Purchase of ex hire van from Indie Campers

laurach

Hi Anyone out there with experience of purchasing an ex hire campervan from Indie Campers? Currently looking at a Carabus 600K available on Nov 1st with between 60 and 80,000kms on the clock.
Thanks.

sumo12

I'd be nervous of any rental vehicle - car, camper or otherwise - that had 80k on the clock. That's a lot of people who didn't give a shyt about that vehicle because it was a rental. Rental companies do bare minimum servicing and maintentance too. Cheap oil, extended oil changes etc

Surely the interior has to be raggy too with that much use as a rental.

Mind you, if the price is right and you have to tip away and repair a few bits and pieces, then it would be worth it I suppose. How much is it going for?

CJhaughey

They say from 36k upwards, I wonder if they are IE reg ?

sumo12

CJhaughey wrote: »

They say from 36k upwards, I wonder if they are IE reg ?

Don't think Indie or Bunk use any Irish reg's do they?

markmoto

laurach wrote: »

Hi Anyone out there with experience of purchasing an ex hire campervan from Indie Campers? Currently looking at a Carabus 600K available on Nov 1st with between 60 and 80,000kms on the clock.
Thanks.

the same as you would purchase any ex-rental vehicles vs single ownership.

John_Rambo

sumo12 wrote: »

I'd be nervous of any rental vehicle - car, camper or otherwise - that had 80k on the clock. That's a lot of people who didn't give a shyt about that vehicle because it was a rental. Rental companies do bare minimum servicing and maintentance too. Cheap oil, extended oil changes etc

Surely the interior has to be raggy too with that much use as a rental.

Mind you, if the price is right and you have to tip away and repair a few bits and pieces, then it would be worth it I suppose. How much is it going for?

I'm not arguing or disagreeing with you, but I would have though (maybe naively!) that if anything was wrong, slipping clutch, low battery voltage, broken door catch etc... that they'd be replaced immediately due to the high cost of the rentals. I know the penalties are pretty high for any damage by the renters so they'd be expecting a perfect rental van.

I met one dude in Sligo that bought the rental he rented and he said it was perfect. Nothing wrong with it.

laurach

Thanks for all the replies. I’m ok with the risks associated with purchasing an ex-rental. As someone posted - it’s the same as buying pretty much any second hand vehicle. I had been looking at buying a 2nd hand Ducato and getting a conversion done and if anything I think that type of van would have more wear and tear than what I’m thinking of doing now. The increased prices of 2nd hand vans and the conversion cost topped off with VRT would have pushed the overall cost up against €42/€45k hence why I’m looking at other options.
I was just wondering if anybody had experience of purchasing an ex rental camper before and specifically from Indie Campers.

G-Man

Do you have approx budget for raw van and materials and furniture cost worked out. I have in mind a MWB HI-roof transit for conversion myself and guess I might baulk altogether if conversion costs - ( I see a bench seat between 1500...2500)

laurach

G-Man wrote: »

Do you have approx budget for raw van and materials and furniture cost worked out. I have in mind a MWB HI-roof transit for conversion myself and guess I might baulk altogether if conversion costs - ( I see a bench seat between 1500...2500)

I had a quote from one of the van conversion companies as I’m not up to the standard of DIY required to do that kind of job.

CJhaughey

sumo12 wrote: »

Don't think Indie or Bunk use any Irish reg's do they?

Bunk are all GB reg, I have seen a few 211 Indie ones here.

JustAThought

From signing off on a car before renting where you have a vague isea of what should be what, I’d ve reluctant as a renter to report issues when returning the van for fear of having a big fix slapped on my premium/deposit. Lots of extra moving parts in a mobile house that can go wrong through wear and tear on the road or bad users - cracked sewage/outflow pipes, water leekage upwards from the road or downwards from a shower, salt corrosion from camping near surfspots/on beaches, etc. Lots of valves and plastic pumps and corrodible parts...

Boats are the same. Noone would buy a (big money) boat without a professional survey done. Engines, rig & masts, permiability, valves, performance etc, Is there a service like that for campers? Done by a specialist - not ‘just’ a mechanic?

Just saying. 35k & petrol & o/n fees.Thats a LOT of B&B/ hotel nights.

stapeler

I purchases an ex rental Benimar a few years back. It was 3 yrs old.
Mechanically sound and it had lots of extras.
Mileage was obviously higher at approx 50k.
There were a couple leaks (side wall and roof) where on inspection it had taken a few small knocks and not perfectly sealed, perhaps more than once. Leaks looked like they were there a while. One wall was "professionally" wallpapered to hide a leak.
A few issues with buttons and window catches that we hadn't noticed. Cracked shower tray and other wear & tare issues.
Both internally and externally there was a lot of wear where it looked almost like it was over cleaned on a weekly bases.
All in all we knew what we were buying and the amount of extras definitely made it very attractive.
Check thoroughly for leaks and cover ups, especially front overcab and back corners that are likely to get a few bangs due to inexperience.