5k. I have leftovers that I'd sell around $22k. Even if you get a new '16 with less rebates, you're paying about 1/5 the price, but I'd argue you aren't getting 1/5 of the use. Small business is tough, I own one myself I'm trying to get off the ground and I have no new trucks yet. If you have that truck on the road daily you can probably make the higher payments, and in 5 years have no payments and several years of use left. If payments are a concern, a few banks will do 72 months for commercial with no trouble.

Still for 5k, if you put a new motor in it, you'll have what 10k invested? so long as nothing else major happens it might not be hateful. Utility value and market value are different animals. I could go either way, but would lean towards a new unit.