Sanity Check: High Mileage T6 4Motion Swamper (Ex-RAC)

[parxuk]

Hi all,

After some deliberation (I think) we've settled on a SWB T6 for our next van, ideally with a U-shaped layout. We plan to sleep in the pop-top, leaving the U-shape for lounging and for our dog.

We've found a potential candidate that seems to tick a lot of our boxes, but we'd love the community's opinion on it.

Link to van: Pardon our interruption...

What we like:

• Layout: SWB with the U-shaped conversion we're after.
• Drivetrain: It's the T32 150ps 4Motion. I'm keen on 4WD and have deliberately avoided the BiTurbo models based on what I've read.
• Compliance: It's a 2016 T6, so it's CAZ-free which is essential for where we live.
• Style: We're both big fans of the swamper look and, surprisingly, we really like the colour!

Our main concern:

• History & Mileage: It’s on 140k miles. It started life as an RAC patrol van for its first 100k miles. I'm assuming it was well-serviced, but it's likely had a hard life (?). The current owner has had it for 5 years, did the conversion, and added the last 40k. Lots of service history with cambelt having been changed in 2023 and clutch and flywheel done within the last couple of k. MoT history all checks out and the only thing that sounds scary (to me) was an advisory for "Steering rack has slight free play detected at steering wheel (2.3 (a) (i))" whatever that means?

So, the big question is: given what we're looking for, is this a reasonable option for the money? Or is it an overpriced, high-mileage, tango-coloured ticking time bomb that we should run a mile from?

Any thoughts or specific things to check would be hugely appreciated!

 

[JumpShip]

Spoke to a man last week who has just bought a 17 plate 6 speed ex AA with 175k for £10k (empty van) ....just for comparison.
I thought his was cheap despite the mileage .

 

[Sasquatch]

The price is fair, the condition looks good, and if it has paperwork to back it up then all the better. Some big spend items are also now out the way for a while.

The MOT advisory may be nothing. Slight play could be many things rather than the rack itself. You'll never find a perfect van with 140 large under its belt, so it's a question of how much imperfection you're willing to accept.

Its certainly worth a closer look, and a professional inspection would be money well invested. These ex AA/RAC conversions tend to attract a very enthusiastic following so it could be very nice.

 

[parxuk]

The price is fair, the condition looks good, and if it has paperwork to back it up then all the better. Some big spend items are also now out the way for a while.

The MOT advisory may be nothing. Slight play could be many things rather than the rack itself. You'll never find a perfect van with 140 large under its belt, so it's a question of how much imperfection you're willing to accept.

Its certainly worth a closer look, and a professional inspection would be money well invested. These ex AA/RAC conversions tend to attract a very enthusiastic following so it could be very nice.

Thanks. It's really great to have other people (who have more experience) give their opinion.

I also thought the price seemed reasonable'ish for a T6 with those miles. I know it's not ideal with that many miles, but the asking price will leave us with some cash in reserve just incase of issues.

Apart from a wind out awning and maybe a solar panel I dont think I would need to do anything else.

With regards to accepting "imperfection" my 30 year old Toyota Hiace camper was full of them, so we have a very low bar to get over .

Thanks