Currently hunting for a van, ideally a ready to roll camper van...
However, looking in our budget range the prices seem pretty insane. You can either buy a super high mileage 150000 - 200000+ or something that's lower milage but about 20 yrs old.
Would you invest in such high mileage or old vehicles?
Or buy a lower milage van and look to convert it yourself?
Theyre crazy money, now is not the time to buy.
3-4k uplift on a base transporter and the campers have risen by more than that. If you hunt hard, check out fb groups etc there are a few reasonably priced ones about, saw a decent low mileage t5.1 on fb the other day with a full conversion for 20k and they seem to all be around 25k for a similar spec.
I think the sweet spot for a budget van is a well maintained low mileage pre facelift t5, there are some genuine vans out there the later 06-09 models with sub 100k can be had for 6-8k and budget 8-10k for a decent conversion.
06-09 models with sub 100k can be had for 6-8k and budget 8-10k for a decent conversion.
16k-18k is still strong money for an aged and still getting on a bit milage vehicle. Certainly not likely compatible budget wise if he's seeing 150-200k milage vehicles.
By comparison I paid less than half that for a decent converted non T5 vehicle with 95k on clock. ....
Noted prices have gone crazy though...... Seeing people marketing similar vehicles to mine with rough conversions for about +25% on what I paid......
As much as they ain't for me Look at imports in your budget .... Alphards , elgrands granvias etc dairsie autopoint is a good place to look at different options.
There are still bargains to be had though. .... Local resident of STw got a t6 caravelle recently for about 19k. 2016 with <40k private sale. Looks minted both above and belowm
Budget bongo and run it in to the ground. You can come and tour ours when you pop round later to tidy up the bonnet.
Place up near Newquay airport has various japanese import campers for much less than VW prices.
VW are always crazy, even more so at the moment. I was going to advertise our old van for £5k expecting £4,500. Put it on eBay instead and it sold in 3 days for £7,700. Now isn’t the time to buy 🤣
Budget bongo and run it in to the ground. You can come and tour ours
Problem with Bongos is that they're miniscule.
[i]I think the sweet spot for a budget van is a well maintained low mileage pre facelift t5[/i]
The terms budget van and T5 should never be in the same sentence 🙂
Mileage doesn't really matter when it comes to vans, condition is much more important. You can have a 10 year old privately owned immaculate van with 100k miles, and a 10 month old company owned van thats been abused and has rusty dents all down the side where ladders have been bounced off the gutters.
I wouldn't be buying now... and as for DIY conversions, I'd check you can get all the important parts as it wouldn't suprise me if things like toilets, sinks, taps and seat swivels etc are selling out.
As others have mentioned if you’re after a practical camper for a decent price VW have always been overpriced. We’ve had 2 Japanese import Toyota Hiace campers over the years and both have been awesome, they have more usable space than a VW and older versions have 4WD plus can still be found with lower mileage. Alternatively a slightly older Fiat Ducato is often cheaper, but a larger van.
later 06-09 models with sub 100k can be had for 6-8k
They are.... But a T5 is no more useful spacewise.....still needs a tent on the side to be comfortable. Your up to a ducato mwb before you have a decent space. Only reason as far as I can see for a T5 is so you can get under height barriers.
Well a lot depends on your usage. Our basic panel van has worked well as an occasional camper and seats can go in for extra passengers but recently has been much more useful taking regular huge loads of garden waste to the local tip and helping others move house!
Plus, I've never seen a pre-built design that would work with our tandems....
Same with caravans at the moment. My 2016 Buccaneer is worth as much, if not more than when I bought it 18 months ago - they normally lose around £1-1.5k/year at that age
They are…. But a T5 is no more useful spacewise…..still needs a tent on the side to be comfortable. Your up to a ducato mwb before you have a decent space. Only reason as far as I can see for a T5 is so you can get under height barriers.
Mine’s my only vehicle. Its just the right size for many, i would love a big motorhome but then i’ve got to store it, have another vehicle, parking is an issue when touring etc. I couldn’t get anything bigger in most european cities. Doesnt need a tent, slightly pushed on space when there is 2 of us but on my own it’s ace. Poptop gives the ceiling height.
There are cheaper options, but if you want to pay the scene tax you get the benefits of the vw club.
I’m the first to say dont buy a cheap t5 Though because They will be a money pit, any less than 5-10k and i’d be looking elsewhere. The problem really with other vans is theyre fine for day vans but you start converting properly and you dont get a return on your investment.
Mine is worth a bit more than i paid for it now after nearly 5 years ownership, try having a ducato that does that.
And just as a big FYI, watch out for the scammers. A bargain van will almost definitely be a scam at the moment. Same for cheap camper parts etc, it’s terrible at the moment everyone trying to capitalise on the market boom.
The be premium is a myth. Yes you pay more upfront but get it back when you come to sell and mileage is not an issue. People will buy vw’s with high mileage so you don’t get too pinged when consign to sell for having high mileage. The benefit of a be is the best scene meaning lots of spare parts and off the shelf kits. They’re not the only game in town and not for doing it on a budget. But whatever you get you have to have confidence in reliability. No point scrimping too much and spending half your time broken down
Seeing as your original post didn’t mention it needing to be a t5 or vw at all, it just goes to show how many people seem to auto go for the vw option and therefore add to the scene price. We have a self converted ford transit MWB high top and we tend to gently mock T5 owners for their limited space compared to our king size bed housing van. I’m totally on board with VW (my name gives it away) however if you want a properly useable van either self converted or bought converted I’d be getting something else bigger even though ours will probably rust to heaven long before a VW!! But yeah you’ve picked the wrong time to buy, maybe we should sell just to get even more money back than we’ve just spent!
Van owners are getting a lot of grief right now because people are buying them because they can’t go on holiday and leaving litter and rubbish all over the place with no care and all the owners are being tarnished with the same brush. In hindsight I probably wouldn’t have just finished ours because I do worry we’re going to get hassled even though we leave no trace. So far we’ve not had any problems but hearing reports of a lot of people not experiencing the same.
At these prices I'm half tempted to sell my vw t5 camper with 115000 miles, well looked after van but having owned it for 11 years now I'm pretty attached.
If I replaced it, I don't think I'd automatically go for a vw transporter. I think 11 years ago there wasn't all that much choice if you wanted to convert it. Now, you can have anything you wanted and for less money.
I'd maybe look at a Toyota proace? They keep catching my eye!
Mine’s my only vehicle. Its just the right size for many,
My comment was referring to a bongo .... Which would also be the same catagory. - but there's many others in that market such as the granvia /el grand etc etc
The ducato was an example of where the jump in useful space occurs.... Yes the T5 is a little bigger but arguably not usefully so.
Mine is worth a bit more than i paid for it now after nearly 5 years ownership, try having a ducato that does that.
Assuming you didn't pay over the odds most vans nee vehicles are doing that at the moment it's not the vehicle its market conditions.
Just bought a T6 a few weeks ago, didn’t think the price was ridiculous. Some we looked at seemed expensive, but ours seemed to be reasonable.
Ours is a new conversion (it’s currently in progress now). We looked at some and they seemed to be a lot more expensive than ours, but all made from pretty much the same parts, including same engine and can spec. Looking forward to getting it in September......
Problem with Bongos is that they’re miniscule.
Indeed, we bought ours intending to use for one wedding trip, kept it a few years now and would struggle to part with it. We're off tomorrow for a three day riding and fossil hunting staycation in a tourist not-spot.
It may be tiny (and slow, and thirsty), but it's a daily driver that also sleep four of us if you don't mind enforced cuddles. And you can fix most issues with a single screwdriver.
It's even sexier now, as the OP came round today and helped (err, I helped him) vinyl wrap the bonnet cos Edd China said I should.