So if you are planning on buying a van in the UK there’s a couple of things you should know.
- When you call and ask if it is mechanically sound and if there is any problems be they minor or major - the second they say, “No known problems.” Hang up the phone. Just because you don’t ‘know’ about the oil leak doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive you for allowing us to drive 3 hours to see your crappy broken down van along with the massive oil stain on your driveway.
- If they answer the above question, “No she’s cracking she is, never had a problem.” Remain on high alert as again, oil leaks, dodgy clutches and super sticky gears are apparently things that one can “just get used to really isn’t it, I never really noticed.” Really, you never noticed that you have a left arm as jacked as the Hulk from having to almost bend the gear stick every time you change gears. (And yes, Rich did use those exact words with one lady and her VW, hilarious!!! Well we thought so anyway.)
- The guys at the car yards will try and tell you that oil leaks are completely normal and its just residue really.
- Above all 9 out of 10 vans will have an oil leak.
We literally drove all over Wales and England searching for something in our price range that wasn’t going to break down the second we hit France or cost us a fortune in a couple of months. We tried private sales, dealers, fully kitted campers and shells that we can convert ourselves. We went from wanting a VW T4 to a Ford Transit to a Sprinter back to the T4. We spent five 12 hour days in the car and on the net sourcing vans. On Tuesday we decided that today was the day. We had one super kitted Sprinter to check out in Herefordshire and then as a last resort head yet another 3 hours north to Derby and check out a couple at a Mercedes dealership.
The drive to Hereford was amazing. One of the prettiest drives I’ve even been on. Single lanes for the majority of the way through hills and farmland, acres of flowers and little farm houses everywhere. It was like driving into the set of Lord of the Rings. I know that sounds cliche but it really was just so cute. We took the turn for the little town where this guy lived and I felt like I was in a fairytale. Stone houses all dotted with pink and purple flowers, ivy covering half the buildings. It was beautiful. We pull up the guys house and I was already giddy with excitement. There was the sound of a running creek right next to his cottage and flowers everywhere, lush green forest surroundings. We look at the van and I instantly fell in love. It was massive, wood lined, heaps of storage space; I thought we had found our perfect van. We take it for a test drive and it drives quite nice. Then Rich gets underneath to have a look whilst I skip around around the van in circles like a school girl. We got back into our rental and Rich looked at me, “So do you want the bad news?” My heart sank. Not only did it have an oil leak, but a heavily rusted chassis and a passenger seat that can only be described as a death trap. WHHHYYYYY!!!!
So off to Derby we go. It felt like the longest drive ever. By the time we got there, we were tired as heck, hungry and just plain over it. The guy, who was super nice and friendly shows us a 2007 LWB Sprinter. Its amazing. It’s clean. It has no oil leaks. The gear box and clutch feel normal for once. I turn to Rich in disbelief, “Why didn’t we come here 4 days ago?” We had found our van. We jumped back in the car feeling relieved that the search was finally over and I realised, “Hey Rich, we just bought our first home!” Ha ha. Now all we have to do it fit it out, and that will be another tale to tell I’m sure. :)
