Considering a 2004 Chevy express 3500 any horror stories??

[motownbrowne]

I'm looking at a new delivery van. There's a 2004 Chevy express 3500 for sale near me. I won't know the details on the mileage or which engine is in it until I talk to the seller in the morning, but I thought I'd see if anyone here knew anything about these rigs.

Sorry for the vague post, but as always, I appreciate the great input found here on TBN!!

 

[brasco426]

That's the only service vans I have ever been in. That is a solid platform. The only problem with one of my vans was a fuel pump. Other than that all of them were solid. I'm now in a 3500 service bed pick up 4x4, but miss the space the Express vans gave me.

 

[motownbrowne]

That's the only service vans I have ever been in. That is a solid platform. The only problem with one of my vans was a fuel pump. Other than that all of them were solid. I'm now in a 3500 service bed pick up 4x4, but miss the space the Express vans gave me.

Thanks, that's what I'm hoping to hear. How many miles did you usually rack up on them?

I'll only put maybe 5-6000 miles/year on this rig, and all within 50 miles of home. I want something that isn't completely rusted out, and my budget is pretty modest (under $5k ideally), so I'm probably going to be looking at vans with close to 200,000 miles. If you wanted to put 15-20,000 miles on a van over the course of 4 years, would an Express with 200k be in the running?

 

[aczlan]

I used to work for a hotel with a pair of 2004-2005 Express 3500 15 passenger vans.
My only dislikes were the long wheelbase (took longer to turn around then the same age Ford E350s) and the drivers area was narrow (moulding for the power windows stuck out quite a bit).
Otherwise, they probably have over 200k miles on them by now with nothing more than normal maintaince and repairs from where they hit a deer (the manager hit a deer with each of the vans within 1 month).

Aaron Z

 

[mbergeon]

I had a 2003, it had 180,000 hard miles on it when my daughter totaled it. Never used a drop of oil, never left me stranded, i still miss it.

 

[motownbrowne]

Well I spoke with the seller and the van has 370,000 miles. While that's a heck of a testament to the longevity of those vans, i don't think I want to tangle with it.

Back to the search I guess... I'm headed to look at an '01 E250 this afternoon with 168k on the odometer.

 

[aczlan]

My family had a '99 E350 for years (and a '93 15 passenger Econoline before that). If it has double doors on the side, check the bottom of the 2nd door for rust. Doorhandles breaking aren't uncommon, the latch lever comes apart. 1-2 hours to get the door apart and fix.
ABS can flake out (ours did around 200k miles). Two new $30 wheel speed sensors fixed it. Cleaning the rust and crud off might have also fixed them, but I figured for $60 it wasn't worth returning the new sensors.
Our 1999 E350 (with the 7.3L Diesel) was over 200k miles when we sold it and still going strong.
Aaron Z

 

[tcartwri]

Check the oil pan on the E Series. Huge job to fix if it's rusty. BTDT.

 

[brasco426]

Well I spoke with the seller and the van has 370,000 miles. While that's a heck of a testament to the longevity of those vans, i don't think I want to tangle with it.

Back to the search I guess... I'm headed to look at an '01 E250 this afternoon with 168k on the odometer.

the Chevy Express Van is solid. I average 20 to 30k in mileage a year. With your budget you should be able to score something. Take a peek at commercialtrucktrader.com, might be a help.