Inherited a VW Transporter Van... looking to convert and sell on.

[loll80]

Hi,

The VW Transporter is fairly new (18 plate) and only has a few thousand miles on the clock. I've been told it's worth around £18-19k. I was planning on selling the van as is but I have recently been advised that I can make a lot more money by converting it into a campervan/motorhome before selling it on...

I've looked into this very briefly and it seems that, disregarding any extras, there are 2 main types of conversion. One is a basic conversion (just a bed and a few cupboards/drawers) and is quiet cheap (around £2k from what I can tell). The other includes an elevating roof and seems very expensive (around £10k from what I've seen so far).

Considering the above, I have the following questions:

1 - Say my van is worth £18k and I pay £2k for the basic conversion - How much could I potentially then sell it on for?
2 - Say my van is worth £18k and I pay £10k for the elevating roof conversion - How much could I potentially then sell it on for?
3 - I've been advised that campervans/motorhomes that don't have elevating roofs aren't very popular and would be difficult to sell on - is this true?
4 - Are the amounts that I have been quoted so far (£2k for a basic conversion and £10k for an elevating roof conversion) around what I can expect to pay for each conversion? Can anyone recommend a converters anywhere in the UK that could do them cheaper?

Any help would be much appreciated - thanks.

 

[DavidG58]

welcome to the forum ?

I am not really best placed to advise but first thoughts are

£2 K will not do a conversion worth selling on

I have just changed the fridge freezer in mine and spent over £1000, I would think fridge oven water heater, room heater , cupboards, bed, flooring , lining, windows and blinds will cost well over £5K then you have got hours of work

I disagree about the elevating roof, they are now relatively rare would add a lot of cost and effort and probably not add the value it even costs to do

As for values best place to look and check is the internet, that’s where it will be sold I would guess,

Best of luck if you go ahead, it sounds a huge thing to take on to me, but I lack the skills needed to do it ?

 

[Odd-no-more]

Unless it is finnished to a very high standard and registered as a camper van you could lose money. Go to a dealer and look at the professional conversations and see if you can match their standard. I doubt 2k would get to the standard needed to sell on.

 

[Wissel]

My guess would be the parts to build a conversion would be around £5k and the labour another £3k. Elevating roof another £3-4k (fitted).

A bad job will lose money.

 

[DiggerJon]

Sell unconverted = £18k and no hassle
Sell converted = £?? + hassle + possibility of loss

Mmmmmm; difficult decision......

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[gus-lopez]

Hi and welcome.

 

[Mr Beaumont]

Sell the van as it currently is and save yourself a lot of hassle and time. The market is flooded with professionally converted VW's, so there's no guarantee you will actually make any extra money from a conversion.

 

[The Wino]

When you think about it its just like inheriting 18k would you then have thought about buying a van and converting it ? If its that easy why doesn't everyone do conversions all the time?. I think there are no easy ways to make money!!!!

 

[tonka]

Sell the van. Sorted.
Your conversion may not be the specs people like, bit like fitting a new kitchen before you sell up. New owners dont like it and rip it out.
Save yourself the hassle. Just look on the web and see how many are already out there. A van with a bed in the back or part conversion will still be registered as a van and can create insurance complications.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Best join the VW T4 -T5 forum and ask their members.

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[Gaston aires]

Either convert it to your liking and use it, or sell it as is.
Phil

 

[Hollyberry]

I’d just sell the van and take the 18 thousand or thereabouts.
As others have said, a poor or basic conversion could lose you money and be hard to sell.
If you were converting for your own use that would be different but I think you’d be giving yourself a lot of hassle to make, or lose, a couple of thousand extra. I think the VWs that people think are worth big money are the vintage ones.
Sell it and enjoy your inheritance.

 

[rod_vw]

I've converted 5 VWs in the past 15 years and can assure you that unless you are willing to spend a minimum of 10k on it it isn't worth doing.
As above, join the T4/T5 Forum or the T6 Forum and ask questions on there.

For some unknown reason most VW converters convert on the SWB base and almost all are elevating roof types. Personally I prefer the LWB with a high roof.

You will find my previous conversion for sale on www.1946vw.co.uk/camper just to give you a clue on my preferences.

I'm now driving a very similar Highline T6 on holiday in Europe.

Rod

 

[Guigsy]

Look online for sale prices. Only look for self-build ones as anything that's been factory fitted will have a massive price premium. I think you'll find that when you add up the cost of all the bits, the profit is pretty small.... and that's if you fit it all yourself and assume your time is zero cost.

 

[chaser]

Can't add much that hasn't been said, but I have converted a couple and can say if you are doing it for yourself to use ,yeah good van for the job , but if doing it to sell forget it, seems strange but it could well be worth less when you have done it, have a look on eBay at the price of a decent van then have a look at self converted ones, very little difference.
Good luck with it anyway plenty of advice on here if you do go for it.

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[Just smiffy]

Count yourself fortunate to inherit the van, if you don’t want it then sell it on..... spend it on something you want...

 

[Terry]

Hi, Wissel (David) and Rob- vw are not far off with costings
What van model is it ?T28/30/32 MANUAL OR AUTO ? Barn doors or tail lift up ? It's all relevent to how much the van is worth once done
Prices for converted models start around 33k upwards (base T28 s) -not saying they sell at that so you may have to take a couple of K off to shift it
Indeed as a van you may find that 18/19 k may well be right or a little high depending on the model and if you can find a buyer for that sort of money.
My SIL has just sold a van for 23k and the cheapest I could find same year/milage model was 28k She took the best price offered without the hassel

 

[loll80]

Thanks for all of your replies... they've definitely provided me with some food for thought!....

If I do decide to get the van converted I will make sure that it's done by a professional and well respected company in order to avoid a botch job. I certainly won't be attempting to do the conversion myself!

I have been told again today that nobody's interested in campers that don't have elevated roofs, however, the below quote from DavidG58 seems to contradict this:

I disagree about the elevating roof, they are now relatively rare would add a lot of cost and effort and probably not add the value it even costs to do

Does anyone else have any opinions on this?

To try and simplify this as much as possible, my current thinking is that I have 3 options, as follows:

1 - Sell the van as is for around £18k
2 - Convert the van but without the elevating roof... This would cost around £4/5k for the most basic conversion (no or very few extras), but, providing it's a good job, I could potentially sell for around £30k.
3 - Pay around £10k for the elevating roof conversion.... Again, providing the conversion is done professionally, I have been advised that I could potentially sell on for around £40k!

Are these figures realistic or am I miles out?

 

[The Wino]

Thanks for all of your replies... they've definitely provided me with some food for thought!....

If I do decide to get the van converted I will make sure that it's done by a professional and well respected company in order to avoid a botch job. I certainly won't be attempting to do the conversion myself!

I have been told again today that nobody's interested in campers that don't have elevated roofs, however, the below quote from DavidG58 seems to contradict this:


Does anyone else have any opinions on this?

To try and simplify this as much as possible, my current thinking is that I have 3 options, as follows:

1 - Sell the van as is for around £18k
2 - Convert the van but without the elevating roof... This would cost around £4/5k for the most basic conversion (no or very few extras), but, providing it's a good job, I could potentially sell for around £30k.
3 - Pay around £10k for the elevating roof conversion.... Again, providing the conversion is done professionally, I have been advised that I could potentially sell on for around £40k!

Are these figures realistic or am I miles out?

I think you are miles out I suspect there will be a small profit in it but if it was that easy why don't the converters all just buy vans like yours convert them and sell on why would they do a job for you with a potential profit that large when they could do it themselves? Remember you will be a private seller with no warranty/aftersales to offer. I recon our m/h will sell for about £30k privately a dealer would be asking£34/£36. If you were a buyer what difference in price would tempt you into a private sold as seen sale on say a £40k m/h?

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Sell it as is
Move on with your life

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[Terry]

You still have not said which model van you have ?
With respect David g has not got a clue ? you need pop top ?
Look on more 3 k ish profit ? The only way you will get near 40 k is if the van is a Combi t 32 Automatic and you put a 6/7 k Remo electric roof on instead of a decent 3.5 k roof ...roofs start at 2 k fitted but this reflects on price

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

 

[1ten]

As others have said join the T5 forum. It needs to be a good conversion to be worth the money and if you are paying a company to do it you won5 make much more than simply selling the original van. Pop tops are still definitely sort after.

 

[GreenHell]

2 - Convert the van but without the elevating roof... This would cost around £4/5k for the most basic conversion (no or very few extras), but, providing it's a good job, I could potentially sell for around £30k.
3 - Pay around £10k for the elevating roof conversion.... Again, providing the conversion is done professionally, I have been advised that I could potentially sell on for around £40k!

Are these figures realistic or am I miles out?

You are miles out. I'm a former Transporter owner and spent £8k on a conversion with no roof. It was still entry level and didn't even make the van worth £8k more. I got an extra £5k for it because it had to be priced cheap to sell.

- a £4/5k basic conversion with no pop top won't produce a £30k van and £7k profit.
- a £10k conversion including elevating roof will be very basic, and won't produce a £40k van and £12k profit.