The recent success with the LT has made me think about selling the Joker. A couple of weeks ago I took it for an MOT and got 6 months tax for it, so it’s on the road and ready to go. I have been enjoying driving around town, but it really does have to move on.

We have had some great trips in the Joker, this picture from the Alps in Switzerland.

I listed the van on eBay and Gumtree (London). There has been quite a bit of interest in the van and a few time wasters with daft questions.

An interesting incident happened over the last weekend. A really nice couple arrived to take a look a the van, I showed the around, inside and out in my usual honest straight talking way, explaining all of the good and bad about the van that I have maintained and repaired over the four years that I have owned it, my suggestion is that it is good mechanically for a 23 year old van.

They decided to get an inspection from a mechanic that they found locally. I don’t really have a problem with that approach, especially as they said that they knew nothing about the mechanics of such a van. The resulting report detailed a good deal of what I had already pointed out, with a couple of notable exceptions. The report suggested that there where some serious problems with the engine, injector faults, blowing head gasket, low oil pressure etc etc, it made it sound really bad. All of this was news to me.

The couple paid the mechanic for his time and off he went. The report seemed to settle their opinion about the van, that is was potentially unreliable and may be cause for concern in the future. Given that their requirement was for a van that they need not maintain I suggested that this was not the van for them, all T25s need some sort of maintenance.

Thinking about this, there is a lesson in here somewhere. Who actually got anything out of the meeting? They had the opportunity to buy a very good, reliable van but it was clouded by a mechanic with no interest in the van. The mechanic got paid either way, so he was happy.

I still have the van, the engine is still good and it’s still for sale.