Re-sale value

MarkJ

Forum Member
I'm thinking hard about our self-build: I've the makings of a design and a budget. Like most budgets, it's more than I thought at the start - so be it.

But I was wondering about re-sale value. This could be our last van, seeing us well into our 70s when realistically something might happen to make us have to give up and sell.

In peoples' experience, what sort of re-sale value do you get with a self-build? I'm sure it's sensitive to lots of assumptions, so here are a few: let's suppose I do a decent job, it looks smart, has properly spec'ed gas and electrics and is on a base vehicle with plenty of life left in it. It's a conventional size, shape and colour. And so on - i.e. there's nothing particularly quirky about it to put anyone off, though obviously it will be exactly how we want it and not quite like a layout you might buy, perhaps.

Have people who've sold their self-build been happy with the price they got or disappointed? And how did you sell - ebay, Autotrader etc?

Thanks
 

wildebus

Forum Member
I worked out my value based on the value of the base vehicle plus the retail costs of the bits I have added and also compare to the 'opposition' if there are similar vans.
The last two vans I did I sold on the VW Forum I am a member of (they were VWs of course). The last one I wold have been happy with the price I was asking except just after I decided to put it up for sale I had £2,500 worth of engine repairs which I had to just write off.

Ref the layout ... sometimes good to be a little different. Sure, there will be lots of people who want the 'conventional' layout, but there will be others who happen to want just what you have done - and will not find many examples of that.
 

MarkJ

Forum Member
I worked out my value based on the value of the base vehicle plus the retail costs of the bits I have added and also compare to the 'opposition' if there are similar vans.
Thanks... so broadly speaking its resale value when “new” is about the same as the cash you spent on it. Your time is verging on being free, so to speak. Interesting, thanks
 

wildebus

Forum Member
Thanks... so broadly speaking its resale value when “new” is about the same as the cash you spent on it. Your time is verging on being free, so to speak. Interesting, thanks
Obviously if you are building to sell, you would work it out differently :) The typical self-builder (i.e building for themselves, not to sell) spends so much time on building and tweaking their vans, if they included all the time spent at say a very very cheap £5/hr would probably end up having to ask more than a brand new Hymer :D
 

GEOFF

Self build vans are IMHO not very popular with MH main stealers. I have sold all my previous vans for (new vans in those days) close to what they cost me (nothing for my labour), but I have had the enjoyment of both the build and use of them. I used to keep my vans for 3 to 4 years. I have sold the vans via ebay and had no problems selling them, but as I said - not at a profit. I tried to PX one of my vans at a well known dealership not far from here and was offered £3000 against a brand new £30k rig. I put it on the bay and sold it for £10.5k, had it been an AS I would think it would have been worth about 20k. I do know that some people have had better luck, but I do think that if my build has cost about 35-40% less than a proprietary make, it is probably reasonable for the resale value to work out at something similar. The agreed insurance selbuild valuation may impress a few punters, but anything is really only worth what someone will pay for it. Usually the advantages the dealer has is that often people want to trade up and want to PX their existing vehicle, many people are reassured by the fact that they get a warranty and finance is available. Three items where the dealers gets a bit more profit and as with cars the PX "value" is inflated to flatter the buyer at the expense of no discout on their new purchase. Running for cover. Geoff.
 

Squiffy

Forum Member
I have to agree with Dave, that a self build is worth what it cost to buy the base vehicle plus the build parts cost, and this only if it has been built to a very professional standard. In my experience self built or little known commercially built Van's have nowhere near the resale value of known and respected commercial companies, this to my mind is not fair but is a fact of life. So if you spend vast amounts on building a great van do not expect to make a profit but use it with pleasure and satisfaction and hope that when you sell it you can at least say I've been there done that and had a great time 😁. Phil
 

MarkJ

Forum Member
I see. Agree about just getting the pleasure from it - people told me years ago that a good quality Motorhome (bought, not self built) would hold its value but that’s not my experience so far! I guess it’s not as bad as sailing, once described as akin to tearing up £10 notes in the shower - but you certainly don’t want to think about the value of your “investment” as you motor along!
 

Squiffy

Forum Member
I see. Agree about just getting the pleasure from it - people told me years ago that a good quality Motorhome (bought, not self built) would hold its value but that’s not my experience so far! I guess it’s not as bad as sailing, once described as akin to tearing up £10 notes in the shower - but you certainly don’t want to think about the value of your “investment” as you motor along!
You are not wrong Mark, I must have spent a small fortune over my Yachting years apart from actually purchasing the vessels, when your buying it's the best thing since sliced bread and in really high demand, when your selling apparently nobody is buying this particular type of yacht anymore, 🙄 so not only do you lose on the sale but it's cost thousands in pontoon fees over the years. 😳. Phil
 

Squiffy

Forum Member
I will drive mine till it or i die,then it may become a chicken shed,main thing is 50/50 i may never know:unsure:
That's if you can still buy diesel Trev in the next five or six years, or you might have to learn electronics and electric motors etc.🤣 and retro fitting. Phil
 

wildebus

Forum Member
An all-electric Van .... not a lot of use as a camper, but only as a urban delivery vehicle

An PHEV Hybrid ... Much handier. If looking to buy new to make a PVC, I would certainly consider seriously the Transit PHEV if it were in the right size (LWB & High Roof)
 
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Squiffy

Forum Member
Yes I am in agreement to that, my van is already on the cusp at 3320kg so there is no way the weight of the batteries could be incorporated. How ever its possible that in future the 3500kg standard licence limit for those of you that haven't got grandfather rights might be wavered (Grandfather rights will very shortly be finished in any case just as old soldiers from the first and second world wars are slipping away) In either case they will make batteries smaller and van floor areas larger to accommodate. Phil
 

Millie Master

Forum Member
I undertook my one and only conversion actually with the mindset that I would convert and old high mileage first then if we liked it, we would sell it and then convert either a new or very nearly new van.
But as I have written on here so many times before, 'Millie' ticks every single one of our must have boxes so amazingly well that we decided to save our hard earned and put them to use elsewhere!

As for resale value, although the combined cost of the conversion came to a tad short of £11k, I did once put her up on one of the specialist Renault Master forums on FaceBook at £15k and was quite literally flooded out by people wanting to buy her............ But in so saying, that £4k mark-up would come nowhere close to giving any gainful return for the amount of time I had invested in building her.

Phil
 

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