[BrendanK]

You're talking about the white van (40212927)? They have the key, they'll list they have the key on the page for any car they do, and they'll put a photo of any keys they have with it.

View attachment 80114

Sure doesn't look original, but absolute worst case, a locksmith can "decode" the right key if that one doesn't work for some specific lock. For wireless things, you got me... I'd assume they can program one for an older van pretty easy.

The toyota keys at some point had a small laser etched metal tag that was included with them and needed for the dealership to make you another key. That was only the case because of the electronic immobilizer thing built into the key though. At least that's what I was told when I bought the tacoma.

Gotcha, so it should be fine then. Good to know! I'll keep an eye out for the auction going live, and fingers crossed I don't end up with a lemon. Also fingers crossed nothing goes wrong with the Bucket in the meantime, and I don't have to make a split second purchase of another type of vehicle. Something about these vans has a bit of charm to it, I'd like to stay in this family as long as I can.

 

[Groosalugg]

Good to know! I'll keep an eye out for the auction going live, and fingers crossed I don't end up with a lemon.

You really should get an opinion from a professional bodywork guy if that driver's side damage is structural or not before you bid on that. If there's even a slim chance it is, that van is garbage. The door lines up a little too clean that it was wind whipping the door open that did it. I'm just not sure exactly how that happened, but it looks to my very uneducated eyes that its probably alright. Like someone hit something going in reverse, so pushing away from the structure.

If you do actually do it though, you probably need to use a broker. I use Salvagebid. They sound scammy because you have to send them payment by wire and put a deposit down before bidding, but they're good. Every single time I've been at the bank making up the wire, I've called and gotten Sarah, one of the owners, and everything went through smooth. Only one time it took like more than 5 weeks to get a title. I called and they sorted it out right away though.

 

[Mopar-Mofun]

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Best one by far. Runs and drives, 140k miles, but the body's a little beat up. The front driver's side fender doesn't line up with the door, not sure if it's the door or fender that's damaged. But the driver's door and fender on mine are fine, and this one's also white, so I can swap either one over no problem. I also don't really care about the headlight, I'm also missing my passenger headlight from the accident, so that's an expense I'd have to factor in either way.

Really, the name of the game here is "Frame is in good condition". I can do any amount of body/powertrain work necessary, **** I'd even be willing to buy something with NO engine in it and just swap mine over (assuming it'd fit).

* * * D A N G E R * * *

This is a FLOOD vehicle. Both the interior and the engine bay show so much flood damage !!!

I lived thru the 2011 Nashville flood. I've seen so many vehicles listed shortly thereafter looking just like this.

 

[Mopar-Mofun]

DetailsNotFoundView

Best one by far. Runs and drives, 140k miles, but the body's a little beat up. The front driver's side fender doesn't line up with the door, not sure if it's the door or fender that's damaged. But the driver's door and fender on mine are fine, and this one's also white, so I can swap either one over no problem. I also don't really care about the headlight, I'm also missing my passenger headlight from the accident, so that's an expense I'd have to factor in either way.

Really, the name of the game here is "Frame is in good condition". I can do any amount of body/powertrain work necessary, **** I'd even be willing to buy something with NO engine in it and just swap mine over (assuming it'd fit).

This one is from the SOUTH, no rust, newer, 2005, NOT from a flood. And flights are cheap to TN. The left side driver door has the damage. Basically a scuff mark.

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[Mopar-Mofun]

I saw the one in the 30+ listing with nearly 400K miles! To bad it was a head-on accident. I know these vans keep going for a mighty long time.

 

[BrendanK]

This one is from the SOUTH, no rust, newer, 2005, NOT from a flood. And flights are cheap to TN. The left side driver door has the damage. Basically a scuff mark.

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View attachment 80115

Damn. Guess there's no such thing as a golden egg, here, huh...pretty much all of the ones under 180k miles have been vetoed LOL. Ah, well, I can put a new engine in it if need be. I actually already had this one bookmarked. Good eye, Mopar!

 

[Mopar-Mofun]

Damn. Guess there's no such thing as a golden egg, here, huh...pretty much all of the ones under 180k miles have been vetoed LOL. Ah, well, I can put a new engine in it if need be. I actually already had this one bookmarked. Good eye, Mopar!

My 2006 is at 193K and the 2007 TC SSE is at 222K. IF the 2007 even looked as nice as the good one I posted for you, I would instantly swap over to the higher mileage as my daily driver.

Still consider the 2005 with 187K. And the current $850 price is low. It drives and runs!

These vans are remarkable for reaching over 400K. Almost 40 years of the 3.3L and 3.8L production engines. Sure there have been some changes, but all and all, the 4th gen has those bugs all worked out. Especially the 2005, 06 & 07.

 

[Groosalugg]

This is a FLOOD vehicle.

Where? I'm not seeing what you're seeing, but I highly doubt that's a flood car.

And the current $850 price is low.

"actual cash value" doesn't really mean anything.

Every car goes through the auction. You can pre-bid, but the live auction is the bid, 10 second countdown (sometimes they'll extend the time if there's a lot of bids or just 1 bidder) and whoever wins the bid wins... sort of. If the seller has a reserve that the bidding exceeds, the robot announcer will say "reserve off" and the winning bidder wins outright. If the high bidder doesn't meet the seller's reserve, the seller and winning bidder can work out a deal in the middle or the car will be relisted for auction again.

It sounds annoying and it's frustrating when you lose on a car you really want, but it's actually pretty exciting. I've bid probably on 8 or 9 different cars, lost about 1/2 the time and admittedly once I rage bid and won my friend zoned second choice instead. To be fair, that was my Chevy that I absolutely adore now and am soon driving a few thousand miles at a good 242k... But, I'm not worried about it at all. The thing is strong as an ox. I won this bid price at $1125. I think everything involved price-wise, delivered to my driveway was like ~$2400 total.

But, my point is, don't get attached to one car you find here. Find a bunch of options, and if your favorite doesn't work out, maybe your second choice is good too.

 

[Mopar-Mofun]

Where? I'm not seeing what you're seeing, but I highly doubt that's a flood car.

Look at the second row seating, especially the carpet floor MOLD. ewwwww.

Then look at the engine bay. See right beneath the cowl, the black moldy sewage stains are all around.

It took about 4 years to clear out those flooded vehicles from the market. It's the reason why I found my present 2006 SXE, I kept looking until I found a NON-FLOOD vehicle. Once you get an eye, and in person a good nose, you'll know a flooded vehicle easily.

 

[Groosalugg]

Look at the second row seating, especially the carpet floor MOLD. ewwwww.

Then look at the engine bay. See right beneath the cowl, the black moldy sewage stains are all around.

If that was a flood and no one bothered to clean the floor, why would the door jams be so clean? There's no visible water line or debris there on either side.

Either the interior's dirty and gross, or it got flooded and gross. This thing's no gem either way.

 

[BrendanK]

If that was a flood and no one bothered to clean the floor, why would the door jams be so clean? There's no visible water line or debris there on either side.

Either the interior's dirty and gross, or it got flooded and gross. This thing's no gem either way.

That's what I'm thinking...also, wouldn't a flood car be rusted to crap?

 

[Derrick1971]

That's what I'm thinking...also, wouldn't a flood car be rusted to crap?

Not really. It's not about the sheet metal. It's about all the other systems being under water and filled with crap.

 

[BrendanK]

Not really. It's not about the sheet metal. It's about all the other systems being under water and filled with crap.

Right, the electrical connections and contamination in the engine and transmission would be the bigger concern over rust. I was just thinking that, since untreated water from natural sources can have chemicals in it (assuming this was like a river flood or something) that cause the acidity to be higher than normal, not to mention salt, I would expect there to be some corrosion evident. Maybe I'm misinformed on that, though, and I suppose it would vary from area to area.

Either way, the mold is a turn off for me. I could get the fabric ripped out down to bare metal and bleach everything, but mold has a tendency to get stuck in places where you can't reach/wouldn't expect it to be. It's more likely that it'll just keep coming back, and I don't wanna deal with that.

 

[Groosalugg]

Either way, the mold is a turn off for me.

I don't know exactly what that is, but if it were mold, the car would have orange biohazard stickers all over it. Looks like the extra carpet is just really worn out and really dirty from being used a lot in that particular area.

 

[Mopar-Mofun]

That's what I'm thinking...also, wouldn't a flood car be rusted to crap?

Nope, not at all, especially if the flooding was a mere few weeks ago.

 

[terryharmon4657]

Long time no see y'all. Been a few months since I logged in, haven't had the money to poke and prod the ol' Rust Bucket in a while due to being laid off for the summer (friggin' school district work schedule...but I love my kids, though), but WE'RE BACK. It's a fresh new school year, I've gotten a raise, so I decided to finally start tearing down the Bucket and fixing what needs fixed. Gonna try and do as much of this as I possibly can by myself, but I think there's some electrical issues, and I don't fancy myself an electrician...so, I'll simply have to try and get pictures from the mechanic I take her to for that, if they'll oblige me. I figured rather than making a million different threads for various questions, I'd make one larger thread to contain everything, and give everyone some pictures and maybe videos along the way. 😁

So, let's get a checklist going, in order of importance:

#1: Bleed brakes, replace front pads and rotors. Evaluate rust on rear brakes, and front calipers, determine if replacement is warranted.

#2: Replace radiator. I was in an accident back in March, and the radiator had sprung a small leak that I hadn't noticed. Went over a bad pothole, and it started gushing. I put stop leak in it, not knowing the risks associated, so I'm hoping the worst of it is I need a new water pump too...if there's damage to the engine, I'm going to have to re-evaluate if I want to keep the car.

#3: Have transmission inspected. Car shifts hard into reverse occasionally.

#4: Figure out why parking brake isn't engaging.

#5: Replace tires. Been using used ones up to this point, and I think I'm finally in a spot to be able to afford a full set of brand new ones. I have 15 inch wheels, if anyone has recommendations on what tires to buy, please let me know.

#6: Replace front struts and rear shocks.

#7: Replace both headlights. Passenger's side was ripped out in the accident, driver's side is just old and dim.

#8: Have the wiring for the front turn signals inspected. Front driver's side turn signal has been intermittent the entire year I've been driving this car.

#9: Replace Ambient Temperature Sensor, was damaged in the accident in March, check engine light is on for code P0073.

#10: Replace muffler. Perhaps whole exhaust? There's a roughly tennis ball sized hole rusted straight through the muffler.

#11: Investigate source of exhaust fume smell up by the driver's and front passenger seat.

#12: Investigate poor fuel economy. Everything I've read online says I should be getting 18 or more MPG easily...but I'm getting 13 in a good pay cycle.

#13: Investigate squealing sound coming from engine bay. Assuming a bad pulley somewhere?

#14: Replace front bumper reinforcement bar, plastic bumper cover, grill, and hood latch mechanism. Damaged in the accident.

#15: Also have wiring to rear power outlet by the driver's side sliding door inspected. Outlet does not work.

#16: Get new sliding doors, and hatch door. Bottoms of all 3 are flaking and crumbling from rust.

#17: Replace instrument cluster. Backlights are fading, and the fuel gauge is inaccurate. If replacing the cluster doesn't fix the fuel gauge, look into replacing the fuel pump assembly.

#18: Get under the vehicle with a respirator and wire wheel and start grinding away at the rust to find out what's deep rot, and what's just surface rust. Undercoat with fluid film (maybe wool wax instead? I'm open to suggestions).

First thing I plan on tackling is the brakes, then the radiator, and then the tires. In my mind, I'm thinking the transmission can wait a little while longer. It's not that bad, not yet anyways, and there are more pressing concerns. I already know I'm willing to put a transmission in this car, so I'm not worried about throwing money at it, just for the transmission to go out and force me to get rid of it. I'll probably tackle some cheaper/easier stuff in quick succession after that, like the headlights, bumper support, etc.

All right and be proud of it 02 Town and country Chrysler 3.8 l EX the engine is unbelievable there's one minor electrical issue and I'm not electrician so I'll have to find someone to look at that for the last 10 years I've been transported from Wisconsin to Arkansas to Texas in that van it runs beautiful but unfortunately needs severe body work when I purchase it it had 134k on it and now has about 260k you have to hear it to believe it unfortunately I am on a fixed income and cannot afford to take care much needed body work so sadly I have to continue with it as it is and just watch it slowly deteriorate does anyone know of anyone who either volunteers or some type of program that helps people like me who really love those fans and who are in a limited financial situation and just cannot afford some type of help with making it income affordable or discount help thank you

 

[Valhallalla]

Punctuation is a thing.

Learn it.

Use it.

 

[BrendanK]

I don't know exactly what that is, but if it were mold, the car would have orange biohazard stickers all over it. Looks like the extra carpet is just really worn out and really dirty from being used a lot in that particular area.

Honestly, it looks like a bleach stain to me, which raises similarly concerning questions about what was so bad that it needed bleached...

 

[Groosalugg]

Punctuation is a thing.

Learn it.

Use it.

Honestly, it looks like a bleach stain to me, which raises similarly concerning questions about what was so bad that it needed bleached...

It's an old van. Basically everyone uses old vans they don't much care about anymore to haul... whatever junk around. My blue van was covered in pine needles front to back inside when I got it, but w/e. These aren't like a regular car where it's hard to take all the seats out and clean it front to back.

 

[BrendanK]

Groos, do you know if there's minimum bid requirements when you go through a broker? I don't remember watchlisting this one, but it's going up for auction on the 11th. We get our first check of the school year that week, so I'm fancying the idea of throwing a $200-$400 bid on it...only hesitation with that is it already went on auction yesterday, the 4th, and nobody grabbed it. So I'm assuming that's a red flag?

DetailsNotFoundView

Also how does storage work with these types of things? Would the broker offer a storage option until I can arrange for it to be collected? Or is it expected that you have immediate storage/collection options? I'm not going to have the money to get it hauled up here for a couple of weeks, at least.