My hunt for a Trooper continues...

Hello all,

I am after a VW Trooper T4 with reasonably low mileage and i have found one, near me for £24K. clean MOT, FSH and 46k ish miles. reg starts WX04.

Is this one of the final troopers to be made?

What would be a reasonable price for a trooper these days? there seems to be quite a fluctuation in pricing. A spoke to Wellhouse (a camper conversion company near me who i know) and they said, pre-pandemic, you'd probably get these for circa 12k and he'd hold off until this 'staycation' thing eases off.

Any input from folks on this forum would be appreciated as I'm rather a novice when it comes to used Auto-Sleeper.

Thank you all in advance.

Andrew

No, the Trooper was made long after 2004 - for a decade or so longer. If you look on Ebay you will see that there is a 2015 model on offer from a dealer at just short of £45k.

Roopert wrote:No, the Trooper was made long after 2004 - for a decade or so longer. If you look on Ebay you will see that there is a 2015 model on offer from a dealer at just short of £45k.

Thank you! i think the seller must mean one of the last of the T4's (which is van is).

Hi Andrew 
I’m in exactly the same boat only the one I’m interested in is 25k!!
Although I’d love it I’m just not prepared to pay that kind of money for it as I’m sure it’s current price is a reflection of the crazy staycation prices. 
I’m going to just wait and see what happens to the market over the next 12 months and hope that something more reasonable comes up. 
I think the problem is that most Trooper owners seem to go direct to traders to part ex, so they buy the van at a reasonable price from the seller then the price gets ridiculously hiked up!
Have you made a decision over the one you’ve seen? Is that a trade sale? Good luck!

2 months ago we bought a 2002 Trident from a dealer with 77K on the clock for £21K. Ridiculous I know but we decided it was worth it for us for a variety of personal reasons. It was the only option around for the small size van we wanted. We have been very pleased with it and it’s had lots of use, but will be interested to see what it is worth in a couple of months! I think Jessica’s comment on dealers is spot on. I guess it’s the value to you personally that is more important than the actual price.

Ah, Ok - you've now made it clear that you want a T4 based Trooper. Yes - I don't recall ever seeing a T4 based Trooper registered any later than 2004. In theory there could be a few around, as A/S tended to buy base vehicles and stockpile them before converting - but I've never seen one.

I don't want to try to change your mind on what base vehicle to go for, but the one convincing thing for us is that every T5 has ABS, while it was a cost option on the T4, as far as I'm aware...

Roopert wrote:Ah, Ok - you've now made it clear that you want a T4 based Trooper. Yes - I don't recall ever seeing a T4 based Trooper registered any later than 2004. In theory there could be a few around, as A/S tended to buy base vehicles and stockpile them before converting - but I've never seen one.

I don't want to try to change your mind on what base vehicle to go for, but the one convincing thing for us is that every T5 has ABS, while it was a cost option on the T4, as far as I'm aware...

Thank you for this information about the ABS, this is something I was not aware of. We have two small children, 3 & 7 so this would be a consideration. As a trawl the internet, i seem to find that T5's are generally regarded as not as reliable as the T4 'workhorse'

Thank you!

Jessica Jones wrote:Hi Andrew 
I’m in exactly the same boat only the one I’m interested in is 25k!!
Although I’d love it I’m just not prepared to pay that kind of money for it as I’m sure it’s current price is a reflection of the crazy staycation prices. 
I’m going to just wait and see what happens to the market over the next 12 months and hope that something more reasonable comes up. 
I think the problem is that most Trooper owners seem to go direct to traders to part ex, so they buy the van at a reasonable price from the seller then the price gets ridiculously hiked up!
Have you made a decision over the one you’ve seen? Is that a trade sale? Good luck!

Hey there!

Yes, i find that dealers whack on some serious margin. I saw one on eBay for £21k then then following week it was advertised at a dealer with a new price of £26k. I think once overseas travel is back on, we will see a reduction in prices and a lot of vehicles for sale again once folks find out van life is not for them!

Nigelbs wrote:2 months ago we bought a 2002 Trident from a dealer with 77K on the clock for £21K. Ridiculous I know but we decided it was worth it for us for a variety of personal reasons. It was the only option around for the small size van we wanted. We have been very pleased with it and it’s had lots of use, but will be interested to see what it is worth in a couple of months! I think Jessica’s comment on dealers is spot on. I guess it’s the value to you personally that is more important than the actual price.

Totally agree, sometimes it is not just about money is it? although i do begrudge paying over the odds for vehicles!

abirkitt1972 wrote:As a trawl the internet, i seem to find that T5's are generally regarded as not as reliable as the T4 'workhorse'

It's a difficult comparison. If T5s have a problem, it's largely because they are more complex - but every diesel-engined van has got more complex in recent years. Of course, the fact with the T4 is that every single one will be older than the equivalent T5, and that affects reliability too.

And then there is the rust. We looked at quite a few T4 based Troopers when we were looking for ours, and sometimes the rust was quite well covered up... As a generalisation, if you want a good idea of what the state of corrosion of a van is, you ~must~ get underneath and look carefully. A lot of the vans we looked at had suspiciously fresh paint up top, but when you look underneath you usually see a different story! The T5's use galvanised steel and so hold up better, but even so, neglect can allow rust to take hold...

Roopert wrote:Ah, Ok - you've now made it clear that you want a T4 based Trooper. Yes - I don't recall ever seeing a T4 based Trooper registered any later than 2004. In theory there could be a few around, as A/S tended to buy base vehicles and stockpile them before converting - but I've never seen one.

I don't want to try to change your mind on what base vehicle to go for, but the one convincing thing for us is that every T5 has ABS, while it was a cost option on the T4, as far as I'm aware...

I asked the seller if his T4 has ABS as an option and he said "I think so, the yellow brake symbol go's off when you start the vehicle"

I'm not sure you can infer much from that description!

There are several brake-related yellow warning lights on a typical VW - one being a pad wear indicator, and another being a "low fluid level" indicator. Neither have anything to do with ABS.

I ~think~ the ABS warning light on a modern VW always has the letters "ABS" in the centre, but I should stress that I have never owned a T4 based van - I'm just going by the research I did on the subject a few years back.

We've just bought our Trooper.
It needs carpeting because the previous owner drenched it in cleaner and we are sensitive to perfume.
Also needs all wheel arch trims welding and the sill bottom edges.
Runs well, 94 000 miles, but what a price for and 18 year old car.
Also has a botch job holding the drive wing mirror on.
Heating vent control needs work (windscreen vent always open slightly).
Nevertheless, we couldn't wait any longer and it is a great design and original interior, good paint job.
I do feel rather stupid though.

andrewedmondson wrote:We've just bought our Trooper.
It needs carpeting because the previous owner drenched it in cleaner and we are sensitive to perfume.
Also needs all wheel arch trims welding and the sill bottom edges.
Runs well, 94 000 miles, but what a price for and 18 year old car.
Also has a botch job holding the drive wing mirror on.
Heating vent control needs work (windscreen vent always open slightly).
Nevertheless, we couldn't wait any longer and it is a great design and original interior, good paint job.
I do feel rather stupid though.

I wouldn't say you are stupid! You are simply investing in your quality of life; sometimes that's pricesless. I hope you have many years of enjoyment and thankyou for your contribution here!

It's not about price in £s but about its value to you. If you’re happy, nothing else matters. Enjoy!

andrewedmondson wrote:We've just bought our Trooper.
It needs carpeting because the previous owner drenched it in cleaner and we are sensitive to perfume.
Also needs all wheel arch trims welding and the sill bottom edges.
Runs well, 94 000 miles, but what a price for and 18 year old car.
Also has a botch job holding the drive wing mirror on.
Heating vent control needs work (windscreen vent always open slightly).
Nevertheless, we couldn't wait any longer and it is a great design and original interior, good paint job.
I do feel rather stupid though.

Don’t worry about what you paid for it, just get out and enjoy using it!