davidmac Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 colin - 2012-01-29 8:38 PM davidmac - 2012-01-29 8:01 PM I am thinking about buying a luxor eb .2.8 hdi manual 2003 3.8t. Am I likely to get anywhere near to 31 mph? My personal opinion, not based on experiance of this model you understand, is that you will not get anywhere near 31mpg, at a guess 25mpg on a very good day. Thank you very much for your reply Colin. I retire shortly and would like to have acouple of extended holidays on the continent in spring and autumn with my wife plus weekends away in the UK with my grandchildren. Looking at 5-6000 miles each year so fuel consumption is a big consideration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 davidmac - 2012-01-30 7:26 PM Looking at 5-6000 miles each year so fuel consumption is a big consideration David, Have you actually worked out the difference? If not then here is my working out... 6,000 miles @ 25mpg = 240 gallons. Times (say) £6 per gallon = £1,440. 6,000 miles @ 31mpg = 194 gallons. Times (say) £6 per gallon = £1,161. The difference is approx £279. Compare this to what you are spending on the MH, possibly £30k + ??? and in my books it pales into insignificance! We put fuel in ours when it needs it and don't bother to work out the figures. (but probably get around 25 or 26 at an educated guess). Obviously just my take on matters and I'm afraid if I had to watch every penny to that extent I'd give up living (let alone MH'ing)! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Keithl - 2012-01-30 7:40 PM davidmac - 2012-01-30 7:26 PM Looking at 5-6000 miles each year so fuel consumption is a big consideration David, Have you actually worked out the difference? If not then here is my working out... 6,000 miles @ 25mpg = 240 gallons. Times (say) £6 per gallon = £1,440. 6,000 miles @ 31mpg = 194 gallons. Times (say) £6 per gallon = £1,161. The difference is approx £279. Compare this to what you are spending on the MH, possibly £30k + ??? and in my books it pales into insignificance! We put fuel in ours when it needs it and don't bother to work out the figures. (but probably get around 25 or 26 at an educated guess). Obviously just my take on matters and I'm afraid if I had to watch every penny to that extent I'd give up living (let alone MH'ing)! Keith. Completely agree which is why I didn't trade in my 2.5 Rover when the "Scrappage Scam" was going......... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 No you just like old knackers. But to answer the poster above Pelmetman. Some of us do have to watch the pennies more and more, we are not all retired merchant bankers, and if you need any proof look at the threads about folk attempting to fill there own gas bottles, or buying a re-fillable to save a couple of bob on gas bottle exchanges, so Mpg can be a factor in financial deliberations, or put another way compared to your fuel consumption I get my insurance for free. :-| :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I have worked self employed on a buildig site all my working life, not in a bank or anywhere else that gives you a big pension when you finish so I need to have some idea of what the running costs of the motorhome would be. 31mpg is a thread which could help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 1footinthegrave - 2012-01-30 7:52 PM No you just like old knackers. But to answer the poster above Pelmetman. Well as long as my elderly b*****ks can still do the job.............I'm happy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 pelmetman - 2012-01-30 8:06 PM 1footinthegrave - 2012-01-30 7:52 PM No you just like old knackers. But to answer the poster above Pelmetman. Well as long as my elderly b*****ks can still do the job.............I'm happy :D Well if they're as elderly as mine no one wants them anyway, a bit like your vehicles. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 davidmac - 2012-01-30 8:03 PM I have worked self employed on a buildig site all my working life, not in a bank or anywhere else that gives you a big pension when you finish so I need to have some idea of what the running costs of the motorhome would be. 31mpg is a thread which could help Well as a member of the great unwashed myself...........Is this going to be your first camper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 pelmetman - 2012-01-30 8:20 PM davidmac - 2012-01-30 8:03 PM I have worked self employed on a buildig site all my working life, not in a bank or anywhere else that gives you a big pension when you finish so I need to have some idea of what the running costs of the motorhome would be. 31mpg is a thread which could help Well as a member of the great unwashed myself...........Is this going to be your first camper? No .Back in about 1976 I brought a new CI motorhome on a Ford Transit 2.0L petrol. Kept it for about 8 years. The children wanted to do their things as they were growing up so it got used less and less.A few years later I had a long wheelbase Ducato and made some furniture to fit in it that could be taken in and out in about an hour and had 2 weeks in Switzerland one year ,Austria another year,children had a tent to sleep in. !995 was my silver wedding so we flew to Canada and rented a 19ft PVC for 2 weeks toured British Columbia . That had a 5.0l v8 but Canadian petrol was less than half the price of UK petrol. We have seen quite a bit of europe but now would like to travel at our own time and pace rather than an airline timetable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 davidmac - 2012-01-30 9:05 PM pelmetman - 2012-01-30 8:20 PM davidmac - 2012-01-30 8:03 PM I have worked self employed on a buildig site all my working life, not in a bank or anywhere else that gives you a big pension when you finish so I need to have some idea of what the running costs of the motorhome would be. 31mpg is a thread which could help Well as a member of the great unwashed myself...........Is this going to be your first camper? No .Back in about 1976 I brought a new CI motorhome on a Ford Transit 2.0L petrol. Kept it for about 8 years. The children wanted to do their things as they were growing up so it got used less and less.A few years later I had a long wheelbase Ducato and made some furniture to fit in it that could be taken in and out in about an hour and had 2 weeks in Switzerland one year ,Austria another year,children had a tent to sleep in. !995 was my silver wedding so we flew to Canada and rented a 19ft PVC for 2 weeks toured British Columbia . That had a 5.0l v8 but Canadian petrol was less than half the price of UK petrol. We have seen quite a bit of europe but now would like to travel at our own time and pace rather than an airline timetable So your not a novice then............I still reckon mpg is small beer in the scheme of things........and your method of touring to be more important......ie it costs the same in fuel to get to Spain whether you go for a month like me or 6 months like the idle classes.............so I would not worry to much about the mpg :D ........but travel slowly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Sorry Dave, I didn't mean to offend, but was trying to point out that everything is relative. For example, a typical night on a 'club' site will cost just over £20 whereas a night on a CL/CS may only be a fiver. So 20 nights on a CL/CS rather than a club site will save you around £300. Much the same as the difference in fuel cost. If you where to wildcamp for free then the saving would be even higher but that's another can of worms on it's own :D Or if you could keep your annual mileage down to 5,000 miles then you would see the same level of saving. So it's all relative and money saved in one area can be spent in another. Hope that helps and best wishes with whatever you do buy, Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 David There's a statement here suggesting the possibility of 35mpg average fuel consumption for a 2004 Luxor EB http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-356-0-days0-orderasc-.html but I would have thought 25-28mpg much more credible. (eg. a 2006 MMM test of an A-S Orian Aquilas, which has a roughly similar size/weight/motorisation specification, quoted 23.5mpg overall). Essentially, Auto-Sleeper Luxors were re-badged Mirages, so, if you wanted to know about things like current spares availability or potential faults/reliability problems, the Mirage Owners Club is likely to be where that information is most readily available nowadays. http://mirageownersclub.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simian Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 So your not a novice then............I still reckon mpg is small beer in the scheme of things........and your method of touring to be more important......ie it costs the same in fuel to get to Spain whether you go for a month like me or 6 months like the idle classes.............so I would not worry to much about the mpg :D ........but travel slowly I happen to be one of the idle classes, it's overseas for me for up to 6 months every year and has been for the last 20. I drive as slowly as conditions and safety allow and speed is hardly of the essence ie having up to 6 months and no other time restraints.. It would therefore be stupid to use any more fuel than nescessary small beer or not. For the record my van driven as above has averaged 28.4 mpg. Driven with minimal regard as to economy then less than 20mpg. I cover 10,000 km annually so roughly a saving of about £300 at todays prices quite a lot of beer in Spain. On a similar vein I used to use campsites for many years. However over the years as the number of overseas campsites reduced and the numbers of winter M/homers increased, the overcrowding encouraged me to wildcamp exclusively, and as a bonus saves me around £2500 quite a lot of beer and wine by my standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 There are many costs with any motorhome and by far the biggest is depreciation as all the others pale into also runs by comparison. The one way to reduce depreciation is to buy and older van and the only way to avoid depreciation is to buy a very old van. But then you get rust and mechanical repairs to consider much more as well as reliability on holiday and potential scarcity of parts. The most important factor is getting the right layout of van first time because huge amounts of money are lost by people who get it wrong and then change shortly afterwards and most of us have been there at one time or another. The only time mpg becomes a real factor as opposed to a perceived factor is if you do a lot of miles but for most people the difference between a more usual 26 mpg and the exceptional 31 mpg over the more usual say 5000 miles a year is 31 gallons - or about £200 a year. Hardly a fortune in the grand scheme of things, but if it is it may be better to spend less on the van and use the money saved for fuel? Whatever way you do it it ain't cheap but it is fun and if you get enough use out of it it can make for very cost effective holidays when worked out as a per person per week cost over the year - not counting depreciation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simian Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Thats just the point a saving of even £200 is real....... not a .perception. If you don't have to spend it then don't,, providing of course that any negative issues ensuing don't negate the savings made. Depreciation of course is usually the largest single expense factor in motorhome ownership, generally commensurate with vehicle age, but where there's no need or advantage to add to expenses.........well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Yes I'm with you on that, in some ways it's like you've bought a house and assuming you never move, saying that your gas bills are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Why it's just like that famous store "every little helps" we know some go to Waitrose, where budget does not enter their vocabulary, but we go to Aldi ! ! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 1footinthegrave - 2012-02-01 4:42 PM Yes I'm with you on that, in some ways it's like you've bought a house and assuming you never move, saying that your gas bills are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Why it's just like that famous store "every little helps" we know some go to Waitrose, where budget does not enter their vocabulary, but we go to Aldi ! ! ;-) No it isn't! - it's totally different! Gas bills are far from irrelevant and you really cannot compare this to running a motorhome There are lots of things you can do to make a home more energy effective and more pleasant to live in especially if you intend staying there for life. Unless you stop shopping at Waitrose and only go to Lidl/Aldi to recoup the extra £200 p.a.? If you add up every bill and cost of owning and running a van for a year you will find that £200 as a percentage of the total is very small and in the grand scheme of things far less important than getting the right van for your needs. One small bit of advice - if £200 is that important to you don't ever add up what a van has cost at the end of each year as you will only scare yourself witless and have sleepless nights!! In the days many moons ago when we needed to count the pennies we still made sure we had the right van as holidays in the wrong one were not a lot of fun - we just didn't go as far if we could not afford the fuel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 The point I was trying to make and obviously failing miserably is taken in isolation everything is irrelevant. But for some of us who do not have a bottomless pit of cash MPG is a factor, as is the cost of everything else. If I was Fred the shred and woke up to another £1000 everyday for doing sod all it would be irrelevant. I'm not, I'm on a state pension, and £200 quid comes in very handy, maybe not for you, but it does for others. I am also aware of the costings of my hobby, but there is no need to make it any more costly than it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Hi! Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. Keith ,having worked on the buildings for 50 years I have developed a fairly thick skin so no problem.Derek, I have seen the owners club site but I think that unless you join there is no way to contact anyone. My reason to post here was to get a general idea of how much it costs to run a motorhome.I know what income I have ,I Know how much I need to run my home each year,so take one from the other ,and is the differance enough to run a motorhome.You will not be able to arrive at an exact figure but close enough to make a judgement .What I have come up with is. Deprecation £1200 Fuel £1440 Ferry 4x£50 £ 200 Road Tax £ 165 (is this correct For a 3.8t van) Insurance £233 Service. MOT £200 ____________ TOTAL £3438 Tolls, site fees,gas probably quite a few more items to add in but it is a ball park figure to work on.Unless I have missed any large items out it seems doable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simian Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 If you add up every bill and cost of owning and running a van for a year you will find that £200 as a percentage of the total is very small and in the grand scheme of things far less important than getting the right van for your needs. One small bit of advice - if £200 is that important to you don't ever add up what a van has cost at the end of each year as you will only scare yourself witless and have sleepless nights!! You are correct in the fact that £200 is a small % of the yearly total running costs of a typical m/home. Nevertheless it still begs the question why pay for something you don't actually need. I use fuel in my van in a manner that suits me and as a consequent bonus also saves me money. I could easily afford to put my foot to the floor but choose not to do so.. Warren Buffet happens to be fairly rich do you reckon if he ordered one ham sandwich for lunch and the chef brought him two and charged him for two he might say "that was a waste, I didn't want the extra sandwich and furthermore I paid for it......another waste." Question of principle, not the amount at stake for some people and for others it's both. Choosing the right van is of course very important but doesn't mean to say that other issues can't be considered in parallel or tandem, after all next to taxes and death the other certainty is that fuel costs will rise. BTW Warren Buffet doesn't like ham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 It makes no difference to me what anyone else does with their money as all I was doing was trying to put the 'great god' mpg that so many people in this country seem to worship into perspective. For me at least having the right van that gives us enjoyable and relaxing holidays is far more important than saving £200 or roughly 5% of the total annual outlay mentioned. That 5% will soon disappear anyway as soon as something breaks or gives up through old age so maybe better to see it as a contingency plan if you believe that you can save it on fuel! Each to his or her own and good luck with getting 31 mpg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Tracker - 2012-02-01 10:09 PM It makes no difference to me what anyone else does with their money as all I was doing was trying to put the 'great god' mpg that so many people in this country seem to worship into perspective. For me at least having the right van that gives us enjoyable and relaxing holidays is far more important than saving £200 or roughly 5% of the total annual outlay mentioned. That 5% will soon disappear anyway as soon as something breaks or gives up through old age so maybe better to see it as a contingency plan if you believe that you can save it on fuel! Each to his or her own and good luck with getting 31 mpg! Thanks Tracker, getting an average of 33 mpg, and not giving call me Dave and his mates more than I need to gives a warm glow. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 davidmac - 2012-02-01 7:50 PM ...Derek, I have seen the owners club site but I think that unless you join there is no way to contact anyone. Jeff Bond, 43 Highfield Avenue, Waterlooville PO7 7PY jeffbond@hotmail.com (Dunno if the e-mail address is still current - you never know with hotmail accounts.) ...£ 165 (is this correct For a 3.8t van) Yes - Tax Class 10 (Private HGV) - £165 for 12 months or £90.75 for 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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