Been offered a free van- L reg Mercedes sprinter

[Chickenjohn]

A friend of mine has offered the above vehicle- it has no MOT and needs "welding down the sills". Is this worth looking into as a project on my drive, to weld it up, get a ticket and sell it on?? Bearing in mind the hassle of moving a non-MOT'd van 5 miles to my house, insurance etc. Plus I know nothing about the requirements of getting a van MOT'd and short term insurance, plus what other MOT items does one look at?? I know a lot about MOTing cars, but not vans and have no Merc Van knowledge.

They say don't look a gift horse in the mouth, but what if the Vets bills are bigger than the re-sale value??

Oh, and iI've looked on t'interweb but have no idea how much an L reg 1993 Merc Sprinter would sell for. Any ideas?? Any knowledge or insights would be valuable. Could be a way of making a few humdred quid or could be a dead loss.

cheers
John

 

[wobblemonster]

It depends on what model/size the van is.

If the GVW is under 3000kg its a bog standard MOT test at your regular test station, if its 3000 - 3500kg its a class 5 test, but they only check what you are used to.

If your getting it given, its got to be worth a punt

 

[tux]

My theory, for what its worth.
Find an MOT station between your house and your mates house and book it in for an MOT test. Insure it for the day with someone like DayInsure (other insurers available, check press for details!) then take it for an MOT on your way home with it.
As long as it is insured and on its way to or from a prebooked MOT appointment its quite legal to drive it without MOT or Tax. At the end of it you will have it on your drive and know exactly what it needs for a ticket. If its repairable then get it fixed up, if you think its not worth it then call the local scrappers who will collect it and more than likely pay you at least what you have spent on insurance and MOT tests, given the current value of scrap.

 

[Sphinx]

My theory, for what its worth.
Find an MOT station between your house and your mates house and book it in for an MOT test. Insure it for the day with someone like DayInsure (other insurers available, check press for details!) then take it for an MOT on your way home with it.
As long as it is insured and on its way to or from a prebooked MOT appointment its quite legal to drive it without MOT or Tax. At the end of it you will have it on your drive and know exactly what it needs for a ticket. If its repairable then get it fixed up, if you think its not worth it then call the local scrappers who will collect it and more than likely pay you at least what you have spent on insurance and MOT tests, given the current value of scrap.

Took the words out of my mouth.

If you can fix it up and get it legal for a few hundred then it should be worth it, depending on miles, history, condition etc etc etc
Have a look online to see what a comparable van would sell for once 'ready' and decide if there's enough profit in it to bother with.

 

[Chickenjohn]

Thanks chaps for your comments- any one else??

 

[michael1703]

probably worth £750-£1000 ?

depends on length/height condition etc, you might need to put some tax on it to get a sale

definitely worth doing if you have the time, them day insure things are about £20, plus £50 for mot it owes you £70 and then materials and tax etc if your time is free you can make £500 upwards profit

 

[gavuk]

AS above ,scrap would make more than £70 quid ...or break it and weigh in after ,have a chat with your local scrappy first make sure he's happy to remove shell ect.....if it costs you nothing ,its worth it ,if he wants scrap money to let you have the van its more tricky

 

[Stereophoney]

if a friend offered that to me i'd bite his arm off

 

[rhubarb7]

Worse case, its worth £200 in scrap..

It won't be a Sprinter, it'll be a 308d..Sprinters started on an N reg..

Old 307's, 308's 310's aren't worth a lot these days..

If you get it post some pics up

 

[pedrobedro]

My brother in law used one for a few years and they did rot so get ready for a bit more than at first obvious. His was a 308.

 

[john224]

Why not tow it back to your house 5 miles is not a great distance,,,

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Why not tow it back to your house 5 miles is not a great distance,,,

Afaik, it has to be MOT'd, taxed & insured even if being towed on a public road [unless as said above, it's on it's way for a pre-booked MOT test].

 

[Chickenjohn]

Yes, it is a 308D- thanks for the advice chaps! It is a 1993 on an L plate and is the shorter version of the Merc van. Thanks for the words of advice on rust! I'll give it a close look to see if the repairs are viable. I'd have to do the work outside as it won't fit in my garage.