I’m thinking about buying an old service vehicle. These can have obscene numbers of miles on the odo, which makes me hesitant.

Anyone been down this path?

TIA

I know someone who bought an old postal jeep. I can't speak to FedEx, but I thought that UPS destroys its delivery vans when it's done with them, since they have a distinctive design and are custom made.

Hesitant is the operative word here.

The cost to maintain a vehicle with obscene miles on the odo..........is.........obscene.

Of course, you can DIY for less, but that gets old after awhile...........

If you can live with the fact that it's not quite up to snuff.............local trips at less than obscene speeds...........and with limited use per year............such a vehicle could be acceptable, provided you bought it cheap enough.

You will never be able to buy an old UPS truck. Those brown trucks from start to end are in control by UPS and are not sold due to liability reasons, or so goes the myth.

Not liability. Product identity.

I had very good luck with 2 used Ford U-Hauls ex rentals. At first I was hesitant
due it being an ex-rental vehicle but the outlet that I purchased them both from
kept excellent maintenance records and you know the mileage on the odometer
had not been tampered with. The price was also very favorable. This outlet did not rent any diesel trucks because they were afraid that a renter would refuel it with unleaded gasoline, as I would have grabbed a diesel if they had one.

Ex police vehicles and ex postal service vans are actually quite popular in the UK (well they were about 10 years ago) despite their stellar mileages. Generally speaking these vehicles are well maintained.

Many many nearly new vehicles in Northern Europe are ex-fleet vehicles; there's almost no escaping it.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Here you go: Only 619k miles

2002 Sprinter Van SHC 140WB

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Some times I'm amazed by the prices in the US. Six and a half K seems like a mad amount to this European. I'm sorry but I'd expect to pay in the range of his so called "low ball BS" offers here.

But then again here in Holland a W123 rot box used to be almost 2000 euros when people in the US of A seemed to pick them up for about 500 USD - so sometimes it works the other way round too!

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

He's dreaming.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

The basic UPS Truck used to be built by Grumman Olsen, but I don't know who is building them now but they are an application specific UPS Design. I know UPS also owns/uses CNG powered Sprinters and Transits in the City. I know that to be CNG fuelded in NYState, the conversion must be by either the OEM or an approved Conversion firm. (NY State has both Hybrid and CNG fleets for state use).

I have never seen a UPS truck in private hands and I used to do media work for them and asked if one was ever available for purchase (I could see it as a very useable location vehicle) and was flatly told "No Way". Like the LTV Jeeps and PO Trucks of the 80's, I believe that UPS self insures and assumes all liabilities for occupants and accidents. LTV Jeeps are a no go for private registry in NY State.

I remember the Grumman Olsen UPS Trucks to be Chevrolet powered but do not know who is the supplier now.

There is a company that makes a ADA compliant transit vehicle that is based on a Ford F-250 chassis, they also make specific vehicles for Medical Transport. As these are available to the public, as opposed to agencies, they were designed from the get go to be "DOT/50 state" compliant.

A friend was able to acquire a HMMV from the Army at Ft. Knox but was never able to get it cleared by KY DMV for highway use so he uses it as a service vehicle on his farm. He was told that the diesel engine could never be made compliant with regs and the lack of occupant safety systems and so forth made it a wash for road use. (This in a state where I have seen vehicles with no mufflers belching clouds of soot with the driver and passenger held in by rope in daily use!). No offense meant, CLK!

Boxy UPS Trucks sound like they have a cummins in them, the more rounded ones I cant Identify

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

We have used this place to buy parts for some of the bread trucks we work on.

Stepvan Parts Catalog

The Mack day cabs and Sprinter delivery trucks are also not available.

My father is a commercial truck dealer and he spoke at length with them. They basically operate their own junkyard, they part their trucks out, then shred them.

__________________
68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

Time for a VIN swap with a crashed H1 and a yearly bribe to the inspecting mechanic, methinks.