Potential New Purchase: T4 California Advantage 2.5 TDI Manual LHD, from 2000

[richwstenning]

Hi,

I'm new to this world and lovely world and resource!
I'm about to purchase a Westfalia Advantage 2.5 TDI from 2000, LHD, 281,000km.
It has a new MOT but some concerning advisories...

• Play in steering rack inner joint(s)
• Under vehicle rusty in places
• Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (both rear)
• Anti roll bar linkage or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement - nearside front
• Anti roll bar pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement - front
• Oil leak, but not excessive
• Break pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material

How concerned should I be of these? Are these normal for this age or could I end up with an expenisve bill here?
Price of purchase is £11k.

Thanks a lot for any feedback!

 

[Elmo3]

Ask the owner why they haven’t addressed the advisories. Could be indicative of how they’ve maintained the vehicle i.e. only on failure rather than preventive. Could easily have a few grands worth of work there next time.

 

[Californication69]

Hi,

I'm new to this world and lovely world and resource!
I'm about to purchase a Westfalia Advantage 2.5 TDI from 2000, LHD, 281,000km.
It has a new MOT but some concerning advisories...

• Play in steering rack inner joint(s)
• Under vehicle rusty in places
• Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (both rear)
• Anti roll bar linkage or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement - nearside front
• Anti roll bar pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement - front
• Oil leak, but not excessive
• Break pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material

How concerned should I be of these? Are these normal for this age or could I end up with an expenisve bill here?
Price of purchase is £11k.

Thanks a lot for any feedback!

I have the last two on my 14 year old Saab.
The brake pipes have a coating on to stop rust !
So no problem there.
Oil leak. I couldn’t find it.
I also have corroded but not weakened. It will be fine for another 14 years.
They don’t sound that bad tbh.

 

[Corradobrit]

I'm surprised there are so few advisories on a 175K mile Cali. They seem pretty minor so I wouldn't let them make the decision one way of the other. What is the general condition like? How does the poptop bellows look? Someone had a lot of fun in that one.

 

[richwstenning]

Thanks all. Yes I feel it probably has been well kept really, All the interior looks and functions well anyway, just this MOT threw up some concerns but this is more reassuring so far, so thanks. The MOT was conducted specifically for the sale so that's a valid reason why they wouldn't have addressed them.

Any help on what specifically I should check before I hand over the money would be greatly appreciated!

 

[WelshGas]

Hi,

I'm new to this world and lovely world and resource!
I'm about to purchase a Westfalia Advantage 2.5 TDI from 2000, LHD, 281,000km.
It has a new MOT but some concerning advisories...

• Play in steering rack inner joint(s)
• Under vehicle rusty in places
• Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (both rear)
• Anti roll bar linkage or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement - nearside front
• Anti roll bar pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement - front
• Oil leak, but not excessive
• Break pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material

How concerned should I be of these? Are these normal for this age or could I end up with an expenisve bill here?
Price of purchase is £11k.

Thanks a lot for any feedback!

After 23 yrs and , 8,000 miles a year I'm surprised there are so few advisories.
The steering rack and anti roll bar bushes will have to be addressed at some point as they will continue to wear over time, but maybe not for some years.
The corrosion under vehicle is easily sorted with a wire brush and a brush/spray on anti rust treatment . Easily a DIY task.
Break pipe ? easily replaced.
Oil leak, needs to be examined to determine the cause.
The AA and RAC do mechanical vehicle checks and reports for you. They won't check the camping side of things just the base vehicle. I don't know if there is an age limit for such checks.

 

[Elmo3]

Think I’ve seen the listing, looks in pretty good nick. If the MOT has been done specifically to sell, might be worth seeing if you can have a chat with the garage? Sometimes MOT stuff can sound like a house structural survey i.e. sounds like it‘s going to collapse half an hour after you buy it but the reality is very different.

 

[GreatResigner]

Greasing up corrodeted break pipes is very common. I have noticed my own mechnanic does this on our small runaround car to get it through the MOT. I quizzed him once about it and came away with the impression that changing break pipes is both time consuming and expensive. To save giving a quote and failing they grease them up, then nod them through, as an advisory.

 

[Grigio Van Grigio]

I ran a 2001 T4 Westfalia for 11 years and I had very similar advisories to those you list, and a whole lot more. If they were more serious, they wouldn’t just be advisories. A van that old with that many miles on it will require an ongoing maintenance and replacement plan and you need to budget for that. But at the end of the day, doing that will give you a fantastic camper which is comfortable, reliable and a fraction of the price of pretty much anything else you can buy.