Would this be a waste of money?

[Whu]

I recently inherited 20k. I didn’t previously have a great deal of savings (less than 5k).
I’ve had a pretty rough few years with bereavement, divorce and other smaller issues. I’ve now seen a campervan for £15k which I could spend the summer exploring the UK in (teacher, no kids). Am I being unreasonable/ insane to do this and leave my savings pot below 10k? Or do you think life is worth living and do it?

YABU - don’t buy the van, be responsible.

YANBU - buy it! Enjoy!

You are correct not to rush I fall in love all the time with cars or VW campers, but there is always another one that comes along so don't fall in love to quick!

A transit with less than 80k is a better but potentially-wouid invest in a decent mech survey and go for it!

Hi OP campervan owner and I can say your life is going to get amazing with a van. Does it have heating? If so, the freedom of camping year round is amazing. I have to say I know countless campervan owners and most stay only a few leave. Yes they get stolen (ours did) but so do every other car.
There is also an extremely active single female solo campervan group and movement. Please don’t be put off!
message me privately and I can give you some recommendations, inspiration etc.
enjoy op. Having the freedom to pack up and leave at a moments notice is pretty incredible

Rent one first. Camper owner here and I'd guess for £15k it will need money spending on it to make it either comfortable for frequent journeys / to maintain its paintwork etc.. Also I don't use mine half as much for camping as I thought I would. Whatever you decide - enjoy it!

Sorry just read that you've already hired one and have bought a house. In that case I'd go for it!

Personally I think renting would be better. Even if you rent one a couple of times a year it I expect it would work out cheaper. You'd not have the hassle of maintaining it, insuring it and finding somewhere to park it where it would not upset a neighbour or get stolen.

The thought of it going wrong is one of my biggest concerns at the min …

I admit that's why I'd hire (you mentioned you'd done it before)
From 29 July to 31 August you could get a really nice one for £2700-ish, and while it's dead money at least repairs, storage, maintenance etc. are someone else's problem

www.goboony.co.uk/campers/united-kingdom?starts_at=2023-07-29&ends_at=2023-08-31&datepicker=&price_min=&price_max=&currency_code=GBP&country_id=united-kingdom&location=&radius=50&latitude=&longitude=&country_id=united-kingdom&distance_unit=mi&country-code=gb&number_of_sleeping_places%5B%5D=3&number_of_sleeping_places%5B%5D=4&number_of_sleeping_places%5B%5D=5&first_registration_year=&on=min_driver_age_checkbox_on&min_driver_age=&sort_by=price_asc

There are loads of You Tubers who live van life - just search for them. You have to be careful being a lone woman travelling at times.

Also if it's a transit type you could potentially run the risk of getting it broken into by thieves thinking it's a work van with tools in

Sorry last post - you will need air conditioning if planning on travelling with dogs in the summer. It's a nightmare without.

Bloody do it!

I've got an old 1971 vw pop top bay window camper, (I know you're looking a transit) it is my pride & joy! I bought it with inheritance money 10 years ago for £3,500, it's now worth £20,000, but I'll never get rid! It has brought us so much pleasure. It's had a few bits repaired over the years, but not a great deal & nowhere near what anyone warned me it would end up costing. It has given myself & my family so many lovely times, they will be memories that will always be cherished & you can't put a price on that!

£15000 might seem like a lot, but for a good van, it isn't, they afford you so much freedom & honestly, even transits don't lose much money, so think of it as an investment, even if not in money terms, in holidays & happiness it is. Good luck op

Buy the van. I love mine. You’ll love yours

@dozydoo i have a 74 westie. They are the best vans.

I love my camper, BUT £15k these days will buy you a pretty old one, surely? What state is the base van in? How old is it? What is likely to need replacing in the engine soon?

Older camper vans can be a money pit, so be careful!

Ahh I’m going to message them tomorrow and then see about getting a mechanic to have a look!
It really looks perfect for what I want.
All the inside how I want it, fixed bed, heater, air con, shower, kitchen, toilet AND a SWB!
If this isn’t the one then I think I’ll be getting one as it just feels right. All your advice and opinions are really helping.

Also, a word of warning about transits - they have a bad reputation for rust.

I'm intrigued to know how they fitted a fixed bed and shower in a SWB, tbh! What's the layout?

I have a non-fixed bed and no shower in a LWB van (not a transit), but I do have a 'garage' at the back for storing kit.

Buy it. Enjoy it. Then sell it 😃

hire one and see if you like it overall - it will also help you hone down the nice -v- must haves, so you don't spend a fortune on fitting something you don't really need

If you can easily afford the associated costs like insurance, repairs and fuel to travel around then go for it! I wouldn't rush into it though, I'd do lots of research first to make sure you're getting your money's worth.

I bought one for £14k and sold it a couple of years later for £18k. It doesn’t have to depreciate.

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Make sure it isn't a diesel if you don't want to be restricted where you can use it.

If you decide against the campervan idea maybe you could try home swapping .A lot of my teacher friends and family do this in the holidays and have visited beautiful places all over the world and in the UK for very little cost.

OP, do it!

Don't listen to the 'single woman travelling' scaremongering. There are SO many women friendly groups on FB, with women only meets everywhere. You sound like you'll love vanlife.

If you're willing to consider a smaller van please look into a Mazda Bongo. For a single person they're amazing- so flexible that you can chose to buy a set-up that works for you, or an unconverted one and set it up exactly how you'd like. We have had our Barry Bongo just about a year and adore him- a brilliant size for me, DH and youngest DS, so plenty space for you and pooch. And they're slim and nippy, so you get where you'd get a car - fitting under height restrictions etc.

The FB group below is fantastic. Such helpful, knowledgeable and friendly women. There are a few mechanics on hand with amazing advice and you can search any topic you can think of for all the posts about it/ ask your own questions. There are meets all the time too.

These little vans are super affordable. You could get a cracker for £10,000 or under, a few thousand more from one of the many, good dealers. New Dawn Conversions are particularly great - google them.

If you need any other info PM me anytime. Welcome to van life.

Forgot to say- I'm a teacher and it's a huge reason why we got one, we're forever nipping away and summer hols were fantastic. We're booked into a phenomenal beach site in Arisaig for Easter- one of my happy places- I so need sea in my soul after this term!