How do folks afford motorhomes

[chaser]

I think I must be in a different world than some on here, we have had various threads recently of people buying motorhomes for over a hundred grand and having all sorts of problems, and recently in a current thread someone breaking down in France and it's going to cost 11 grand to put it right, these figures are totally alien to me, I couldn't afford more than £5000 to either buy or repair a van , where do these amounts of money come from.

 

[Old Gibber]

Russian oil.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Hard work for me.

brought up on one of the largest council estates in the UK but soon as I left school went to work.
Not unusual for me to do 16-17 hour days 7 days a week when I was younger.

I don’t feel one bit embarrassed about having an expensive van as I know I’ve worked for it

 

[Bailey58]

Dunno, I'd have to sell the house and live in the van if I spent 80/100 grand.

 

[Stealaway]

I think I must be in a different world than some on here, we have had various threads recently of people buying motorhomes for over a hundred grand and having all sorts of problems, and recently in a current thread someone breaking down in France and it's going to cost 11 grand to put it right, these figures are totally alien to me, I couldn't afford more than £5000 to either buy or repair a van , where do these amounts of money come from.

Some had a successful business, some inherited from their parents, some have maxed out credit cards.
You decide what / can afford.
There's lots of milage in an old van and certain self satisfaction is not having to spend thousands going to the same places.

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[The general]

Selling other assets , to feed the travelling bug , also lump sum pension helps

 

[Two on Tour]

You buy or build a MH or van to suit your needs and your pocket, just that some have needs for bigger and have bigger pockets, be happy with what you have got rather than worry about what others have, you will stay sane that way.

 

[carolyn]

Worked hard and was very fortunate that our jobs were well paid so retired with nice lump sums. No inheritances as our parents worked even harder in low paid jobs and 3 of them died well before retirement age.

 

[sonar]

I think I must be in a different world than some on here, we have had various threads recently of people buying motorhomes for over a hundred grand and having all sorts of problems, and recently in a current thread someone breaking down in France and it's going to cost 11 grand to put it right, these figures are totally alien to me, I couldn't afford more than £5000 to either buy or repair a van , where do these amounts of money come from.

Bought ours cheap as it was a fixer up. 2003 model
spent a lot on it a bit at a time and one job at a time did most of it ourselves.
Now it’s finished.

so saved a lot of money we never had to start with.

also if it gets a scratch we’re not bothered certainly won’t be crying about it.

 

[Robert Clark]

Hard work for me.

smart work for me

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[Tea Bag]

these amounts of money come from.

Hi Chaser.
You will have to ask Jennifer. I tipped up my money,plus expenses that were over and diesel unused running money. NEVER have done money. 1. First married,she got me a cheque book,went to a local garage for a Battery,paid with my NEW cheque book." Can you endorse it ? ".....Me " What ? " Him. " Is it yours ? ".." .Yes,just got it " He asked for my name and address and ran a check,came back. " Endorse it...Put your name and address on the back"
2. Organised a fortnight off for a holiday,right,where shall we go?. Jennifer. " We are going for a fortnight in a c/van at mablethorpe.............." Me. How much will that be ? "...... " Don't worry,its all booked and paid for,i saved the money up from the bits and pieces you gave me over the weeks "
Like i say........ You will have to ask jennifer........ Didn't i pick a winner............... SShhhhhhh Don't tell her.
Tea Bag.
PS. I have it on record on here. God forbid anything happens to her,i will be " repossessed in a FORTNIGHT !!

 

[VXman]

35 years of work -saving hard plus work pension. Use savings and lump sum from pension to purchase Motorhome. Now using pension plus life savings to use it.

As Tea Bag I also chose a wife who has worked harder and earned better than me!

 

[jessthedog]

Chaser, there are plenty of millionaires and multi millionaires on this site, who have had buisnesses and done well for themselves. There will also be alot of people who will have commuted 100s of thousands of pounds of their pension pots. Some buy Motorhomes instead of villas or some have both.
The only thing we all have in common is either owning or have owned a motorised caravan.

 

[tonka]

To afford my current van I had to sell my place in Spain.

 

[Rammo]

I think I must be in a different world than some on here, we have had various threads recently of people buying motorhomes for over a hundred grand and having all sorts of problems, and recently in a current thread someone breaking down in France and it's going to cost 11 grand to put it right, these figures are totally alien to me, I couldn't afford more than £5000 to either buy or repair a van , where do these amounts of money come from.

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[tonyandcarol]

Worked alot and saved for what we wanted.

 

[Northernraider]

Sold the house bought a van

 

[WillH]

Hard earned cash. Retired at 51 and never looked back. Left school at 15.

 

[Manxmike1]

Bought a 1984 Talbot Merlin, when it died I sold it for more than I paid, bought a 2006 Transit based 6 berth, it was too big for two of us, so I sold it for a profit and bought my 1998 Hymer B584 which I love and is perfect for our needs. Saved up the extra each time from my pension!

 

[Bobby dazzler]

I suppose it varies from person to person some will buy over a very long period some will use inheritance or money from downsizing some will have worked hard for years. I suppose its all about what u want. My van is 22 years old this year but its been fantastic owned it for 13 years been some amazing places bullet proof engine old hymer. But there's nowt wrong with a 5 grand van conversion or 150 grand aclass lots of great times to be had in all vans n motorhomes

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[Terry242]

The premise of the question is one of the things that I love about motorhoming.

There's something out there for everyone.

Terry

 

[Northernraider]

There's a certain comfort to be had in old cheap Vans. Less to worry about when they go wrong. And if theres one thing ive learned from threads on here ,age, value,brand etc has little impact on when they go wrong.

 

[claude et maude]

Bank robbery….top tip, if using a stocking mask don’t use fishnets.

 

[daveclare]

76 years the two of us working for the man. Which takes its toll in one way or another. MH ing the perfect treatment for it. Second time we went away a gathering of MH owners with a common interest. Representing MH's from £5k to £250k.

All having a good natter and then......... all about to empty the toilet in one form or another.

It was a who's who of motorhome no.2's.

 

[funflair]

No kids, simples

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[Jamesh]

Older generation = inheritance, pension, business sale..

Younger generation HP, mortgage extension, loan....

I for one am happy with a pvc self build.

Our first and last caravan on finance was a Avondale which leaked like a collander which put us off the middle ground for caravans / MH.

 

[Spriddler]

Some had a successful business, some inherited from their parents, some have maxed out credit cards.
You decide what / can afford.

Hard graft, non-materialistic attitude to having 'stuff' and a bit of business luck.
From the running cost/site charges/cheapest sources comments on here I get the impression that not only have some purchased a m/h by taking out loans or drawing down capital from their pension funds but are finding themselves stretched in terms of income to run and use it.

There's lots of milage in an old van and certain self satisfaction is not having to spend thousands going to the same places.

How true. Been retired 23 years and seven years ago I spent 15k (cash) on a 20 yr old m/h 'on a whim' which represented maybe a tenth of my spare/discretionary capital that I could've spent on a modern posh m/h (or some more vintage motorbikes ). I have other capital-hungry hobbies and the m/h does everything I need; freedom to adventure around Europe at will, comfortable transport and accommodation with my own bed and slippers, plus it represents little more than pocket money to maintain and use it. I don't feel any pressure to use it or any need for others to admire it as it's just an available facility.

(A couple of young whizz kid accountants moved locally to work in my company. Their mantra was to borrow as much as possible. They both bought 5 bedroomed 'Executive' houses in a new development but could barely afford to go out for a drink after work).

 

[irnbru]

Bank of mum for me

 

[Wissel]

One of the best things about this forum is it's rare that anyone cares how much anyone else spent on their van.

It isn't about the money, It's a shared interest.

£2k, £200k, it's all the same hobby. Knowing people with vans at both ends of this price range, it seems the same for most people.

 

[Howard B]

Hard work & long term planning for me. I guess there was also an element of luck which has also alloweed me to try early retirement.

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