Thinking of buying 94 Ram Van... what would you pay?
Hi... hope you don't mind me asking here, but I was driving along and passed a 94 Dodge Ram van for sale. I called the owner and it has 134K miles on it and he told me it has a 5.9L engine. I did not ask him if it's a B250 or B350... was wondering if there's a way I can tell? It looks to be in really good condition... it's white. I does have windows on the side and not sure if that was added later. My intention is to use mostly as a light duty work van hauling equipment. It has one bench seat in the back that I would remove. The owner has carpeted it and installed some sort of lightweight woodgraint type paneling on the inside. He's pretty keen on the fact that he's carpeted it, although I may want to remove it later.
He sounds like he's maintained it well. It has Oregon registration. He says he will take care of getting it smogged to comply with California regs. He said it has mostly highway miles between California and Oregon. He told me he gets about 15mpg. He also told me he's replacing the windshield. Supposedly it has two very small rock chips which I did not see. I asked if he had considered just having them repaired but he's adamant about replacing the windshield, which concerns me that it would reflect in what he's willing to accept as an offer. I would just repair it I think.
It appears that he's the kind of guy who has maintained it very well. He's asking $2850 for it though which seems on the high side. Kelly Blue book has the B250 at about 2100 and B350 at 2500 for private party price and excellent condition. About what would anyone here pay for it, and how do these vans hold up after 135K miles assuming good maintenance? Thanks in advance!
(pics below)

He sounds like he's maintained it well. It has Oregon registration. He says he will take care of getting it smogged to comply with California regs. He said it has mostly highway miles between California and Oregon. He told me he gets about 15mpg. He also told me he's replacing the windshield. Supposedly it has two very small rock chips which I did not see. I asked if he had considered just having them repaired but he's adamant about replacing the windshield, which concerns me that it would reflect in what he's willing to accept as an offer. I would just repair it I think.
It appears that he's the kind of guy who has maintained it very well. He's asking $2850 for it though which seems on the high side. Kelly Blue book has the B250 at about 2100 and B350 at 2500 for private party price and excellent condition. About what would anyone here pay for it, and how do these vans hold up after 135K miles assuming good maintenance? Thanks in advance!
(pics below)

Just looking at the picture, I can see that it's a B2500 van. The rear panel where a window would be is long, thus the B2500.
I've seen a few of these for sale in both conver van and regular cargo types. I live up north in the rust belt too. These are fetching $800~$1500 for 1994-1997 in my area. The most sought after years that get the higher value are the 1998-1999 and then the last polished years of 2000-2003. I would not pay that price of $2850 unless it was a 1998-1999 year around here. Make an offer with your phone number. In time he may give you a ring. If he's married, chances are, the DW would apply pressure to have him sell sooner.
Just another note, that van has the side slider door. The 1994-1997 years had mechanical problems with them. Just to be on the safe side, inspect the grease track.
The 360cid or 5.9L is a work horse of an engine and is good for towing. The fuel mileage isn't all that great compared to the 318cid 5.2L or the 239cid 3.9L w/o OD.
Having the spare tire on the rear door is NOT great either. My dad has that on his 1993 Ram Van. It's a real pain too. In a parking lot, some one backing into the space behind him pushing the spare tire into the door and crushed it. [>:] Also, the rust isn't a nice site either. The new Ram Vans, 1998+, stow the tire under the body.
If you can find one of these vans around 1998+ with a 318cid 5.2L, you would be in better shape.
Just my 2 cents.
I've seen a few of these for sale in both conver van and regular cargo types. I live up north in the rust belt too. These are fetching $800~$1500 for 1994-1997 in my area. The most sought after years that get the higher value are the 1998-1999 and then the last polished years of 2000-2003. I would not pay that price of $2850 unless it was a 1998-1999 year around here. Make an offer with your phone number. In time he may give you a ring. If he's married, chances are, the DW would apply pressure to have him sell sooner.
Just another note, that van has the side slider door. The 1994-1997 years had mechanical problems with them. Just to be on the safe side, inspect the grease track.
The 360cid or 5.9L is a work horse of an engine and is good for towing. The fuel mileage isn't all that great compared to the 318cid 5.2L or the 239cid 3.9L w/o OD.
Having the spare tire on the rear door is NOT great either. My dad has that on his 1993 Ram Van. It's a real pain too. In a parking lot, some one backing into the space behind him pushing the spare tire into the door and crushed it. [>:] Also, the rust isn't a nice site either. The new Ram Vans, 1998+, stow the tire under the body.
If you can find one of these vans around 1998+ with a 318cid 5.2L, you would be in better shape.
Just my 2 cents.


