BUILT TO LAST

[Becker]

I use to get rid of vans at about 100k miles. My 98 ford e350 I had I let go at 110,000 and it ran like it had those kinda miles on it. A little rough in the cold mornings. Drove kinda loose. Was happy to see it go, however it had no leaks nor used any oil and still looked good.

Today on my 06 I have 135k miles. E350. It starts, runs and drives just as well as my 2010, again no leaks, uses no oil, tight feel at the wheel. And my 07 F150 has 106k miles and it too starts, runs and drives much like it did the day I bought it new.

Car makers, or at least the US brands have really caught up and are now building our vans to last.... To bad the standard van as we know it is slated to be retired.

I have no plans to replace my pick up anytime soon. It has mostly highway miles.

I was considering replacing the 06 E350, but I'm starting to wonder. Is 200k the new 100k?
Keep in mind I run slide ins.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I too always like to move out the 100Kplus vehicles and have yet to get any that old of the newer ones. I hope that's true, my wife's Sequoia shows the heavy use for its age still runs like a new one. And it has 165K on it.

I'll hate to her go when we finally get rid of her. The car, not the wife!

 

[Steamin McFadden]

I've never owned a van with les then 100,000 miles.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I always wondered where my trade in's went.

 

[Out of Character - 0]

I wonder about your 98 Becker, maybe it was a bad van maybe it had issues that were resolvable but unknown. I buy all 97-99 ford vans for carpet cleaning or floor care. I've looked at and/or bought several that were in need of engine help and drove loose but overall my experience has been really good with the ones we've put the most use on so far. Our most used is a 98 e350 with 265k miles and roughly 30,000hrs on a pro1200 dd. This is still our most used van and it works double shifts more days than not. Still runs and drives nearly perfect despite being employee driven. Lots of maintenance has been done but trans and motor are untouched. In this case the motor has outlasted the direct drive. We've replaced every component with exception to the fresh water tank and pro1200 frame.

I operate a little different. I'd rather have a full time mechanic than new vans. We do nearly all repairs on everything in house, from vacuums to engines and transmission rebuilds. Our guy is always busy, often behind, but saves us enough to pay for himself without a doubt. Pretty much the only things we don't do are alignments, tire replacements, and paint.

 

[KevinL]

My 06 Chevy 1 ton is in the shop getting new tranny. $3700. ouch. just over 100,000 miles. Not sure what happened to it but it's unusual for a Chevy.