the bottoms fell out

[69billy]

hia, im thinking the arse has fell out of the camper market, there are tons of good vans for sale from projects to middle to good range for everyone,but for some reason people are putting : van wanted'? and none are selling! so they dont want the wanted van!! , people dont have any spare money or like i put first the arse has fell out. i could swap swap my van a thousand times but for cash no one, and looking on here its the same for everyone. for sale section is bump bump bump. maybe you find this site when you own a van so its to late to sell.? but flea bay are giving them away too. what do you think?

 

[GIZ59]

Well you said it mate, there is little money about people aren"t going to spend what money on what basically is a weekend vehicle, ok ,some do use their bus as a daily driver but given the mpg and price of fuel at the mo. those owners are becoming less and less, for myself i am of the opinion that the price some people are expecting to get for a bus is way OTT, again as you said ,no one is buying ,though if i were in the"buy" market now, i reckon this is the right time to pick up a bargain due to the market being flooded with> for sale< campers As history has shown, no market continues to rise endlessly.

 

[Clem]

Certainly the gold rush days are over. Good vans will sell for decent money, but the days of Early Bays easily pushing £20k are certainly gone and anyone who bought at the peak will be struggling should they now have to sell. There are fewer imports coming in and the economy wont be changing that anytime soon, add to that the poor summer we had last year and you'd be mental to want to buy an expensive old camper right now! I guess the big thing is people were chucking them on theyre mortages at low rates a few years ago, thats not really on option for most people anymore.

 

[Resto-raider]

I noticed that all the good campers and buses in the UK are fairly cheap compared to the Netherlands ans surrounding countries. If I were to buy another bus I would shop in the UK, especially since your buses have often been tricked out to the max with bigger engines, lots of details, nice paint, etc.

Prices over here are still crazy. You'll easily pay €10k for a project earlybay microbus with little rust or €15k for a camper in the same condition. Campers in good condition run up to €25k and are often sold pretty swiftly.

If anyone wants to sell their Earlybay they should considering selling it over here, via Kieft en Klok for example.

 

[toffo24]

Personally , I feel like some markets the time to buy and sell is seasonal. If you want top money sell your bus in the summer !

When you think camper, most peeps think sunny day, deck chair , lifestye etc. if you want to buy do it the winter, near to Christmas and new year when moneys tight.

At the mo money's tight but,hey if your vans in really good nick then eventually you will sell it for near to the asking price as long as its realistic.

If it's a pile of crap then no you won't get as much and no it wont sell quickly.

I guess what I am trying to say is maybee spot sale prices are down but if your prepared to wait the there is a buyer out there for you. It just needs a bit of thought as how much and when you sell..


But hey what do I know :!:

 

[Graham L]

To be honest this is not new and we spotted the trend over 12 months ago and scaled back the amount of buses we were importing and holding as stock as this cripples your cash flow. (at one point in 2011 we had £40K tied up in buses either here or on the water)

We now only import if buses are too good to miss or when we are supplying to order which is what we do most of these days, it saves holding quantities of stock and buyers get the buses they are looking for, win, win.

If buses are that expensive in Europe then its dealers being greedy, the cost to get a bus imported into Europe is the same shipping cost as to the UK but they tend to pay less in duty and most of the ships that sail into Felixstowe/ Chatham call at Rotterdam first so work that one out.

I agree there are so many buses out that that are at the 'right' price and an awful lot that are at the wrong price based on current market conditions, at the end of the day any vehicle is only ever worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it.

 

[matt-me]

I noticed that all the good campers and buses in the UK are fairly cheap compared to the Netherlands ans surrounding countries. If I were to buy another bus I would shop in the UK, especially since your buses have often been tricked out to the max with bigger engines, lots of details, nice paint, etc.

Prices over here are still crazy. You'll easily pay €10k for a project earlybay microbus with little rust or €15k for a camper in the same condition. Campers in good condition run up to €25k and are often sold pretty swiftly.

If anyone wants to sell their Earlybay they should considering selling it over here, via Kieft en Klok for example.

Resto, what about beetles? Me and my pal have got a very good, renovated, never welded, californian, 1978 Karman beetle which will be going on sale soon. It was ready last year but we were too late in the summer really, missed the boat, and as toffo says, if it is a bad summer, as it was... It's been garaged all winter waiting for the new season to start, probably with the vowo show.

Advice, or any websites you know of appreciated. Or anyone else who reads this..

Thanks Al

 

[GIZ59]

tell you what worked/works for me , if situation allows, put a card in window of vehicle with something along the idea of "this vehicle for sale,soon " and a No. with "calls between say 10a.m._6p.m.">advertise ! let the people see it ! and /or park it (safely/secured) in a high footfall area, i am at present lucky as down the road from myself is the Transport Museum, thou i have also purchased vehicle parked in supermarket car park with similar sign in window.and of course ,the trial drive? yeah, if they turn up with a checkable ins. policy ! aint no doubt "bout that ! best wishes

 

[Resto-raider]

Hi Al ,

I am not really into beetles so I am not sure about the value compared between UK and the mainland. You have a Karmann Beetle as in a Convertible Beetle. Maybe the it is something for me 8)
I can send you some websites from companies that sell Beetles here via PM. Maybe they can help you.
Out of interest...send me a picture and an asking price via PM.

Rick

 

[lobie]

i bought mine 18months ago for 6k i've had a few problems with it and have spent money on it since buying it it owes me about 8k in all i was luck enough to have cash to buy it so its payed for i have no intention of selling it as i use it to go away in regularly and attend as many shows as i can plus my kids love it and when they are older will have fond childhood memories of all the fun we had. when the time comes to sell i think things will have picked up. If i had paid 10k plus i think i would be luck to brake even

so heres what 6k bought me

and heres what i have now

 

[matt-me]

Hi Al ,

I am not really into beetles so I am not sure about the value compared between UK and the mainland. You have a Karmann Beetle as in a Convertible Beetle. Maybe the it is something for me 8)
I can send you some websites from companies that sell Beetles here via PM. Maybe they can help you.
Out of interest...send me a picture and an asking price via PM.

Rick

thanks, pm'd.

Al

 

[dandaz]

and heres what i have now

Not been funny but you have forgotten the curb feeler things and eyelids ,yup you have everything else... :mrgreen:

I swapped my early bay 2 year ago for a T25 [fugly] ,I think I have probably the same value now maybe a touch more ,I bet the early bay would have started to lose value because of rust etc...

 

[lobie]

and heres what i have now

Not been funny but you have forgotten the curb feeler things and eyelids ,yup you have everything else... :mrgreen: cheeky

I swapped my early bay 2 year ago for a T25 [fugly] ,I think I have probably the same value now maybe a touch more ,I bet the early bay would have started to lose value because of rust etc...

 

[Clem]

Interestingly, since this thread started I've seen a couple of well sorted early bays go quickly for good money. It seems the market does have serious buyers out there

 

[shiplee123]

Things just arnt as they were 5 years ago in various different ways. Regarding vws if u got a nice example someone will pay the price. There are still lot of rich people out there and they will pay for quality.

 

[Dave.P]

and heres what i have now

Not been funny but you have forgotten the curb feeler things and eyelids ,yup you have everything else... :mrgreen:

I swapped my early bay 2 year ago for a T25 [fugly] ,I think I have probably the same value now maybe a touch more ,I bet the early bay would have started to lose value because of rust etc...

am i the only one thinking what a bitchy comment ? !!good luck with your t25 gaylord .. :evil:

 

[GIZ59]

As that fella said "rich people ..." true, the campers/bus"s became "must have" for a certain group and so by throwing money at whatever they wanted,bus wise , they (artificially)drove up prices (imo) so depriving others the chance to own a bus. for myself, part of the fun was /is in buying a "shed" for not a lot, and rebuilding it as and when money was available for parts,but then its the capitalist system ,them with the folding stuff get the toys, i meet so many people who tell me they would love a bus but the crazy prices....i am lucky (i think anyway) as i could not care less re the resale value of my bus, it has far to many good points a major one being i do not need it computer analysed/inspected to effect a repair,carry out maintenence and the tax exempt status is superb.

 

[aspro]

As that fella said "rich people ..." true, the campers/bus"s became "must have" for a certain group and so by throwing money at whatever they wanted,bus wise , they (artificially)drove up prices (imo) so depriving others the chance to own a bus. for myself, part of the fun was /is in buying a "shed" for not a lot, and rebuilding it as and when money was available for parts,but then its the capitalist system ,them with the folding stuff get the toys, i meet so many people who tell me they would love a bus but the crazy prices....i am lucky (i think anyway) as i could not care less re the resale value of my bus, it has far to many good points a major one being i do not need it computer analysed/inspected to effect a repair,carry out maintenence and the tax exempt status is superb.

Words of wisdom^^^

My only thing I would argue is it's not the rich buyers that drove up the prices but the greedy owners.

I was discussing this just the other day. One person lists his van for sale for X. The next guy sees this and say to himself "if he is charging X then my van must be worth X too". Then the next person does the same and so on. Before you know it, X is now the market value of bu's. It's fricken ridiculous.

 

[mister]

As that fella said "rich people ..." true, the campers/bus"s became "must have" for a certain group and so by throwing money at whatever they wanted,bus wise , they (artificially)drove up prices (imo) so depriving others the chance to own a bus. for myself, part of the fun was /is in buying a "shed" for not a lot, and rebuilding it as and when money was available for parts,but then its the capitalist system ,them with the folding stuff get the toys, i meet so many people who tell me they would love a bus but the crazy prices....i am lucky (i think anyway) as i could not care less re the resale value of my bus, it has far to many good points a major one being i do not need it computer analysed/inspected to effect a repair,carry out maintenence and the tax exempt status is superb.

Words of wisdom^^^

My only thing I would argue is it's not the rich buyers that drove up the prices but the greedy owners.

I was discussing this just the other day. One person lists his van for sale for X. The next guy sees this and say to himself "if he is charging X then my van must be worth X too". Then the next person does the same and so on. Before you know it, X is now the market value of bu's. It's fricken ridiculous.

Just like any market..... :|

 

[thejinx]

I agree. I had to buy a shed which i know was over priced so i could do it up in slow time as and when the money was available. But busses have always been over priced. I remember back in 92 a mate wanted 600 for a bus he had used for a doner to another. There was nothing left to it. Flea bay has to take some blame, people chuck busses on there for stupid money although they dont sell, they give a false impression of prices. I like to go on and check out prices but i have to sift through the 30 grand Brasilian ***** to get down to the over priced british *****. Know and again there will be a sensibly priced van or a jewel in the rough but its rare.