[Matty18]

Hi guys.. My dad has just received inheritance and has a bit of money to spend.
He has his eyes set on a VW. He's been keeping his eye on gumtree/ebay for the last few days, looking at converted vans.

Now, here's where I need advice..
He's got around £10,000 to spend, looking for a relatively new van (2003 onwards)
Would it be worth doing a conversion himself? or buying an already converted?

He is a maintaince engineer by trade and has had no experience converting cars/vans in the past, though I've suggested he might appreciate it more if he put in the time and effort himself.

What are the pro's and con's of both options? What option is he likely to get more value for money from?
Thanks

 

[APeR-Rum]

Hi, Ive bought 2 vans, 1 is a 58 swb and paid £850 + then £3000 to convert to a very nice camper by doing it myself, the other is a 61 lwb and again converted it myself for around £3500 ( Not including a pop roof) , so yeh if you want a newish van you need to convert your self . Youll never loose on it ( im just down the road if you want to take a peek T:

 

[leon748]

if he has the time to convert it himself he will be able to get a newer van and save money paying someone else to do the work, and it can be made to the spec you want to suit camping/days out. get him on here and look through some of the threads to see what other people are doing building and buying vans. lots of good top quality own built and bought built vans. Converting it yourself is the way for me as you end up with a 1 off van to suit your own needs.

 

[cak]

Convert yourself with all the advice / help from here. A:
Most people will happily help you out and 99% of info, can be found searching on here. Take a look through peoples build threads to gain ideas and tips & then just work to your budget.

As long as you look after the van whilst in ownership..... you should'nt loose much value at the time of sale
(sure you will have seen already, but even T4's are still making 9-10K) and then some...

Try to start off with a good spec van in the first place, Xpack, colour coded, air con etc

Once you start, your bank manager will love you I: but the wife/mum probably wont LOL:

 

[Matty18]

Great! Thanks for the kind words guys..
You guys all seem in favour of self build.. I will show him these forums and get him to read through.
I suppose if it was a self build, it would also be something I could help him with.. a father/son project if you will!
I've had a look through some of the vans on here and they look terrific.

Not far from us there is a van auction where old commercial vans get auctioned off.. would it be worth having a look there for a T4/T5.. they seem to have a few on their website. If so, would it be worth going for something like this:
http://www.auctioneers.co.uk/auction-lists/view-commercial.php?id=261&grp=5

or just the regular panel van?

They also have a few already converted campers, but I'm 100% they will be out of my dad's price range
http://www.auctioneers.co.uk/auction-lists/view-commercial.php?id=335&grp=5

 

[cak]

Obviously theres the dreaded vat to pay on some vans if bought from a dealer

privately for about 10k, you should be able to pick up a well sorted late T4 or an early T5, but the later will probably be just a van..... You would have to add the cost of converting to it, although saying that you may get lucky???

For insulation & carpeting, expect to pay between £300 - 500, then you will have to add on what extra's your dad wants inside, i.e
Lights
Bed
Units?
Windows (if not already installed)
Flooring

Unfortunately the list can go on, but the end result is worth it and from then on, enjoy the freedom at weekends.

 

[wisco]

merthyr auctions,,,,be carefull before you buy from there.with auction fees ect you will pay a lot more than you think..find out how much exactly to avoid any nasty supprises.

 

[Matty18]

merthyr auctions,,,,be carefull before you buy from there.with auction fees ect you will pay a lot more than you think..find out how much exactly to avoid any nasty supprises.

Say he got a winning bid on a £5000 van, how much fee's do you reckon would be added on top of that?

 

[Matty18]

Obviously theres the dreaded vat to pay on some vans if bought from a dealer

privately for about 10k, you should be able to pick up a well sorted late T4 or an early T5, but the later will probably be just a van..... You would have to add the cost of converting to it, although saying that you may get lucky???

For insulation & carpeting, expect to pay between £300 - 500, then you will have to add on what extra's your dad wants inside, i.e
Lights
Bed
Units?
Windows (if not already installed)
Flooring

Unfortunately the list can go on, but the end result is worth it and from then on, enjoy the freedom at weekends.

I think he'd be looking to do the standard thing, but with his own twist on things, to make it well and truly his..
The estimate for insulation is a great start, I think on a self build would be looking at doing the basics first, i.e. insulation and bed, then doing more as and when there is time/money available.
Thanks for the advice!