liferichcashpoor Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Hi everyone, Following my post on LHD vs RHD, I would like to ask for some buying advice, as mentioned by some replies to my last post, I thought I would give more info on our requirements. We are hoping to spend at least a year in mainland Europe, but also will be working (IT related) whilst moving around. There are two humans, one dog to fit in. I am just a little over 6ft so need a decent sized bed. I do prefer the idea of LHD, and like a layout with a rear kitchen and a table at with comfy enough seats around it to work on a laptop. Budget is "as little as possible" and I prefer something a bit older which has already suffered the depreciation sting; realistically a maximum would be £32k ish but would like to spend closer to £25k We don't need a lot of space to pack the whole house into, we have been backpacking travelling before and can live on not much 'stuff'.. so we have flipped between PVC and CB So that's the background, and objectives... Today we did a test drive on a Knaus Sun Traveller here's the link to it: http://www.southdownsmotorhomecentre.co.uk/used-motorhomes-for-sale/used-knaus-traveller-2800cc-motorhome-u200554.html Now, what do you think? Is this a decent price or is it expensive? We like the layout, and it mostly fits the bill. A minor dislike is the layout stops the captain chairs being part of the living space The major dislike as the MOT certificate with 8 advisories, relating to corrosion around the suspension mounts front and back, around the front steps (both sides) Not on the advisory, but I noticed the gas bottle cupboard floor was rusting and under the main door / step there was like a spongy area, which felt 'wrong'. I have had old cars and VW campervans for years so I'm used to rust and the difference between superficial and MOT failure, my problem with my inexperience of motorhomes, a lot is covered up, for example to see if there is rust near a seatbelt fixing, it's hard to find the metal behind all the fittings. So, the advice I'm after is really around is this pretty fair for a 2002 vehicle? is rust on these chassis normal at this sort of age, or is it a bad one? Also some opinions on resale, if I buy this around 20, keep it for a couple of years, would I get 18? or would a 15yr old van be hard to shift. As I'm thinking that by spending up at the top of our budget we would have something newer and something which would sell for closer to purchase price as the cost I'm considering is really just the difference between purchase and resale... Thanks in advance! Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 liferichcashpoor - 2014-08-24 5:51 PM The major dislike as the MOT certificate with 8 advisories, relating to corrosion around the suspension mounts front and back, around the front steps (both sides) Not on the advisory, but I noticed the gas bottle cupboard floor was rusting and under the main door / step there was like a spongy area, which felt 'wrong'. My advice would be to walk away and find one that is not going to be a money pit. Rust where you have described and a spongy floor would be enough to make me run a mile. To give a comparison our 2004 Merc based Auto Trail has NO rust underneath and NO spongy floors. In fact I still wash and polish the original paint in the front wheelarches! They are out there in good condition, you just have to be prepared to walk away if they are not. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liferichcashpoor Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 Thanks Keith, you confirmed my suspicion :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Blimey even being cash poor now days has gone up with inflation... 32k 8-)..............But I guess every things relative :D...................Why not spend just 10k and have 22k of beer tokens left ;-)......... Our camper is probably worth 7k yet still does the job, 5 times to Spain in the last 4 years B-)....... At least at our end of the market you can virtually guarantee getting your money back, even possibly make a few quid :D....................Buy a one/low owner vehicle with full history in the winter, and sell it in the spring once you've done your trip ;-). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Keithl - 2014-08-24 5:59 PM To give a comparison our 2004 Merc based Auto Trail has NO rust underneath and NO spongy floors. In fact I still wash and polish the original paint in the front wheelarches! Wot 8-)....................On a Auto Trail? :-S...................Take it back... you've been done :D........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 looks a pretty poor choice to be honest for someone contemplating full timing in a camper. for max 32K you should be able to find a decent 2009 - 2011 van to import. have a look on: www.mobile.de. (vans linked to below should be available after some hard end of season negotiating in mid 20K's) why the high top, there are only 2 of you, fuel consumption tends to be a lot worse, and height restrictions can be an issue. tolls also. As you live in Brighton, are there plans to copy london with an environmental zone..probably worth investigating, as an old van will not be compliant. have a look here. have just picked 2009-2011 Knaus as an example, you can search for what ever brands appeal http://tinyurl.com/nm89kuq Once you have identified a van you like, shop around and see if any available here. dont stand for inflated UK prices though....just tell them you can get one from germany for such and such. its the end of the season now.....pay a reasonable premium for a UK registered German van though, as it will cost you between 1-2K to import and get it compliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liferichcashpoor Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Thanks for the replies pelmetman - yeah I'm cash poor after buying the van!! :) I'm happy to spend less, but it will be a full time live and work in van, so currently haven't felt confident at sub 20k, they all seem to need too much work or give me the feeling of impending failures which I don't want to be doing with. I want to find a great balance between purchase and resale so the overall cost is the difference, and keep that as little as possible, because I'm raiding my retirement fund (raiding read using all of it!) and want to put some back after this jaunt has run it's course. JudgeMental thanks for the info, reason for high top is we like the head room, it's makes the living space quite nice, but not strongly wedded to it. Also not super stuck on the knaus just had a nice layout and appeared to be a price I didn't go into a sweat over! :) I'm nervous of importing, so will read up on it thx! Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 importing a piece of cake with a decent supplying dealer Andy.. many on here experienced with it, and happy to hold your hand through the process...You may well find what you want here. but we are in a open market..why not take advantage of it. lots of stuff on importing using "search" function worth reading my last van in February. £33 easyjet flight (gatwick to Dusseldorf) £11 train journey. picked up by dealer at station. spent night locally to check van OK. then a 4/5 hr drive to calais (we turn it into a mini break and visit a few places) dealer had done all the changes ( headlights, speedo etc...). Please dont let those who really don't know frighten you off ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 http://www.duemo-duelmen.de/fahrzeuge/angebot/194829007/index.html http://www.duemo-duelmen.de/fahrzeuge/angebot/198014501/index.html http://www.duemo-duelmen.de/fahrzeuge/angebot/195881492/index.html http://www.duemo-duelmen.de/fahrzeuge/angebot/186581478/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 liferichcashpoor - 2014-08-25 11:55 AM Thanks for the replies pelmetman - yeah I'm cash poor after buying the van!! :) I'm happy to spend less, but it will be a full time live and work in van, so currently haven't felt confident at sub 20k, they all seem to need too much work or give me the feeling of impending failures which I don't want to be doing with. I want to find a great balance between purchase and resale so the overall cost is the difference, and keep that as little as possible, because I'm raiding my retirement fund (raiding read using all of it!) and want to put some back after this jaunt has run it's course. Which is exactly my point, choose your van wisely and you could have a years traveling for free B-)......... Just to add if your handy you could make a few quid.................Couple of years ago got chatting to a couple on the next pitch to us in Calpe, they had a nice new camper..........they paid for it by buying and doing up old campers then selling on for a profit ;-).............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I would suggest looking at older Hymer A class vans. First, there are a lot around, both in UK and on the continent, so plenty of choice. Second, they have a widely held reputation for quality (whether or not you think that justified! :-)) which will aid price and desirability at sale time. Third, for some reason, they seem generally to be well looked after. Look for full service and repair/replacement records, and ideally, the original manuals. Owners who keep the records, and the manuals, tend to have been careful with their vans. If it has averaged less that 3,000 miles a year, try to find out why. It may have stood around for a long time due to an owner's worsening health - until they came to terms with the reality that they won't be using it again. Not necessarily a major concern, but the tyres and/or batteries may be suspect, and vans generally don't take well to long periods of inactivity. It won't be fast, it will probably be a bit uneconomical and smelly (diesel!), it may lack power steering (drive before you buy in any case, but this can make the steering very heavy), it will be a bit agricultural and noisy, but the topside will be pretty much rust/rot immune, leaving only the chassis elements prone, and the engine bay will have remained dry while it stands around. You will need to keep a wad in your back pocket for age related failures. Just like us, older vans inevitably have things, mechaincal and non-mechanical, that wear out. But, if you select wisely you should not suddenly find you are confronted with body rot or floor rot, that are the real killers of motorhomes. Make sure you buy either late in the year, or very early, when prices are lowest and there is a lot of wet around, and make sure to get it thoroughly damp checked before you get your wallet out! Edit to say that you will almost certainly run into trouble accessing the growing number of cities with Low Emissions Zones around Europe. If that will cause problems for your plans, it may be better to research where these are, and their requirements, before deciding what generation of mechanicals to target when buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 pelmetman - 2014-08-25 1:04 PM................. they had a nice new camper............... Dave, how could you!! Wash your mouth out! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Brian Kirby - 2014-08-25 3:22 PM pelmetman - 2014-08-25 1:04 PM................. they had a nice new camper............... Dave, how could you!! Wash your mouth out! :-D Horace was virtually new when we inherited him so I know what a shiny new camper feels like Brian ;-)...........But I also know that to keep on replacing a vehicle, would have mean't losing at least £5k every time if I changed it every 3 years to keep a nice shiny new camper on the drive ;-).............. So if I had changed Horace every 3 years as some do I'd be on my 7th camper.........and lost £35k in PX costs.........Plus the next camper is probably £10k dearer as its got the latest bling.........7 x £10k = £70k Total £105,000 8-).............Which would of mean't I'd have to carry on working for the last 10 years instead of semi retiring 10 years ago at 46 ;-)................. Fortunately we're all different and some folk seem to want to carry on working :D..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 ZZZzzzz....zzzZZZzzz.......ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (now dat's a big yawn!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 JudgeMental - 2014-08-25 4:25 PM ZZZzzzz....zzzZZZzzz.......ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (now dat's a big yawn!) Actually thinking about it Eddie £105k is probably a underestimate ;-)............how many vans have you had now? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 422 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 JudgeMental - 2014-08-25 4:57 PM 422 I shouldn't do the sums then Eddie 8-).................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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