campervans - need advice from owners please

[sphil]

We are thinking of buying a campervan and have seen one we like: a T4 Bilbo Weekender, 2000, 72,000 miles. It's fairly basic - comes just with a two burner hob and sink and has a pull out bed in the roof, so sleeps 2 adults + 2 children. DH likes it because the back seat goes the full width of the van and can seat three - so we could take one of the DSes friends if we wanted to. It's £13,500 - seems a fairly standard price when we've compared it to similar - though seems like a HUGE amount of money to me, and would be a big financial leap for us.

I've also been looking at Mazda Bongos on the web - which are cheaper. DH is worried about the availability of parts if we went abroad.

So - T4 vs Bongo? What do you think?

I don't know about Bongos but dh converts T4s into campers so we sell them as well as having our own family van. Ours is brilliant, we have had so much fun in it. They do have a reputation for being able to do very high mileage, and there are things like the T4 forum for advice and loads of VW meets and shows which are good fun.

Ooh, I was hoping to see you Surfermum - I saw you on an old thread and have just sent you a CAT about your DH's business. Whereabouts are you?

We have a T25 which is fab, also seats 3 in the back! We love it!