best 4 person windsurf van?

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20881

I hate heat, but I value space vs footprint even more. I thus go for cargo vans and count on gear to insulate the interior and AC to cool it. After all, insulation doesn't keep an un-air conditioned (parked) vehicle cool; it merely slows the rate at which the interior and exterior temps equalize. Lots of window tinting and a white exterior matter more, probably much more.

Goodwind · Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 317 Location: On water

Everyone's value system is different and you must compare apple to apple. If you have to have a four seater van, the new mid roof, regular length Ford Transit Passenger 150 XLT would cost you $43,510 per Ford's official web page. The used 2018 Ford Transit Passenger 150 XLT, at $26,499 is about 40% cheaper. A 40% discount for two years of use and 27,296 miles is a good value in my book considering that modern vans could easily achieve 200,000+ miles before heading the junkyard.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20881

BTW ... if you do decide on a new one, I once solicited a price for a van through an online dealer. Within minutes a local brick and mortar dealer phoned to say: "We can almost match that online price. Are you interested?"

"Define almost".

"Within $100"

"Absolutely! I'd love to keep my money local"

He expressed surprise that I'd care about that, and let me spend all the time I wanted to dig through their extensive and detailed books of options, compare retail and dealer prices with online sources, and place an order only after I was satisfied with those comparisons ... NONE of the usual sales pressure or pricing games. I never even saw a floor salesman. Everything checked out, I ordered my van, received it as ordered within a month. At that time he told me, "You saved us a lot of manhours. Next time you want to buy ANY Ford, call me directly in the Fleet Sales Dept and I'll give you the same deal on any Ford Motor Company vehicle."

I hadn't even thought of buying a new car, but that lit a fire. I ordered a similarly personalized Mustang GT within a month at verified dealer cost plus about a hundred bucks. The the other local dealer laughed when I asked to look at their option listings and prices and demanded full retail plus 39%.

If I still lived in NM, I'd still be buying from that first dealer.

Another factor: when I sold that Mustang many years later, callers expressed amazement at finding a one-owner Mustang GT and jumped at the chance to buy one. Most of them have been through hell with 2 or 3 owners. "You have the ORIGINAL CLUTCH? Damn, man ... here's your cash." It sold within a couple of hours.

I once bought a slightly used Subaru WRX (Bart called it a "4-wheeled motorcycle") from a high-end used car dealer under the unverified impression that it was a one-owner cherry. It was in cherry condition, but when I traded it in on a new Outback, the Subaru dealer showed me three prior owners and dinged me a bit on the trade-in. The same dealer calls or writes me every few months offering me a lot of money for my high-demand, low-mileage, one-owner Outback.

BTW ... how much do you plan to charge your sailing buds for chauffeuring them to Chrissy or Glass Beach through that damned SF traffic? I've Been There, Done That, and would want a LOT of money (and a clock reset) per passenger per trip to pick someone up, load his crap, haul it to Chrissy or Glass Beach, unload his crap, reload his crap, drive him home, and unload his crap. The only thing worth more than camaraderie is shred time, so, no, I'm not going to wait 30 minutes and piss off Bill and Sam for Joe to get his crap together. Just a thought.

There's more to net lifetime ownership cost than what it cost us originally plus the usual maintenance, insurance, etc.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3495

DanWeiss · Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Posts: 2295 Location: Connecticut, USA

For what it may be worth, installing new seating positions isn't that difficult. Simply purchase the floor mounting track and the seat as a package. You may need to reinforce the mount points on the floor. Large fender washers can be welded to the floor or simply used to spread the pressure from the bolts.

The trick is to find a spot that allows access underneath to install the washers and nuts.

Off-road folks install custom seats all the time without much fanfare.