I'm starting to think I should maybe sell 'Lucy" and 'Gypsy' and get a van instead.
Basically, the reason I didn't buy a campervan 18 months ago, was the cost of buying a late model and the cost of fuel driving it around town fulltime. (I don't intend being a full time nomad.)
I was thinking of a Hyundai iload deisel. Just the commercial type one, and fit it out myself..or rather, my son. They are reasonably cheap and have a 4 star ANCAP rating. I wish now that I'd thought of this before I'd bought my i30.
Lucy is only 18 months old with 25,000 on her. I know cars lose their value as soon as you drive off the lot, but I was hoping to get a decent trade-in or it may be better to sell her privately. As for the little Leisurelite camper, I paid $3,500, then had a zip-on awning made to fit at a cost of $440, and I bought 2 new tyres. So hopefully I'd get $4,000, as I only bought her in March this year, and she's only done one major trip, and a couple of small ones. Is this reasonable?
Comfort vs economy. There will always be compromises to make. If you drive the vehicle the way it was designed to be driven, and not fitted out too heavily, you should get a good run. A diesel would probably improve your value for mileage money. I'm tipping you'll get a run out of the Hyundai, and upsize again if you still want to travel. I see it often. That's travel for you. Think it through, take your time, plan what you'll do with the van, and whether your plans warrant upsizing. Then go for it. Selling privately is always better than trading through a dealer who takes his cut out of your cash before he passes it to you. I bought my van on ebay, paid cash, sight unseen. It needed a few maintenance jobs, but so does everything.
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20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
I bought Gypsy from ebay too. Luckily, she was on the other side of town, so got to inspect before putting the cash in his hand.
From my research so far, it looks like I'd be several $$$ short. I don't have a huge quantity of $$$, so really, that's my dilemma, that no-one else can decide for me.
Other than that, the iload does have a good rap. I compared it to the Transit van and the HiAce and it came out the best.
