Should I buy it? 1996 dodge ram van
 

A friend has a van with a 318, with an electrical problem. He took it to a dealer who said that it has an open circuit in the electrical wiring harness. They said they can't get the part so it's not worth it to fix it. He said he'd sell it to me for $250. It has 150,000 miles and is otherwise in good shape.

I was just curious about the cost of fixing it. I can do the work myself but wouldn't know where to start exactly. If you turn the key there is a loud buzz, but the motor never tries to start.

Any ideas? and is that worth it to take a gamble on it?

Thanks.

Personally, I'd buy it in a New York second!!
Then I'd get some really long jumper wires and go for it.

Oh, and a schematic diagram.

So, what was the electrical part they needed? Can a doner vehicle help?

all that the dealership said to them was "open circuit in electrical harness" or something like that. I am not sure where they found a problem, or what the problem was exactly. That's why I am not sure if I really want to get stuck with it.

Perhaps your friend could ask the dealer to be a bit more specific as to what circuit is open and what part was needed. Then with that information we can give you a more accurate opinion as to whether or not it's worth it.

Actually, what the dealer is saying is that it's going to take 2 men about 5 hours to fix it (10 hrs laborX$100/hr.) and there are no parts sales involved. Soooooo, he doesn't want to mess with it because it's not economically profitable from his point of view, compared to 10 man hours of labor on other jobs involving parts sales. And the fact is, they probably don't really have a clue where the problem is.
I'm just sayin'.

so it's fixable in your opinion? I have no problem putting in some hours of work. I want to learn to fix cars and eventually start restoring cars as a hobby. so as long as it is a fixable thing, and not just needing to replace a computer or something else that will just be expensive, I'm in.

I'll probably need some help along the way though :)

As long as it hasn't been on fire, absolutely. But let me forewarn you that the electronics on old cars with bizarre problems can really be a pain to fix. Also, you will not necessarily be learning how to work on cars; you will be learning how to be an electronics technician. You need the electronics diagrams for that make and model. You need an analog voltmeter. You need some long jumper wires. You need a PLAN. And you need a lot of luck. Most of these cases are solved by not directly finding the problem, but by eliminating what is not the problem, and working from there. Good luck. If the van was running ok before this problem came up, I would have no problem buying it for 250 and working on it.