Advice for buying a second hand Duetto/Symbol

Hi all,

Looking for some general tips/thoughts on buying a Symbol or Duetto, probably looking for something for a 2004 vintage or so, ideally for around £16k from a dealer with a warranty.

We could pay a fair amount more, but it doesn't seem worth it (to me!) for all the extra depreciation cost. Something in this sort of price range seems to have a fairly stable price, and getting parts shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I'm a total novice when it comes to all the things that can go wrong, so my thought is to buy from a dealer with a full habitation check and a warranty so that any initial teething issues can be sorted out easily. I suppose to that end I'm looking for a used dealer with an excellent reputation.

Any other thoughts on anything I could be missing?

There seems to be a price premium at the moment, so I'm happy to put off buying for a few months. The plan is to use the vehicle as our daily run about and for long multi-month road trips.

booms81 wrote:I'm a total novice when it comes to all the things that can go wrong, so my thought is to buy from a dealer with a full habitation check and a warranty so that any initial teething issues can be sorted out easily. I suppose to that end I'm looking for a used dealer with an excellent reputation.

The plan is to use the vehicle as our daily run about and for long multi-month road trips.

I don't know dealers in your area but don't be too quick to dismiss private sellers as they have a lot to offer. The price will normally be slightly below that of trade and the longer the seller has owned the van, so much the better because they will know everything about it where  a dealer won't. Also many owners are careful about retaining garage and parts receipts as this is useful history to the next owner, eg when was the cambelt last done. Dealers often bin that from any vans they take in. Another thing which often disappears from vans sold to dealers are any original manuals as they can prove a deal clincher on a van of the same type that has no manuals.

Any PVC (panel van conversion) is ok for daily use, supermarket parking, shopping etc.

Yes, I totally agree with Bulletguy. Also keep your eyes open for any forum members who are looking to change their vans   Most if not all would never dream of selling you a pup and will be totally honest about the pros and cons. 

I may have been lucky when I bought my Symbol as it has been totally reliable and  trouble free since I bought it privately  4 years ago - although it was not from a forum member.

Go for a Mk 7 Duetto if at all possible price wise I have had 3 Duetto, a smilieface ,a Mk 6 auto and now a 2009 Mk 7 the best so far! Avoid the duroshift Mk 6 as servicing of ther gear box may be a problem.
The last 10 front wheel drive made for Marquis were rather sparcely fitted out compared with its rwd forerunners. A good solid unit is the Mk 7 Keep an eye on the forum For sale, as cherished units sometimes come up!
frederic

Hi
    I agree with Frederic go for a MK 7 is will be the most rust free I would avoid the marquis special edition as they are front wheel drive, chose the best you can afford hopefully you only buy it once but be patient and make sure it is really want  they are quite compact, you may want to consider a Pollensa, or Amethyst which I think is a cracking MH but a MK 7 base holds it's price .
regards
Alan

Thanks guys, I'll do some more research. When you say a Mark 7, do you mean those based on a Mark 7 Ford Transit?

A Pollensa or Amethyst may be a bit large for everyday use. 
The late 2006 Mk6 Ford Transits are very similar to the Mk7 (TDCi engines, six speed gearboxes). 
Some privately sold vans have had the same owner for years, and have plenty of service history. Others change hands almost every summer, so the owner won't know much about its history. 
If you are buying from a dealer try and use one not too far from home; you don't want to travel miles to the dealer to have any issues attended to.