Brainwashed

[Tony Jones]

Interesting, this "new v. 2nd-hand" question.

In fact I'd have gone for 2nd-hand GIVEN THE CHOICE.

But with the very specific things we wanted from our next van, we got down to only 2 vehicles which met our spec, and were very clear which of the 2 we preferred. Since it's from a small-ish converter, cjhance of picking one up 2nd-hand are pretty slender. I think there's been one in MMM in the last year!

 

So we're going for new!

 

Tony

[howie]

LordThornber - 2007-11-26 2:00 PM

 

Howie, a great thread and very interesting reading. As for spending your money on other items, consider this. I watched my local football team, home & away for 20 years. When I stopped attending in 1995, each match was costing in the region of £15 just to get in. Bear in mind that's just to watch, no pie, pint, coach fees. For 90 minutes entertainment.

 

Fast forward to the van. Depreciation approx £6000 (max) over 4.75 years. Average number of nights away for us p.a = 60 so 285 nights equates to just over £21 for 24 hours use.

 

No I am not counting diesel, site fees, servicing, insurance etc because that's not where I'm coming from. But don't forget the football match was for ONE person. The van could have been for anything up to 5 or even 6 persons, 2 as it happens.

 

Now before the "how do you compare those two?" merchants start tapping away at their keyboards, remember what Howie asks about other ways of spending your money, that's where I'm coming from.

 

Van 1 Blackburn Rovers 0

 

Martyn

Difficult to equate anthing to watching Blackburn Rovers Martin. Have you ever considered collecting rare bottle tops or steam engine numbers. Far cheaper, and you might even find that rush of exitement so sadly lacking at the moment. ;-)

[twooks]

In Economics there is something known as 'Opportunity Cost'; which values a thing - not by its monetary price but by what else you could have had / done.

Thus - you can have a second hand camper or a new car - and if you choose the camper then the cost to you is the car that you have foregone in order to get the van.

Sounds odd perhaps - but it is a good way to decide how badly you want something. Mars bar or Milky Way, pudding or extra glass of wine - for calorie counters

 

B-)

[Geof Angi]

Hi, bought MH in July, 1 year old and used most weekends and 2 weeks in France so far, not sure what we would get for it now and not intrested as we are still having fun. We bought a boat 5 years ago, 4/5 berth river cruiser, was told that they hold there price pretty well when it comes to selling and infact was offered a profit on it in first year. Very hot summer. We enjoyed the boat but after 5 years on the same river although relaxing were looking for some thing different. Friends had MH and traveled all over Europe in last couple of years so bought ours. Boat on Market having spent around 3k fitting new cooker and gas system, 240v system, a shower room and other bit,s and pieces. The price 4k cheaper than we paid as we were looking for a quick sale and no takers. I think that if you have a leisure item, i.e. boat, MH or caravan they are only worth what the weather is doing the year you wish to sell.

 

ANYONE WANT TO BUY A BOAT

 

Geof

[Usinmyknaus]

The spreadsheet tells me the cost of my van in the six months since I bought it are gross per night £1,222,03 and per mile £10.75. The "net" cost after deducting what we would have spent in hotels accessed by car are £1,045.30 and £9.16 respectively. This is for what I would consider a very modest, mid-priced van, from new.

 

However, I prefer not to think about it for long, as buying a MH was a thirty-two year long dream for us so the enjoyment we get from the van is priceless.

 

A year of research to decide which to buy taught me that with motorhomes, what one gets is basically down to "just add money" so the van one actually buys sits where the maximum endurable personal financial pain line on the graph paper crosses the van size/luxury/comfort line.

 

The real issue for me is how very little is left out of every pound after the ludicrous level of taxes we pay in this country to fund the waste and profligacy of Brown the Clown and his sleazy cronies. If you take the cost of the motorhome in net earnings and gross back up to where it started, that really hurts!

 

Bob

[donna miller]

Geoff, I totally agree with you on the boat thing, I had to practically give mine away because of the cr*p weather this year.

 

On the motorhome / cost thing, I look at it this way. We bought the van in Germany last year, it was used, so had already lost the big depreciation chunk of it's value. And because we saved about £3 / 4 k on UK prices, it could probably be sold tomorrow at a profit. But it's the absolute freedom it gives us, we can go away for the weekend at the drop of a hat, OK a hotel and travel by car might be cheaper over the space of a year, but I can guarantee my van will have vacancies 365 days a year. The van does about the same mpg as the Freelander so travel costs are still the same.

When we had the c*r*v*n, it was a pain going to collect it, putting all the valuables back in, etc etc and that put us off using it half the time.

 

It's no use regretting the purchase of a motorhome, only the regret if you didn't. Most secondhand vans can be sold without any significant loss (we bought and sold our previous van privately, and made £2k profit)unless you paid over the top for it, so enjoy it while you can.