Buying a T5 Van - Advice please (Wrong forum I know but also Ebay fraud??))

Hi

I know this is the wrong forum for this really but I would like some advice about a T5 van. My colleague has decided that having a camper van is the way forward but she needs something to drive every day and that can also go away in and likes the idea of a diesel T5 van fully kitted out.

She looked on ebay and found one that by advert looked ok for £9000 but I thought was a bit cheap. There was some dodgyness to the thread with several cambelt changes close together, not brillaintly serviced and had 137k on the clock. Also talked of a "chip" to make engine faster when loaded which sounds a bit engine thrashed type of alarm to me!

The problem was also that to buy she was supposed to send the balance to ebay motors and then would have the van for 3 working days and if not as described then could give it back without charge). This was from a private seller. Incidentally she had not agreed to buy the van at any point but was in email contact with seller and for some unknown reason had to give her address?!

I thought this was all a bit suspect and the description was not great with the above belts and mileage and having the diesel engined chipped etc...not that a T5 is a boy racer type car! So she decided to avoid buying it and look for something else.

This all turned nasty with the seller and I have no idea why but he is now threatening her by email. (She never clicked committ to buy or any other agreement. If it was any of you selling the van then I'm sorry but threatening her by email is not the way forward! I think this is awful behaviour and not surprisingly now the advice not to buy seems definitely the right thing to do if the seller is that horrible. We have reported to ebay.

Does this 3 days thing sound right to you and sending your money direct to ebay motors???

Anyway she is now looking again and has a limited budget but is looking for £10-12000 to buy a good reliable van. Does this sound possible? On the T5 is there anything awful ie. turbo failing at 100k or other type stuff.

I look forward to hearing from you

Ben

 

Sounds like a scam to me, steer well clear and report to ebay and see how long the advert then lasts

 

Correct. report to eBAY as fraud as the seller is not sticking to any of the EBAY rules.

 

id second the view its a scam ...

 

Has any money changed hands?

 

No, no money changed hands and she had not agreed to buy! She had emailed and arranged that she may go and look at the van and then get AA inespection etc... I had never heard of this 3 day thing where if not satisfied that as described could give it back! Or sending money to ebay motors. Is this right?

Anyway, I understand what you say about dealerships etc...but she wants a ready to roll camper really not a van that needs kitting out from scratch.

I think she would be betetr off from a trade sale with a warranty!

Thanks though. What do you make of this 3 days business?

Cheers
Ben

 

Never heard of the 3 day returns thing? seems to miss the point of ebay altogether. Car garages dont even do that nowadays..

There are more modern campervan dealerships that do 2nd hand campers.
Just got to research/find them.

 

I've never heard of it, it's a nice amount of time to disappear though. If no money has changed hands and there was no commitment to buy a contract hasn't been formed, it's a simple as that. Tell them to sod off or you will call the police for harassment. 8)

 

ebay is getting worse and worse these days

 

with ANY vehicle purchase on ebay the buyer should always go and look at the vehicle before bidding .
there are loads of scams on ebay , pistonheads , gumtree etc. etc.
i have heard that paypal can hold funds for a few days but i wouldnt commit to buy then hope for the best .. madness!

your friend will get a good t5 for that money , im in the market for around 5k :gumbofrown:

 

A full spec Camper Van Conversion (i.e. on logbook as camper van) on a T5 for 10 to 12k? Not sure if thats viable,but am not an expert.

137k on a Camper Van that old is going it some isnt it? Can understand it on a commercial vehicle, not so much a camper.

 

This one maybe ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-VOLKSWAGEN-T5-MOTORHOME-CAMPERVAN-CAMPER-/250866378273?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes&hash=item3a68cd2621#ht_1342wt_1139

 

COMES WITH VW PLUG AND RUN CHIP THAT UPS THE BHP IF YOU WANT TO FOR WHEN ITS FULLY LOADED.

Does that mean it's shagged and can't pull along when it's loaded up? ???

Usually (i may be wrong) but you can get a v5 status thing about these on ebay, i would avoid this if i couldn't check the history for sure.

 

I think the seats are uncomfortable, hope that helps.
nick

 

Sounds like a scam to me plus a decent T5 is going to cost her upwards of £15k surely ?

 

some nice vans on here: http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=162

might have to register to see the though, 12k will get a very nice van.

 

for a T5 £12k will get you a nice van, or a nice one with half side windows and rear bench seats, but it won't get you a good spec camper. You need to avoid anything with a 1.9 engine, they are absolutely gutless and not enjoyable to drive. Ideally you want a 2 litre with minimum 140bhp, best one is the 2 litre with 170bhp - expect to pay a lot more for this though. The 2.5tdi is more refined. Avoid all petrols. Most well known diesel issues for the whole VW stable is dodgy oil coolers - its a common fault and tends to fail for some reason following the first major service. Its a cheap part but a very costly repair.

 

Brilliant, thank you for replying.

I only know about T2s so its difficult to give her advice on spending so much for a good relaible motor. Giving advice about spending £12000 is a little difficult especially if it all went wrong!

I thought the advert was a bit odd with the cambelt being changed after a few miles and the chip thing was a little strange. Without upsetting the seller that was indeed the advert! I don't want to upset anyone and if this is a legitimate van then I apoligise but there is no need for offensive emails.

Thanks again

Ben

Next post will be about a T2! (probably my useless petronix failure again!)