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!

*wild camping

I would 100% say don't buy the van.

You can rent one and have the exact same experience. These vehicles drop in value the second you buy them.

If you LOVE it after renting it, maybe further down the line you can buy one. In my experience van life is great but in short bursts.

You could invest that money better in my opinion... x

This isn't accurate, in recent years they do not depreciate. We bought ours last year for £7000, spent about £1000 on it and we were recently offered £10,000 for it! We're not selling, but it shows you how nice ones keep their value.

And I meant to say that the duvet packs up small and quickly.

If you have already tried it and know you like it then great, go-ahead. 😁👍

Word of warning though.
£15k is not going to buy you anything moderately recent so have it checked out just as you would an old car. There are too many scammers out there and a new MOT is not worth the paper it is printed on, you need a thorough inspection done by someone knowledgeable.

I work with two people who both have campervans, they require regular driving and maintenance

One of the guys drives his to work twice a week

When you stop using a vehicle regularly faults develop not to mention damp

The other guy has to pay to store his somewhere and again has to drive it on a regular basis

You're right if OP is after a large, all-singing, all-dancing van, but you can pick up a beautiful Mazda Bongo for that price and a lot less.

We only need to take ours for a little run once every 2/3 weeks.

My van only needs a drive every few weeks to keep it ticking over, and tbh we use it pretty much that often.

If you're cold you're doing it wrong.

I also agree with this.

We have a memory foam mattress topper, plus a decent duvet and blanket, and a gas powered heater for when it's really chilly. And in a small space like a van, even just making a brew warms the place up.

I've never need to be cold in my van, and we use it regularly in Scotland through the winter.

Party popper here.

I wouldn't do it!
Either buy one for far less or don't bother.

As pp said proper financial savings are worth so much more than the sum.

I would temporarily put it into pb because that might win more whilst you wait to see how to spend it

I used to have a Mazda bongo now have a Toyota alphard which is a smidge bigger. I use it as my every day car though too. It’s an 8 seater or 5 seater with a big boot. Get it as a used Japanese import and they are in really good condition. Sleeps four with a flip up roof.