Should I buy this van?

[Duggie12]

Hi. I'm going to look at this van for sale tomorrow:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202503230482868

I'm just a bit concerned about the service history. The last service was done September 2023 @ 45k miles (and on the invoice for that service it is noted that the service was 'overdue'). Current mileage 62k so it will be overdue a service as it stands. 

The owner has no other previous service history - he says he bought it from a Mercedes garage in Edinburgh. I am guessing it will have been serviced when under warranty but I don't know and I don't know if it possible to find out.

Anyone have any thoughts? I have very little experience of buying used cars privately. This van would be quite a bit cheaper than one from a dealer.

And is there anything else specifically I should check when viewing the van? It's the 1. 6 engine.

I spoke to the current owner and he sounds nice - certinaly no dodgy vibe or anything.

Thank you for any help. 

Douglas

[evdama]

Id be tempted.
Its not super-overdue.....as long as its done immediately and often thereafter for evermore.

[Duggie12]

Yeah I guess. It's sort of more the fact there isn't any records of any oil changes in previous years. I guess they were probably done, but who knows...

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk

[Gadgetman]

3 owners in so few years?

Looks like some well-thought-out shelving in the back, too.
Someone spent some effort putting those together, so why sell it off so soon?

The only real detraction for me would be that there's no window on the passenger-side sliding door. That limits the viewing angle and can be problematic in some intersections.

[evdama]

Thats why you will see experienced van drivers turn in sharp to meet the give way lines at right angles even though the junction is at an acute angle.

[Duggie12]

3 owners in so few years?    

Looks like some well-thought-out shelving in the back, too.  
Someone spent some effort putting those together, so why sell it off so soon?  

The only real detraction for me would be that there's no window on the passenger-side sliding door. That limits the viewing angle and can be problematic in some intersections

Is 3 owners in 5 years a lot? 
If it is pre registered and then some trades it in and someone else buys it that is 3. 

The shelving - the guy was a tiler but changing jobs. 

Not sure what you mean about the window - these vans don't have windows on the sliding doors. 

Thanks 

[evdama]

Sliding door windows can be a factory fitted option,retrofitted or a door from a car fitted.

Car drivers who are not used to a van will often fall into the trap of the wrong approach at T junctions that are not 90 degrees

[notsofast]

Neither of my vans has a window on the passenger side of the cargo area, and although acute-angle intersections require a certain approach - sometimes necessitating a temporary incursion onto the opposite side of the road - usually the worst of these intersections are on fairly minor approach roads with light traffic, so just using care and indicators is sufficient. I do admit though that whenever I approach the 2 tight intersections near me, I always hope there's nobody right behind me and nobody turning into the road I'm on. But I wouldn't have this issue as a consideration when buying a van (and if it were a consideration, it would have to be weighed against the fact that any window in the cargo area provides potential thieves with a presentation of what's on the menu) .

[Duggie12]

I've never had a van so nerver really thought about it to be honest
I've never really seen windows on these vans unless a crew van

And I think I missing something because even if it had a window you wouldn't see anything because of the bulkhead??

[evdama]

Haha very true!-although bulkheads aren't always fitted as standard.
I had factory fitted windows in the rear barn doors of mine.
Along with that came a rear view mirror on the windscreen ,so the bulkhead option could only be mesh.