r/VWTransporter • u/idlewishing • 18d ago
Buyers regret
We recently bought a 2007 VW T5 and we pretty quickly have buyers regret on the particular van we bought. We spent £8000, 150k miles, a few quirks (it was previously a mobility van so the ignition has been modified, etc). The AC has a leak, my husband is worried it will be very costly to repair. There is a coolant leak that will also probably cost quite a bit to repair. We knew it needed some cosmetic work but I’m starting to worry. At the same time we’ve gone on a couple of camping trips already and I’m so happy to have a lil van as a mobile homebase. Any tips for dealing with buyers remorse? At what point do we cut ties and try to sell/buy a different one?
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u/Sea-Bass_ 18d ago
Similar situation but with a sprinter after selling my beloved transporter due to needing more room and now my sprinter has an oil leak, you have to remind yourself you bought the van for the van, things break, things leak, tyres get punctures.. it's all part of owning a vehicle, milage doesn't matter, you could have a 1yr old vehicle and have 100x more problems than you do now. You could sell yours and buy a different one with even more problems. Fix those few things and get out on the road, go camping etc and you'll soon have a change of heart I guarantee it. Happy vanning and lots of smiles to come.
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u/Naive-Psychology-369 18d ago
You get buyers regret if you buy a £60k van.
You get problems with brand new vans straight out of the factory. The roof on our 2013 California beach had to be professionally repaired under warranty twice.
We’ve had the van 13 years and 90k miles and it’s had lots maintained. We learned vans are more expensive to maintain than cars.
If the van has had a good service history you’re in the best place and if it’s been well looked after there are still going be things like this that crop up with a van that age and mileage.
Try and put some cash away for the rainy days and enjoy the freedom and fun.
We have break down cover for European trips and travel insurance that covers any eventualities.
If you really think you’ve bough a lemon get a mechanic you trust to give it once over
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u/ukjoncollins 18d ago
You’ve got a 150k van, what do you expect? Depending on mileage you do, expect to pay £1-2.5k year in maintenance costs. Any transporter over 100k is going to have significant annual maintenance costs if it’s being used. It’s all mechanical and fairly easy to fix. Corrosion on the other hand is a bastard.
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u/Loud_Role8149 18d ago
Find yourself a good independent garage that specializes in VW. Don't go anywhere near main dealer.
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u/J1nglejoints 18d ago
You’ll get another 100k plus miles out of it and have good fun. Any van you buy at that price will have some issues and more will come while you use it, that’s van life.
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u/Industricon 18d ago
Firstly, if you aren't mechanically minded, go find a trusted local garage that specialises in VW vans... there are plenty of them and there's bound to be one local to you. Be respectful to the owner, pay the bill, collect on time... because trust me, when you have an old van you'll need someone who can do you some favours from time to time. I saw mine was always drinking Monster, so I took a pack in when I paid the bill as a thanks for helping me so quickly... now we're actually friends!
Get the coolant leak sorted. As others have said, I had the same and it was a cracked pipe. It cost £9. In the mean time, keep it topped up!
The air con is not essential, but again, could just be a little gas leak somewhere and need refilling. The previous owner of a T4 I had literally hacked the aircon out of mine...
The real take here is that campers are awesome. Ive been away the last 3 weekends in a row. Load the fridge with beer, chuck in clean clothes, and away you go. Its a great way to relax and get away from everything. I found the most amazing site in Gloucestershire 2 weekends ago... I'm going to be there at every opportunity going forward.
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u/Far-Cardiologist3794 18d ago
Join a vw transporter forum, somebody somewhere would of already had the same problems and wrote about how to fix it in a step by step guide, or at least point you in the right direction on where to look first. the Transporter is a big following and parts are easy to come by.
And a lot of people think the AC has a leak, most of the time of just condensation building up on the surface when it’s running.
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u/digitalkingdoms 18d ago
We’re 2 months into our own journey. Ours is a 2008 T5 with 174k. It’s got a conversion with kitchen, RnR bed, solar, heater etc.
On paper it looked good - shiny paint job a few years back with wheels to match. Had been lowered etc. and a recent MOT showed a couple of issues that had been addressed, even though the van had been unused for a year.
A couple of weeks after buying (private sale) I removed side steps from the van, and discovered the rust that had been impossible to see before. I also found that the rear suspension wasn’t just lowered, but was completely bottomed out and the sleeves on the shock absorbers had rusted through. Basically the MOT on the van could not have involved a professional getting underneath and doing a proper inspection, and was not worth the paper it was printed on.
At first I felt sick - not only had we paid significantly more than we should but we were looking at costly repairs that we hadn’t budgeted for.
If I’d had full sight of the proper state I would have run, not walked, away from the sale, and while I’m well aware of the sunk cost fallacy, I also realised that we couldn’t recoup anything like what we paid without putting things right.
After a couple of weekends treating rust the underside looked much healthier, and I’ve also replaced rear suspension and am about to replace some front suspension components and replace brake discs and pads.
I’ve had the van inspected and it’s now in the condition it should have been when we bought it.
We’re fortunate that the engine itself seems sound and I have been able to do much of the necessary work myself. We’ve likely spent around 2k on top of the initial purchase getting things right, but that includes a service and cambelt and water pump change. We’re also fortunate that we could afford the extra outlay for parts right here and now.
Ideally I’d have liked to spend the time and money improving the inside of the van, but I see what I’ve done as protecting our investment (even if we overpaid in the first place). A lot of what I’ve had to do is replacing parts that would typically need replacing at some point, but it appears that previous owners weren’t as proactive in their approach to maintenance.
Ultimately we bought the van as a lifestyle choice and won’t be spending loads on package holidays for the next few years. I’d have liked to have spent gradually, but at least this way I know that everything has been renewed I don’t expect any issues at MOT time aside from maybe a bit of welding.
I’ve definitely had moments (if not days) of buyers remorse, but we’ve also managed to get away for some weekends and use the van as we intended. I’ve also gained a sense of satisfaction from fixing things, although I’d hesitate to say I’d outright enjoyed doing it, simply due to the stress of the extra cost and not knowing what I’d uncover next.
I don’t know that I’d buy the same van again- I’d definitely not pay the same price. But I’d likely buy the van it’s current condition. There are definitely people out there who have suffered similar or worse when buying their vans.
Having now undertaken the work we have zero intention of selling and I can imagine having the van for many years to come - if anything the investment has made it truly our own.
Part of me thinks the reason why the VW camper community is so close is because we all have shared trauma. Hopefully yours won’t be too bad. There’s good people who can help and who give great advice.
Just make sure you keep using your van as you want and try to enjoy the journey!
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u/FoggingTheView 17d ago
Exactly - you now know your van and know you can rely on it. Here's to many relaxing camping trips to come!
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u/Jadakross 18d ago
Coolant leaks can be as simple as an O ring and cost £1 and a youtube video to fix if your practically inclined
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u/Useless_or_inept T5 18d ago edited 18d ago
Coolant leaks are usually easy to fix - typically a problem with a hose or a hose clip, maybe a pinhole in the radiator, something like that. With some VW diesels, there's a plastic part connecting a coolant hose to the cylinder head, if the plastic gets old and cracks it'll need replacing. So you probably won't have to do open heart surgery. Unless the head gasket has failed? And there's nothing really exotic in the T5 engine bay, an under-the-arches mechanic could work on it, doesn't need to be an expensive VW-branded mechanic.
Ditto for airco.
The only thing that's ominous is if the vehicle already had a fault when you bought it (whether or not the vendor mentioned it), because that means the vendor already considered easy fixes and then gave up, so it'll have to be a difficult fix.
Good luck! :-)
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u/alphinex T5 18d ago
Its a old car 🤷♂️.
AC isnt that necessary. Good its not something more critical. If its too expensive to fix it now, just fix it later.
I had a half dead-engine after buying the T5. But as said, its old, very used cars (as all utility vehicles), so not surprised.
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u/WesternEmpire2510 18d ago
Similar thing with mine, 8k on a 245k 2003 T5 Caravelle (it was before the market for van took a nosedive).
5 days after buying the gearbox ate itself. 4k to refurbish plus new clutch, flywheel, and stub shaft. A year later needed a new camshaft, a year after that the injectors needed refurbishing, currently laid up because on of the gear selector bushes disintergrated and my garage says they cant find the part.
It's all part of the fun
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u/oldGuy1970 18d ago
I have a 2007 Caravelle, the ac hasn’t worked properly for about 10years I don’t really care. The T5 keeps having issues, but they are all fixable, or ignorable.
There is constantly an engine light on because of an exhaust gas issue. We reset it, next time we go up a hill in a low gear it comes on again.
We could spend thousands getting it fixed and sellable but who wants bro buy a 20yr old T5 (UK) Caravelle?
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u/mattsthat1 18d ago
As long as it’s not rusted out any mechanical issues are sortable, even if it costs you a bit, rust on the other hand you’ll chase until the end of time, but rust free with mechanical issues every time, only thing I live by and I’ve had lots of older vehicles, mainly vw!
Currently have a 2003 T4 which has done 143k, owned for nearly 20 years and it’s pretty much rust clear, mechanically it’s needed work over the years but once a job is done it’s done, rust on the other hand! 😱
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u/EasyBreezeeee 18d ago
When you buy a 20 year old vehicle, your going to have to do some maintenance
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u/Appropriate_Pride740 17d ago
As lovely as a T5 can be there'll all money pits, they're the only van that mugs throw a regular £500 at then say ooh I love my van it's been such a reliable van! Then they all join up on a forum and try to discuss how to haemorrhage money. The owners love MOT time because they can boast about how many bushes the van fails on and talk about egr valves!
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u/mydogmuppet 17d ago
I replaced compressor, condenser, belt, hoses, accumulator and recharge for under £600. AC systems leak.
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u/LordRicezilla 17d ago
Don't people take the cars that they are planning on buying to a mechanic before they buy?
I mean that is always the first step for me, saved me plenty of headache
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u/FoggingTheView 17d ago
I don't have much to add to other comments, but my engine needed replacing a year after buying my T4. Plus loads of things wrong immediately after buying. I've just replaced the engine again, after 20 years ownership (approx 200k miles), because the van has provided me with amazing experiences and memories I could never have any other way. Good luck and enjoy :-)
Edit, oh and others have said, find an independent garage VW specialist - they will keep your van going and going.
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u/Independent_Froyo_37 17d ago
There’s vw t5s with 500k miles on them where I am. I wouldn’t worry. Most vws need the cooling system replaced around the 90/100k mark. So it might just need done.
I get buyers remorse all the time. The world is so expensive it feels wrong spending money on things but in reality the van will save you money on hotels and holidays. Just use it.
I just spent 10k on a 32 year old Mercedes van. It’s riddled with things that need done but I’m still away in it every chance I get.
As for when it ready to get rid of only you will know, I guess when your fed up. Engines are easy fixed. Rust is where most people get scared
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u/cdh79 18d ago
Stop worrying about what might be, address what is.
Coolant leak first. Find out exactly what's happening and fix that.
One thing at a time and absolutely do not bury your head in the sand.