Okay, so the opportunity may present itself to replace my much loved smax with a van.

It will be used more as a car than van but weekly dog/bike /camping/big family adventures justify it to me

This is what I think are my requirements

£15k, 20 at a push
Sensible mpg, insurance and tax
Comfortable for 5 travelling, 2 sleeping
Rock and roll type bed for occasional sleeping
Don’t need full stove and fridge setup but a bit of compartmentalise storage would be good
Prefer lift up rear door for shelter it offers

I reckon that about it, what do I want?

Bikes inside or out?
If outside, Swb t5 Kombi with exploria bed. Get the highline 140 and you’ll get one around 2013 for that money with decent miles and a bit of change for camperising.

Happy enough to put bike outside

Is there vw premium price on that though? I wondered if there was a better value transit alternative

VW Caddy Maxi Life – easily converted into a camper (see Amdro Boot Jump) and cheap on insurance and not bad on MPG. I am biased though.

Is there vw premium price on that though? I wondered if there was a better value transit alternative

That would be a Transit custom LWB or SWB depending on preference.

As a T5 owner with your budget the Transit would be my choice.

Bit leftfield but very nice inside and a good V6 burble if you’d prefer to go petrol rather than diesel.

http://www.motors.co.uk/used-cars/toyota/alphard/

Transit Custom. Saw one at the dealer last weekend, 5 seater crewcab with bulkhead. I’d choose it over a large MPV in an instant 🙂 (obv its van capabilities are limited if you want the odd 8×4 sheet or a sofe in the back)

I have a viano 3.0 xlwb. We have been to les arc in it 3 times now. Love it. Leather, ac in the rear and auto box. 20k would get a decent one

Is there vw premium price on that though? I wondered if there was a better value transit alternative
That would be a Transit custom LWB or SWB depending on preference.

As a T5 owner with your budget the Transit would be my choice.

There is a VW scene tax, but the corollary is that they hold their price like rocks, so you get it back at the other end, plus the availability of spares and accessories is fantastic.

I’ve just made the swap from my SMax to a T5 camper conversion. Wasn’t targeting a T5 specifically but because of the way i’m funding it the strong residuals did it for me. I would have preferred the new Transit, but they were out of my price range. But as for the T5 i’ve had no problem using it as my daily drive. It’s a SWB and only 40mm longer than the SMax and roughly the same on width, so the footprint is similar, however the more slab sides and the large doors mean parking can be a little more tricky – you can always get in and out of normal spaces but if its narrow then opening the door wide enough to get in and out can be tricky.

But other than that I love it. It’s not too bad to drive….its a van at the end of the day so nowhere near as good as the SMax, which drove better than alot of normal 5-seat cars, but you sort of get used to it and just slow things down a bit, I didn’t test drive alot of vans when looking, but that is what i’d do if I were you.

NV200?

Smaller than a T5, but 50mpg (or an electric version). Not as common though, but even a new one is only ~£28k*, or pick up a s/h van and DIY it within the budget?

http://sussexcampervans.com/our-work/nv-200-camper-car/

*’only’ being relative to the eye-watering cost of a T5 camper

New Citroen Dispatch Enterprise plus.

http://www.buyacar.co.uk/citroen_dispatch_xl_diesel/deal_1400_2_0_bluehdi_150_van_enterprise_plus_783759.jhtml

£21k on the road there which is pretty good, but there are better deals out there. I’d get a 1250 kg spec one though, a lighter suspension system is used.

Not a 1973 Bay camper. For the love of the universe don’t do it to yourself.

http://www.perrys.co.uk/vauxhall-vivaro-2900-1.6cdti-biturbo-125ps-h1-combi-9-seat/used-van-35321-22758508

Few too many seats but a good deal.

Depends on how long you’ll keep it for and how many miles you’ll do, but I don’t think you can look past the VW’s just for their residuals.

Transit is better value for money, but you won’t see that when selling it. With the way transporters are going, you’ll probably lose very little on it in the first 2 or 3 years.

14k

Leaves you the cash to do the rock n roll, windows etc. Know a few guys that have bought from this place, recommended.

Yes you will pay a premium for a Transporter, but the overall ownership cost will be cheaper IME.

VFM initially is better with other brands, but when it’s time to sell & your van is worth about as much as a packet of crisps, then it doesn’t look quite so enticing.

VW’s are expensive but they do hold their value. Buy a van spend some money on it and it will actually be worth more than what you have spent. Have you seen the price of some converted vans!!