Jump to content

Variation on a diesel theme .


Adiebt

Recommended Posts

To try and future proof and minimise the risk of having a worthless diesel MH ( for resale or trade in ) would NOW be the time to trade in the diesel MH for a caravan and buy say a second hand Lexus hybrid to tug with?

Just fishing for opinions at the mo .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Lexus NX hybrid and it averages about 36 mpg over two years varying from 33 to 40, solo only as I have never towed, depending on how quickly I drive.

More economical at local speeds than motorway cruising which does not auger well for towing?

Very nice car, well made and very comfortable, but unimpressive fuel use.

I shudder to think what towing will do to the mpg and the rpm as hybrids and cvt transmissions seem much happier with gentle throttle openings?

There are probably some road test reports if you search the caravan mags and CC etc?

 

I doubt you can future proof that far in advance at the moment so I would just get on and do what I want to do and worry about future values when the future arrives.

Value is only relevant when you come to sell it and as long as you have the outfit you want that could be many years away?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers for the reply , the time to sell , in the natural scheme of things , will be in around 5/6 years time when both my wife and i will be both retired . We both are well provisioned in the pension stakes but we dont relish not having the natural trade in value of our MH to play with when buying again hence the emphasis on NOW while we are relatively cash / income rich.

The RX450h would be the model im using as an example to tug with , its showing as 47.1mpg , tho i have no idea what that would be towing a 2000Kg van !

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest pelmetman

I bought a 1996 3 litre Toyota Camry to tow my Carlight Caravan to Spain ;-) .........

 

I'm so impressed with it I'm planning on spending the best part of 2000 euros to make my 1000 euro car legal in Spain B-) .........

 

As for the fuel?.......Que? :-S .........

 

Will I save money by spending £40k to £50k on a new Hybrid??? 8-) .......

 

I'm 60 so I've done the math's :'( ........

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would take more than a few government threats to stop me enjoying what I like doing!

 

Maybe Dave has the best idea - buy older and save a lot more on depreciation than you spend on fuel and repairs!

 

On the other hand if we don't spendwhat we worked for some other person(s) will, so we might as well travel in comfort as pay for someone else to do that when we are dead!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest pelmetman
Tracker - 2018-11-10 3:21 PM

 

It would take more than a few government threats to stop me enjoying what I like doing!

 

Maybe Dave has the best idea - buy older and save a lot more on depreciation than you spend on fuel and repairs!

 

On the other hand if we don't spendwhat we worked for some other person(s) will, so we might as well travel in comfort as pay for someone else to do that when we are dead!

 

I agree ;-) .......But I prefer to give my dosh to the local bloke rather than some corporate oike :-| .......

 

You see us Tories are natural Socialists B-) ..........

 

Not pretend Socialists like Labour who would rather reward the idle than the worthwhile *-) ........

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I chatted to a tugger a few years back with a VW Phaeton. He reckoned it the best towcar he'd ever had. He had bought second hand, as the Phaeton's tended to be bought as executive cars, often doing low mileages on leasing deals where all servicing is included, and frequently driven by chauffeurs. So, all mod cons, and a safe buy used. At the time, there was not much demand for them second hand, so the price fell like a brick. Much cheaper than a new Chelsea Tractor. Don't know if this remains true, but assume similar models a few years old may tell similar stories. It wasn't that fuel efficient, but he reckoned what he'd saved buying it would pay for years of fuel consumption. Any good?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian Kirby - 2018-11-10 6:21 PM

 

I chatted to a tugger a few years back with a VW Phaeton. He reckoned it the best towcar he'd ever had. He had bought second hand, as the Phaeton's tended to be bought as executive cars, often doing low mileages on leasing deals where all servicing is included, and frequently driven by chauffeurs. So, all mod cons, and a safe buy used. At the time, there was not much demand for them second hand, so the price fell like a brick. Much cheaper than a new Chelsea Tractor. Don't know if this remains true, but assume similar models a few years old may tell similar stories. It wasn't that fuel efficient, but he reckoned what he'd saved buying it would pay for years of fuel consumption. Any good?

 

No ! I’m after a used hybrid ( in the absence of an electric/ fuel cell car ) that can pull a caravan .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tracker - 2018-11-10 3:21 PM

 

It would take more than a few government threats to stop me enjoying what I like doing!

 

Rich is right, do what you enjoy.

 

We made the mistake a few years back and thought the grass was greener on the other side. After 7 months of tugging we realised we hated it and came back to a motorhome. Not going to make that mistake again!

 

Regards,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Laurence - 2018-11-10 7:31 PM

 

Tracker - 2018-11-10 3:21 PM

 

It would take more than a few government threats to stop me enjoying what I like doing!

 

Rich is right, do what you enjoy.

 

We made the mistake a few years back and thought the grass was greener on the other side. After 7 months of tugging we realised we hated it and came back to a motorhome. Not going to make that mistake again!

 

Regards,

 

I agree in that i dont want to give up motorhoming but the thought of having a worthless ( in monetary terms ) diesel MH in 5/6 years ( conservative estimate £25K ish if the diesel witch-hunt had never occurred ) makes me somewhat uneasy . Who in that guesstimated timescale is gonna fork out loads of money on a diesel MH , used or new ?

I cannot afford to loose £25K on a trade in or sale.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest pelmetman
Laurence - 2018-11-10 7:31 PM

 

Tracker - 2018-11-10 3:21 PM

 

It would take more than a few government threats to stop me enjoying what I like doing!

 

Rich is right, do what you enjoy.

 

We made the mistake a few years back and thought the grass was greener on the other side. After 7 months of tugging we realised we hated it and came back to a motorhome. Not going to make that mistake again!

 

Regards,

 

That's a well trodden road :D ........

 

Which is why we store our caravan in Spain ;-) ........

 

Having a guest wing makes all the difference to our winters in the Sun B-) .......

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Adiebt - 2018-11-10 7:38 PM

 

the thought of having a worthless ( in monetary terms ) diesel MH in 5/6 years ( conservative estimate £25K ish if the diesel witch-hunt had never occurred ) makes me somewhat uneasy .

 

I think its going to take an awful lot longer than that. Its taken 10+ years to get a reasonably decent electric or hybrid car, and even now the sales are not great. I don't see the same progress with vans and trucks, even to hybrid stage, and whatever comes out first is going to be expensive and experimental. I would give it a lot longer before it comes to the motorhome industry.

 

Regards,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Think that I am reading through your post that it is money that you are interested in saving and not the environment and that is the way most of us probably look at the issue.

Given the current rate of advancement in technology and political will and economic sense - if you really want to save money just keep your motorhome a lot longer and you don't lose on depreciation by forking out shed loads of money.

We will ultimately have to give up some of our mobility freedoms as infrastructure and roads have not and can't keep up with our levels of increased traffic. Pollution levelsi are greatly increased by the amount of time we spend crawling or stopped in traffic delays......odd really !! that manufacturing and investment ( vehicles) can plan ahead to make money and profit ahead of infrastructure.? The same goes for plastic and food production.

A real contribution to the environment comes by lifestyle choices overall and considered use of earth resources, not just motoring.

 

My 12 year old motorhome easily returns 33-35mpg in the UK and 35-39mpg in France, and my little petrol 61/2 year old Jazz overall averages 54-56 ( including local and occasional longer journeys ) and I live in hilly Bath. So no real environmental reason to change at this time and that probably goes for many of us.

 

Many of us, if we choose, could spend the money we splash out on vehicles by upgrading our homes to Eco standard and enjoy a slow and steady return on our investment - especially as energy becomes more expensive. What about shopping locally and using farm shops (less plastic) and growing some of our own vegetables .

Sorry if I am sounding like an Eco Warriion- all that I am trying to do is to broaden the scope of our thinking.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ruby(Exsis) - 2018-11-11 8:59 AM

Many of us, if we choose, could spend the money we splash out on vehicles by upgrading our homes to Eco standard and enjoy a slow and steady return on our investment - especially as energy becomes more expensive. What about shopping locally and using farm shops (less plastic) and growing some of our own vegetables .

Sorry if I am sounding like an Eco Warriion- all that I am trying to do is to broaden the scope of our thinking.

 

 

 

I think it's accepted by all, except those selling a product, that building a home to high standards (such as we have done) saves money, upgrading a home apart from the simplest cheapest options doesn't save money when taking into account the investment.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Adiebt - 2018-11-10 7:38 PM

 

Laurence - 2018-11-10 7:31 PM

 

Tracker - 2018-11-10 3:21 PM

 

It would take more than a few government threats to stop me enjoying what I like doing!

 

Rich is right, do what you enjoy.

 

We made the mistake a few years back and thought the grass was greener on the other side. After 7 months of tugging we realised we hated it and came back to a motorhome. Not going to make that mistake again!

 

Regards,

 

I agree in that i dont want to give up motorhoming but the thought of having a worthless ( in monetary terms ) diesel MH in 5/6 years ( conservative estimate £25K ish if the diesel witch-hunt had never occurred ) makes me somewhat uneasy . Who in that guesstimated timescale is gonna fork out loads of money on a diesel MH , used or new ?

I cannot afford to loose £25K on a trade in or sale.

 

Trade in value in the future doesnt bother me, after 3 motorhomes we now have a 'keeper' which we will use for just as long as we are allowed to legally. It is a Euro 5 , I plan for at least 20 years use, anything less means poor value for money.

Havent even seen a viable electric base vehicle for a motorhome, they had better get their skates on.

 

I might add that my first motorhome was a 1988 Autosleeper, which was still fine 9 years ago when I sold it, rather than encouraging mass production of poorly put together short lived caravans and motorhomes , we should be keeping our leisure vehicles a LOT longer. IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having spent a lifetime accumulating what prosperity we have we feel disinclined to leave it all for our kids to spend, isn't it enough that they get the house?

 

Even worse would be to see a van have to be sold to meet ongoing care costs - that has to be the ultimate insult - unless by the time it needed to be sold it was worth a lot less than we paid for it and if it is being taken to meet care costs who cares how little it fetches!

 

We really don't much care about any vehicle depreciation any more as long as it is what WE want at the time and we will worry about future wants and needs when the day arrives.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Along the same lines as Richard, the vehicles I've brought for many years now have been long term investments or assumed to be written off after 10 years, so if they last longer than 10 years or are sold with a return after 10 years then it's a bonus to me, but the main thing is they do what I want when I want to.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our last van was a 'keeper', it was well built and did all that we wanted and it was very comfortable too but health issues stepped in to muck up our plans and so we ended up selling it after just a year.

 

The moral of the story - do it NOW whilst you still can as nobody knows what lies ahead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tracker, was your last van the Autosleeper monocoque ? Lovely long term keeper, I was very lucky, my health incident was fixed with a new heart valve ( made out of carbon fibre and Titanium incidentally). Without it i probably wouldnt be around now.....as it is, I feel great and fit enough to 'wear the van out'. If they let me.

Good luck !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...