One of the quickest ways to get on the open road with a VW campervan is to
forget about all this conversion malarkey and buy one that's been
converted already but there's still a huge choice you want a band that's going
to be a great mobile home on wheels but also based on something that's a really
reliable vehicle this video is the buying guide to ready-made camper vans
based on your experience what are the main things that customers should think
about when they're buying a van that's already been converted well the first
thing would be the conversion and who converted the vehicle there's a lot of
DIY converters out there versus a lot of dealers and manufacturers that will
retail their vehicles and so you've got to look at the features of the
conversion and the standards that I've converted to whether it's got things
like gas habitation certificate the top of bed that's been fitted where there's
a rib bed or a rock-and-roll bed and then the quality of the furniture that's
been used whether it be laminated furniture board or painted plywood
you mentioned DIY can they be quite a difficult thing to take on if they've
not been converted professionally yeah I mean you will get a lot of DIY
converters that will spend a lot of time really refining the conversion but then
with that they often don't have the accreditations like the gas habitation
certificate the electrical qualifications to make sure that the
camper van is certified and safe to use particularly for then send it on and
you've got your family in using the camper van you want to make sure it's
safe and apart from the safety presumably having those things helps the
residual value of the vehicle when you eventually come to sell it if you've got
a well-known brand behind the camper van the next customer can see who converted
it the stand of this can converted to it will help you get more
when you're going to resell it wouldn't you've looked at the conversion you've
then also got a look at the base vehicle whether the base vehicle that you're
purchasing has got a good service history with it the mileage whether it's
had it can belt change particular older vehicles and obviously the overall
condition scratches dents repairs or anything like that you have to look at
and are there any particular kind of accessories that are essentials really
or make them you know particularly desirable
I love the accessories that you see will typically be things are alling a roll
out fiamma star warning or a motor out or a touch of drive away diesel heaters
are also a common add-on a lot of people will look for but it will mainly be
dependent on how you then intend to use the vehicle whether you want to do a lot
of off-grid camping so the panel's might be a great option or whether you're
going to be towing a car or modes but behind then it's Hobart's going to be a
great option so sometimes it's about looking what's going to benefit you as
the user but then with that you can then add extras on to it if the vehicle
doesn't have them as standard from what you're saying it's about thinking about
how you're going to use the van and making sure that it's the conversion
actually suits them yeah because sometimes you may be paying more for an
extreme O'Kane a premium for an extra that you might not see the benefit from
so in that scenario and that the additional funds that you're putting
towards that extra you could then put towards something you're actually going
to use like an awning or something like that
now some people of course will want to buy an older vehicle at an old bay
window or you know maybe even a splitty for that from the 1960s what should they
be aware of if they're buying those when looking at vehicles like that and the
main thing to think about would be the mechanical reliability of it obviously
with newer vehicles like a t5 and t6 they're much more current using new
technology so it's more likely the Agena gets your end destination without a
hiccup so certainly for looking for an old camp event off against service
history make sure they've been properly maintained and looked after
you sell converted camper vans if you were going to buy one what would be the
key things you look for personally personally would be the base vehicle
making sure the base vehicles right for me with the VW marking particular
there's a lot of variations of the base vehicle there's some 84 brake horsepower
fans out there some 102 some 150 s and then even down to specification the base
vehicle some have air conditioning some don't some more basics or more high spec
than others so it's just about making sure that the base vehicle is right then
once you've decided on your base vehicle then get the right conversion for
yourselves there are opportunities out there to save some money but you could
be compromising on the overall build quality the resale value of the
conversion why do you think VW camper vans have been and continue to be so
popular so with the VW is they've got a very good heritage obviously in the
campervan market they're a very good base paper to base your conversion upon
and there's a good demand for the vehicle so the prices hold very well
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