Vehicross on Ebay

[kirk hilton]

If you're interested there is a nice green LPG Vehicross on Ebay UK item 200360838097. It has been on Autotrader for weeks recently - probably no takers at the ?4K. I've had a brief chat with the owner a few weeks ago and advised he should join the forum (but I suspected he didn't) - hopefully we'll get a new UK member very soon.

[alterastro]

Gosh thats tempting. Did you talk about the conversion? Is it a good one? High mileage - should I be worried? Has the Cambelt been done recently?

Cheers

Nick :bwgy:

[kirk hilton]

I did talk to the guy about the conversion but he could only give the name of the chap who serviced it - who I also spoke to. He said he didn't install it but the system was old (not a Prin (?) but something else and that it wouldn't be something he would do now as there are better system available - but I understand it has been regularly serviced). As to the Cambelt I really don't know. That reminds me I should get mine done

[crotchrocket]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Isuzu-Vehicross-LPG-Converted_W0QQitemZ200360838097QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ Automobiles_UK?hash=item2ea66fc3d1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1683%7C 293%3A1%7C294%3A50


This was up for sale at the beggining of the year. Looks a bargain

[kirk hilton]

I've also realized that he (Colin) has relisted the Vehicross on Autotrader again at ?3650 so I imagine the reserve on Ebay is probably around the ?3500 mark. Considering that AlterAstro recently got his for a lot less, it might be a bit steep even if when you consider it has the LPG conversion.

[mikemol]

The miles are not that high since it's kilometers. If you convert that to miles you'll get around 88K miles.

[Flintstone]

Hi folks, I joined here partly because of this car which I might be viewing in a few days. I too have spoken to the owner but forgot to ask if that's miles or kilometres. If it's miles to be honest that will put me off at pretty much any price considering that there are others out there at £5500 with less than half that on the clock. I know it's got LPG but as you've already pointed out it's not the best system.

If I do go to see it can anyone recommend anything specific to look out for?

Thanks.

[kirk hilton]

.

If I do go to see it can anyone recommend anything specific to look out for?
.

Hi Flintstone,

I suspect that Colin may be asking too much but it does seem to be looked after, and complete and the LPG does make it more attractive. As to the other VXs on Ebay and Autotrader, ?5000 is to much (even low milage) and they haven't been selling (they have been sitting there for about a year). Alterastro is the most recent forum member with a VX (if I remember correctly) he paid about ?2000 I recall he'll be able to give more recent advise

I bought my 175 VX for ?4300 about a year ago but being a very rare 175 with a slightly higher spec I was willing to pay the extra, it was also about the right price about a year ago. Although fuel cost are expensive I haven't ever been as fond of a car as I'm of my Vehicross.

As for things to look out for there are better able members than I on the forum but most are in the US who have a slightly different machine - the engine is a 3.5L and their interior is different.

There are a few things I looked for which are 'standard' problems with the Vehicross - these include things like

cracked bonnet insert
jamming/slow electric windows
reversing camera not working
head light rubber missing/loose
headlight plastic flaking
slow wiper motor
tracking misalignment
shot shocks
loose interior plastic panels (in the back mainly)
damp in drivers foot well under the mat

As the Vehicross is based on a 98 Isuzu SWB Trooper a lot of spares are cheap and relatively easy to come by, however the 'custom' parts like windscreen and body panels are very expensive, rare and difficult to come by.

there are hope that helps

[alterastro]

I paid £2500 for mine, and I though I got a real bargain until I came on here and Kirk shot me down!!! :smilewink

I would have paid more and I don't think £3500 for this one is too much, but the miles do put me off.... TBH I don't think it'll be kilometers. I believe they have to be converted on import, so the the odometer reading is probably half and half. Kilometers up until it was imported and then miles from then on. So it depends on how long ago it was imported. Whatever way I still think the mileage is very high and you would have to do the cambelt at the very least. Allow up to £1000 for that if you can't do it yourself. So a £3500 car becomes £4500 straight away - quite high for that mileage. Shame, because if it was low mileage I'd be bidding for it too!

FWIW, Mine has the following faults...

Drivers window comes off track when closing. Tried widening the runner to no avail.
Headlight rubber missing on one (anyone know where to get a replacement???)
Headlight plastic starting to flake (anyone know a cure or replacement)
Bonnet insert is a bit corroded in one lower corner where water has pooled.

So not too bad really!

Nick ;)

[kirk hilton]

It's untrue that JDM Vehicrosses have to be converted to miles when they are imported into the UK (to pass the single vehicle test I assume). Mine isn't and I've seen three others which weren't it's all about preference. My MOT test doc states the odometer reading in kilometers (127KKm). So 135KKm for the LPG VX on Ebay could be correct although a mix of miles and kilometer could also be possible as AA mentioned.

[alterastro]

OK I stand corrected.. but the eBay ad doesn't mention Km which it would do if it was! He does state 'Mileage is completely genuine', which seems strange being as it is so high!

Nick

[Flintstone]

Thanks folks. Useful pointers which I'll bear in mind when viewing. The seller confirmed that this one is miles, too high for me as I rack up a few myself so I'll continue to look around. Shame really as the LPG made it perfect for me even though it's an old system.

Kirk. When you say they've been up for sale for a while do you mean those advertised by CG Trading in Hove?

Thanks in advance.

Paul

[kirk hilton]

Yes, the Vehicrosses in Hove have been advertised for months now (possibly more than 6 months). I believe one of the other UK forum members (Alan Bradley if I remember correctly) was thinking of buying from Clive(? CG Trading) some time ago but decided against it for some reason. Clive, who sells them, is a member of this forum but I haven't seen any new posting from him since I joined over 9 months ago.

Of the two that CG is advertising the Red with the leather seats is interesting as it is probably a 175 limited edition (but I don't see that being advertised)

There is also a newly imported silver VX on Autotrader with low mileage which may be interesting but when I was looking to privately import I worked it out at about ?5K so perhaps the seller won't drop the asking too much any time soon

[Flintstone]

I saw that interior. A little more interesting than standard. I'm running in a new engine on my other car this week so rather than drive around aimlessly might nip down to Hove for a look.

[alterastro]

I've been down to Hove and had a long chat with Clive. He was very helpful and informed. He's had them for quite a while and he's in no rush to sell, hence the fairly high prices. He is willing to deal though so worth a chat.

The maroon one has only the leather seats taken from another for a client that wanted cloth seats, so it had no matching door cards or steering wheel. It has had a bash on the drivers side and had a new wing. The colour match is good, but the wing isn't sitting quite right. I think an easy fix - just needs unbolting and repositioning. I couldn't see any other evidence of the prang. When I saw it it was a bit mucky generally, but would probably clean up fine. The other major thing was that it has the overrevving problem which is down to the inlet manifold gasket. Clive was fully forthcoming with all of the faults and during discussions offered it to me for two different prices - one to fix the problems (and replace the cambelt) and one to take it as is. Needless to say if I was going to buy I'd go for the 'get it done' price.

The green one looks lovely and has no problems. It was genuine very low mileage and 1 lady owner. The only fault was that it had been garaged for a while and water had dripped onto the drivers wing, so the paint is faded a bit.

I'd just like to reiterate here that Clive was very open about the faults and I had a good chat with him. I would buy from him if they were cheaper!

Hope that helps.

Nick

[Flintstone]

...........if they were cheaper!

The magic words :( My engine rebuild ended up costing me more than expected so this might have to go on hold for a bit. The second car sounds more interesting than the first now I know the interior's a pick 'n mix.

Still, I've the week off and still have 700 miles to rack up so might go for a look.

[alanbradley]

I believe one of the other UK forum members (Alan Bradley if I remember correctly) was thinking of buying from Clive(? CG Trading) some time ago but decided against it for some reason

Quickly to clarify - I looked at the burgundy one when it was for sale before Clive bought it. That was about 2 years ago now - if not longer - and it has been for sale constantly by one party or another.

I didn't buy it because at the time it was being sold "on behalf of a mate" and the guy would tell me nothing of history, etc. I also didn't like that the oil filter was only hand tight, that it wasn't undersealed despite many years in the UK and that some of the panels were misaligned.

That said, it would probably have been more sound than the one I eventually bought!:mado:

Hope that helps and good luck!

Alan

[kirk hilton]

I see there is a recent VX arrival on Ebay UK. This guy in Bournemouth is selling his silver VX for 5499. It is true he has owned it since July 08 as it was the VX I was really after at the time. The guy bought it from Farmers of Matlock for 4495 and although I understand the previous owner who lived in Chesterfield (if memory serves me) really loved it and really looked after it, I think putting a 1000 on the price after 18 months is asking a lot. I hope he gets the money as it would (considering recent asking prices and prices paid) suggest that the value of VXs in the UK is actually going up - which must be good for us current owners. Incidentally the guy from Bournemouth states on ebay that his VX was the only one imported by Isuzu. I have an article in a 10 year old mag suggesting the registration of the only one imported by Isuzu was "R374LJW" which was silver (like many) so it is possible with a change of plates that this VX is the one in the magazine. Does anyone know what became of "R374LJW"?

PS in the Ebay advert a picture of "R374LJW" is included but that's not conclusive - it doesn't mean its the car being sold. What is interesting is my magazine article on "R374LJW" is there are the words (I believe) "Unleaded fuel only" above the fuel cap. I don't recall these words being on any other jdm VX. Is this true or is my memory playing tricks? Saying that you cannot see the sticker in the Ebay pictures so its still inconclusive.

[kirk hilton]

I've just seen another VX on UK Ebay. It's down in Cornwall and is selling for £3995. I've phoned the seller, Mike, and he's selling for a friend (the Mike is a dealer). Mike says there is 117,000 km(?) on the clock and that the colour is BROWN. Brown ? what the heck? It isn't a limited edition (no leather interior) so why is it brown. Mike swears it hasn't been re-spayed and I don't believe brown was a standard colour. Can anyone explain? And no it isn't a muddy black one :happyface

[crotchrocket]

Nice colour, definately doesnt look re-sprayed ??

[vt_maverick]

Second from the top right maybe?

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/521/230vx_colors.jpg

[vt_maverick]

It's listed as one of the "Custom Made Colors" in the "Premium Color 25" JDM brochure. Looks like Iron Grey Metallic, Color #849. Production count on Wikipedia says 33 were made.

[kirk hilton]

It does certainly look like "Iron Grey Metallic" but is it a Limited edition? I would have to say it must be, but why no leather interior (or plaque) and if so if the owner (rather than the seller) has had it for two years (according to the seller) why doesn't it mention it's a limited edition in the listing - very odd.

Perhaps we'll get a new forum UK member sometime soon :grino:

[kirk hilton]

Just seen another silver VX on the UK autotrader and UK Ebay web sites. The VX is in Northolt, London but the guy who's trying to sell it seems to be a joker. Just about all of the description on Ebay is taken from a very poorly written review from 2008. And what has been additionally written is also poor and next to useless. The guy also was 0 (zero) ebay feedback. He also claims it has 11k on the clock which, if you look at the general condition (as far as you can from the photos), seems suspiciously low. He also says it's has a new timing belt - why would you fit a new timing belt at 11K (unless he means 111k - but that doesn't seem to tie in with the dash photo) - what do you folks think?

[vt_maverick]

Sounds fishy to me. Unfortunately I think some sellers believe they can swindle a buyer because they may not know much about such a rare car. Stupid though since the same rules apply as any other used car: body damage tends to indicate a careless owner, body panel misalignment indicates an accident, etc.

[dgl82182]

01 ironman mint condition for sale baby on the way my number is 2036154607

[circmand]

Just seen another silver VX on the UK autotrader and UK Ebay web sites. The VX is in Northolt, London but the guy who's trying to sell it seems to be a joker. Just about all of the description on Ebay is taken from a very poorly written review from 2008. And what has been additionally written is also poor and next to useless. The guy also was 0 (zero) ebay feedback. He also claims it has 11k on the clock which, if you look at the general condition (as far as you can from the photos), seems suspiciously low. He also says it's has a new timing belt - why would you fit a new timing belt at 11K (unless he means 111k - but that doesn't seem to tie in with the dash photo) - what do you folks think?

But in another forum we discussed whether mileage or age was most important when doing a timing belt. No consensus but a combination seems likely. A 10 year old unused belt would definately be on the way to needing changed due to extreem heat and aging