Garage unwilling to repair. Options?

Matthew2024

Matthew2024

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Mar 6, 2024
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Ford Transit
Hi,
I have been left with a motorhome after my mother sadly passed away last year. After dealing with the place she bought it from to get it to pass it's MOT (it needed considerable welding and some new batteries) I've now been told that the garage they use for MOTs is not willing to work on it as it's coming apart and the dealership are also not wanting to deal with it anymore likewise which I understand. I don't know much about vehicles full stop never mind motorhomes and am seeking advice on what I can realistically do at this point. Pretty gutted all in all.

This is the vehicle and original ad my mum used to purchase said vehicle - https://motorhomesandcaravansltd.co.uk/product/ford-transit-280-swb-2005/

Thanks in advance!
 
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I think you need to try and assess what the market value would be with a full years MOT and in reasonable condition for its age.
Try and get estimates from, perhaps, small independent repairers to get to that state outlined above, deduct one from the other and you will have a rough figure of value.
Sell it, as seen, somebody might have the DIY skills sufficient to get it useable for themselves.
 
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It would be worth getting an independent assessment of the rot and see if repair is a realistic option.
Can you post any photos of the rust they have identified ?
If it is bad then sell for spares or repair may be the only option unfortunately.
But you might still get a few grand on an auction site, you'd be amazed at what some folk buy.
 
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Bramidan said:
I think you need to try and assess what the market value would be with a full years MOT and in reasonable condition for its age.
Try and get estimates from, perhaps, small independent repairers to get to that state outlined above, deduct one from the other and you will have a rough figure of value.
Sell it, as seen, somebody might have the DIY skills sufficient to get it useable for themselves.
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The dealership were looking to sell for about 8-10 grand with the cost of getting it to pass it's MOT at around £2,500 but that was before they got stuck into trying to repair it and just had the bad news call today.

To other posters I'm unable to provide photos as is not with me at the moment. I appreciate the advice being given though

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Take plenty of pics , include condition as mentioned in your post . Put it on ebay , with the condition in large letters that bids will only be accepted after a viewing as vehicle is being sold as seen and approved . The market will decide what its value is . If you start having to take it to repairers , costs can quickly build up . Do you have the MOT fail paperwork , as you should include that in the info .
 
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Sorry for your recent loss.
If you check the mot history unfortunately there have been significant corrosion issues going back at least 6 or 7 years.
It would be worth getting one more opinion but unfortunately Littlewheels may be correct.
You might be able to get it through the mot this year by throwing a lot of money at it, but is it really worth it?
It is a difficult decision to make as understandably you have an emotional attachment to it.

www.gov.uk/check-mot-history
 
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I'm not sure where you're located but I had what I considered was terminal news on my 23 yr old T4. But it went to Neil Dodd at ND Welding & Repairs near Portishead and he basically saved it, still going strong and up around 207k miles now. He's got a facebook profile, DEFINITELY worth a call even if it means sticking it on a transporter and sending it over. Pics would help ahead of sending it to him but you'd get a no frills honest idea on whether it's salvageable.
 
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Unfortunately I'm quite some distance away from Portishead, I'm in Hull so not sure that is really possible sadly but I may try and look for a second opinion in some regard. I already though £2,500 was a lot so I'm in no position to really throw anymore at it.

And thank you for the kind words ontheroadagain.

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As a commercial based vehicle it will have some value based on it's mechanical parts.

I liked tacr2man 's suggestion as it seems the best overall suggestion that may generate some income.
 
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If its any help, here is a situation we encountered.
We had a Van Royce caravan in pristine condition, but about 15 years old, in storage.
It unfortunately got an infestation of field mice whilst the storage site moved it to higher ground due to potential flooding , and did not shut the hab door properly.
No recourse against them, and insurance said rodent infestation was not covered.
So, left with a van which was not really , or more importantly, one we now wished to continue to use.
Wiring had been chewed and mice had been having a few parties in it.
Scrap man said about £400 quid to buy it.
I said bugger off, and decided to sell it as a broken lot for spares.
Several van conversion folks came and took internal parts like lockers, fridge, cooker, etc and I was left with a shell, including windows and wheels.
Made about 400 quid on those bits.
Then, an engineer who wanted a chassis to convert to a trailer to transport stuff to France made a good offer on the remaining shell, and I sold the rest to him.
Upshot was, I made MORE breaking it for hard to find spares than was offered by the first ' scrap man breaker".

Totalled out at around £1500 all in all, and I still get emails from the Van Royce owners club asking g if zi still have parts for sale, 10 years on.
My personal advice would be that if you have the space, and don't mind a bit of leg work in advertising the internal components for sale ( but keep the wheels and windows intact until the very last items), you may well end up with very tidy sum.
Or, of course, sell as a complete project to someone, but you may not realise the true value of what those hard to come by componants that maybe in your van, could be worth.
Only my opinion and I sincerely hope you get what you would want for it, but there are a lot of DIY converters out there looking for stuff your van will probably have.
Good luck.
 
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Matthew2024 said:
Hi,
I have been left with a motorhome after my mother sadly passed away last year. After dealing with the place she bought it from to get it to pass it's MOT (it needed considerable welding and some new batteries) I've now been told that the garage they use for MOTs is not willing to work on it as it's coming apart and the dealership are also not wanting to deal with it anymore likewise which I understand. I don't know much about vehicles full stop never mind motorhomes and am seeking advice on what I can realistically do at this point. Pretty gutted all in all.

This is the vehicle and original ad my mum used to purchase said vehicle - https://motorhomesandcaravansltd.co.uk/product/ford-transit-280-swb-2005/

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
What were your plans for it, did you intend to use it yourself or sell it when it's done, if it is to use it maybe it would be viable but if all you want to do is sell it, it's not going to pay to do it and would be better sold as it stands.
If two garages say it isn't a goer ,it doesn't sound very good I'm afraid but if someone comes along who can do it themselves you might just cash out.
Must say it looks nice for its age.
 
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chaser said:
What were your plans for it, did you intend to use it yourself or sell it when it's done, if it is to use it maybe it would be viable but if all you want to do is sell it, it's not going to pay to do it and would be better sold as it stands.
If two garages say it isn't a goer ,it doesn't sound very good I'm afraid but if someone comes along who can do it themselves you might just cash out.
Must say it looks nice for its age.
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I was just going to sell it to be honest. I'm not really in a position to use it and could have done with the money. That's the worst bit really, my mum took good care of the insides and it looks nice which I thinks it's come as a bit of a shock that I essentially have to write it off
 
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Looking at its MOT history, it's had issues with corrosion going back many years!

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That model of transit was absolute rotboxes. I've had 3 of them . They rust for fun and welding them is a complete nightmare. The mot history would put off a lot of buyers even if it was welded up to get it through an mot... I'd run a mile myself.

I'd stick it on ebay for spares or repair with a £500 start price and no reserve. And then see where the cards fall.

You may be surprised as someone may have a decent panel van and use the interior to refit it.
 
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Having looked at its MOT failure sheet, I would have thought that it's got to be worth at least 6k as it stands without you doing anything other than advertising it as such.
Give it a try.
You have nothing to loose.
 
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Matthew2024 said:
position to use it and could have done with the money. That's the worst bit really, my mum took good care of the insides and it looks nice which I thinks it's come as a bit of a shock that I essentially have to write it off
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This is actually good news, if you take into consideration the cost of a repair and your previous quote of £2500 and it will run over even if you got someone to do it as it always does,New Batteries Vehicle & Leisure you are going to be £3000+ in and that’s if you are lucky,however, lots of people and particularly Vanlifers convert Transits, in your position l would sell the vehicle as perfect for a Van Conversion home build with a really good ready to go interior.

My take on this is, no work,no investment and you will probably get just as much if not more profit out of it than if you repaired it.

Facebook Market Place might find you a local buyer and of course EBay.
 
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tacr2man said:
Take plenty of pics , include condition as mentioned in your post . Put it on ebay , with the condition in large letters that bids will only be accepted after a viewing as vehicle is being sold as seen and approved . The market will decide what its value is . If you start having to take it to repairers , costs can quickly build up . Do you have the MOT fail paperwork , as you should include that in the info .
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What he says ☝️
Not worth trying to sort it yourself, let someone with time and a welder do it
 
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Thank you all for the advice. I think I'll try and do something on eBay with it. I don't have the MOT failure paperwork but I'll ask the dealership for it and hopefully get it off them. I'll have to order a pick up as well to get it back.
What would people recommend as a starting price on eBay? I've never actually sold anything on there before although have bought things. Any other tips? Accepting bids after viewing as being sold as seen and approved and no reserve have been mentioned so far, although I don't fully comprehend these terms right now

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Describe it as fully as you possible, spares or repair and being completely honest, include lots of photos including the worst bits and MOT.
Encourage viewings and emphasise sold as seen and it'll need taking away on a trailer if that's the case.
Start the auction at something reasonable, no reserve

Good luck and w2f PS you may have run out of free posts now as a non member ?
 
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Matthew2024 said:
Thank you all for the advice. I think I'll try and do something on eBay with it. I don't have the MOT failure paperwork but I'll ask the dealership for it and hopefully get it off them. I'll have to order a pick up as well to get it back.
What would people recommend as a starting price on eBay? I've never actually sold anything on there before although have bought things. Any other tips? Accepting bids after viewing as being sold as seen and approved and no reserve have been mentioned so far, although I don't fully comprehend these terms right now
Click to expand...
As someone who has bought more vehicles than the average person I'd say don't get your hopes up on fetching a crazy price for it. The mot history describes lots of corrosion over the years and anyone buying it will check that out. If you price it too high you'll put off loads. Start it low to attract bidders and let the auction run its full course . I for one bid in the last 10 seconds of an auction.

Put it on at 500 quid start price on a 7 day auction . List it on a Thursday evening around 7pm . Don't put a reserve on it unless you want to relist it.

Put as many clear recent photographs of it on the listing as you can .. be honest in the listing. A buyer can walk away if they state its significantly not as described.
 
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It hard disposing of parents cherished vehicles.
When I sold my parents MH it was done in a very detatched manner . It's in the way we don't want or need it. Your mum would be sad that it was causing even more upset

You could try auto trader be honest say what it is and wait and see. Is the engine good? It's a Ford always in demand

Good luck and don't be hard on yourself
 
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Hi Matthew, I'm local to you and know the dealership you are talking about, unfortunately I can't offer any 'face to face' help as I'm currently in Spain!

You mentioned that you'll need to arrange for a pickup to get it back from the garage, I can highly recommend a chap we used in October who was great and not expensive either, he only charged £60 for bringing our MH home from the garage (we wanted it back home as we had a long wait due to part supply delays), his details are:

Stewarts Recovery
01482 641900

www.stewartsrecovery.com

Stewarts Recovery | Accident and Breakdown Recovery Hull

Vehicle Recovery Specialists in Hull serving East Yorkshire for Breakdown, Accident, On or Off Road Incident Recovery.
www.stewartsrecovery.com www.stewartsrecovery.com

If you look at his reviews you can see our Carthago on his truck!
 
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