Chapter 1: 5700€ for our Iveco Daily: Vantour… or let´s call it damage assessment?

20. November 2019 0 By Van Bro #2

After a few weeks of searching for the right vehicle for our camper extension, we are now ready. In Frankfurt we bought an Iveco Daily from 2013.

Why did we pay “only” 5.700€ for the van, although a 5-6 years old Iveco Daily with 170.000 km should cost rather 8.000€ to 10.000€? Find it out in this article. We added a short video, showing all the issues we are aware of as of today. So much in advance: The low price means a lot of work!

Note ( 6 months later): In the meantime, a lot has already happened to the camper. A detailed overview of all costs for the camper conversion and repairs of the Iveco can be found in the link.

Since we want to stand straight in our van with our body height of nearly 1.90m, we decided to get a H3 camper (super high roof). Keep in mind, after the insulation, 15cm of the height in the van will be lost. Consequently, the super high roof was for us a Musthave for the camper and the conversion. It is also the longest version, i.e. with 6996mm total length.

The price is hot, but…

the video is in German, I simply uploaded our conversation

We became aware of this van online, mainly because of the price. BUT: The price is low due to some issues, which we fortunately recognized beforehand (or believe so..):

1. It has been a delivery truck:

This means that the Iveco Daily has the usual shortcomings in spots that are stressed on every business day by the delivery service. A typical day probably looked like this: “Driver turns car on, drives 500m, turns car off. Opens front door, driver gets out of the seat, closes door, opens backdoor, closes backdoor, delivers package, opens frontdoor again, swings up into the seat, turns car on, drives 500m, turns car off etc.”.

This clearly left some marks after 7 years: The rear door (right side) does not close properly, 1 hinge is slightly torn. The front door has issues in the opening mechanism. The slide door has a broken mechanism.

Only the gears 3-6 can be shifted well, R as well as 1 and 2 can only be shifted with much good will.

2. damages that have occured due to driving in cities (or tight spots)

Both side mirrors are damaged (1 mirror must be replaced completely, 2nd mirror damaged).
In the front left corner the van was probably hit by a car while parking (plastic part torn)
The electric window lifter is broken (left side only)
The running board (..is that the correct term?) at the rear is dented due to a collision damage. We suspect (at the time of purchase) that sensors for the rear view camera were damaged in the collision as well. The camera does not work either.
And probably the most serious damage: In the upper right corner the rear side is dented. Here the repair becomes a bit more complex, as this part cannot be replaced easily.

3. Wear & Tear:

Some parts have reached retirement age. The tires are at 3-4mm, brakes and brake pads could be replaced soon. As these are safety related parts, this has to be done asap.

In spite of all these damages we decided to buy the vehicle. Why? Because of..

Pros about our “Camper Van to be”:

The vehicle has little rust!
The vehicle has a new gearbox! (2000km)
The broken side mirrors and the broken window regulators are cheap to replace or repair (about 160€ for new parts).
The front damage can be repaired easily and cheaply (approx. 15€ for new part).
The heavy shifting of gears R to 2 is probably due to problems in the shift linkage or ailing plastic parts (our guess for now: approx. 50€).

Labor-intensive, but cheap to repair:

Repair of the rear door (welding work)
Repair of the sheet metal damage and the crack on the upper edge back (welding and more)
Repair of the dent in the running board (welding work, replace pipe if necessary)
The rear camera is cheap to replace. The current camera has cables going through the complete van. Nowadays, you can buy wireless rear cameras with screens for under 100€

Other parts:

We assume about 600€ for tires and brake pads, possibly brakes

All in all we decided to buy the vehicle, because many of the repairs can be done by investing working time. We calculate with about 1.500€ additional costs to get the vehicle up and running. Should the repairs be feasible as planned, the vehicle should be worth about 10.000€ (comparable vehicles online)

Finally, you can have a closer look at the damages once again, hopefully all to be repaired in the coming months.