Choosing a budget or Premium van

[AnotherHamster]

My wife and I have decided to sell our pop top van and get something bigger.

We started off looking at 6m high top vans but after visits to local dealers and the NEC show, have decided that a 6.4m van better meets our needs.

We have narrowed down the selection to 2 vans, both available from a local dealer with a similar layout.

The choice is between a “budget” model: this is well within our price range even with selecting all the options we want with some extra for any customisation we decide on.

The other is more of a “premium” model which comes with everything as standard but is a few thousand above our price range.

The main differences are that the premium van has framed windows (so reduced road noise), better bathroom, diesel as opposed to gas heating and better quality cabinets.

Other than that, the base van specs are the same and they are even the same colour.

Part of me thinks this is a big purchase, it will hopefully last many years, so get the best one I can. But then I think, will the differences really be that noticeable and the 10k saving can pay for a lot of travel.

What are people’s thoughts? I know this is a very personal choice but we flip flop between them. We still have a few weeks to make a decision

[Spuffington]

Personally, given as you say this is a big purchase which will be with you for many years (hopefully), I would always strive for the best I can afford/justify as the additional cost will be minimal when amortised over a long period.

We ve just done similar with our current van. It was a bit of a stretch financially but it has already paid off with the feel of it being different to anything we ve had before and once the initial hit has been forgotten we ll still be enjoying it.

But it s a very personal decision.

[LRDefender]

Tricky one but I'd go with the nicer van.

However, if the cheaper van comes in at £10k cheaper then that's £10k's worth of free holidays and fuel...

[Truckosaurus]

You will also get some of the £10k difference back what you sell the van on if the premium van is from a more prestige manufacturer.

There will be other improvements as well like better insulation etc.

[Steve Kimberley]

I'd always go with the lower cost option.
Then, you'll have some slack to invest in some mods to make it what you really wanted.
In my case that would almost certainly be ripping out the probably wholly inadequate hab electric system and adding decent lithium battery, solar panel, and associated chargers.
And you'd still have lots of change to install a diesel heater if you want.
Edited for splegging errrr.

[Spuffington]

Steve Kimberley said:

I'd always go with the lower cost option.
Then, you'll have some slack to invest in some mods to make it what you really wanted.
In my case that would almost certainly be ripping out the probably wholly inadequate hab electric system and adding decent lithium battery, solar panel, and associated chargers.
And you'd still have lots of change to install a diesel heater if you want.
Edited for splegging errrr.

So that's a fair point. On my last two vans, I've splurged heavily on Lithium, Inverters, Solar panels etc. to make them as capable offgrid as possible.

However, I personally couldn't do with the bulging caravan-style windows and any other obvious corner cutting to get to the budget version.

I do think that premium vans are more sought after on the second hand market so even if they don't retain that much more money, they will be easier to sell.

[lost in espace]

Which will depreciate faster, and take into account the extra £10k is £400 a year lost interest in an ISA.

[Scrump]

My new van is at the more premium end of the spectrum. It was the quality of the internal fixtures and fittings that initially attracted me, but I then found it came with lithium, solar and a few other items that were extra on the cheaper vans so the price difference was not as large as it first appeared.