Costs

I know that there are lots of  people  in our hobby that don't like to think of the cost. Not meaning to be rude but that is rather an ostrich sort of tendency. Allowing money to sluice away and not know how much is a fairly iresponsible approach to life. 
I had a look at my costs the other day. OK it's not an A/S van, yet, but I bet there are plenty of similarities. Gloria was purchased about 18 months ago. She was ten years old and had about 45k on the clock and cost £17k. Within days things were going wrong. The exhaust fell apart in a week, the aircon was baking hot, and the rear tyres were original and cracked. Some of those things were sorted by the dealer who was 70 miles away. I got fed up with them and ended up having everything else sorted at my cost, near home. In repairs and bits the van cost me £2,700 in the first 12 month this included a new aircon condenser, new suspension joints and a complete brake rebuild. There were loads of other little things like replacement downlighters, wiper blades, drain taps, new curtains etc, etc.
So far in the last 6 months she's cost me another £1,100 or so for replacement rear springs and windscreen washer motor plus so paintwork fettling.
But then I think of buying a new van for, say £60k, and if you keep it three years you'll get around £45k for it, maybe £50k if you're lucky. You shouldn't have exhaust falling off hassles but you will pay around nigh on £1k in servicing. 
So say a new van will cost £11k over 3 years.
Mine will sell for what I bought it for and will probably cost me about £5,000 over those same three years. 
So would you rather she'll out an average of nearly £4k a year on a new van, or about £2k a year on a used one and have the satisfaction of fettling something to bring it back to as new condition.

steamdrivenandy wrote:
Mine will sell for what I bought it for and will probably cost me about £5,000 over those same three years. 
So would you rather she'll out an average of nearly £4k a year on a new van, or about £2k a year on a used one and have the satisfaction of fettling something to bring it back to as new condition.

   I think you are making a slight flaw here Andy. There are a lot of owners of NEW A/s vans that get the same satisfactions of fettling their NEW vans just to get it working as it should have been when it left the factory!!    


     Yes I often think briefly of the expense but it us too painful !  Bring back the first caravan we owned , an old ABI ACE MARAUDER 320.   It was Years old when we bought it , bone dry and still everything worked 100%...  Cost under £ 500 , and sold for £900 3 years later. Still better than a new car, 3 years and that is worth around 35% depending on whichever shark you try and trade it in to....   It is an increasingly  expensive hobby, depreciation, fuel , road tax , pitch fees , possible storage costs , mot, service etc etc etc......

          My kids think we are mad paying so much to sit in a regularly  muddy field watching the rain coming down while they for example travel to Barcelona in a couple of weeks to take in the sights and watch Barcelona play at the mighty Nou camp.
        I feel in the near  future there will be a sharp decline in our hobby , new driver license restrictions re weight , extortionate new prices , new car taxation rules and the increasing demonising of diesel and tightening of emissions will make owning a motorhome a thing of the past for the young.

One cost I didn't mention is the finance cost. This can be both the interest charged n a loan or if paying cash, the interest you would earn if that cash had remained invested somewhere. Even at today's low interest rates that can add up on £60k and isn't inconsequential on £17k.
And thinking on I may have been optimistic on the return on a new van after three years. My only experiences have been on two new vans, one purchased at £35k and part exchanged for £23k after two years and the other also purchased for £35k and sold privately for £30k two years later.  That's an average of 30% depreciation in 2 years. Over 3 years it's probably nearer 35% and if always part exchanged, not sold privately, probably nearer 40%. That's about £25k on a £60k van, an average of around £8,000 a year. Ouch! Of course the price on  a used van forecourt will be £10k or so higher, which gives the impression that depreciation isn't too bad. It is bad, the dealer's margin is enormous.

My View,

What ever vehicle you have it has maintenance costs, no getting away from that, at the end of the day we all have choices to make, some have boats and MH`s, golf etc. hobbies can be expensive, I have spent thousands on my crafting over the years, like computer sewing machines, over lockers, and embroidery machine, electronic die cutters to name a few, no one forces you to, every ones choice at the end of the day.

Motor homes are a way of life. and one that I love and choose, no flights abroad or cruises for us, not our interest, have toured on the continent for 20 years with a caravan, not interested now.husband 25 years ago suggested would I like to go on a cruise, no thank you, so he bought a new caravan instead. each to their own. some things you cannot put a cost on.

My Husbands motto" there are no pockets in a shroud " while you can enjoy your hobby life is too short and goes even quicker the older you get.
Enjoy your van and safe and happy travelling.

Very best regards,
Margaret

I agree with Margaret. Go and enjoy your hobby.  Collating copious amounts of detailed figures and the time it takes to work out the percentages etc is time that could be spent 'smelling the roses' .

I'm sorry you have had to spend so much on your present van. Personally I would have pushed for the work to be done under the dealers warranty. I wonder why alot of that work like the tyre change was not done before you purchased. 
I know we probably can't name and shame on here but it sounds like a dealer to avoid selling vans in that condition with major issues of tyres, suspension and brakes. 
Maybe exchange your calculator for a travel journal. It's a lovely hobby we have!

Each to their own. I've been motorhoming and caravanning for 13 years, so I'm not exactly an inexperienced newcomer. I like to know what things cost me and enjoy figures and spreadsheets. I design gardens and grow roses, with about a dozen of various types in our current garden. The scent from athe row of three Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll' is sublime. The row of three Rosa 'Happy Child' next to them isn't as good and neither is the scent from a pair of Rosa 'Tuscany Superb' but they look stunning underplanted with purple leaves sage and alchemilla mollis.