Just about to join Team Ex-RAC

[ninenine22]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum but not new to the world of the VW transporter having owned many vehicles over the last 35 years or so and having always converted them myself I have had many ups and downs over the years but always enjoyed the experience, but this is going to be my first T6 and my first EX RAC van, having given it much thought and talking myself in and out of it more times that I care to mention I have finally decided to buy a 2018 DSG 108k on the clock tangerine dream machine but am I doing the right thing? I keep having this nagging thought that maybe it's a pup or its been abused or will it fall to bits after its hard life helping other motorists ? are they a good buy ? certainly great value for money there's no way I could buy a 2018 for 15k if it was not an ex fleet vehicle and it does have a good history and it drives well.
What I would like to know is what are other peoples experience with and ex RAC van? and has it been a success ? where you unsure at first but love it now? or has it been a mare for you?
what is the residual value like?
I have never posted anything before but I thought having had a lot of experience doing these vans up and using lots of forums and online help Id give a bit back to the community and post pictures and details of what I've done and where I get stuff from to help other people save a bit of cash and give them a bit a bit of a morale boost and photographic help I mean we all like to see a before and after.
So tomorrow when she gets home I will post some pictures and start detailing this new journey.

 

[Caveman22]

I just (yesterday) bought a fleet vehicle.
Had full service history and I had an extensive pre inspection done. It drove home like a dream.
However when I got home the fan went mental for around 3 minutes and everything felt rather hot.

This is left me feeling as it will definitely need some TLC to get it feeling better.

If I was to do it again I’m not sure what I would do. I would probably buy the van as I love it and it will keep my busy for the foreseeable future.

Best of luck with it. Where are you buying it from the place I went to had a tangerine machine there also.

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Gave me a 10% off code PREPURCHASE10

 

[ninenine22]

I just (yesterday) bought a fleet vehicle.
Had full service history and I had an extensive pre inspection done. It drove home like a dream.
However when I got home the fan went mental for around 3 minutes and everything felt rather hot.

This is left me feeling as it will definitely need some TLC to get it feeling better.

If I was to do it again I’m not sure what I would do. I would probably buy the van as I love it and it will keep my busy for the foreseeable future.

Best of luck with it. Where are you buying it from the place I went to had a tangerine machine there also.

Book Car Repairs by Mobile Mechanics & Garages | ClickMechanic

Mechanics that come to your home or office. Get a free quote and book online today at ClickMechanic the UK's premier mechanic service

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Gave me a 10% off code PREPURCHASE10

That doesn't sound like you should panic to much but i get what you are saying there is always a certain amount of trepidation when you buy a new vehicle one always expects the worst but once you drive it a bit you tend to relax. Just take your time and cross off one jobs at a time I tend to start with the big jobs and work my way down to the minor things. I'm just about to go and collect my van from a guy in Essex nice bloke he has lots of ex fleet vans I'll be listening for all sort of noises and probably thinking the worst all the way home

 

[ninenine22]

I just (yesterday) bought a fleet vehicle.
Had full service history and I had an extensive pre inspection done. It drove home like a dream.
However when I got home the fan went mental for around 3 minutes and everything felt rather hot.

This is left me feeling as it will definitely need some TLC to get it feeling better.

If I was to do it again I’m not sure what I would do. I would probably buy the van as I love it and it will keep my busy for the foreseeable future.

Best of luck with it. Where are you buying it from the place I went to had a tangerine machine there also.

Book Car Repairs by Mobile Mechanics & Garages | ClickMechanic

Mechanics that come to your home or office. Get a free quote and book online today at ClickMechanic the UK's premier mechanic service

www.clickmechanic.com

Gave me a 10% off code PREPURCHASE10

Is your an ex RAC also? what sort of mileage has yours done?

 

[Caveman22]

Is your an ex RAC also? what sort of mileage has yours done?

Mine is the red one in my pic. It had done a 150k. Exciting times. Enjoy driving back.

 

[CAB]

I just (yesterday) bought a fleet vehicle.
Had full service history and I had an extensive pre inspection done. It drove home like a dream.
However when I got home the fan went mental for around 3 minutes and everything felt rather hot.

This is left me feeling as it will definitely need some TLC to get it feeling better.

If I was to do it again I’m not sure what I would do. I would probably buy the van as I love it and it will keep my busy for the foreseeable future.

Best of luck with it. Where are you buying it from the place I went to had a tangerine machine there also.

Book Car Repairs by Mobile Mechanics & Garages | ClickMechanic

Mechanics that come to your home or office. Get a free quote and book online today at ClickMechanic the UK's premier mechanic service

www.clickmechanic.com

Gave me a 10% off code PREPURCHASE10

No need to worry, it's just a DPF regen.

See here:

DPF Regen, Yellow Light & Adblue - Whats It All About? -

DPF Regen, Yellow light & AdBlue - Whats it all about? - The DFP light is becoming a more apparent issue with modern diesel vans, unfortunately, it’s a fact of modern diesel life. what is a DPF? Diesel particulate filters (DPF) are very effective in cutting emissions, trapping even the...

www.t6forum.com

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[CAB]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum but not new to the world of the VW transporter having owned many vehicles over the last 35 years or so and having always converted them myself I have had many ups and downs over the years but always enjoyed the experience, but this is going to be my first T6 and my first EX RAC van, having given it much thought and talking myself in and out of it more times that I care to mention I have finally decided to buy a 2018 DSG 108k on the clock tangerine dream machine but am I doing the right thing? I keep having this nagging thought that maybe it's a pup or its been abused or will it fall to bits after its hard life helping other motorists ? are they a good buy ? certainly great value for money there's no way I could buy a 2018 for 15k if it was not an ex fleet vehicle and it does have a good history and it drives well.
What I would like to know is what are other peoples experience with and ex RAC van? and has it been a success ? where you unsure at first but love it now? or has it been a mare for you?
what is the residual value like?
I have never posted anything before but I thought having had a lot of experience doing these vans up and using lots of forums and online help Id give a bit back to the community and post pictures and details of what I've done and where I get stuff from to help other people save a bit of cash and give them a bit a bit of a morale boost and photographic help I mean we all like to see a before and after.
So tomorrow when she gets home I will post some pictures and start detailing this new journey.

Welcome to the forum!

Looking forward to the pics, we like pics!!

 

[racT6bus]

Welcome @ninenine22

I have a 2016, EU6, 6 speed, SWB ex. RAC bought at 94k. Love mine, but it's come with a number of well-known issues, luckily I got a RAC warranty with it which covered some of the costs - I opted for genuine parts and not the cheap crap that the warranty would pay for.

Here are some of the things to check if you have the Novuna service print out;

• Alternator - mine was knackered
• Main battery - also worn out and actually not the correct battery for the van, think that was an anomaly!
• Driveshafts / Stub shafts - the van had been towing for 4/5 years, both of mine were knackered and had quite a judder under acceleration
• Front main oil seal leak - don't believe this is common, but had to sort - I did the cambelt and water pump at the same time
• EGR - this is the killer and seems a very common T6 thing - I wasted time and money getting it flushed but had to replace the whole unit in the end - not a cheap or easy job. It made a marked improvement to driving and mpg though
• Rear suspension - they uprate this from the standard T32 which is not an issue, but the RAC carry a lot of weight in the back, unless you plan to do the same, it's super crashy to drive around unladen or even with a camper conversion

Don't let this put you off, I might have had bad luck and despite the work it was still a bargain with current prices and now it drives and runs brilliantly

 

[ninenine22]

Well the tangerine dream is home now and this is what I know so far.
I picked up the van in Essex today and drove 115 miles to Portsmouth to visit a family friend.
The van drove like a dream loads of power in fact more than I was expecting and so much smoother than my old 2011 T5.1 so as you do I put my foot down to see how restricted it was well at 96 mph I had to slow down for fear of the rossers pulling me over, so much for being limited to 70 mph no idea what happened there but it has definitely saved me a visit to the garage to have the limiter taken off.
Secondly after looking through the reams of service history I saw they had fitted a new PAS steering pump which is so smooth it doesn't give a great deal of feedback from the road whether this is me not being used to it and comparing it to my old T5.1 I don't know but it felt super light
The next issue is the start / stop is not working probably a broken wire to the alternator or a duff battery but Im not to worried about that I'm sure I can fix that.
I also noticed that when you start the van it's a bit of a sudden start rather that a smooth start if that makes sense not sure what that might be I'll have to investigate that further but I don't think it's anything major but a bit of a pain as I don't know what it is.
As ractT6bus mentioned some of the faults he found I looked at the history and found that the drive shafts have been done in February this year along which crank seal and flywheel and timing belt and water pump so that has saved me a few quid.
The rats nest of wiring needs looking at Id like to get the rear view camera working again the rest I'll probably junk and start again id like to locate the split charge relay as id like to keep that along with the leisure battery if anyone knows where it is i'm all ears.
But as mentioned at current prices a 2018 DSG for 15k is I think a bargain and I think I lucked out a bit as mine is very clean inside and out.
Also I think the suspension is a touch harsh at the back so that will have to be changed.
Tomorrow I'll have a go at removing some of the racking in the back work permitting but certainly the journey has begun and on the whole i'd say I'm very pleased with my purchase.

 

[racT6bus]

Looks great and sounds like you got a real bargain @ninenine22 If I could have tracked down an affordable DSG (I found a rare 4motion DSG - but was £5k+ more and not in great shape!) at the time I would have gone for that option too! Looks like yours came with front fogs, seems the spec varies quite a lot on these!

Great news re. the drive shafts and the speed limiter, that's a bit of cash saved! I suspect it's likely the battery causing the start/stop issue as mine didn't work until I replaced that and the alternator - it works faultlessly now.

I'm not great with electrics but my mate who did the majority of my conversion spent many hours trying to repurpose the wiring to use for a camper. In the end, we just took the whole lot out and started again, reusing anything we could. They had so much kit in these vans with some very odd wiring and when decommissioned they indiscriminately cut so many cables - we had a lot that were still live too! Anyway, sounds like you're more likely to have the patience and knowledge to figure it out!!

I eventually swapped out the suspension as I couldn't live with that harshness - I got some ST-X T32 coilovers and powerflex mounts with a sensible 45/50mm drop, which (along with a wheel and tyre change) instantly improved the ride and handling - corners on rails now!!

 

[ninenine22]

Looks great and sounds like you got a real bargain @ninenine22 If I could have tracked down an affordable DSG (I found a rare 4motion DSG - but was £5k+ more and not in great shape!) at the time I would have gone for that option too! Looks like yours came with front fogs, seems the spec varies quite a lot on these!

Great news re. the drive shafts and the speed limiter, that's a bit of cash saved! I suspect it's likely the battery causing the start/stop issue as mine didn't work until I replaced that and the alternator - it works faultlessly now.

I'm not great with electrics but my mate who did the majority of my conversion spent many hours trying to repurpose the wiring to use for a camper. In the end, we just took the whole lot out and started again, reusing anything we could. They had so much kit in these vans with some very odd wiring and when decommissioned they indiscriminately cut so many cables - we had a lot that were still live too! Anyway, sounds like you're more likely to have the patience and knowledge to figure it out!!

I eventually swapped out the suspension as I couldn't live with that harshness - I got some ST-X T32 coilovers and powerflex mounts with a sensible 45/50mm drop, which (along with a wheel and tyre change) instantly improved the ride and handling - corners on rails now!!

I have ordered a new battery today. Is it just plug and play? I read somewhere you have to clear the codes first with VCDS which I don't have.
No chance of doing any work on the van today due to the fact it's raining cats and dogs today

 

[Lee8210]

Here is ours, Welcome to the club.

 

[Lee8210]

The rats nest of wiring needs looking at Id like to get the rear view camera working again the rest I'll probably junk and start again id like to locate the split charge relay as id like to keep that along with the leisure battery if anyone knows where it is i'm all ears.

It is under the passenger seat near the 2nd battery, to be honest I'd start over again with it as the system that is in isn't great.

 

[ninenine22]

So finally the weather held up and I was able to start stipping the inside of the van out.
You will need an angle grinder there are one or two stubborn bolts that will need grinding off and I found that cutting the brackets that hold the nearest tool chest to the bulkhead was easiest as they are held on by nylon nuts that just spin as you can't reach around the back to hold a spanner on them. Other tools needed ar T30 hex 10mm and 13mm spanners and socket and a T32 allen key for a couple of the floor bolts and a phillips screwdriver that will see you fine.
Total time spent removing the racking and flooring was about 6 hours and a quick hoover up at the end tomorrow I will degrease and start to work out the wiring I'm probably going to junk the lot but i'll keep the wires some may come in useful for later in the build.
On a down note I put the new AGM battery in the van and it didn't remedy the stop / start error code so i'm now thinking wire from battery to alternator or alternator is stuffed.
Also my cat seems to like the van which is a bonus but he's not much good on the spanners.

 

[ninenine22]

Here is ours, Welcome to the club.

Nice job so far. How are you getting on with the electrics ? Im starting mine tomorrow but i've decided to junk the lot and start again.

 

[ninenine22]

It is under the passenger seat near the 2nd battery, to be honest I'd start over again with it as the system that is in isn't great.

I think you are spot on.

 

[Lee8210]

So finally the weather held up and I was able to start stipping the inside of the van out.
You will need an angle grinder there are one or two stubborn bolts that will need grinding off and I found that cutting the brackets that hold the nearest tool chest to the bulkhead was easiest as they are held on by nylon nuts that just spin as you can't reach around the back to hold a spanner on them. Other tools needed ar T30 hex 10mm and 13mm spanners and socket and a T32 allen key for a couple of the floor bolts and a phillips screwdriver that will see you fine.
Total time spent removing the racking and flooring was about 6 hours and a quick hoover up at the end tomorrow I will degrease and start to work out the wiring I'm probably going to junk the lot but i'll keep the wires some may come in useful for later in the build.
On a down note I put the new AGM battery in the van and it didn't remedy the stop / start error code so i'm now thinking wire from battery to alternator or alternator is stuffed.
Also my cat seems to like the van which is a bonus but he's not much good on the spanners.

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All the RAC wiring in the cab and rear is in black flexicon, disconnect the leisure battery and also remove the positive from the main battery that runs in fleicon to the jump start points, I left one of these wires that goes to the bulkhead jump start point in place but disconnected to use for my new leisure battery setup.

 

[ninenine22]

Anyone know how to remove the rivet nut on the panel without having to grind it off? I don't want it to drop into the panel and rattle around forever also it will leave a bulge when I carpet the van which won't look good.

 

[ninenine22]

All the RAC wiring in the cab and rear is in black flexicon, disconnect the leisure battery and also remove the positive from the main battery that runs in fleicon to the jump start points, I left one of these wires that goes to the bulkhead jump start point in place but disconnected to use for my new leisure battery setup.

I have already disconnected the feed when I installed the new battery it just made sense to start again I don't like picking up on other peoples work.

 

[Lee8210]

I just drilled them out, either go for a bumpy ride and they will work themselves down to a point you can get them from or I think they are magnetic so use a strong magnet.