Hi (Rough costs for first purchase)

Hi All

Hope You're all good.

I'm thinking of buying my first camper and have been reading the threads about nightmares and rusty botch jobs with interest. I've not however come across any rough ideas of costs for the work people have had done so am not sure, from a financial viewpoint, whether to go for a complete rust bucket or get something nice.

If any one has had work done and can list the cost that would be cool and I would be really interested in welding costs and chassis mending costs as I couldn't do that my self.

Cheers all and thanks in advance.

Jools

 

Cheaper to let someone else pay for bodywork, then buy it from them.

 

Hello & Welcome from The Colonial Contingent

Sorry I can't give any advice, what sort of budget do you have?

 

get it roadworthy ,don't worry what it looks like, basically just enjoy it

 

I'm not sure what I'm going for as my top budget yet and that's what I was looking for the help for. I'm mechanically minded and like that kind of stuff, wouldn't mind trying doing the painting myself either so really hoped to find out what people had paid for their own welding repairs so I can make an informed decision.

I think I would prefer to buy one requiring work and doing it up a bit. No matter what you buy you're always going to chuck an extra couple of grand at it to change various bits to your taste and mend stuff the last owner hasn't been bothered to do.

Jools

 

Welcome to the forum Jools.

Where to begin? Above everything else you need to be 300% sure you want to commit your hard earned cash to one of these buckets? I am not trying to put you off just ensure you understand they need regular attention , you cant just get in go and forget about them, if you have been reading the threads then you will know this already.

I always say unless you can do the work yourself on a Bay dont buy one? Too many unscrupulous so-called VW experts garages out there that will fleece you because of that stupid VW logo! Having said that for every rotten apple there are still decent people out there.

If you dont do the bodywork yourself then as mentioned its cheaper to get one that has already been restored (although quality again is an issue) rather than buy a shed and throw pots of money at it.
You could go down the imported from a hot country route like Australia or USA maybe but you might have to cope with LHD or at least the cost of a LHD- RHD conversion if thats an issue?

Mechanically they are simple vehicles and easy and fairly cheap to run and maintain but bodywork is always the expensive killer.

Resprays are about the £3.5-5K mark for a start - bodywork is very subjective as each van is different but the usual lower 6 inches if rotten you have to say is it worth it?

Just do your research if you find anything you like then post photos on here , there are enough people with plenty of experience that can help you make a suitable decision.

Having said all of this I love mine 4 years trouble free motoring but now sat in my garage waiting for spare time to do some patching!!

 

I think your question is a little open ended. Each repair is unique and different factors will be involved. It may be that someone has an arch repaired for £60, someone else may have to pay £200 depending on your location, the quality of parts used and the standard to which the job is finished. As mentioned above, easier to start from a solid base if you are not capable/willing to put time in yourself. You'll pay more initially but will be rewarded in the long run.

 

BUT - good luck in your search, as mentioned above - plenty of people on here to bounce ideas off if needed!

 

I got a solid bus and due to the cosmetics it was reasonable price,6k but ripping out interior and sorting out botched wiring set me back about 2.5k.

we are waiting a few years before having a paint job, like Barry said get out enjoy the bus, the worse it looks the more people look and generally smile

 

Hi

I realise it is open ended, that's why hopefully if a few people come along with what they've paid I'll be able to make an informed decision. I'm not asking people for quotes, just for their personal experience.

Cheers

Jools

 

This is good info. Having looked a bit I was hoping a solid bus for 6K was achievable.

Thanks

Jools

 

i would guess
£15k to £20k for a basic buy a slightly rusty one and do up if you do it yourself but pay for welding
£10k to £15k to get a nice usable but no show van

dont forget these are old vans and what ever way you go they need a lot more maintenance

 

Dont be in a hurry to buy a van.

Ask yourself, would you cope with owning an old classic van which would need constant attention and money. Or would you be better off having a modern van which would not be a classic, but ownership would be much easier.

Are you just wanting the camper experience or work on the van as a hobby.

A budget of 6K would not buy you much of a Bay van. For 6K you could get a pretty good T25.

T25's are becoming more sought after now as people cannot afford the much more expensive Bays and Splitscreens.

Have a good look around this forum and the club8090 forum (for T25's), you will learn a lot from people's posts.

As zed says and he knows from experience that restoration of a cheap van would be very expensive if you pay someone else to do the work and you would end up losing money if you sold it on.

Looking at bays for sale on ebay and other sites, you can get the idea that a good one would cost over £10,000 and mint ones over £20,000. Look at the T25's on ebay and see the difference in prices.

I think its about the money, if I were you I would buy a nice T25 for your 6K and learn about campervan ownership and enjoy it. Thats what my son did and he likes his T25 and it only cost him £3000 with a further £2000 spent on it since owning it for 5 years.

 

This is the answer. BUT, you need to be able to tell the difference between one that's had the bodywork done properly and one that just looks nice on the surface. Shiny paint does not make a good van.

 

One thing to consider, a tidy looking van, or serious price tag, doesn't mean a good van, its surprising how many tidy vehicles are out there that are anything but, camper or not.

Take someone with you who knows bodywork, but that still doesn't assure the behind the scenes parts aren't rotten. someone selling a vehicle with a photo history of the work done is worth its weight in gold.

As mentioned, the mechanicals are pretty basic and most parts are avaliable which cant be said for alot of other classics

 

Thanks for the responses but has any one got any actual prices they have paid for actual work? :-/

 

Buy mine.

 

as you're so insistent I paid someone £160 to take my engine out once ... they never came back, I had to sort out various bits, put the tin ware and ancillaries back on myself ... it was too much £160 that is.

I think you'll find most of the guys on here are enthusiasts and do as much as they can without having to pay someone. Where possible I have done most of the work myself, no welding yet as I bought myself a US import (5 years ago).

 

I bought my 1975 tintop for £12,000 and I chose it because it came with a full photo history of the body restoration, painting, engine rebuild and interior refit. So I decided it was less risk. But it wasnt cheap.

It isnt perfect and I have to spend time and money on it.