looking at a mk 1 vito F which has fold flat seats etc. it’s the same age and mileage as my current van (mk1 Scudo) and is quite cheap compared to others i’ve seen.

any stuff to look at specifically? i know they’re chain engines, so one less thing to worry about, but anything that went wrong on all of them? at least i can check if it’s been done already

i’m in the south of france, so rust doesn’t really count

If its a CDI engine look under the cover on the top of the engine (if it still has it fitted) for the marmite-of-death seeping out from the injectors. Part burnt fuel seeps up past the injector seals – but the injectors sit in a valley in the top of the engine so black resinous gunk eventually fills that trough and sets hard making it quite a travail to get to the (already very difficult to remove) injectors.

Rust

Rust +1

And rear brakes seize.

Rust and I had to put a new dash cluster in mine as the oil light was stuck on, cost a tidy penny and had to be programmed by dealer, was told it was a common fault

thanks all. rust as i said, is not a real worry. i’ve had bits of bare body-work (non galvy) sit un-treated for months in the climate where i live and they don’t even get a spot of surface rust. but i will check obviously.

injector seals yep, clocked that thanks. i’ve had them go on my scudo so know what it looks like. only cost me 150 euros to get it done. not too shabby. but can turn into an expensive PITA apparently

right well, went to see it, and turns out, i’m gonna buy it!
best thing about it, the injectors and seals have been done.

worst thing about it, you were all right, RUST, BUT, it’s not mostly cosmetic and it’s a bit of a tatty old hepa anyway, so, i’m just going to scrub the spots back, mastic them and epoxy undercoat from bilt hamber. then get a couple of rattle cans of the right colour mixed up and that’ll do it.

otherwise the engine sounded sweet, much better than my scudo with the same mileage and exhaust was super clean. there’s a radiator tube needs doing, not sure if the guy realised or not. ther are lots of general little bodywork and door issues, electric windows etc, but those’ll just need to get sorted bit by bit.

if i tell you the price it’ll sound expensive, but it’s way cheaper than other vito Fs go for, so i think worth it. and vans are expensive in france.
ok, 3500€, with the radiator tube fixed.

Not surprised at the rust. Mk1 Vito would rust away after a month in the Atacama desert. I really liked the one we had at work though, ton payload and still drove really well.

Cosmetic rust.

I trust you got right under it.

Like an iceberg the rust you see on the topside of Vito’s and transits are the tip of the iceberg.

If it’s a. Rusty heap on top I’ll bet the sills and suspension mounting points ain’t far away from needing a hot metal glue gun intervention.

Any other vehicle that’s Galvanised.

Rust and a very cr*ppy manual gearshift. SO glad we got a 1.9TD Scudo in 1999 (Vito we tried was pants and that was before discovering no galvanising).

i know cosmetic rust is an oxymoron when it comes to cars n britain, but it was n’t rusty underneath. of course i didn’t go poking a screwdriver into the rusty patches, the guy wouldn’t have been to happy, so it will probably be a bit worse that i optimistically decided looking at it.
i have to admit that i was swayed by the engine. clearly in great nick and injectors already done. my OH having recently dinged my scudo, and living in Ardeche where stuff doesn’t really rust, i just felt the body stuff was actually acceptable. and means i don’t have to care too much if it get dinged again.

now i’m gettting buyer’s remorse, thanks you lot!