I want a van thats reasonably economical (>30 mpg) has a shower, loo, kitchen and enough room to sleep 2, maybe 3. Budget is about £15k but could stretch if there is a good reason to do so. Where is the best place/forum to buy one from and are there any basic pitfalls I should avoid or things to look out for, thanks Paul

Don’t buy a socialist camper van. You’ll only have to sell it….

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lifestyle-vehicles-am-i-missing-something/

autotrader / ebay are the main ones but have a look around a few motorhome dealers to get an idea of layout and which one would suit you so you know what you are looking for.  Invest in a damp meter and if they smell  read or have any damp patches walk away. We bought one smelt a bit but was assured it was ok but had a big leak in Morzine which just looked like a skylight issue but the damp/ rot had spread , it was amazing how the water had spread and ended taking 1/3 of the van roof wall out to replace fix the problem. The main problem being was it was not sorted early enough and was left to rot and spread up to  6ft away from leaky rooflight.

Our second van we paid for Inspection £150 well spent.

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/portal/ 

Quite a good site.

Look at lots before you buy. Gumtree seems to have plenty locally.

The facilities you want will fit in a big Transit / Boxer / Ducato etc sized van, not need to go for a coachbuilt.