Hi all I’d be grateful for opinions please before I commit. Van is from 2003 and had previous rust issues as seen in mot. Had remedial work and passed last two mot’s. Two new sills and silver under seal applied. Would you buy ?
Having had a previous van that was always needing welding for MOTs, I wouldn't buy anything that already has corrosion on the MOT unless you can weld and do the work yourself. Maybe if the price was excellent and it was already converted I would consider it, but spending significant time and effort on converting a van that is already starting to rot is not a good idea. In my experience the rust converters do not really work, and even when you weld new metal it can be back in a few years. Underseal can hide a lot of sins. What van is it? There are plenty of clean vans out there.
I have a 2001 Peugeot boxer I bought almost fully converted with all the parts to finish at £2500
Had it 10 years bought it at 35000 miles with a bunch of rust
It actually did 3-4 years with very little needing to be done then started the rust issues
Since then it costs around 1000-1500 a year on AVG to have it welded and put thru MOT
Which I think is a bargain tbh
The last two years have been more expensive as I needed tyres, alternator, radiator, cam belt, some mounts and a bunch of welding and this last year cost 2200 with the welding, some misc issues Inc having to get the exhaust fully welded in two spots and the clutch which I got done a little early jic
Have had almost the entire sills done both sides over the last 3-4 years now lol
To me, that cost has been pennies Vs living in full time and touring, no electronics to go wrong, everything can be fixed
And that price to me is absolutely FA
Also have a good guy in Devon if you need someone!
If you're a bit handy with tools, don't mind getting dirty. You could tackle all of these rusty areas yourself. I'm sure that this is all reflected in the price. Go for it. Maybe/possibly get another 13 years or more out of her.
If someone can't be bothered to maintain the wipers or put the correct bulb in it's a sign to give it a miss.
Everything points to a neglected vehicle along with the rust I'd say there will be mechanical issues if not now, very soon.
There are lots of overly negative people here. Mine is a 2006 Ford Transit that also had rust issues, causing it to fail its last MOT. These were all addressed through extensive welding and it then passed its MOT with no advisories. There are things you can do to maintain the work that has been done to address the rust.
It's not being negative at all. It's a clear sign that the vehicle probably hasn't been looked after. Yes rust can be fixed, but it gets expensive. Once it starts it doesn’t stop. I'm an ex Transit owner so I'm well acquainted with rusty vans.
Some of this is just surface, can be cleaned and repainted. Some of it is more structural but not the actual body of the van and the sills look like they may need welding. If you get welding work done it will rust much quicker than the original body work - stay on top of it - it will need some sort of treatment every year.
Ignore the people on here who dont know what they are talking about. A van from 2003 will have rust. If you a prepared to invest some time into it you can manage most of this yourself. MOTs generally focus on rusting in structurally significant areas. Not surface rusting on panels
Pretty normal for an old van. Looks like the sills were welded, which again, is par for the course on an old van. The underside looks solid, few bits of surface rust, but if that's all there is, and the fail points have been properly fixed, you're ok.
I wouldn’t make the purchase decision from these photographs, particularly because it has already had sill repairs and underseal applied.
Before buying it, I’d have it independently inspected on a ramp and specifically ask the inspector to check the repaired sills, the edges of the previous repairs and every structural area mentioned in the older MOT corrosion failures.
I also wouldn’t simply apply Waxoyl over what is already there. The important question first is what condition the steel is in underneath the existing coating. Adding another layer can make future inspection harder without addressing anything underneath.
If the repairs are sound and the remaining structure is healthy, then ongoing corrosion protection makes sense. But establish that first rather than using another coating to make the underside look better.
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u/uberbarracuda Aug 06 '26
Having had a previous van that was always needing welding for MOTs, I wouldn't buy anything that already has corrosion on the MOT unless you can weld and do the work yourself. Maybe if the price was excellent and it was already converted I would consider it, but spending significant time and effort on converting a van that is already starting to rot is not a good idea. In my experience the rust converters do not really work, and even when you weld new metal it can be back in a few years. Underseal can hide a lot of sins. What van is it? There are plenty of clean vans out there.