How do you invest in your MH

[izwozral]

First MH a 17 year old Talbot Express petrol/lpg [still puzzling why we got rid of it?]

Second, a brand new Rimor, an absolute bargain because we got it so cheap. [Don't tell Charlie ]

Third and present, a one year old low mileage Bessacarr. Will probably stick with this one for a while if we can quieten the ride.

 

[Trotter]

My Adria Twin

My, new to me, bus has done 26600 miles from new. I've done nearly 150 of them. That includes bringing it home from the dealer and a trip to work, to show it off. Meanwhile it's sat on the drive. I had thought the wife's car was the most expensive garden ornament I'd ever bought. But I to say I have exceeded that by a good deal. This snow hasn't helped. I have an aversion to white sh***. Retirement is only a year away, then watch this space.......... He said, hopefully! Dadad

 

[trevskoda]

My, new to me, bus has done 26600 miles from new. I've done nearly 150 of them. That includes bringing it home from the dealer and a trip to work, to show it off. Meanwhile it's sat on the drive. I had thought the wife's car was the most expensive garden ornament I'd ever bought. But I to say I have exceeded that by a good deal. This snow hasn't helped. I have an aversion to white sh***. Retirement is only a year away, then watch this space.......... He said, hopefully! Dadad

Go away at week ends and make use of the new van.

 

[Deleted member 74361]

I bought our N+B Arto 69GL(2003) at 6 yrs old with 16,000 miles in 2009 privately for £27,500 and so it is nearly 15 yrs old and has now done 44,000 miles. It has still got a lot of life in it yet, so I will not be looking to change it unless we go nearly full-time, but we cannot do that now.

When one can buy a uparket MH at those sort of prices I find no reason to think of sticking more money into one, other than adding a few bits - in our case a Gaslow bottle and filler, a solar panel and a B2B.

I reckon our depreciation is no more than £1,000 p.a. When we are away I think that other than diesel and one ferry a year(to go to UK for MOT) we do not spend much more than at home, because we do not use campsites(by choice) and do not use Toll roads, again by choice, because we only go short distances except from Poland to UK and the motorways are free(except £3.50 in Poland). So our motorhoming costs very little for the pleasure we get.

Geoff

 

[barryd]

Ive had my Kontiki 640 for ten years now this year. Its coming up 22 years old now. Amazingly prices on dealers windows are similar to what I paid for it but that doesnt mean much. It owes me nothing. I would have replaced it years ago and have been looking for as long as I can remember but Ive just never found anything that ticks all the boxes like this one. Mainly as the ability to take a scooter and rack and having a rear lounge in non negotiable. I just send up giving up and carrying on with the old van. Its had some proper use though and has been overall a fantastic van. Probably in use for at least six months of the year over the last ten on average although its got used less over winter the past two years.

I just wish Swift would just remake a modern version of the same van with the same layout, internal tanks, same size and same payload and Alko Chassis short overhang. Virtually nothing out there apart from a Swift Esprit 496 but try finding one.

The LEZ thing may become an issue though. Its Euro 1 so cant get a sticker in France so ill just have to wing that one and older diesels everywhere are just a Pollys swish of a pen away from being worthless. I guess if they decide to ban old commercial diesels everywhere they will just assume everything over ten years is scrap. They wont consider motorhomes probably.

 

[barge1914]

Needs research

So I have a question, which I ask because I don't know the answer. If we have a van which we really don't want to part with, is it possible to have the engine re-manufactured to a higher Euro standard?:idea:

Some European LEZs don't qualify upgraded engines different from original manufacturers Cert of Compliance for the vehicle.

 

[colinm]

Stairlifts apparently get 18 months’ use on average before their owner moves to a rest home.

Stair lifts are a good industry for those selling them, my mothers old one is now installed in her neighbours and still going strong will be 4 years old soon.

Most buyers of motor homes keep them for 3-5 years.

Never been one to change just for fashion or whatever, our last van suited needs at time, was a DIY conversion and kept it for 13 years IIRC. Latest van was new as at time there was no other option on layout unless did another DIY job, had it 7 years and up to now has suited our needs, but am considering getting a bigger van as we may well be spending more time in it, but meantime will see how we get on.

 

[barge1914]

We've tried twice to find a van that suits our needs better than what we have now...and failed miserably. So we'll be hanging on to our Bessacarr for the foreseeable future, until the situation crystallises a bit more on the environmental issues, and certainly not before Euro 6d engined vans become available in a couple or so years time, or as and when something better emerges.

 

[Robmac]

Ive had my Kontiki 640 for ten years now this year. Its coming up 22 years old now. Amazingly prices on dealers windows are similar to what I paid for it but that doesnt mean much. It owes me nothing......................

The old Kontikis were way ahead of their time Barry.

I remember looking at them many years ago and was amazed at the space and comfort they offered. Like you say, it owes you nothing.

 

[wildebus]

Stairlifts apparently get 18 months’ use on average before their owner moves to a rest home. Most buyers of motor homes keep them for 3-5 years.

This came from a Times article.
So do you buy new every 3-5 yrs and how many new units have you had or do you buy low milage S/H then sell when it starts to cost you, or buy old expecting to throw money at.
Are there people only dip their toes for one van and run.

Is the 3-5 years buyers of new only? or just buyers?

Going by some posts here on values, I can understand if people sell after a few years and buy another new one as their old one hasn't depreciated at all, so why not refresh at no cost?

 

[alwaysared]

My van is 22 years old and I can't see any reason to change it other than if I come across a decent petrol one, not because of the diesel emmissions but because I've never liked diesels full stop and I spent so much time trying to find a petrol one I gave up so I could at least start having some holidays. As for the LEZ, laws unless they make it for the UK rather than just the cities I'm happy to spend my time and money in quieter areas.

Regards,
Del

 

[yorkieowl]

We had our first mh for 12 months, as it was quite old and we had bought it to see if we would get the use out of one, we then bought our current one which we've happily had since 2007 on an 03 plate. Only reason to sell would be lack of use, and quite fancy a campervan that would get more use.

 

[malagaoth]

My first M/h was a wreck (I didnt know that when I bought it!) kept it two years spent a fortune on it and in the end was glad to sell it at any price!
I then bought my current M/h which I swore I would replace after 2 years - that was 6 years ago! after a couple of years looking I realised that there was nothing out there that suited me as well as the Nuevo - not even the new model which is (for me) inferior in several respects.

So I have resigned myself to keeping it until the wheels fall off!

Which is no surprize really as that is what I do with my cars

 

[jagmanx]

So much cheaper that Hotels or B&B

I appreciate this is like "Preaching to the converted"

We can overnight where it suits us
We can cook our own food or choose a local restaurant.
We can come or go as we please.

It is our home on wheels
It is in our comfort zone


I am sure you appreciate the above

BUT it does offset the Depreciation costs...Discuss !

 

[2cv]

I bought my van 5 years ago, and it will probably be my last as no longer available new. It has almost nil depreciation, but if I had invested the money instead I would have achieved around a 30% increase in that time, so it has actually cost quite a bit as do many things that you enjoy.
At the moment being unable to enter a few cities is not a problem but lezs may become problematic in the next few years, over 40 mooted in Scotland alone. I expect that petrol engines may then become available economically if there is enough demand, certainly cheaper than changing a whole van.

 

[phillybarbour]

On our third van, first one six months old when purchased, next two bought new. Kept first two both four years current one only had 6 months. Lost nothing on first one, a lot on second one and this one will lose a bit as I bought it new. But I like a new van and don’t really have any other expensive hobbies, don’t drink or smoke and worked for myself for 35 you years before semi retirement in 2016. If I don’t spend it I’m sure the kids will.

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Ok, My Pennies worth,
Most vehicles are a bad investment with only a very few high end Exceptions in my view

When I chose this lifestyle I wanted to follow MANY moons ago, I Bought a Vehicle (Motorhome) that I thought I could tweak to fit THAT / THIS lifestyle which also afforded me some comfort.
Now as such I kinda done a bit of a ‘Life Plan’ that I could loosely follow In order to make my allocated funds at the time go just that little bit further, so,,,,TO MY mind The Nest & the money spent over my 7 year life plan is ‘Dead Or Lost’ money happily spent for the experience I’m having. The Work, Alterations, Fit outs I do ISNT ever done with ‘Will it Increase or Decrease the value of the vehicle’ , it’s done with ‘Does it make My Lifestyle Safer, Easier or More Comfortable aboard ‘ , if I get some money back when I sell the Nest then all well & good.
But there’s no way I could have Bought, Rented, Lived anywhere for what I have or will have spent as a Very Happy Traveling Livaboard Zombie over my 7 year plan.

So NO, I don’t look at it as a ‘Financial Investment’,,,,I look at it more like ‘An investment in Life’.

 

[Asterix]

Ok, My Pennies worth,
Most vehicles are a bad investment with only a very few high end Exceptions in my view

I would disagree with that,when I brought my MH it was already 30 years old with no depreciation left to lose,unless of course there's a huge crash in the scrap metal market.

 

[yorkieowl]

Like NZ when we bought the mh we had no expectation on its resale value, it was what we wanted to enjoy our leisure time, and if we get anything back on it then its a bonus, we only spent the money on it that we were happy to 'lose', its only cos its a big 'investment' that we even think about it, as folks spend hundreds on mobiles, tables, laptops, and and all the trappings, but most folks don't worry about any losses on those when upgrading/updating.

 

[mossypossy]

Beer mat maths

Paid £10k for mine 3 years ago (bargain)
£6k for new engine (ouch)
Probably worth £14k now, so having spent 83 nights away so far, that is £24 a night.
After Scandinavia next year nightly cost should be down below a tenner a night.