We have just purchased a van via Facebook Marketplace to start our lap of Australia and dream life on the road. However, buying a van in Australia as a backpacker is no easy task! Especially if you’re looking for one that will do a full lap of Australia like us.
Although it was quite the process to find an ideal van for us, we learnt a hell of a lot along the way. So, I thought I would share some tips so you don’t make the same mistakes as us.
Firstly, you need to know what type of van you want, do your research! For us, we were aiming for a Toyota Hiace (more specifically a 2.4L Manual Petrol) because we’re currently in Australia and they are well known for their reliability and Hiace’s are EVERYWHERE so if something bad happens, the parts are easy to find, and a reasonable price.
You have to make sure the van suits your needs, if you’re looking for more of a 4×4 maybe the Mitsubishi Delica is for you, or if you want a bigger van you might be leaning towards a Mercedes Sprinter. Each van has its pros and cons, you will never find a van that is 100% perfect (especially if you’re on a budget like us!) But it is about prioritising what is most important for you. But if you’re on a budget I would suggest looking into the Hiace, or even a Mitsubishi Express, it wouldn’t be my first choice but they are super common and you can get them for cheap!
These were a few non-negotiables for us:
-AC
-Good Mechanical condition (Not much work need doing)
-Manual (preferred but not absolutely essential)
We weren’t too stressed about the kms on the ODO as long as it would last us the year and a half that we would need it for. Ideally, the lower the better but we wouldn’t dismiss a van immediately if it had over 300,000kms.
Something my dad taught me when I was buying my first car around eight years ago now, was that the most basic model of a car is usually a smarter choice. There are less things that can go wrong with it i.e. hand rolling windows instead of electric, smaller manual type radio, that kind of thing. When you start adding the extra components, things like: apple car play, cruise control, electric windows or sunroof, even just having an automatic car instead of a manual. There are so many things that can then go wrong with the car which, in turn, will cost you money.
Our idea was to get a van that had already been converted, for time saving convenience, but with that comes pros and cons.
If you buy a van already converted, it is likely that you will pay a higher price based on how much money, time, and effort the previous owner has put into the van, more specifically, the conversion, solar, awnings, roof racks etc. It all adds value to the van, regardless of the number on the odometer or the mechanical condition of the vehicle.
We travelled to Perth one weekend and arranged a bunch of viewings and two nights in a hotel. Unfortunately, you really will get a better deal, and likely a better van, in a bigger city than you would in a regional area.
On the first day of our van viewings, we saw a 2.4L petrol manual hiace (our ideal van), it was already converted, but not in a way we would choose if we did it ourselves. It had 385,000kms on the clock, had just passed a service the previous day, it had AC, and it was up for $12,500 AUD. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? But when we got there I just knew instantly, I didn’t like it. The conversion wasn’t space efficient enough for us. It really looked like a 20+ year old van, it was of course, but it had been well worn, and with that number on the ODO we just weren’t feeling it.
The second viewing was our dream conversion, it was the reason we arranged all these viewings for this weekend. It had a high roof with beautiful wooden slats, a Max Air Fan, a huge fridge freezer, tons of storage. It was up for $15k and we were honestly well willing to go into that viewing and pay that money (providing our mechanic said everything was A-OK – and yes please get a mechanic if you’re not nifty with vehicles, it is worth the money in the long run). It had 275,000kms on the clock and looked tidy for its age. The seller called me while we were on our way to the viewing, our mechanic was already there, and he told me there was no AC in the van.
He didn’t disclose it on the listing and when I asked about the service history and the mechanical condition he said nada. It wasn’t even like the AC was broken and all it needed was a quick fix, there were no pipes, no compressor, nothing. We did a bit of research and found it would’ve cost us $7-$10k to re-install it. The guy, of course, had such a high opinion of his van that he didn’t think it would be an issue, that the van would still wow any buyer and they would, without a doubt, fork out $15k for it. Not us.
That AC was a dealbreaker, we’re travelling with two cats, and let’s not forget where we are, temperatures get up over 40 degrees pretty easily in the summer. The max fan would help, but not enough.
We left the viewing pretty deflated, that was our highest hope of the weekend, part of me really thought we would drive that van away. Perhaps a valuable lesson, make sure you have all of the information beforehand, and don’t get your hopes up.
Anyway, the guy tried to negotiate with us, he said considering the AC issue we can have it for $12k, and so I told him that I wasn’t trying to barter with him, the simple fact is that we wouldn’t pay a cent over $10k for it (and even that was pushing it).
We are backpackers afterall, we have a very limited amount of money to bargain with.
We had arranged a viewing for the next day, but in our head it was really just a back up. And out of panic from the last time, I messaged the seller of our next viewing and bombarded him with questions. Making sure there was AC of course, I got the license plate number for a check and the VIN number for a PPSR check to make sure the van hadn’t been stolen or written off. The van checked out, and he had all the paperwork.
We took our mechanic to view it with us. It was a 2003 Toyota Hiace 2.4L Manual Petrol with 270,000kms, so far so good, the only issue was that the van was empty. We’d have to convert it ourselves. The mechanic said it was in immaculate condition for its age and he could see it doing multiple laps around Australia. So, that was our answer. The seller had it listed for $10,100 and we haggled it down to $8,750AUD (always haggle). With the conversion, the ending cost will be around $13k (TBC). But we bought it, based on its mechanical condition, and the likelihood of us not having to put too much money into it when we set off.
And for us, we want it to be comfortable but we’re not going to build an over the top conversion just for a year and a half. As long as the cats are happy, we will be fine with the bare minimum. And keeping the weight down in the van is one of our top priorities.
OUR NEW EMPTY VAN
In reality, if you’re buying a secondhand vehicle from a private seller (marketplace or gumtree etc) then any vehicle you buy is a gamble. So the most important way to ensure you’re getting a good deal is to do as much as you can to lower the risk of getting stuck with a money pit of a van. And the things that will lower your risk is doing all of the prior checks PPSR etc. and getting a mechanic to come to any viewings you are serious about. Even if you view the van first, decide you like it and would consider buying, and then arrange for the mechanic to come. Just so you don’t spend money on a mechanic for a van you end up disliking upon viewing.
