What to buy for £6000. A Duetto or similar?

[rossmotorhome]

Hi All,

I am a newby to the camper/motorhome world and would appreciate any advice you may have.

I am looking to buy a camper/motorhome for around £6000. I have looked at Ford Duetto's but they seem to be just out of my price range. I want something that doesn't feel huge to drive (Duetto size seems ok) and that has a built in toilet. Apart from that I am open to any ideas.

I chose the Duetto to start looking at as I thought it would be easy to get spares/parts for should any problems arise. I will be taking it on to mainland Europe so also want something that will be easy to maintain there too. I have had Peugot and Fiat cars in the past which have both been problematic so have sub-consciously avoided these makes but am open to be told not to.

Any information will be much appreciated and I thank you in advance for your time.

Ross.

 

[pappajohn]

Whatever you decide please be aware of Ebay scammers as your budget is in thrir scope.

Advertising what is obvious to most as a more expensive van at a much reduced price.

Usually the van doest exist but you parted with a sizable deposit which simply disappears....along with the scammer.

If it looks to good too be true....it probably is too good to be true

 

[Gromett]

I think you might be struggling to get anything that works at that budget? I may be wrong. I just had a quick look around for you and could find a couple of romahome's that looked half decent within budget but I think you may be looking for something a bit bigger? I am sure more will be along shortly to prove me wrong though

Welcome to fun by the way

 

[rossmotorhome]

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply! Yes a romahome would be too small. I have seen a Hymer for £6000 which ticks all the boxes but I fear it may be a bit TOO big. Don't want something that feels heavy and cumbersome to drive. What are your views on a 25 year old Hymer? Should I steer clear of something this old?

Many thanks!

Ross.

 

[deleted-member02]

Hi Ross & another welcome from me too.

I think you're on the right track with a duetto or similar. I'm watching the market for something similar with a view to renting it out.

If you can stretch your budget towards 8k, I'm certain that with patience, you could get a cracking van (I'm thinking around 96-99).

Good luck with your search

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[deleted-member02]

Think it's a big commitment to buy a 25yr old Hymer (though I do love them dearly). Very different drive to more recent vans and afraid to say, most 6k Hymer's I've seen require a good deal of tlc - think a panel van will be loads less hassle tbh

 

[rossmotorhome]

Hi Moho,

Yes have seen a couple around 8k, it's just a bit more than I can part with and I am of the feeling that the more I spend the more I will lose in depreciation. I can happily part with 6k but 8k just feels a bit too much for me.

Thanks for the welcome and good luck to you too!

 

[Wildman]

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a super van for the money and drives like a car.

 

[rossmotorhome]

Thanks for the advice Moho. I thought as much. The space you get is very tempting but I/we are planning to use it for our two month honeymoon in France/Spain and I think I would spend too much time worrying about what may go wrong (motorhome, not honeymoon, obviously ).

 

[Bertie Bassett]

ross, welcome to the fun, our old Duetto was the third van we've had, it was reliable, pretty well screwed together and economical over the long term (both mpg and base vehicle wise). Good choice in my view, we only got shot of ours because we wanted more space. Good Luck!
Depreciation will be minimal at the the year you're looking at too imo.

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[rossmotorhome]

Hi Wildman,

Wow, that looks cool! What makes you say it's a super van? Why would you particularly recommend it?

Thanks for the post!

 

[Puddleduck]

ross, welcome to the fun, our old Duetto was the third van we've had, it was reliable, pretty well screwed together and economical over the long term (both mpg and base vehicle wise). Good choice in my view, we only got shot of ours because we wanted more space. Good Luck!
Depreciation will be minimal at the the year you're looking at too imo.

Agree about the depreciation. We got back more than we paid for our first MH.

 

[deleted-member02]

Ross, be patient and buy wisely, you won't lose any money, in fact you may well make a profit. My first van depreciated 1k in six years and the current owner is about 3k in profit.
Bottomless pit of buyers between 5-10k, so few good vans, hence the difficulty in finding one....

 

[mjltigger]

I second whoever said panel van conversion.

Ours cost 2k

What are your requirements?

 

[Wildman]

Hi Wildman,

Wow, that looks cool! What makes you say it's a super van? Why would you particularly recommend it?

Thanks for the post!

They are a quality built van, Snowbird had one as did a few others. Well put together and spacious.

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[Judge Mental]

interest rates pretty low, credit comparatively cheap these days, could you consider a better van using what funds you have as a deposit...

at 6k most are going to be real tired at best

 

[gus-lopez]

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a super van for the money and drives like a car.

That's excellent vfm.

 

[Minxy]

Noooooo .... why did I click on that link .... I love it ... and it's near where I live!

... as my Mum used to say "Get thee away from me Satan!"

 

[Puddleduck]

This might be a bargain for someone:

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[mitzimad]

remember if you want to go inside the m25 you will have to look for a petrol van in that price range due to the lez zone anything deisel will be non compliant

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[Minxy]

This might be a bargain for someone:

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First thing I'd do is rip the whole lot out and redo it ...

 

[mjltigger]

First thing I'd do is rip the whole lot out and redo it ...

As I said in my last post out campervan budget is relatively low. This looks like a nice van but I instantly dismissed it because you have to go outside to get in it from the cab. . Each to their own but that's an instant no no for me.

 

[Minxy]

From looking at it, I suspect someone has used the innards from an old caravan and tried to make it 'fit' but although I'd take it all out and start again, it wouldn't take that much to alter it - for example remove the seating on the nearside and put the kitchen etc there (obviously the electrics and gas would need doing by someone who knew how to do it safely), this would then allow through to the front between the seats from the inside if it has a single passenger seat, if it is a twin one it would just need to be replaced. If it went for a good price it would be a good starter project. It really depends on your competence and timescale.

 

[mjltigger]

From looking at it, I suspect someone has used the innards from an old caravan and tried to make it 'fit' but although I'd take it all out and start again, it wouldn't take that much to alter it - for example remove the seating on the nearside and put the kitchen etc there (obviously the electrics and gas would need doing by someone who knew how to do it safely), this would then allow through to the front between the seats from the inside if it has a single passenger seat, if it is a twin one it would just need to be replaced. If it went for a good price it would be a good starter project. It really depends on your competence and timescale.

We looked at projects and in the end decided to get a van that was as complete as possible for the money we had. In the end we are really pleased with our transit and I intend to redo it over time however the main thing is the layout is right meaning we can use it while we bring it up to standards.

 

[Minxy]

I'd love to do another 'project' having converted an ambulance in the past and loved every minute of it ... one of these days I might just convince hubby to let me loose on another conversion!

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[joncris]

Whatever you decide please be aware of Ebay scammers as your budget is in thrir scope.

Advertising what is obvious to most as a more expensive van at a much reduced price.

Usually the van doest exist but you parted with a sizable deposit which simply disappears....along with the scammer.

If it looks to good too be true....it probably is too good to be true

Excellent advice from pappajohn. Also if you do find something advertised that you think might fit the bill post a link on this thread and we'll have look to try and determine if its a scam or not

 

[Viennese]

This might be a bargain for someone:

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Don't think it has a bathroom... - otherwise looks very good.

 

[gus-lopez]

remember if you want to go inside the m25 you will have to look for a petrol van in that price range due to the lez zone anything deisel will be non compliant

Well if you can find a diesel below 2.5 tonnes GVw , then it is LEZ compliant as they class it as a car.

As I said in my last post out campervan budget is relatively low. This looks like a nice van but I instantly dismissed it because you have to go outside to get in it from the cab. . Each to their own but that's an instant no no for me.

bit of modifying will soon sort that.

 

[dave newell]

".................................................... and drives like a car."

Sorry to disagree Roger but it won't drive like any car I'd want to be in. It drives like an old Talbot Express 'cos that's what it is. There's nothing (well not too much) wrong with the old Talbots but they could never be described as car like to drive. Be aware that it might have a pitiful payload too.

D.