PVC or new A-class

[Brock]

I'm managing to cling on to my job despite constant redundancies where I work but even if I continue to stay ahead of the P45, I will retire in just under 3 years. I've decided to keep my current Hymer 544 A-class until I give up work. Then I feel I should have another treat i.e. a replacement!

 

I'm off to Lincoln Show to start looking as it can take me years to decide on what van to buy.

 

Having looked at all the motorhomes, the only one we want is another Hymer 544. It clearly suits us whilst we are away in it, it fits on the drive at the side of our house, and doesn't annoy the neighbours on our modern estate.

 

However, as my wife intends carrying on work for 5 years or so, the van will be used for more days out by me [alone] - usually my walking and photography hobbies - and perhaps an occasional overnight stay.

 

If we bought a PVC, we would not go away on holiday in it. Too cramped - we know that - for anything other than the odd weekend. However, what we save in purchase price - we're not paying ih prices - we could afford to use Travel Lodges or similar for holidays. It would effectively be a posh car with a toilet and cooker!

 

But we do love our A-classes, particularly the big front window, the airy cab, and the internal space.

 

So, when I go to Lincoln, should I bother to look at PVCs or do you think my heart is not in it? What would you do in my position of retiring whilst the missus is still working.

[Guest JudgeMental]

We traded up from a coachbuilt to a panel van conversion this spring and love it. I have a vehicle I can use when I want (retired) rather then the coachbuilt which just stood there unused most of the time....

 

Yes space it tighter but we dont really miss it..the positives far outweigh the negatives in our opinion. We have a king size bed with sprung mattress, then best bed in any van we have had in over 20 years, you can sit up in bed and read and have a cup of tea unlike many coachbuilt vans.

 

Same size fridge and fresh/waste tanks as in our coachbuilt. Bathroom a but tight, lounging area likewise. but we have just returned from over a month away in it to Croatia/Italy and it was brilliant.....

[bolero boy]

Have just been to Shepton (Bath and West) show, looked VERY closely at the Adria range. Love the Twin (SL I reckon) but just can't see it being big enough. The bathroom is tiny and has a horrible clingy curtain (why not waterproof 'wetroom type' walls?) and I couldn't see how to get up to the high singles (or high transverse in the SP).

The Coral and Matrix looked great but loved the Sonic.

Hobbys took my eye but was drooling over the Burstner Aviano with twin singles................

[Guest JudgeMental]

my wife wanted a twin single bed van, I preferred the Globecar with this layout as they have an innovative shower that is much larger then most...But after Dusseldorf show I was adamant that I wanted to stick to a 6m van as far more practical and big enough...

 

I am 17 stone and I can manage in Adria shower when necessary, but usually use site facilities. The curtain is nowhere near your body? as it pulls across over the toilet/sink protecting the back wall? Also the bed is not high and there is a small step low on right side. no problem, unlike the coachbuilt which had a ladder to both doubles

 

If you go around looking at these panel vans thinking SIZE SIZE SIZE you are missing the point.and will not "get it" As I explained earlier in the important areas they can be as good, or even better then some bigger campers. and in drive ability, fuel consumption, and handling they are in a different league! turning a pain into a pleasure..

 

My one regret is not getting the 3 litre auto (now a 2.3 litre auto a well) I find the 6 speed box a bit of a chore

 

maybe worth hiring and see how you get on if serious about downsizing...I think some could be surprised.

[dikyenfo]

My van qualifies as 6M and has the short wheelbase which can turn in 30 feet. The extra space in coachbuilt comes for nothing as the price rip - off for all types and makes of panel van is shocking and why anyone would pay it is beyond me. Drop a matress on the floor of any old tranny screw a bog on the floor and bung in an old fridge and cooker from Haven sell-offs and there you are pvc for nowt.

 

[BGD]

OK - I'll play Devil's Advocate here; just to suggest a different angle on things:

 

 

 

If the only MH you want is a Hymer 544, and the MH that you have now is................................a Hymer 544, then one real option is DO NOT CHANGE!

 

Weighing up ALL the pros and cons and then making a positive decison NOT to swop is just as valid as deciding to swop.

 

How much of a BIG lump of money would a swop for a brand new MH cost you?

£20,000? £30,000?

 

What EXTRA would you honestly be getting in exchange for that enormous cash outlay?

 

Bear in mind also that once "retired", unless you find some other work (part-time; odd-jobbing?), you are essentially on a fixed income, and any lump-sums that you spend from your accumulated capital pot won't be replaced, and will reduce your ongoing income.

 

I assume that your present MH is now tweaked and fettled to the point where it is exactly what you like. You've bought and fitted all the bells and whistles to it. You know it inside out. You know it's foibles; you know it's service history; it's been loved and cared for.

A brand new one WILL have a snagging list of faults. You WILL then also spend a lot of extra money putting all those little extras on it, simply to get it to the state that you've got your current MH to.

Motorhomes are built on van bases. They are designed to do 250,000 or more miles. I bet yours is barely "run-in" by those design standards.

 

As a result of all that, why not instead keep that massive 20 or 30 THOUSAND POUNDS of "we'll never be able to earn that big chunk of money again in the rest of our lives" invested somwehere, and use it bit-by-bit over the coming 15 years to pay for all your expenses on loads of long, mainland European motorhoming adventures in the van that you currently own.

If something horrid was to happen in your lives and you needed cash quick - you'd then still have the bulk/part of that big chunk of cash available, rather than tied up in a rapidly depreciating ex-new MH.

 

Eventually, you'll give up motorhoming, and will have to sell off whatever vehicle you have at that point.

You'll lose a MASSIVELY bigger amount of money in depreciation on the future sale of a then newer, rather than older, MH at that point.

 

Our A-Class MH is 20 years old now. It has been brilliantly maintained and loved by previous owners. We've now had it for nearly 3 years. It is totally reliable, depreciation is minimal.

Yes it is old. There is much less to go wrong. It takes us to all the places we want to go, and it's set up exactly the way we like it. I'm using the money that I would otherwise have spent on buying a new (or rather, a much newer) one, instead on the actual running and touring costs by using our old-dog MH instead.

 

 

 

In the end, it's your money and your choice - but it is SO much easier to spend money than to earn it. And once spent, it's spent forever.

 

Enjoy life whichever way you decide to go.

 

 

[pkc]

Hi Brock,

We have said that we are definitely going to change our van before every show we have been to for the last 7 years. Yeah right.

I climb in and out of half the vans on display with my 'must have feature list' and guess what? After doing the sums, and checking the specs I come to the conclusion that no way can I justify spending £20,000 or £30,000 on something that will not do the job any better than my present van, this puts me in a bad mood for the rest of the day, I hate it when I can't get my new shiny toy.

It appears to me that you are heading down the same blind ally.

I started motorhoming in an ancient old 544, in my opinion there is not a better layout made for adaptability and comfort in that length of van, if you love it why sell it?

My suggestion?

Keep the money in the bank, then put it towards an earlier retirement fund for you and your good lady

 

Whoops! Bruce beat me to it, great minds think alike, Fools seldom......................

 

 

[Guest JudgeMental]

dikyenfo - 2011-09-11 11:27 AM

 

My van qualifies as 6M and has the short wheelbase which can turn in 30 feet. The extra space in coachbuilt comes for nothing as the price rip - off for all types and makes of panel van is shocking and why anyone would pay it is beyond me. Drop a matress on the floor of any old tranny screw a bog on the floor and bung in an old fridge and cooker from Haven sell-offs and there you are pvc for nowt.

 

Yes well......Did that as a teenager and travelled down to Greece in old VW van..no toilet though :-|

 

We are in a European market? You can get a new LHD panel van for about £33 - £35.000.Mine with lots of extras cost £38.000 by the time I changed the headlights etc.... They are light years ahead of what they used to be like. Loads of EURO 4 vans for sale at moment and with the 2012 model Euro 5 models out, I cant think of a better time to buy an import.

 

here is a link, expand the pics and have a look......same as mine but 2012

 

http://tinylink.in/N47

 

If changing like for like not much point, unless yo are retired and making lots of use of it...We were on a mission to downsize everything, House, car and camper. Mission accomplished, as we move next month (all being well)

[broc]

It is always a personal choice, there's no right or wrong answer & you almost always end up having to make compromises. We started with a small coachbuilt, swapped it for a large fixed bed coachbuilt, then a german low-profile fixed bed coachbuilt before buying an Autocruise Rhythm van conversion earlier this year.

 

We are also intending retiring in 3 years time & we spent some time mulling over the options for change. We had already concluded a PVC was our preferred choice & decided to swap now because a) we had the cash available b) interest on savings is so poor at present & c) the cost of changing will be lower now than in 3 years time.

 

We loved the large coachbuilt onsite, but it restricted where we could go & where we could park, especially in the UK. The low profile gave us more freedom, but there were still places we wanted to go but could not because of its dimensions. This was why we decided to look at PVCs.

 

We took a long hard look at what we took with us & what was most important in a van. We tend to use campsites most of the time & so we were prepared to sacrifice bathroom space in favour of lounge space and beds which are not a mattress jigsaw puzzle. The Autocruise offered 2 single beds or a large double & decent kitchen facilities too, allowing us to self-cater when it suits us.

 

We have just come back from a 2-week tour to the Swiss & French Alps, we would have no difficulty in spending longer in our van if we had the time. We went through our inventory of things we used to pack in the coachbuilts & left an awful lot of stuff behind, saving space and weight,

 

I also like the all-steel construction of the panel van, it feels far more rigid & a lot less fragile than our coachbuilts & it certainly handles better than any of the vehicles we previously had.

 

Brian

 

 

[Clive]

Firstly I ask the prudence of taking a lump sum at this time. It is not in your interest with such low interest rates that you take a lump sum unless you know something about your health that your employer does not or you need that lump sum to clear debts.

Secondly why change your van if it gives you what you require. If you can afford to enjoy it and it remains reliable then for what reason? QDOS perhaps.

 

Take care, especially with your pension. And your health.

 

C.

 

 

[tugga]

Hi Brock

 

We also have a Hymer B544 and we love ours too. They are very hard to come by with the long sofa that has a L to it, and if that is the same as yours, I would keep it. As has previously been said, you know it well and its history. If you don't need to replace it, then keep your money and keep your current motorhome.

 

We have no foreseeable expectation to replace ours, it was expensive to buy second hand and we intend that it will be our only purchase. I would much rather keep your money in your pocket, only spending it on travelling in your current van.

 

Hope this helps. :-S