Swapping my rhd for a lhd

[admwllms]

After a bit of advice. I bought a RHD '71 poptop from a local firm called vw sunshine a year ago and have been running it as my daily runner for a year. Passed its MOT first time a couple of weeks ago has a really great reliable engine. Spent lots on new clutch etc.

We've decided to move to Spain late this year or possibly next year at the latest. I wasn't initially bothered about it being a rhd but after thinking about it, my missus won't be happy with driving on the wrong side of the road and I don't like the thought of my son jumping out onto the road with the sliding door on the wrong side. 
So I thought I'd try and part-ex or swap it for a leftie now, so there's plenty of time to get it up to spec before moving. I've got a few grand to trade-up or could just do a straight swap. It's possible I can swap it at the place I got it but haven't heard back from them yet.

Thing is, because its my only car, I don't really want to sell it and buy another, a straight swap would do me better. But I don't want to get fleeced by some trader, so what I want to ask is:

Without an inspection, is a rhd pop-top *generally* considered worth around the same as a lhd? I quite fancy some kind of tintop as my wife's not too keen on camping for more than a day or two anyway if that makes a difference. Though I do also have some savings so could possibly trade-up to a Westfalia or whatever.

Also, is a lhd a lot more expensive to insure here? This isn't a dealbreaker, would just like to know.

Finally, if I couldn't find a good swap and decided to sell mine then import a lhd from the US instead, is getting it imported, road legal and MOT"d an absolute nightmare? Or doable?

I just want some people's opinions as to whether or not this exchanging a bus is a good idea, as I might still end up keeping my rhd if it's worth less or whatever.

 

[samgopsill]

Two identical bays side by side one lhd, one rhd... The rhd would probably fetch a fair sum more money (say min £1500) because there are still a lot of people that don't like the idea of driving a left hooker over here, for the same reasons you want to swap yours, the only reason you may see lhd bays at more money is because they will have had less time to rot away in the uk climate

Hope this helps
Sam

 

[admwllms]

Nice one thanks Sam, I had the general impression that rhd buses might be more sought after to some (especially as it's been restored) but wasn't too sure as I had read conflicting stuff and hadn't really looked into it as I intended this one to be a lifer...

Adam

 

[SiDev]

Sams right, a similar RHD will be worth more and be more desirable than a LHD, but there are more LHD available for sale so your actually in a good position if that's what you are after. Stick an ad up on here, the Samba, VZI detailing your position and time frames and see what crops up.

 

[admwllms]

Cool, cheers. I'll hang on and hear back whether the place I got it from is up for a swap (they need to talk about it with someone or something) as I like the look of the bus they've got in, and if not I'll throw up a proper post in the right section of the forum.

 

[Trikky2]

If your intending to move to Spain permanently then you may have no choice anyway.
Things may have changed since - but the last I heard, Spain wouldn't allow the registration of RHD vehicles. Might be worth checking out.

 

[Graham L]

Its not as clear cut as a RHD will always be worth more money, yes its more desirable in this country but its about condition, A LHD bus in og paint and with very little work done to it will be worth as much as a RHD if not more in some cases, really depends how good the RHD bus is and how well previous repairs have been carried out on it, is the RHD a UK bus or a SA Import?

 

[admwllms]

Thanks for the advice fellas, much appreciated. Have decided to go ahead and swap it for a LHD Savannah Beige Deluxe :msn4:

Just agreed the deal, will add some pics once I've sent the cash over to secure it (not taking mine over for another few days). Now will need to find a decent budget twinport engine for it. Probably another thread coming up soon ...

 

[admwllms]

Finally sent the cash over and sorted it all. Took bloody ages, not because of anyone's fault, just kind of a complicated thing to sort out.

Here's the new bus.