Help what should I buy? E150? Tacoma? Express?

Allen Anderson

Allen Anderson

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My pros and cons are a Van no one can steal my stuff when I'm not looking, but they are gas hogs.

What kind of vehicle should I buy? I sold my corolla for 4k looking to get something. There are loads of work vans on craigslist within my price range. Lot of E150's and some Chevy Express'.

What are things to look and listen for when I go for my test drive? There are also some natural gas vans for sale which are cheaper... but I know nothing about natural gas vehicles.

If anyone knows what the common problems with these kinds of vans are give me a heads up to check for them please.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
If you got a truck you could buy a cap to put over the bed. I know some come with locks so your equipment is safe the bed. But getting a van would most likely be a more simple path.
 
We drive huge 16 passenger vans where I work and they actually get pretty good gas mileage. The inside of the van could be customized to your preference.
 
Yeah the Chevy Express vans look pretty nice. That is the only thing I'm worried about with the van is gas mileage. I'll post a pic of whatever I finally purchase. Seems like everyone goes for the vans must be good reason.

Cost of a cap for truck bed might be more then the cost of the truck.

Thanks everyone.

Gonna look at a couple of astro vans as well. Wish me luck with the used car gods.
 
Coming from a mechanical point of view, astro vans are a pain in the butt to work on. All vans are but especially the astro and areostar. I used to drive a chevy 2500 van with a full tool box and full size compressor and a lot of misc supplies. I averaged 12-14 mpg city. Mpg is important but go with the best you can afford. Ford and chevy both have their strong and weak points so it's up to you to decide. What year are you looking at getting? Are you a ford or chevy guy?
 
@allen anderson;
Just a rhetorical question, do you have a price point in mind? If you are looking at the used market, I would then suggest either a Chevy HHR (panel) or Chevy Astro van. I like the HHR panel very much because it has a reliable but efficient ecotec engine and can get probably 30mpg. Astros are very commonplace work trucks and can be pickup for a song. Generally they are reliable, but as "Mobile Detail" mentioned they are a pain to work on and do have some quirks. The 4.3L V6 is very reliable but not the most smooth engine (and GM has numerous problems with the Dexcool "lifetime coolant" when it was first introduced (late 1990s). Expect mileage in the high teens to low 20s.

As an aside, I would recommend getting magnetic signs for whatever vehicle you purchase. That way you can not advertise if you transverse in a seedy neighborhood and/or business vehicle restricted areas. (some areas in DC and Annapolis MD restrict commercial vehicles in certain neighborhoods. I can only imagine it is becoming more prevelant in other metro areas as well)
 
an old ambulance? lights on side,storage compatrments,some have aux generators,etc
 
There is a detail company here that uses what looks like ambulances with the lights but they are customized for their detailing. Wish I could think of their name so I could get a pic off their site
 
I have like 4,000 to spend. I found a guy with a 97 Aerostar with 118k miles new starter/tires for 3,600

But wait theres more!

It also has a 4000w briggs and stratton generator
a pressure washer with 2 attachments and 12 nozzels one rigid attachment one bendable.
100gal water tank. +the info on where to get good RO/Distilled water.
And a ridgid wet dry shop vac.

Just gotta transfer title of my old corolla get money from that and go buy it. They said they would hold it for me I can no longer find the listing on craigslist so I think I'm set.

Sound good?
 
Wish I could afford a used panel HHR those look clean.

Thanks Mobile for the info.
 
If I needed a vehicle I would get a panel HHR. This are pretty sweet looking. My brother and I were talking about that the other day. I told him all the stuff I would do to it and he says "can't you just leave anything alone." I guess I do like to customize things to fit me
 
I would think for all the items you would want to carry around the HHR would be too small. Also it looks like the HHR hasn't changed much since its debut and the Panel looks like just a pulled one.

For an alternative to the HHR and one that wiped the floor when the HHR debuted in every major magazine I would look at the Scion xB. But since you said you only have 4k cash on hand I know both are probably out of your price range ATM but I have found a few in the 3~6k range but you'll probably have to drive way out of your way to get.

Honda element is another car you might wanna look at if you need room, gas mileage etc. You can take out all the seats, the interior can be hosed down since its water proof, its reliable, and gets good gas mileage (already said that).
 
Here is what I think I'm gonna get. The interior is a lil dirty.

97 Ford Aerostar with 118,000 miles on it.

van1.jpg


van2.jpg


van3.jpg


van4.jpg


van5.jpg



They are asking 3,600 for it. The people seem nice don't get any bad vibes. The guy got a full time job so they don't need the van anymore.

What you guys think?
 
Yeah all the Scions around me are 7-12k it seems.

This van is more temporary till I start making some money and save up for a nicer vehicle/setup. I've already got some customers lined up at a medical office so it is nice its already all set to go.
 
Allen Anderson said:
Yeah all the Scions around me are 7-12k it seems.

This van is more temporary till I start making some money and save up for a nicer vehicle/setup. I've already got some customers lined up at a medical office so it is nice its already all set to go.
Click to expand...


Allen,

sorry to be late to the party man! I got your PM about wanting my input.

Well i have a bit of experience w/both the Chevy Express and the GMC Safari (same as Chevy Astro, just GMC is usually put together a bit better IMO).

My mom has a 96' Safari conversion and my godpapa has a 96' Express conversion.

Both are nice vans...the SPACE in the Express though is awesome...im 6'3 and have all kinds of room in the mid row. The van does get kinda 'eh' MPG, about 14ish as someone else here stated...and thats without being loaded down with 50+ gallons of water and loads of equipment, so take that into consideration. At about 90k miles the tranny ended up needing to be rebuilt...just had to replace the alternator, compressor and idler pulley as well. Tranny was of course most expensive...but could be due to using the van to haul our boat in the summer (not long trips but rather hilly). Still, a bit over 1k to rebuild it...we HOPE its good to go now, but it seemed like as soon as it crossed that 90k mile mark, all hell broke loose.

The GMC Safari has over 150k miles on it and still going strong. The fuel pump on the thing has gone out about 3x's...not a huge deal but you gotta drop the gas tank to get to it. Rear differential had to be replace at about 120k...that possibly coulda been avoided if the oil in it had been changed, but not sure. Other than that i really don't think it has had any major work needing to be done. All the coolant hoses/radiator needed to be replaced at about 140k miles...but that should be done anyway. Its been a pretty strong little van...so it gets a thumbs up from me.

Oh, and it averages around 19 MPG, so an extra 5 MPG doesn't hurt at all thats for sure.

If you pull the seats out of a Safari, you should have plenty of room for sure...not sure what all you plan to haul around though?

Another good thing is a van would make a great billboard. You could do some vinyl lettering and have a rolling billboard everywhere you go.

Personally i'm looking to get a truck...i want a used Tundra. Granted, they are more pricey but, i want something that will look damn good and that i can use here n' there for personal errands. I'll have to unpack my gear almost everyday but...i really want the truck...i plan to then get a trailer to haul my gear around. That way my gear can just stay in the trailer...when I'm working i just hook up and go..when I'm not i just detach it and do what i want with the truck. Plus Tundras run FOREVER. But thats just the approach i want to take...for right now anyway lol.

So again, i'd go with a Safari if you can find it...i don't know a lot about the ford vans...i just don't like em lol..and i think they're ugly :).

BTW the pics you posted up a couple of spots aren't showing.

Let us know what you end up doing.
 
old topic - but I've been using my '09 tacoma with a leer cap. I bring all the usual goodies along with a 45 gal tank, pump, hose reel & honda gen.
 
I would go with the Ford, Very reliable vans. If you want to buy a new one in the future, you might be able to get a transit connect
 
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