Date: Wed, 20 May 2020 19:11:36 -0500
Reply-To: Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Heads-Up - Potential Odometer Fraud
In-Reply-To: <CANcggr+TOBDZF4HVaB7DzXAesg2jJazP=85U9YtTK4EGsdL1PA@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Yea... Not cool. Pass.
How were their prices? If they're low enough maybe someone looking to get
into a van relatively inexpensively will take a chance on them.
On Wed, May 20, 2020, 6:52 PM VW Vanagon <t3vanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yeah, Peacevans would be a no-brainer.
> I've been following them for a while and am consistently impressed by how
> well they maintain their fleet.
>
> This on the other hand, was *clearly* a van that was not properly cared
> for.
> They have no idea what service or maintenance has been done on any
> of their rigs. Period.
> And again, wouldn't even let me hear it run.
> I would ask and there was no acknowledgement that I'd even asked a
> question.
>
> And for the sake of perspective, here are some of the odometer readings:
> 7/12/2003 - 168,172
> 3/15/2005 - 103,974
> 3/9/2007 - 87,851
> 3/10/2009 - 71,890
> 4/2/2011 - 98,749
> 4/18/2019 - 189,072
>
> Last night I was told it has 189,073 miles on it, which (all things being
> equal) would tell me that it hasn't moved in over a year.
> Today on the call that went down to 145,000 and I was told that she
> mistakenly gave me the miles of a different van. . .
>
> But to then tell me it's simply not important and that it's someone else's
> fault without hesitation or any other consideration tells me that I'm not
> the first to bring it up...
>
> This surpassed "red flag" stage and went straight into "traffic flares on
> an interstate overpass train derailment" stage in the span of about 3
> minutes.
>
> But if this process was simple, it wouldn't feel like a rewarding
> accomplishment on the other side, would it?
>
> Onward!!!
>
> On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 5:26 PM Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> What's probably true in this case is they have so many vans they don't
>> know the history or story on all of them.... I know when I rented. It
>> wasn't necessarily the best kept van mechanically. It was a money maker so
>> maintenance was probably minimal.
>>
>> All the more reason not to purchase a van that's been used as a rental
>> vehicle.
>>
>> Although... I've rented from Peacevans as well and those vans are
>> awesome. I'd purchase one from them in a heartbeat.
>>
>> Good luck with your search
>>
>> On Wed, May 20, 2020, 6:21 PM VW Vanagon <t3vanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Valid argument. Fine for others, but that ain't my jam.
>>> Like I said, there were other red flags - like "I don't know how to
>>> drive a manual transmission, so I can't let it idle."
>>> And telling me different mileage today than she did less than 12 hours
>>> ago, by 40k+.
>>> And the list goes on and on.
>>>
>>> Bottom line is that f I can't trust the seller to tell me basic
>>> information, I can't trust that the van is ANYTHING they say it is.
>>>
>>> Caveat emptor. . .
>>>
>>> On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 5:16 PM Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Really not important in my mind either. I bought my van with a broken
>>>> speedo/odometer. I replaced it with a new speedo that was zeroed out
>>>> mileage wise.
>>>>
>>>> If the van is in good shape and it looks good mechanically then I
>>>> wouldn't worry about it too much. These are 30 year old vehicles. They're
>>>> gonna have a lot of miles on them... That's just how it is.
>>>>
>>>> Abel.
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, May 20, 2020, 6:13 PM VW Vanagon <t3vanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Howdy all-
>>>>> I'm in the process of finding an 86+ Westy to start taking my family on
>>>>> some Montana adventures.
>>>>> (side note: if you have a lead on a solid one, hit me up).
>>>>>
>>>>> In the process of the search, I came across a listing for an '89 in
>>>>> Maui
>>>>> (turned out to be a damaged, spray painted and rust-eaten can on
>>>>> wheels)
>>>>> and that, in turn, turned me on to some folks down in CA who are
>>>>> selling
>>>>> the last few of their rental fleet.
>>>>>
>>>>> I texted back and forth with the seller last night and arranged for a
>>>>> video
>>>>> call today to check things out.
>>>>>
>>>>> Throughout the very short call, there were red flags *ALL OVER THE
>>>>> PLACE*!
>>>>>
>>>>> I won't go into the gory details, but I ran the CarFax report and
>>>>> immediately saw that the odometer has clearly been rolled back multiple
>>>>> times over the course of the past 10-14 years.
>>>>> I asked her about it, and got all kinds of excuses and reasons why it
>>>>> wasn't important.
>>>>>
>>>>> This will be my 3rd Vanagon, and with the previous two I learned to
>>>>> follow
>>>>> my gut and *always* to run a CarFax report!
>>>>>
>>>>> Moral of the story:
>>>>> THAT REPORT IS GOLD!
>>>>> GET IT EVERY TIME! :)
>>>>>
>>>>> The search goes on!
>>>>>
>>>>> -Drew
>>>>> Missoula, MT
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> *Drew*
>>> Missoula, MT
>>>
>>> Searching for our next Westy!
>>>
>>
>
> --
> *Drew*
> Missoula, MT
>
> Searching for our next Westy!
>
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