Valueing a self build

[Stoodles]

How do you set a price for a home converted van?

I won't go into any detail about ours, as I don't want this to sound like a covert advert, but we are about to advertise it and can't agree how much to ask. It's not easy to compare with others, but I wonder if there are any rules of thumb? Like the value of an unconverted van plus £500 for each good feature?

Any hints or tips? Or any advice on the best places to advertise?

 

[st3v3]

Don't worry about it being a covert ad, put up some pics etc.

 

[Silver sprinter]

Is the van now registered as a motor caravan if you insured it as a motor caravan, you must have said a value, you will know how much you spent building it, while you might be attached to it, you will have looked at other camper prices, it will be hard to find a comparison as a selfbuild, so your potential buyer is limited ilook at the percentage of self bulbs on this site, don't know if the Russians are looking in regarding lack of info, , but as to the quality only you know, we don't know, if it's a two berth,fixed bed, what make of window and sky lights if any, heating, cooker, could keep going on , but will look forward to your replys,

 

[Jays]

Depends on who wants to buy it!
If it’s so good why you selling?

 

[hairydog]

The value of anything is the amount that someone is prepared to pay for it.

It's not unreasonable to assume that a self-built camper is worth about as much as the base vehicle is worth secondhand, plus the secondhand value of the equipment and materials you put in it.

It would be lovely to also add an allowance for all your efforts in doing the work, but sadly I think that's optimistic.

The reason for building your own is to get the layout and spec you want and to know your vehicle literally inside out.

If you intended to make a profit, you would probably have approached the task differently.

 

[wildebus]

When it comes to insurance for a self-build, the approach I take is quite simply how much it would cost to re-instate (not including labour sadly).
When it comes to sales value, it is down to what equivalent conversions are going for. But you should bear in mind when comparing the difference between VW based Campers and non-VW based Campers. Rightly or wrongly, a VW based conversion will be worth thousands more than say a functionaly identical Transit of the same age.

 

[Stoodles]

Is the van now registered as a motor caravan if you insured it as a motor caravan, you must have said a value, you will know how much you spent building it, while you might be attached to it, you will have looked at other camper prices, it will be hard to find a comparison as a selfbuild, so your potential buyer is limited ilook at the percentage of self bulbs on this site, don't know if the Russians are looking in regarding lack of info, , but as to the quality only you know, we don't know, if it's a two berth,fixed bed, what make of window and sky lights if any, heating, cooker, could keep going on , but will look forward to your replys,

Yes. it's insured as a motorhome, at £1000 more than the price we paid for it. We didn't do the conversion, but bought it from the couple who had. They had a strong emotional connection to it, and, strangely, knocked us down on the price after we made what we thought was already a low offer, as they wanted it to go to people who would appreciate it.

Depends on who wants to buy it!
If it’s so good why you selling?

We are selling because we want fixed beds, a shower and three way fridge for longer trips. It's a bit of a reluctant sale, partly because the van has been so reliable, and partly because the chap who did it put in a lot of thought and we haven't seen anything to rival it for well planned storage. But it doesn't offer what we now need and it would be silly to put effort into doing further adaptations on a 1997 vehicle.

View attachment 64568
View attachment 64569

I hope I've attached a couple of photos from our recent trip to Northern Spain.

Internally, she is two berth, with twin dinettes forward, behing fixed driver and passenger seats. Three burner hob with fridge under to one side, with gas locker for twin 5 kilo gas bottles. Behind the fridge is worktop with a shallow cupboard and access to the rear door. On the other side is the sink, with a large cupboard below and a slide out tin/jar rack. Behind this is the loo, with a Thetford cassette loo and drop down sink. The water tank is acessed below one of the dinette seats, and water is electrically pumped to the taps but cold only. There are lockers above, with cubby hole storage below them.


I can't tell you the make of the windows etc, as it is in for MOT at the moment. They are the ones with linking integrated screns and blinds, except for one late fit which is less good quality and I think was a mistake.

The van was converted in 1999, when it had done 4384 miles, and the owners kept a log of evry bit of work done since, so I know for instance that it had new oil and fuel filters in April 2001. It's now at 93.000 miles.

 

[Stoodles]

Well, the ad is up on Gumtree. Iveco TurboDaily Campervan Conversion. Reliable, with great storage | in Kings Lynn, Norfolk | Gumtree

The question about manufacturers of components was useful, as it prompted me to go into much more detail in the description.

We must have priced it right, or low, as after 15hours we have three viewings booked for this weekend.

 

[Deleted member 951]

If it doesn't sell this weekend, try looking on Ebay.

There are usually quite a few self builds for sale, find one comparable to your own and watch what it goes for.

 

[Deleted member 951]

...nice van by the way.

Personally, I think you may have undervalued it slightly.

 

[channa]

Good luck, Have you repaired the advisories on the MOT always an opportunity for a potential purchase to chip the price

Channa

 

[Stoodles]

Yes, we thought it was an exceptionally nice van when we found it, and both of us are feeling a major pang at parting. On an emotional level, it's a really nice space to be in, and practically speaking we trust it mechanically and genuinely can't find anything so well thought out in the ready-made market. We are saving like crazy, aspiring to a nearly new Hymercar Yellowstone or Globecar Campscout, But neither of them has a dedicated teapot shelf, or walking stick holder.

The MOT advisories- light has been repaired, hose seepage is untraceable and we've left the bodywork, having done lots of work on other parts of it over the winter.

 

[trevskoda]

Yes. it's insured as a motorhome, at £1000 more than the price we paid for it. We didn't do the conversion, but bought it from the couple who had. They had a strong emotional connection to it, and, strangely, knocked us down on the price after we made what we thought was already a low offer, as they wanted it to go to people who would appreciate it.


We are selling because we want fixed beds, a shower and three way fridge for longer trips. It's a bit of a reluctant sale, partly because the van has been so reliable, and partly because the chap who did it put in a lot of thought and we haven't seen anything to rival it for well planned storage. But it doesn't offer what we now need and it would be silly to put effort into doing further adaptations on a 1997 vehicle.

View attachment 64568
View attachment 64569

I hope I've attached a couple of photos from our recent trip to Northern Spain.

Internally, she is two berth, with twin dinettes forward, behing fixed driver and passenger seats. Three burner hob with fridge under to one side, with gas locker for twin 5 kilo gas bottles. Behind the fridge is worktop with a shallow cupboard and access to the rear door. On the other side is the sink, with a large cupboard below and a slide out tin/jar rack. Behind this is the loo, with a Thetford cassette loo and drop down sink. The water tank is acessed below one of the dinette seats, and water is electrically pumped to the taps but cold only. There are lockers above, with cubby hole storage below them.


I can't tell you the make of the windows etc, as it is in for MOT at the moment. They are the ones with linking integrated screns and blinds, except for one late fit which is less good quality and I think was a mistake.

The van was converted in 1999, when it had done 4384 miles, and the owners kept a log of evry bit of work done since, so I know for instance that it had new oil and fuel filters in April 2001. It's now at 93.000 miles.

Oil/filter should be changed every 5000 miles or at six mth intervals,my van is built on same running gear as yours and reg 2000 ,flux gave me a value a couple of years back at £12.000,prob worth 2/3 of that now on a good day.

 

[Stoodles]

That's helpful. So far we have had one no show, one who said he could buy a newer van cheaper (so why come to see this one?), and have two more viewings on Sunday. The ambivalence of hoping someone buys her and hoping we can keep her a bit longer is very odd.

I misinformed you - apparently we had all the advisories done, and have a receipt for the work. Perhaps I should listen to hubby sometimes!

 

[Stoodles]

And it's sold, at the asking price, to a lovely family who will clearly get as much enjoyment as we have from the van. We feel bereft.