Multivan / Kombi Beach - How many KM's are too many?

[gordymatt]

G'day,

I am interested to find out peoples thoughts on high km's on a multivan / Kombi Beach?

How many are too many if the vehicle has had regular servicing and has been maintained throughout?

It's a 2006 model and wondered what pitfalls there are in these vans with very high mileage......

I have heard that km's don't hurt them as long as the belts are taken care of as and when they should be?

Also, what sort of $$$ for new tyres and a new windscreen as it has a massive crack.

Look forward to your input and advice.

Cheers

Matt

[Transporter]

You will need $800-1000 for the tyres. There 2 threads with discussion what is available and for how much. I wouldnt pay too much for the van with that mileage. It's the end of life for many components in it, espacially when the lubricants are filled for life.
It could easily turn into endless money pit.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[BrianJ]

Hi Gordy

I have a 2006 AUTO, which we had from new, well it was a demo with 10,000km and 18months old and it costed $47,000 then.

It has done 137,000km now which I think of as just run in, it still uses no oil over 15000km service interval and runs the same as the day we bought it. It has had a few things replaced now, I will list them:
Air-cond compressor siezed at 70,000km, was replace for $2000 and is still working (cross fingers)
Waterpump replaced at 75,000km $350 (its critical that no water has got into sump oil otherwise extensive engine damage can occur. I got this done as there was a little bit of water going from resevour over 15,000km)
all brakes (rotors and pads) replaced at 120,000 for $1000
Front wishbone rearward bushes for both sides replaced at about 120,000km for $500 (pedders labour and parts)
Rear shock absorbers replaced at about 120,000km for $300 (pedders labour and parts)

We hope to do about 400,000km with this car over 10-20 years, so far its looking like it is good for the distance.

Ours has stone tears in the front orange also, but I don't worry about it. We think the orange decal is good because it is a very easy car to see on the road so safe.

There are no belts with the 5 cyl engine as it all runs on internal gears, the only things that needs some maintainance is the gates couplings to the alternator and air-cond compressor, mine have never been replaced but I have heard of them failing. They are hard position to replace, so I am waiting till when something has to be repaired in that front area then get it all done.

Our windscreen got cracked a couple of years ago and we got Windscreens O'Brien to replace it and insurance covered the $350.

See other thread re tyres as suggested, my last 4 maxxis were $800 but some people have got them cheaper.

The body and plastics etc seem sound and nothing has failed on ours yet, so overal it inspires some confidence. As an everyday car it is brilliant, and as a travelling sleep in van it is also great, there is nothing else on the road equivalent and even VW don't import the new model California Beach now, so ours must last as we wouldn't consider anything else after this van at least until we aren't going to be travelling anymore.

You havn't said how many kms its done and why you think its a lot?

Being the same model as ours, its likely that the same things could fail, so if you at least check out the parts that have failed on ours then you should be ok. It would be worth getting it checked thoroughly, as the VWs aren't the cheapest cars to get repairs done, especially at the dealership. We get all our work done now at German Autos at Geebung Brisbane.

Good luck, let us know what you decide.

Brian

[gordymatt]

Thanks very much Brian.

I'm going to tell you that the van has done 500,000kms.

Does this change your thinking at all? The price is very low considering what else is on offer but obviously other vans have done nowhere near this sort of k's.

I'm nervous and lots of intelligent people like Transporter have advised to give it a miss.....trouble is, I want one and have done for ages, love the look and functionality but dont have the 30k to 40k that would buy a low mileage version.

Is it worth checking on the history and maybe getting a mechanical check from Jmac or similar? Do the Inspections advise on all parts that are about to fail etc so I can factor in the cost etc??

Thanks for your help.

Matt

---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 PM ----------

Hey Transporter.

Worst case scenario on cost?

[JP-009]

Matt, what I would recommend is that you have a look at what it costs to replace the engine. Find a good VW workshop and get a quote for supply and fit. The next step is to add this cost into your purchase price - is this more than you are willing to spend? (If it does break?)

I was looking at purchasing a 2005 Highline from the Gold Coast, which had over 300k on the clock. When I factored in a replacement engine, it was over my budget so I kept looking.

As far as I know, there are not too many T5s getting about with this kind of milage on them, so there is not too much info on the longevity of the engines. I would expect that a well cared for and serviced engine should be fine. However, the rest of the van might show significant signs of the high milage.

Good luck with your search!

[BrianJ]

That's higher than I was thinking, you've given me new perspective on how long mine should last!

I agree with what others have been saying in this thread, if its AUTO, has the gearbox already been replaced or may that need doing, Auto boxes appear to be worth around $5000-$7000 installed, but if its manual, then there is the problem of the dual mass flywheels falling apart. Steering suspension struts and all ball joints would need to be considered.

Because we cannot see whether all this has been addressed as the car aged or if there is dozens of component worn right out, it makes it difficult to make an assessment. Is there a receipt history showing what has been replaced already. It would seem like a perfect car for a VW hobbyist who can do repairs and enjoys it.

If you don't do car maintenance yourself then costly labour needs to be factored in. On the other hand if these vans are capable of doing a million kms then it is a youngster.

I think you would need to get it thoroughly checked over in fine detail to be sure.

Brian

[Transporter]

Thanks very much Brian.

I'm going to tell you that the van has done 500,000kms.

Does this change your thinking at all? The price is very low considering what else is on offer but obviously other vans have done nowhere near this sort of k's.

I'm nervous and lots of intelligent people like Transporter have advised to give it a miss.....trouble is, I want one and have done for ages, love the look and functionality but dont have the 30k to 40k that would buy a low mileage version.

Is it worth checking on the history and maybe getting a mechanical check from Jmac or similar? Do the Inspections advise on all parts that are about to fail etc so I can factor in the cost etc??

Thanks for your help.

Matt

---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 PM ----------

Hey Transporter.

Worst case scenario on cost?

It's hard to know what will break down first. Just about all the components could be on the way out. The proper check up by Jmac could give you some info about mechanical condition, but nothing would be guaranteed, because of the 500,000km. I wouldn't buy it even if the mechanical report was OK.

You could tell me off for that, but here is how I'm thinking;
There is a special edition T5 for $29,990 brand new. I would get the upholstery for the rear and some seats, even if selected as an option it shouldn't cost more than $35,000. You could be spending a lot of money fixing the van that done 500,000km and regret your decision to buy it. The $10,000 goes a long way towards a new van and it is probably more than a year of monthly repayments.
I know, it wouldn’t buy you T5 Beach but close enough. Good luck with the decision.

[BrianJ]

Here's a few thoughts I had on the logistics:
500,000km / 6 years = 80,000km/year
This comes to over 1500/ week or 200-250km /day.

At the normal service interval of 15000km, that would be 5 or 6 services /year at about an average of $500
In theory it would have cost about the same in standard services as the car was worth if they were all done.
Out in the country there are very few proper VW service centres, and the original owner must have been almost continuously driving it for the last 6 years so very little time to stop and find a service centre.

These engines use fairly rare high grade specific spec oil that most inland service centre's don't even stock so the chances of it having the correct oil over the life are very small.

This would generally lead to excessive cam and follower wear, so I would expect to see a receipt for at least new cam and followers, but more likely at least one new complete head.

It seems likely to me that the required servicing would have been neglected and the car was most likely driven into the ground which is why it is being sold, because if it was still perfect then why get rid of it, unless the person was retiring and had no further use.

I agree with the others here and would proceed with caution.

Brian

[gordymatt]

Brian,

Thanks for your time and efforts......

I have been told that all mechanical work has been done by VW dealer on Gold Coast. They are going to email me details of all the work the vehicle has had......

I will proceed with caution and I am waiting to see how comprehensive the work has been.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks

Matt

Here's a few thoughts I had on the logistics:
500,000km / 6 years = 80,000km/year
This comes to over 1500/ week or 200-250km /day.

At the normal service interval of 15000km, that would be 5 or 6 services /year at about an average of $500
In theory it would have cost about the same in standard services as the car was worth if they were all done.
Out in the country there are very few proper VW service centres, and the original owner must have been almost continuously driving it for the last 6 years so very little time to stop and find a service centre.

These engines use fairly rare high grade specific spec oil that most inland service centre's don't even stock so the chances of it having the correct oil over the life are very small.

This would generally lead to excessive cam and follower wear, so I would expect to see a receipt for at least new cam and followers, but more likely at least one new complete head.

It seems likely to me that the required servicing would have been neglected and the car was most likely driven into the ground which is why it is being sold, because if it was still perfect then why get rid of it, unless the person was retiring and had no further use.

I agree with the others here and would proceed with caution.

Brian

---------- Post added at 12:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:37 PM ----------

Thanks for the Info.

Getting the special edition sounds ok and I will investigate......

Really want rear air con for my little girl though and don't think the T5 van will offer me this?

[Sunny43.5]

[QUOTE=Transporter;811106]You will need $800-1000 for the tyres. There 2 threads with discussion what is available and for how much. I wouldnt pay too much for the van with that mileage. It's the end of life for many components in it, espacially when the lubricants are filled for life.
It could easily turn into endless money pit.

In your opinion Transporter would the vans be a better long term purchase option "IF " these sealed for life components were able to be serviced at a decent interval ???
IN the old days my old Valiant VF 318V8 auto back in the 70,s had over 280.000 on the original auto box it was serviced every 30,000 and believe me as a surfing beach bum who would drive hundreds of kays a day chasing waves I was not light footed or gentle , we seemed to be able to get away with some now jailable offences those days the underside of my rear wheel arches were coated in copious amounts of tyre rubber from the occasional display of lighting up the rear tyres . No wonder I was so short of money those days tyres being shredded and a V8 that had an endless thirst , but the mechanics of the cars were almost bullet proof compared to todays . I really could not see our van taking the sort of punishment I used to dish out to the good old Val !!!!