Buying advice on a T6 lwb

[TheWearyOne]

Not sure if this is the place for this, but is £37,000 for a brand new conversion in a 2018 T6 LWB with 100k miles somewhere in the ballpark of sensible?
I'm sure it's not to everyones tastes, we are just trying to work out if it's worth considering.
Space and layout wise it's perfect for what we want, looks wise it's perfect.
In my head I guess I imagined lower mileage, but i'm not fussy frankly, so long as it goes.
And people seem to think T6s are good for lots of miles.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I guess I just don't want to miss any huge red flags.

 

[rod_vw]

I'm a bit biased, as I'm a VW owner. I've had mine nearly 10 years. I've been careful with the maintenance during that time, and I've also spent some money on preventative work to help lengthen it's life, and it's been very reliable with only routine additional wear and tear costs like exhaust, batteries and springs needed. It will need some money spent in 2024 as the mileage means I'll have a couple of bigger bills, but I've been aware of that ever since I bought it. Mine is a T5, and is now 14, so we're not talking quite the same as the van you're looking at.

While I do agree with lots of the comments made that many small campers are bought by young folk who then end up upsizing, there are lots of them also owned by people who just use their vans differently. (I'm in my '50s.) Buying any van/MH/RV involves compromise of some kind. If you buy a big 'un, you're limited on access and to some degree flexibility. But you have the great luxury of space and (perhaps) extra comfort. If you buy a little 'un, you're limited on space and (sometimes) comfort.

My own experience is that as well as touring I've used my van quite a bit as a 'day van' providing all facilities/resources when just off for the day. I can park it absolutely anywhere (unless there are legal restrictions, obviously). In the tiny Cotswold villages I live near, I can park it on the roadside in ordinary small side streets without it looking absolutely massive. It fits under height barriers. Although tbh the kind of travelling I do doesn't involve many of those. It's a brilliant van for the short-ish trips I mostly do at the moment. It's pretty economical. It's enabled me to do a lot more of the volunteering and events stuff I enjoy, because I can be totally self-contained, on site at the location or event, and reasonably inconspicuous (even in a bright red, airbrushed van!). I've taken it across England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and to the Continent. I can honestly say it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. I didn't buy it to be part of the 'VW scene' either. I bought it to support my photography work, because I liked the van and thought it would serve me well. I discovered the VW scene afterwards, and I still mostly do things which are totally outside that.

Recently I thought hard about upsizing. But in the end I stayed with what I have because at the moment a larger van, while more comfortable and involving less 'faff' ultimately won't mean I would do anything differently in terms of where I go and what I do. So the cost to change would've been rashly spent. On the other hand, I do have a 'semi-plan' to possibly buy a MAN MWB van and have it bespoke converted, when I'm at semi-retirement/retirement stage and can travel longer in terms of both time and distance.

Interestingly, at an event I had a long chat with a couple who had a MWB Crafter, and we talked semi-seriously about possibly swapping vans! However they really talked themselves out of it when they said how much they had looked forward to having the bigger van, but how much they had in fact missed the flexibility of the smaller one they'd had before, and how their new van had meant some of the things they liked doing were more difficult to do. (They did in fact sell their Crafter a few months later.)
The bottom line is, different vans suit different folks, and it will all boil down to what you want to do and how you want to do it.

That's a bit of a waffle, and I apologise for the length. However I just wanted to put across an owner's perspective of owning a small van.

I can echo all of your comments Tonks we're moving from a LWB high roof T6 to a LWB MAN TGE. Time will tell how we get on with it! The TGE is 2.7m longer than the T6 but does have an almost fixed bed (electrically raiseable) and a toilet/shower pod which the T6 did not have.
I've little doubt that French rural touring will be nicer with all facilities on board but town/village parking will be more problematic, it's all a case of 'swings & roundabouts'.

 

[TheWearyOne]

So, possible dumb question….

If the consensus is that it’s maybe over-priced, is it worth a low ball offer? Or is that just not the done thing?

 

[rod_vw]

So, possible dumb question….

If the consensus is that it’s maybe over-priced, is it worth a low ball offer? Or is that just not the done thing?

Go and have a very serious test drive and weigh-up of all of its condition external, mechanical and internal including camper fittings to be as sure as you can be with what you are spending your money on. Be fussy and take your time, if appropriate discuss it with your partner including its drivability for all possible drivers. Then if you feel that it's yours but for a lower price test the waters with the seller.
Don't be frightened to walk away, there will be plenty more on the market before Easter.

 

[TheWearyOne]

Thanks. We are in the unfortunate position of living on the Isle of Wight. It just makes all of this very awkward.

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[rod_vw]

Thanks. We are in the unfortunate position of living on the Isle of Wight. It just makes all of this very awkward.

I can understand your problem so you are left with simple choices.

• Risk buying with the knowledge of the vehicle that you have at present.
• Bight the bullet and spend whatever it costs to have an other serious inspection and risk turning it down.
• Scrub it altogether and keep searching.

My son had a similar dilemma but only for a winter/spring project. He sent me a link to an advert whilst I was on holiday in France last Autumn. His simple question was "Should I?" The vehicle was a 1989 VW Westfalia with a blown engine.
My reply was, "You won't know until you've looked Son".
The next message I had was "It was too good to miss Dad"
He's now embarking on an engine rebuild of an immaculate and appreciating asset.

Just shows that they are out there it's just a case of being patient and keeping looking.

Completely the opposite, I bought our first camper in the dark (I should have known better) and it was the worst deal that I have ever made! The one at the bottom of the list in my signature. It was scrapped due to the state of the body after two years of use.

 

[TheBig1]

So, possible dumb question….

If the consensus is that it’s maybe over-priced, is it worth a low ball offer? Or is that just not the done thing?

lowballing can get the sellers back up, but if you make a reasonable offer and give the reason they may agree. If they are sensible they will have advertised 10% over what they actually want , to leave negotiating space. Bad time of year to sell