Time to Face The Music

joedenise

You really shouldn't worry about the mileage on a motorhome, after all they are based on a work van and designed to do high mileage.  I can't remember which van it was you were hoping to get but I really don't think you ought to set your heart on a particular model.  You really ought to be looking at lots of vans in order to be sure that the one you want is really the right one for you.  

Also, you need to check how much payload the van has as a lot of vans don't have enough!  There is a newish British motorhome that has only 250Kg payload which is nowhere near enough for 2 people and that doesn't include any extras.  Also don't believe what a salesman tells you it is insist that it is taken to a weigh bridge and get a ticket so that you can be sure.

RelievedSheff

It is the Benimar Mileo 202 that we are getting. Having looked at plenty of different makes and models during the last couple of years we are certain that this is the one we want and will suit us the best. It is only a small van at a shade under 6m.

The payload is 520kg which we reckon is more than enough for a small van. It doesn't have a garage so won't be heavily loaded with "stuff" that rarely gets used. The basic spec is very good and there are very few things that you would add as extras that would eat into the payload. 

As a free upgrade you can add an extra 150kg to the payload and have it rated at 3650kg. In doing so though I wouldn't be able to drive it. So we really need a van rated at 3500kg.

We are used to having to run light with having the boat. We had to keep the weight down on that when we had it trailed. The boat is probably more difficult to keep under weight as there are things that you need on there that we won't need in the van like life jackets, life raft, mooring pins, windlass, etc all of which were quite heavy.

RelievedSheff

The other half is furloughed again next week. Will have to find him a list of things to do next week now  

Sun_Addict

I’ve got a list of things he can do at mine if you’re struggling 🤣🤣

RelievedSheff

Sun_Addict said:

I’ve got a list of things he can do at mine if you’re struggling 🤣🤣

He has the downstairs loo to finish off first 🤣🤣🤣

Smallest room in the house is taking the longest.

alt80

Don't pretend to know anything about vans ha but whilst the pre-reg one might be more to buy I imagine it will have a warranty and you will own from new - would you buy a secondhand bed/ cooker/ sofa? Serious thing to consider imo. If I were in the market for a !!!!!! van 100 I'd be buying new.

RelievedSheff

alt80 said:

Don't pretend to know anything about vans ha but whilst the pre-reg one might be more to buy I imagine it will have a warranty and you will own from new - would you buy a secondhand bed/ cooker/ sofa? Serious thing to consider imo. If I were in the market for a !!!!!! van 100 I'd be buying new.

Buying new does have its advantages but they lose so much money in the first couple of years. They are around £60k new, a couple of years old and they are around £50k. After that they slow down with the depreciation and stay around the £40-45k mark.

Not sure we can warrant losing that much money just for buying new. 

The boat was 5 years old when we bought that. It was never really a problem to us that it wasn't brand new.

RelievedSheff

Should be a low spend day today. 

Need to get some fruit and vegetables from the farm shop and I am going to order the shelf for the downstairs loo. That should be it though.

Breakfast and dinner will be from stores. Full English breakfast as its the weekend and tonight we are having wagyu burgers with sweet potato wedges,  beer battered onion rings, grilled cherry tomatoes and grilled peppers. 

Not sure what else we will be doing today. Walking the dog of course but probably not much else. The weather doesn't look great for being outdoors. Will probably be a day of watching films.

Sarahwithlove

I'd never buy new as like you say same as cars they lose value quickly and then get steady again

joedenise

I think you're better off buying 2nd hand as virtually every new van has problems of some sort and as you say depreciates very quickly.  They are built to last - after the niggles are sorted.  Also buying 2nd hand they are likely to have lots of extras already fitted - think solar panels, extra batteries, refillable gas bottles (really useful if you plan to go to the continent - you can't get Calor over there!).

The payload is OK for 2 people but I really would urge you to get it weighed before committing to buy as some of the extras can be quite heavy!  Our current van has a payload of nearly a tonne and it's only a 7m van but only DH drives it because I've only got an auto licence and it's a manual but I can understand why you wouldn't want to update it if you're both going to be driving it.

You might want to join an online motorhome forum - there's one called MotorhomeFun.  You can read for nothing and able to post 5 times without paying so you can get some good info and even ask a few questions if you wanted to.  Might be worth a look.